Page 48 of Tempting Cargo

“It is. Do you think humans and aliens can get each other pregnant?”

I shrugged. “No idea.” I wasn’t into hypothetical discussions.

Oh.

Oh, shit.

“It’s probably unlikely that such different species are automatically compatible,” she continued, as if I didn’t have any stakes in the topic. “But if you’re going to make a habit of it, you might want to look into it. Or use condoms.”

Got to love Imani’s bluntness. “Sure. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Do you like her? Romantically, I mean, not just sexually.”

Imani was great, but I couldn’t brush her off with a non-answer; that bullshit didn’t work on her. She didn’t fill the empty space with words like so many people did. No, she just sat there with her serene smile and waited for me to find the answer.

Which was what? Of course it was more than lust. I always needed some kind of emotional connection before sleeping with someone, and, yes, things had moved fast, but it wasn’t like we had much time. And that was the problem, wasn’t it?

“I wish I had the opportunity to find out,” I said, my voice flat.

“Why don’t you?”

I took a measured breath. “Because we’re leaving in two days.”

She looked at me as if I’d said something really absurd. “You could just stay.”

“I can’t invite myself to stay on someone else’s ship.”

“Why not? She likes you.”

“It’s not that easy.” If only. “And there’s a difference between wanting to fuck someone and wanting to be in a relationship.” I could guess which one Shohari was.

“I know that. I have done both, you know.”

“Right. Of course.”

“Multiple times.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to imply you hadn’t. I’m just frustrated.” I stood, needing to close this off before I upset her more. Or got more details. Or had to think harder about my own situation.

“I know. It could be that easy, though.” She stared off into the middle distance again. “People dance around what they really mean, but you don’t have to. What if you just… didn’t? You could just say it. You don’t want to end up on Vadias, but you do want to spend more time with Shohari. So tell her.”

Imani had an interesting way of seeing things, but she made it sound so logical. Regardless, I needed to put to rest the other thought she’d seeded.

The engineering bay was empty when I got there. “Muzati?”

Something clattered inside the ship, and a smiling kri’ith face popped out of a hole amongst some tubing and wiring.

She rolled onto her stomach. “Hey, captain’s favourite human.”

I ran my hand over my hair. “Yeah, about that. You’re the ship’s medic, right?”

“Yes. She didn’t break your parts, did she? Was she too rough? Do you need me to examine you?” She twisted her face in distaste. “The captain might not like that. Kri’ith can be possessive, you see.”

I held up my hand. “Stop. None of those. I was just wondering…”

“Get it out, then.”

“If… other species can, uh, breed. Get each other pregnant.”