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Dargus took the earring off with some force and left it on the table.Get a grip, Dargus, and stop acting like a cub! “It means you’re physically ready to take a mate and sire a litter.”
Her lips formed an O, but no sound came out.
He had shocked the words out of her – somehow that made him feel less awkward. He wasn’t alone in his embarrassment when the mating topic was on the table, it seemed.
“More earrings are added as a Luvian ages,” he kept talking to give himself as well as her more time to get their bearings. “For example, when their first cubs are born and when they retire… Ah, and when they tie the tail with their mate or true mate, they get a ring on the very end of their tail, right under the tuft.” He chuckled at the memory that sprang up in his mind. “Bargus got his tailless T’kalathreetail rings – one for each hand and one for the widest tentacle on her head. The overachiever.”
The smile that his story got on Lia’s face set her brown eyes alight, and Dargus found himself transfixed.
“I take it T’kala is not Luvian?”
“No, she’s Clenarian,like my mother.” Pain seared his heart at the mention of the only female to have ever loved him, as short as the time they had had together had been before the Marsiopa had killed her. “Hence the lack of fur on my body,” Dargus added to divert the topic, “except on my tail and ears. My brother takes after our father, though, so he’s your typical fuzzy Luvian.”
Light, bubbly laughter came from Lia, making the strange heat in his chest from earlier make an appearance.
He really should see the Medic after they were done with the recording.
“Fuzzy, huh?” She giggled some more. “I’d like to see that!”
“Then I’ll make it happen, pumpkin.”
Just like that, her smile died.
Fruck.How had he messed up this time?
“For someone who has two interspecies couples in his family,” Lia stated with indignation, “you should be showing more respect towards others’ differences, you know that?”
“What?” His translator was working, yet Dargus couldn’t understand her meaning at all.
She scoffed. “Forget it. Let’s film this shit so I can get some sleep before I meet my doom.”
“No, I upset you somehow, tell me–”
“It’s fine. Really.”
“It’s not fine!” He came to sit in front of her on the floor so she could no longer avoid looking at him. “The light has gone from your eyes, Lia, and I’m the cause! I must know so that I don’t upset you again.”
She shot him a suspicious look but did not move away from him. “The light has gone from my eyes, huh? You learn that cheesy line from the same source that told you to offer women on Earth a ride on your big spaceship?”
Dargus winced inwardly. He’d be regretting those words of his for the rest of his life, probably. “I was describing what I saw, no memorized lines. The glow in your warm brown eyes dimmed when I said something. Was it because I was talking about Bargus and family, and you’re away from yours?”
Lia looked at him for a bit without saying anything, perhaps trying to read in his eyes whether he was being deceitful.
He looked right back. He had nothing to hide… except his strong desire to hug her right now. Because cuddling always made a person feel better. For some reason, it mattered to him that she was happy.
Should have thought about that before ripping her away from her planet and family, you moron.
Whatever she had read on his face must have satisfied her, because her tone was softer when she spoke again. “You truly are clueless, aren’t you?” His confused expression got a groan out of her, and she covered her face with both hands. “Why do I keep forgetting you’re an alien?”
“Because I’m not? You are the alien here.”
To his relief, Lia uncovered her face to reveal a tiny smile. “I stay corrected.” A hesitant pause. “I’m sorry for overreacting, Dargus. I should stop applying my planet’s rules to you. Just because my own kind makes fun of my hair color, doesn’t mean you’re doing the same.” She bit her bottom lip. “You’re not making fun of my pumpkin-colored hair, are you?”
Dargus stilled.Thatwas what had upset her? She had thought that he thought that–Other Terrans had made fun of her marvelous orange hair?! A growl rose in his chest before he could stifle it.
“Uhhh…”
Stop it, you’re scaring her!He choked down another growl of outrage, placed his tuft on top of her hand, and looked her directly in the eyes. “If anyone ever makes fun of the most beautiful color in existence that you have on your head, you call me. I’ll fly down to Terra to make them admit they’re actually jealous of your hair.”
