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She does speak my language, so she must’ve had a universal translator implanted. And I love her accent. I couldn’t help but notice that her body is thick in all the right places. Her pigment is not Hyrrokin red but instead a dark golden hue that I find highly attractive.
But my immediate feelings of attraction and possessiveness are not reciprocated. Mica Roberts insists she remain only as an employee, and I do not scent any attraction or arousal from her towards me. Therefore, I must adjust my thoughts and actions. When she last spoke, my gaze lingered on the curve of her luscious breasts under the fabric of her clothing and met her bright eyes. I’ve given myself away and caused fear. I must fix this immediately. I would never touch a female without her consent.
The med lab beeps the completion of its treatment cycle. The surgery shield and wand slide away, and the machine shuts down. She sits up and swings her legs over the side of the med bed.
“You do not have to worry,” I continue. “I will not touch you without your consent and neither will anyone on this ranch. I will protect you, even from myself.”
Mica’s lips twitch. “And I will not touch you or anyone on this ranch without their consent either. Thank you for saying that. It makes me feel much better, knowing that’s clarified between us.”
I nod.
Burl enters the room at that exact moment, leaving me to wonder if he was listening outside. “Oh, I see our guest is now awake,” he says a little too loud. “This is good.”
Mica squeals at his appearance, which is completely unnecessary.
I wave a claw towards the older male. “There is nothing to be afraid of. This is Burl Sandstone, the ranch manager. Burl, this is Mica Roberts.”
“Nice to meet you, Mistress Roberts.”
“I’m so sorry.” She lets out a heavy exhale. “Oh, please call me Mica and it’s nice to meet you too. I can’t help it. I get so scared sometimes when I meet someone new. Hyrrokin appear very scary to human eyes. Hopefully I’ll get over it once I’ve met everyone and get comfortable.”
A puff of smoke escapes my nostrils. I must spend time treating her gently so that she understands that this place will be entirely different from where she was before. “This ranch employs only males,” I warn her. “But no one will mistreat you. You are safe here.”
“Why are there no females?”
I shrug. “They don’t want to live here?”
“We had a few but they recently left,” Burl confirms. “Contica was our cook, and she retired a few moon cycles before rainy season. Three other females originally worked here as ranch hands, but they all recently left to work at other nearby ranches.”
Fire churns in my stomach at the reminder. “My brothers offered them all higher pay and a moving bonus and they left. Stole my best workers,” I growl.
“Well, I’ll be working here now so you’ll at least have one female who’d like to stay,” Mica offers brightly. She slides off the med, stands upright and reaches out an arm to test her wrist. Then she takes a few practice steps. “I can’t believe how good I feel. It never ceases to amaze me how quick these med labs work.”
Burl chuckles. “I also think they are a miracle. And I am glad to hear that you want to remain here as more than a guest. What work are you thinking of doing? Do you have experience working on a ranch?”
“I’m not sure what you’ll want me to do here. I just want to make sure I’m busy and not in anyone’s way. It’s very kind of Mr. Flagstone to allow me to remain here on such short notice.”
I look down at her, struck again by her exquisite beauty. It’s wonderful seeing her happy and no longer fearful or in pain. The healthy, golden glow of her skin, her dark follicles on her head and the brightness of her smile make it hard to look away. And now that she’s standing, the perfect curve of her large ass is the stuff of dreams. “Call me Thorn,” I insist.
“And please call me Mica.”
“We could use help on the ranch with our meals. Our new cook is still learning on the job and could use some help,” Burl points out.
I glance over at him and nod in agreement. “We are in a predicament,” I explain to Mica. “A male we hired to replace Contica, works in the barracks and feeds all of us but is learningon the job. We like to eat real meals, using our own butchered meat, flamed by our cook, but to be truthful he’s not that good. Luckily, we’ve had the food dispenser as back up, but there is only one on the property and it’s in the barracks.”
“You’re asking if I can cook because you need another cook as backup?”
“Yes. Can you cook?”
“Yes.”
I frown. “Are you just saying that? Sometimes beings will say they can cook but all that means is that they can program a food dispenser.”
She laughs, a lovely tinkling sound. “Is that how you ended up hiring a bad cook?”
I nod. “Also, Newl is a distant cousin who needed a position. But he’s nothing like Contica, who is sorely missed. None of us here know how to cook.”
“Ah. Don’t worry. I’ve always enjoyed cooking for my large family and friends and even catering for large events. I had grand plans at one time of going to culinary school but instead set it aside to pursue business. But I can only make human dishes, so all of you would have to be okay with an extra cook who can’t create your favorite Hyrrokin meals.”
