Page 10 of Maneater

My cell phone buzzes, which doesn’t happen often. I primarily interact with my fellow Network buddies in chat, and anyone local uses the Inn’s phone.

I glance at the screen. The fuck?

“Hey, Tarek. What’s up?”

“Me, baby.” Tarek lets out a low moan. “Hard for you. Thought you’d like some hot cock before I leave the planet for good.”

My dick twitches, but I mentally yell at it to behave. One failed space dragon relationship is enough for this lifetime. I don’t need to get lured back into Tarek’s scaly clutches again.

“You know that can’t happen, Tarek.”

“Of course it can. I can fly there in an hour. Your cock could be in my mouth by two o’clock.”

My cock is arguing back at me, insisting that this is the best idea ever. Then I remember I’m not that kind of guy. I catch feelings way too easily.

“No. We’ve been through this enough times already. You’re leaving Earth and have no idea when you’ll be back. I don’t do long-distance relationships.”

Tarek huffs. “Come on, it’s not as if we haven’t fucked before. What difference does it make?”

I frown at the phone. “The difference is that I want something you don’t. A committed relationship, to build a life with someone.” To not be alone. “I’m tired of repeating the same thing over and over.” Now I’m getting mad. “I don’t want an open relationship while you're off-planet. And don’t even think about insisting that I can fuck whoever I want while you’re gone. I. Don’t. Want. That. End of story.”

“Fine.” He chuckles. “Don’t get your horns in a twist. I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.”

While violence isn’t my go-to response in life, Tarek tends to bring out the rage in me.

“Well, don’t ask again,” I seethe, then hit the end button before he can respond. Dickstain. I block his number. No more space dragons for me.

Maybe a human wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Fuck!” I pound my fist on the desk, my coffee mug rattling in response and sloshing coffee onto a pile of bills. “Fuck fuck fuckity fuck!”

Footsteps pound down the hall, and the door flies open. Gavin gapes at me with wide eyes.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

I clench my fists, counting down from five. I don’t have time for ten.

“Sorry.” I clear my throat. “I’m fine. Just got an upsetting call, then spilled my coffee.” I peer past his shoulder toward the front. “No one’s out there, are they?” Talk about unprofessional.

“Nah. It’s been really slow. No one’s been in since Cabin Four checked out at ten.”

I need to get out in the forest. The four walls of my office are about to implode on me.

“In that case, I’m going to take a drive, get some fresh air. Call me on my cell if anything comes up.”

“No problem. And just so you know, I’ll probably be fine until Levi gets here. I think I’ve got the hang of everything now. And like you said, I can always call if I have a question.” He shrugs. “Not that it’s my place to say, but you seem sorta stressed.”

The tension in my body begins to dissipate. “You’re a good kid.” I smile. “I planned on leaving early today, but not before Levi arrived.”

Once I go over a few things with Gavin and make him take his ten-minute break, I amble out to my truck. Although my cave is located a short distance away, I never walk there. No one knows where I live, and it’s vital to keep it that way.

I climb into my vehicle, relieved that I’ve calmed down a bit. Not enough to face another moment trapped indoors, but I’m not ready to tear someone a new one, either.

As I travel down the road, I ruminate on how amazing a spring day it is. The weather is that perfect combination of low seventies, a light breeze, bright blue skies, and humidity low enough that I don’t really notice. I tend to run hot, so when those muggy days hit hard? Yuck.

I’m humming to myself, a song from the sixties that Pa used to sing all the time. The band was really popular at the time. They did a lot of folk-rock that wasn’t really my thing, but he loved them.

I sniff, my eyes beginning to burn. He was the last of my direct bloodline. He was close to five hundred when he passed, and we would joke about what we should do to celebrate his big five-oh-oh. But once his horns grew brittle and the grand shedding began, we knew it wouldn’t be long.