Jazen woke in Nanu’s arms. He wasn’t asleep. Instead, he was watching her with his amber gaze. A smile curved across his lips, slow and sexy, and her lifeforce muscle pumped faster. Heat gathered in her cheeks, unusual since she rarely blushed.

“It makes me happy when I watch you.”

Men had complimented her and told her of her beauty. Men who wanted to trick her. Men who wanted to fuck her.

She’d always chortled, always wrinkled her nose as if they were lying or she disbelieved them. In her occupation, beauty became a hindrance because people watched, studied and remembered good genes. Strength, agility and the ability to blend were preferable to harmonious looks. But Nanu’s rapt expression told her he spoke the truth or at least the truth as he saw it. Something inside her melted into gooey and soft. A dangerous emotion for a warrant-taker.

He caught her gaze and stroked his fingers down her shoulder without breaking their connection. “Are you hungry?”

She considered the question. “Yes, I believe I am.”

“Good. Let me make us a meal.”

“Can we talk?”

He smiled and this time it didn’t reach his eyes. “Not yet, but soon.”

She averted her gaze then, desperate to screen her reaction. Chobe would find her, and he’d rescue her from this situation—if she didn’t extract herself first.

“I’ll get us something to eat and drink.”

Nanu rose and strode over to a woven basket sitting in the corner of the gattoc. His lack of clothing didn’t bother him in the slightest. As he opened the basket, she studied his broad copper shoulders and strong back, his hard, rounded buttocks. He’d told her he trained most days with the other members of the Indy crew, and it showed. Most pilots of her acquaintance possessed spongy stomachs and sloppy manners. She kept herself fit, something her mentor insisted on, and it helped with her captures, gave her an extra edge.

He lifted the basket and carried it over to her. Nanu sat beside her and stole a kiss before he opened it. Food scents wafted to her, and her stomach let out a rumble.

He grinned. “We’ll fix that in a moment.” He pulled out a bottle of sparkling cacjuice along with two goblets. With easy competence, he opened the bottle and poured for both of them. He handed her one and settled beside her before lifting his own in a toast. “To you, Jazen.”

She stared into her goblet, wary until he drank from his without hesitation.

“Go on. Drink,” he urged.

“I can’t drink to myself.”

“All right.” Nanu gazed into the distance then smiled. “How about drinking to a happy and prosperous future?” He held his goblet out, a hint of challenge shining through.

She jerked up her chin and clinked her goblet to his. “To the future.”

Nanu drank deeply before rummaging through the basket. He pulled out roast capon, an interesting pie that she immediately wanted to try for research and four bright red fruits, each the size of her fist. “What will you eat first?”

“The pie please.”

He cocked his head. “It sounds as if pie is a favorite.”

“During my childhood, I spent many hours in the kitchens at my mother’s place of employment.” Jazen snorted at the sanitized version of her story. “The cook baked pies, using the ingredients she had in the pantry. She showed me how to make them.” She peeked at him, judging his interest in her tale. Most men of her acquaintance preferred to discuss warrants and weapons and capture tactics. Her lifeforce muscle did this weird flipflop on seeing his smile, the warm glow in his eyes. His clear attentiveness.

“It’s good to learn different skills,” Nanu said.

Encouraged, she continued, giving more of herself than she’d ever done to someone unrelated to her. “I’ve been saving my commissions. When I retire from warrant-taking, I intend to open a pie shop.”

She assessed his reaction to the dream that kept her going when times were tough. She’d own her business and keep it small. The decisions would come from her, and she’d be beholden to no one.

“It’s good to have goals.” Nanu’s tone was one of approval. “My brother and I wanted to open a mechanical business, repairing spaceships…”

He trailed off and Jazen saw the fleeting pain in him when he spoke of his brother.

“Pies are a perfect food,” she blurted, wanting to drive away his sadness. “They don’t require a serving dish since they’re self-contained. What is your favorite? Mine is a savory pie with chunks of meat and herbs.”

His gentle smile crept back, and she breathed again as he returned to the present.

“It is difficult to pick a favorite. I think a… No. Try this one,” he urged and cut a large portion for her.

When she hesitated, he cut off a small corner of the wedge and lifted it, holding the savory bite to her lips. At his pressing, she opened her mouth and took the offering. As she chewed and the flavors burst across her tongue, he brushed away a crumb with his forefinger. The tenderness in his visage shocked her. He looked…enamored with her, yet this situation couldn’t be anything but temporary.

Determination. Her single-minded focus on her dream. Her persistence on following capture rules instead of extorting wealth in exchange for lenience. Her low birth. Her insistence on cleanliness. All those things combined to make her unworthy of romantic attention from the men she dealt with on a cycle basis.

Her character and behavior put off most men.

“So how does this pie rate with your favorite one?”

“It’s delicious,” she said, glad to have the pie to focus on. Thinking about Nanu and trying to forecast his actions confused her. “I’ve tasted nothing similar. It’s creamy and light and unusual because it has no lid to confine the filling.” She snatched the slice and tipped it upside down. The filling remained intact in the pie.

“This is a recipe we collected during our travels.”

“Where? Which planet did it come from?”

He hesitated. “I don’t recall.”

Lie. But why would he dissemble about a pie? Unless he wanted to keep the source a secret. “Are you opening a pie shop too?”

“No, of course not. I can cook. We take turns on the Indy and never rely on pre-shrunk foodstuffs. If I ever leave the Indy, I’ll do something with ships. When I’m working with ships, either repairing or maintaining them or flying them, it’s not a chore because I enjoy it.”

Jazen approved of his confidence and wished for the same certainty and conviction in her plans. She might fail. The notion jarred her, twisted her stomach into a knot. No! This was her dream. She took a defiant bite of pie and focused on deciphering the ingredients.

Nanu portioned the capon and pushed the platter in her direction before picking up a leg for himself. He chewed on the meat and drank his cacjuice.

Jazen picked up her goblet while watching Nanu. She tried to tell herself she wished to work him out, but her attention lingered on his lips, shiny from the capon juices.

“If you keep staring at me, we’re moving back to the gel-pad,” Nanu announced.

Unbidden, her gaze darted to his groin, and she stared in fascination at his cock. The ridges appeared more prominent than she recalled, not that she’d taken in much during their joining. Instead the sensations had claimed her, and she’d been the recipient of his generosity in making certain she enjoyed their mating as much as him.

She savored another bite of pie, and this time it was him who stared. His hair tendrils lifted and waved around his head, the gentle hum they emitted soothing rather than weird. A crumb tickled the corner of her mouth and she licked it free.

Nanu placed his partially eaten leg of capon back down on the platter without taking his gaze from her. Secs later, he pounced. He scooped her up and carried her to the gel-pad, heedless of the goblet that toppled to the gattoc floor.

His lips stemmed any argument, the caress of his mouth against hers killing every single objection. She stroked a waving hair tendril and relaxed into his embrace. The man had skills, and she intended to enjoy every sec before she escaped.

 

Nanu slid from her body after once again failing to lock in place. Every part of him claimed her as his life partner, so why did his cock fail to lock each time they fucked? Instead, Jazen had fallen into a deep sleep. From memory, that part was normal.

Nanu cursed under his breath, distress and anxiety setting his hair tendrils writhing and hissing. Aware of the possibility of wakening her, he edged from her embrace and strode from the gattoc into the fresh forest air that Leeam’s and Sheera’s Incorporeal magic had created.

Mogens. He’d speak with Mogens.

The seer would listen and offer advice. He’d read the clouds to discern the future, although Nanu wasn’t sure he wanted to learn of the coming cycles if his mating to Jazen failed.

He watched his lover for long secs, listened to her deep, even breathing. She’d slumbered for ages last time, and his father had told him a life mate always slept after loving, especially during the first days. He’d speak to Mogens and arrive back before she awakened.

Decision made, he pulled on clothes and boots then crept to the far end of the forest and fumbled for the invisible lever that would open the door to his chamber. He located it without difficulty, and his locks opened with a low clunk.

The soldier outside his door came to attention, his steely gaze watchful, his muscles taut as he prepared to spring into action.

“Stand down.” Nanu made a mental note to inform Ellard of his soldier’s dedication on what must be a boring assignment. “I need to speak to Mogens. I shouldn’t be long. Jazen—the prisoner—is asleep at present. I doubt she’ll locate the exit, but if she does, make sure she doesn’t escape.”

“Yes, sir,” the soldier said, standing military-straight in his hunter-green uniform.

His green eyes and black hair indicated his shifter status, but one eye was a slightly darker shade of green. He might have lost the ability to shift. Eye color was the usual indication of a loss of shifter abilities, and Nanu approved of Ellard’s policy to hire any fit and intelligent men as guards at the palace rather than follow his father’s edict of healthy feline shifters only. Thanks to Mogens and the medical team, some of the shifters who lost their powers to shift due to a stealthy attack by the House of Cawdor were recovering.

“I shouldn’t be long,” Nanu promised.

“Yes, sir,” the soldier acknowledged, and Nanu headed off in search of Mogens.

He discovered Mogens pulling weeds in his medicine garden, the seer’s favorite place to spend his cycle. Verdant plants filled every space in the corner of the bright and sunny castle grounds. Floral scents bombarded his nostrils, and he ducked when a buzzing insect dive-bombed his head. His hair tendrils hissed a warning.

“That is interesting,” Mogens said, staring at his hair. A tiny arrow of black feathered through Mogens white countenance.

“Yes,” Nanu agreed. “It’s most disconcerting when they act independently.”

Mogens peered at him. “I didn’t expect to see you for many cycles. Is something wrong?”

“No. Yes.” Nanu hunched his shoulders before a single hair tendril whacked his cheek. “Ow.” He rubbed his stinging face.

“Unusual.” Mogens’s violet eyes filled with unexpected humor. “Let us have a seat and you can tell me of your problems.”

Nanu followed Mogens to a secluded bench deep in the center of his garden. It sat beneath a framework draped with a vine bearing pink and blue and violet flowers. Each colored flower was a different size and shape even though they appeared to bloom on the same plant.

He sucked in a deep breath and drew the scent into his lungs. The tension in his muscles released as he sank onto the bench beside Mogens.

“This is the tranquil plant from the planet Floridia. It bears special properties which help to relax and clear the mind. I always sit here before I read the clouds.”

Nanu rolled his shoulders to loosen his muscles. He inhaled, yet the turmoil in his mind refused to settle.

“Is something wrong with Jazen?” Mogens asked.

“No, she is fine. I left her sleeping. It’s me who has the problem.”

“Oh?”

“Everything went well. Jazen is attracted to me, and our joining was most enjoyable for both of us. The problem is that I should lock inside her on completion. This ensures a successful mating. This…this isn’t happening,” Nanu confessed. Mogens wouldn’t poke fun at him as Kaya might have, but the seer’s advice might not be what he wanted to hear. Failure to lock was a serious thing on Indra. This would set alarm bells ringing for a potential life mate.

“Is this unusual?”

“Once my inner beast awakens to a female and chooses her as his life mate, his goal is to plunder and breed the next generation. Children are wealth on our planet. I… I have failed.”

“Surely there must be anomalies,” Mogens said.

“I never heard of this problem occurring. Once the inner beast chooses, nature takes its course.”

“You are of different races. It’s true you’re both humanoid, but perhaps your differences will yield varied results.”

Nanu shrugged. “When I am with Jazen, all I think of is caring for and protecting her. I wish to give her everything—my love, my seed, my child.”

“Can she still get with child without the locking process?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it possible she is using a contraception to avoid conception?”

Nanu’s head jerked upward. “Huh, I never asked.”

“Or, it might be her parentage. Some races do not conceive unless the mind accepts the mating. Is it possible that your races are not compatible, and this is nature’s way of avoiding a mistake?”

“No.” Nanu refuted this last suggestion. “My inner beast would never steer me wrong.”

Mogens reached over and patted his hand. “I agree. All I’m saying is there are many reasons for the mating not proceeding in a traditional manner. My suggestion is to return to your gattoc and spend time with her. Try to learn of her and understand her personality—her hopes and her dreams.”

“She wishes to retire and open a pie shop.”

“Good lad. You’ve learned about her already. If she is speaking of her future, this means she trusts you at a basic level. You need to strengthen this trust, bond emotionally and physically. Use this time wisely and savor the positives instead of worrying about the end result.”

Nanu listened closely. Mogens gave excellent counsel. As Camryn often said, he was worrying about maybe instead of living in the now. Nanu rose and thrust out his hand to Mogens. “Thank you for your advice.”

Mogens ignored Nanu’s outstretched hand and drew him into a comforting embrace instead. Nanu relaxed to savor Mogens affection and friendship, and once again, he gave silent thanks to the goddess for thrusting the crew of the Indy into his sphere.

Mogens released Nanu and stepped back, his face a striking pearly white.

“I follow your suggestions with Jazen.”

“Has she tried to escape?”

“No, she hasn’t. Not that I have given her a chance to worry about an escape. We’ve talked and eaten and made love.”

Mogens glowed with whiteness and approval. “Clear communication is the perfect basis for a relationship. I have confidence in you, Nanu. You will win Jazen. I only hope you gain her loyalty and her love. Your life and also Amme’s depend on her.”

“I believe Ry is attempting to wipe the warrant from the active files. Amme’s too, now that we’ve learned she is in danger.”

“An excellent suggestion. I shall ask Ry how this strategy is working.”

“We’re a long way from Indra.” Nanu lowered his voice. “Earth is even farther away. It’s only pure bad luck that has set Jazen on our trail.”

“She excels at her job. There will be others as tenacious.”

Nanu sighed. “You’re right. I’d better return to Jazen before she awakens. Thank you for listening.”

Mogens pressed his palms together and bowed his head. “You are welcome.”

Nanu left Mogens and discovered a bounce in his step. Mogens was right. He needed to trust in his beast and enjoy the process. And most of all, he had to secure Jazen’s loyalty and love, so she never betrayed him or his friends. A difficult process, but he flew on the Indy.

They laughed in the face of impossible.