She gave him a suspicious look. “It smells like asphalt.”
“I assure you that it is not toxic to humans. Go on, it’s a local favorite.”
She took a sip, then coughed and spluttered. “Whoo!” She laughed. “Doesn’t that melt your insides when you drink it?”
He smiled at her. “Not so far.”
“You have guts of steel.” She tapped his abdomen, and he felt a hot rush of arousal. “Oh my, you really do. You must work out all the time. I’m sorry, was that too forward?”
His smile stretched wider. “No, I believe it was just forward enough.”
A drinks tray floated past them and landed on a table full of alien traders, who were throwing dice and watching each other suspiciously. A metallic humanoid robot glided inches above the ground, taking drinks orders. Several insectoid TiVarkeevas sat nearby, inserting their pale green proboscises into flower-shaped cups and sucking up a fermented nectar.
She looked around the bar, eyes wide with amazement. “This is still so incredible. I can’t believe I’m here.”
“You’re human, so you must be here for Starcrossed.”
“Yes!” She brightened. Then her face fell. “But I’m not having great luck with it so far. I mean, I’ve only been here a few days, but… I have a friend who came here a few months ago, and she met her guy on the first night. And they’re so in love, it’s amazing. She’s already expecting! And they can’t keep their hands off each other.” She gave a sigh of envy and took another sip of her drink.
“If you have not been claimed yet, then you have been meeting fools.” He meant it sincerely. Who wouldn’t want a sweet, curvaceous woman like this? One who looked at the new world around her with a somehow fearless sense of wonder? Who made even clumsiness seem charming and artless? One who had his heart thumping painfully in his chest as she reached out and squeezed his forearm in thanks. The pressure of her little fingers lingered.
She smiled up at him. “Thank you. Some of the men have asked me out, but I wasn’t interested. I’ve been to four of their mixers already and I just…I didn’t meet anyone I clicked with. They were nice, and all, but…” She leaned in and said in a low, confiding voice, “Promise you won’t laugh?”
“I vow I will not.”
“I’m waiting forthe one.”
Treffon barked out a bitter laugh. “Me too. But she’s not coming. Ever.”
She looked at him, puzzled. “Why not? How could you know that?”
He sighed. “It’s a Vulfan thing. At Starcrossed, they must have explained to you about true mates – how we can instantly sense when we meet ours.”
“But just because you haven’t met her yet…”
“I never will. I know this.”
He took a long pull of Keera and set his drink down. She took a few more sips of her drink, and he watched as her little pink tongue darted out to lick a drop from her lips.
He felt physical attraction pulsing through his body. He wanted to slide his tongue against hers. Kiss her until he drew sounds of wanting from her. Pull her hard against him so he could feel every soft curve of her body against his; feel her heart racing. Would it be wrong to have sex with her – if she was willing? Would it be wrong to offer her some kind of alliance of the type that Zura had suggested?
Where did that thought come from?
He’d met the woman only minutes ago, and he had not felt the true mate connection. The way every Vulfan he’d spoken to had described it, there was an instant sense of familiarity. There was an openness, an immediate willingness to bare all to the true mate, an instant sense of trust and belonging.
There was also the Var-hool, that haze of lust that descended on true mates. He certainly felt very, very physically attracted – his half-hard cock kicked in his pants as he dragged his gaze away from her mouth, the ache leaving him almost breathless – but there was no sense of openness or trust or belonging. He felt his usual wariness; even with this gorgeous creature by his side, he was completely aware of his surroundings and prepared for attacks and assassination attempts at any time.
“I’m going to the dance tomorrow night,” she said. “I made friends with this great girl named Zura. Her dad, this guy named Madok, works at Starcrossed. She and her dad are tricking her cousin Treffon into going to the dance. Do you know him? Boss of the Thorolf pack. She wants to fix me up with him, she said she had a feeling about me, but…no way.”
So Zura was still trying to fix him up. Well, she had some nerve scheming behind his back and—Wait a minute!Why wouldn’t this human agree to being matched with him?
“Why wouldn’t you want to meet this Treffon fellow?” he asked.
A look of distaste puckered her face. “My friend Allison warned me about him. She’s mated to someone from his pack. Apparently, this guy Treffon is a real jerk. Temperamental, bully, punishes people all the time for no reason, takes out his bad moods on everyone. I guess he wasn’t always this bad, but the past few years he’s become just unbearable.”
Treffon felt a sharp sting of annoyance. “Well, that is one human’s opinion.”
“Nope.” She waved her hand in dismissal and took another sip from her drink. “Lots of people chimed in and agreed with her. People from his pack. He’s a jerk. Whoo, this drink is strong. I’m light-headed.” She pushed it away. “I should take a break.”
