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“That’s not true. You are exceedingly thoughtful.” I’m surprised she thinks of herself in such a way. “You were the one that wanted to bring a holiday to Liesje. You were concerned about her when no one else was. That is very thoughtful.” I lean toward her and give her a playful look. “For my gift, I should like a second sock.”
Her expression is puzzled. “A second sock?”
“To match the one above the mantel. It is small but perhaps I can use them on the tips of my horns instead of my feet.”
Devin’s lips twitch. “It’s not a sock you wear. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
“At least once more.” At my words, she breaks into laughter, her hand over her eyes. I love how pink her cheeks are, and the smile on her mouth. I find myself gazing at her mouth thoughtfully. Rektar enjoys kissing Lucy. Is it that he just enjoys slobber more than I do or do some humans kiss differently than others? “May I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Do…you not like kissing either?” I blurt the words out before I can change my mind.
Her lips part and she stares at me, confused. “Me…?” Devin sputters. “No, Ilikekissing. You were the one that was all grossed out when I suggested it.”
“Mmm.” I ponder this, eyeing her pink mouth again. “I kissed a human once and it was terrible. Her mouth was very wet and she tasted like old brew. And she stabbed me with her tongue. Twice. I was appalled.”
Devin’s hands go to her mouth and her shoulders shake. It takes me a moment to realize she’s laughing. Sure enough, she wheezes, and a tear streams out of her eye. “Stabbing…you…with her tongue…?”
“Yes. It was quite awful. She was drunk and I was just excited to kiss a human. Everyone seems to shuck the sanitary laws the moment a human mouth comes into play but I found it unpleasant. I think perhaps the problem is with me and not everyone else.” I sigh and put my fingers to my lips. “That’s depressing. Perhaps it’s my mouth that’s unpleasant.”
More laughter escapes Devin, though she’s trying very hard to tamp it down. “I’m sure your mouth is just fine, Sinath. Not everyone is a good kisser.”
“Is everyone a wet kisser? With tongue stabbing?” Perhaps my earlier partner was simply bad at it. When she starts giggling again, I chuckle with her. “It’s a serious question, female!”
She wipes more tears from her eyes, laughing. “There doesn’t always have to be tongue. Or wetness. Some kisses are dry and sweet.”
I love her laughter. It makes everything around her warm…myself included. “I think kissing you would be dry and sweet,” I venture. My tail lashes in its spot tucked against the air-sled’s door and I grow suddenly nervous when her laughter quiets. Is that too forward of me? Have I made her uncomfortable? I don’t want that. “Apologies. I shouldn’t have said that—”
“So when you refused to kiss me before,” Devin asks, her words soft and ever-so-slightly breathless as she looks up at me. “It was because you’d had bad kisses? Not because you find me unappealing?”
“I’m afraid I find you too appealing, my merry human. That’s part of the problem I’m having. I keep thinking about you—”
Before I can complete the statement, Devin leans forward and tugs me down toward her, her hand bunching in the front of my tunic even as her animal scampers off her lap and down onto the floor of the vehicle. She pulls me in close, and her lips brush against mine. Just once. Just a tickle. But her lips are soft and her breath sweet, and I am intrigued as she pulls back and regards me. “Did you hate that?”
“Not in the slightest.”
Devin smiles. “There’s your answer, then. See you tomorrow.”
ChapterEight
DEVIN
The next morning arrives with a steady snowfall. I glance worriedly out the window and adjust the bot programs for that day, keeping the meat-stock in the barn and making sure the temperature there is comfortable. There’ll be no field-work of any kind with several feet of snow on the ground.
I could make a snowman, though.
I contemplate the idea and rub my eyes, yawning. Then again, maybe not. I spent most of the night up late, working on crocheting gifts for both Liesje and Sinath. I’m not the speediest crocheter, but I can make basics and I want them both to have something to open. For Liesje, I made a cap with a festive pom-pom on the end and a pair of sad-looking potholders, since I don’t have the time to make a scarf.
For Sinath, I made the other sock…and a pair of tasseled, brightly-colored horn caps out of yarn, since he’d mentioned wearing the stockings over his horns instead. It took me all night, but by the time dawn hit, I was able to wrap each present in a bit of plain fabric and added a jaunty bow on each one.
As I worked, I thought about that kiss, too.
It’s not a big deal, I tell myself. I’ve kissed aliens before. But when Sinath told me that he found me appealing? That kissing me would probably be sweet? That hit me in all the right spots.
I can’t lie and pretend the whole “mesakkah” thing doesn’t bother me. The guy that “owned” me prior to my freedom here on Risda was mesakkah, and while he wasn’t as abjectly cruel as some, I don’t have pleasant memories of him. He treated me like an inconvenient pet, forgetting I existed until he was bored and needed entertainment. I spent most of my time relegated to a small shed at the back of his property and had to beg to be fed half the time. Luckily, his cook liked me. It was her that made sure I didn’t die from neglect, and her that put a bug in the ear of one of Lord va’Rin’s friends that I might do better in someone else’s hands.
I know all mesakkah aren’t the same. I’ve met nice and unpleasant both, and I worried that when I first asked Sinath for help with Liesje that he’d prove to be more like my old owner—careless and thinking of no one but himself.
