Chapter 9
Nina was nervous as she hurried out of the elevator and across the foyer toward the first floor grill and bar. She was running a little late and that wasn’t like her. Her second couple had called just as she was leaving her suite to make more changes to their reception. She tried to convince them to call her assistant but no — they had to have Nina. That was the price to pay for trying to be the best event coordinator. Clients expected to speak directly with her.
She halted in her tracks when she saw Esan. He was leaning his back against the outside wall of the bar, looking at his phone in his hand. She took that moment to admire him while he didn’t know anyone was watching. He was tall and muscular. Those jeans fit him perfectly. He had his blond hair spiked up and both his ears were pieced. Esan was handsome and absolutely sexy.
He lifted his head up and caught sight of her. She walked forward, looking at him apologetically. “I am so sorry I’m late. I hate being late for anything and usually I’m never late. I had a client call just as I was leaving.” She spoke quickly, rushing through her excuse.
Esan shrugged. “I jussst got here myssself.”
She wasn’t sure that was the truth but she appreciated him saying it. “Shall we go in?”
“Yesss.” He turned to open the door for her.
She liked that he had manners despite the fact that he was rough around the edges. When she first encountered Esan, he had finished a fight and then rushed over to Sersan’s to go over his duties of giving her away. When he came in, he barely looked at anyone in the room but Sersan. Also, he only spoke when someone asked him a direct question, unless it was Sersan. He protested when he was told he had to give a toast. Needless to say, Zen ended up being the one to give the toast.
Nina followed him to a table in the far corner, where it was less crowded. He pulled out a chair for her and waited until she was seated comfortably. Then he sat down across from her.
The waitress came to take their orders. Esan drank orange juice and she ordered a glass of water. She was curious. “Do you drink alcohol?”
“Yesss, but I limit it to beer. Alcohol hasss a ssstrange effect on me and my sssissster.”
“What kind of effect?”
“Sssersssan takesss a few sssips and she getsss really giggly. I get ... excited.”
It was the way he said ‘excited’ that made her think of sex. She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. “Does alcohol affect just you two that way? Or does it affect all Reptans?”
“Nope, jussst usss. It’sss sssome weird resssult of usss being mixed.”
The drinks arrived and their food order was taken. She found herself wanting to know more about him. As far as she knew, Esan and Sersan were the only Reptan halfsies in existence.
“Sersan told me very little about your childhood. Did you ever find out who your parents were?”
“We weren’t like other halfsssiesss whossse parentsss were either paid or forced into breeding experimentsss. Sssersssan and I were created in a lab. The goal wasss to get the Reptan ssstrength and aggresssivenesss while providing a buffer with the human genesss. One of the ssscientissstsss told me when I wasss very young that their original thought wasss to create the two of usss in hopesss of one day being able to breed usss.”
Nina was horrified. “Together? As a couple?”
“I believe that wasss their intent, but they didn’t realize that Sssersssan and I were bound asss sssiblingsss. Even if we didn’t share the sssame DNA, we would have been tied to each other asss family becaussse of our shared circumstancesss. When the ssscientistsss finally realized that, they beat usss every chance they got in order to take out their frussstration.”
“Those sick bastards! I hope they rot behind bars for the rest of their miserable lives. No child should be treated that way.”
Esan couldn’t fight the smile that came to his lips at the anger she felt on his and Sersan’s behalf. “Don’t worry. Mossst of the ssscientistsss were killed when the IDJ invaded the facility we were at.”
“The IDJ were that aggressive? I heard that the scientists and the corporations that backed them were arrested and charged.”
“Sssome of the ssscientistsss did not want to be arresssted. They fought back, and sssome died.”
“Well ... I’m not sorry that they did.”
“Me neither.”
The food arrived, providing a distraction and a much-needed change in conversation. “This is really good,” she said before taking another sip of her water.
“It isss. The GCFA definitely hasss the bessst of everything, including ressstaurantsss on board their ship.”
“Do you live year round on the ship or do you go back to your home world when you’re not traveling on the circuit?”
“Sssersssan and I have alwaysss remained on board the ship. I don’t know if that will change now that she isss mated. I know she wantsss to ssstart a family and may decide to leave. I don’t blame her for wanting to have the family that we never had.”
She watched his face. He was good at hiding his expressions but she had seen a great deal of emotion from him when his sister mated Ronin. “If she leaves, what will you do? Will you stay here or establish a home on your home world with your new mate?”
“I honessstly don’t know. I sssuppossse essstablishing a home on Reptan would be the bessst place for my mate while I’m traveling on circuit.”
“You don’t think your mate would travel with you?”
“I am not sure she will want to. It will be good to provide a home for her, whoever she will be. It would probably be the right place to raissse children…eventually.”
Nina couldn’t imagine a female not wanting to go wherever Esan went. She would share his life and his bed. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and changed the subject a bit. “I have arranged for us to visit two venues today, but I have a third venue I think you might really like. If you are available, perhaps you could come and check it out on Friday evening.”
“Sssoundsss good.”
When they finished eating, Esan paid for their lunch, even paying for hers despite her protests. Then he stood and moved around the table to help her stand up.
“I’m impressed,” she commented as she walked beside him to the exit.
“Impresssed by what?” He opened the door and let her exit first.
“Your manners are amazing.”
He shrugged, “I wish I could sssay it was becaussse of my proper upbringing, but it wasssn’t. Our fossster parentsss ssspent asss little time with usss asss posssible. When Sssersssan and I came to work for the GCFA, you could sssay that we were rough around the edgesss. We were not only taught fighting techniquesss but mannersss asss well. Ssso, where’sss the firssst venue?”
“It’s the second-floor chapel. I figured we would start with what’s typical and pinpoint what exactly you are looking for.”
“Great.”
They headed toward the elevator. “Do you have any ideas of what you’re wanting?”
“Not a clue. What’sss important to me isss that I want to feel comfortable. I sssuppose I couldn’t have the whole thing in the cage.”
Nina laughed. “Do you want to throw the women in there and have them fight for you?”
He chuckled. “I sssuppossse they wouldn’t want to do that. Though ... my ancessstorsss at one time did have that kind of gathering.”
She shook her head. “I am not planning a throw-down match just to find you a mate. We are not even going there. No way.”
“That’sss too bad. I could really get into that kind of gathering.”
She rolled her eyes at him and stepped off the elevator when the doors opened.
*****
Esan couldn’t stop glancing down at Nina. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of her since he spotted her at the grill and bar. She was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a blue blouse. Her hair was up in a ponytail and the only makeup she wore was red lipstick. Her appearance was simple, but he found himself mesmerized. She was attractive, but that wasn’t what drew him to her.
During their lunch, they had good conversation. He wasn’t known for his conversational skills. Most times he didn’t even attempt it with humans because his words, especially any words with the letter s in them, often resulted in a hissing sound because of his tongue. His people have tongues that are forked. Because he and Sersan were only half Reptans, they could make their forked tongue hold together like one single tongue like a human’s, but it took a great deal of effort to maintain. It felt unnatural to him, so he preferred to remain silent when he was around humans. The other halfsies were used to his way of speech, so he didn’t have to alter it for them.
Nina made him feel comfortable enough that he didn’t feel the need to alter his speech. He found himself talking to her easily. He enjoyed her company and appreciated her shared thoughts and laughter. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to continue.
“The first location is a typical chapel site. It’s often used for events other than worship. I don’t know what your religious beliefs are, or if you are religious at all, but the architecture is formal and elegant.”
He followed her through the ornate double doors into the chapel. The pews were set up in an atypical pattern with an open pathway straight down the middle leading to an altar up on a platform. He looked around the room and had to admire the details put into making it look like a chapel with history. The stained-glass windows had lighting behind them, filling the room with soft beautiful and colorful light.
“The pews and altar can be removed and tables can be set up,” Nina said as she pointed around the room.
“It’sss beautiful…” he started to say.
“But it’s not you, is it?” Nina interrupted him.
“It’sss not my ssstyle. I am not a very religiousss person.”
“Okay, no problem. Take a look around and see if there is anything you do like. We can always add it to the final location.”
“The light from windowsss isss nice.”
“Do you want me to have stained-glass windows added to your venue?”
“Not necesssarily the windowsss, but the type of lighting that they give off isss pleasant.”
“Gotcha. Good lighting is key.”
“The lighting makesss the room feel like we’re outssside in the foressst with the sssun sssetting. It’sss a calming feeling.”
Nina bit her bottom lip. “I have another venue and it’s a ballroom. We can go there next but I have a feeling that you may not like that one either. The third venue will probably be more to your liking.”
“Where isss that located?”
“It’s the arboretum on the top level with the glass roof over it.”
“Let’sss go see it.”
“We can’t right now. It’s being prepared for my next wedding.”
“That’sss Friday?”
“Yes, I thought you could come to the wedding and see if the venue is more to your liking.”
“Will I have to wear a sssuit?” He hated those things.
She laughed. “If you have a pair of black dress pants and a black dress shirt that will do. You will look like me and the rest of my staff and blend in.
“I have never been told that I blend in anywhere.” He smiled at her and she returned the smile. It lit up her pretty eyes. He loved her smile.
“Even if you don’t blend in, I don’t think anyone will question you about it. You’re very intimidating.”
He frowned, not liking that she felt that way about him. Esan took pride in having others afraid of him but he did not want Nina to feel scared of him. It shouldn’t matter to him what she thought of him. She was planning a gathering for him to meet his future mate. Yet, he did care.
Esan stepped closer to her without thought and reached to caress her cheek. “You don’t have anything to fear from me.”
She blinked at him in surprise. “Where did that come from?”
“You sssaid that I intimidate you.”
Nina laughed and shook her head. “You can be intimidating to others. I know you would never hurt me.”
“Hurting you isss the lassst thing I want to do to you,” he admitted. Then he did the one thing he swore he would not do again. He leaned down and kissed her.
The feel of her lips was soft and warm ... delicious. He hadn’t imagined how good this had been the first time. He wrapped his arms around her waist and started to pull her closer. She moaned and he knew she was starting to relax into the kiss, but suddenly the sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway interrupted them.
He glanced up to find, of all people, Zen standing at the entrance. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I was looking for Nina. I’m trying to plan a surprise party for my mate and need assistance.”
Esan growled at Zen as Nina extricated herself from his arms. He wanted to pull her back, but first he should beat the shit out of Zen for messing things up.
“I’m more than happy to help Zen. Esan and I were finished here,” Nina said as she walked toward Zen.
“I thought we were going to the other venue.” Esan knew he sounded gruff.
“Come and check out the arboretum on Friday evening. If it’s not what you want, we can always go for the ballroom.”
“Fine. I guess I’ll see you Friday,” Esan grumbled as he moved past her and shoved Zen’s shoulder on his way out.