Stacy

“Well, that was fun,” I said as we walked back to the hotel. I mean, it was a total lie—dinner had been a train wreck that left me tired, aggravated, and hungry. Like, really hungry. Stupid man and his stupid insects comment. I’d never be able to eat crab again. Or lobster. Or…anything with insect-like legs.

There went my seafood dinners on Christmas Eve.

But on top of all that, there was something else brewing inside of me. Some emotion I wasn’t too happy to have to deal with. I felt almost fearful. I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly that meant, but something had knocked me off my game. It could have been as bad as having to listen to Maverick all night or as simple as dealing with what I ended up eating. Steamed vegetables reminded me of hospital food. Hospital food reminded me of hospital beds. Which reminded me of fear and pain and a loneliness so big, it seemed to want to swallow me down and never let me go.

For the first time that night, I had been thankful for Maverick’s company. If I’d have been alone when that feeling hit, I don’t know what I would have done. Something stupid, probably. Maybe even reckless. I never did handle those sorts of memories well.

“You have a strange idea of fun,” Maverick said, reminding me that I’d been trying to start a conversation. Sort of.

“It’s sarcasm, you might want to try it.”

“What is ssar-khaashem?”

Great. More jackassedness. I was about to make a smart remark about his making fun of me, but the look on his face stopped me. He seemed serious. But how could that be?

“Don’t pick on me,” I said, trying really hard not to get taken in by his curious expression. “I’m hungry and cranky.”

“I’m not picking. I don’t know this word, ssar-khaashem. But if you can’t explain it…”

Well, shit, that sounded like a challenge.

“Sarcasm is using words that mean the opposite of your intent to mock or make fun of something.”

Maverick’s brow furrowed. That look should not have made my panties wet, but did. How did someone end up that hot? And why was I so attracted to such a jackass?

“So it’s mean-spirited?”

“Well, no. Not really,” I said, but my mind spun on all the times I’d used sarcasm in the past. All the times it had been used against me. “It can be, though. I guess.”

“I’ll not use it then. Where I’m from, being mean-spirited to others was frowned upon. Here, it’s almost normalized.”

He wasn’t wrong. But as we started walking again, slower this time, the rest of his words came to be more important.

“Why did you leave?” I asked. I still didn’t know where he was from. Hell, I might never know. We weren’t exactly friends or anything.

“My home was destroyed.”

“Your house?”

“No,” he said, his voice softening. His face falling a bit. “Everything.”

That was something I could actually imagine. When I got sick and ended up in the hospital, it had certainly seemed as if I’d lost everything. My life, my freedom, even my own body. My opinion of Maverick slid off course with that one bit of truth.

“Was it because of a war?” I stopped again, reaching for his arm. Needing connection and assuming he did as well. Even if he did hate me. “Is that how your home was destroyed?”

He shook his head, staring up into the sky as if the stars peeking through the clouds meant something to him. Something important. “Natural dee-sahhster.”

“Oh.” Oh. Sudden and without reason. Yeah, that would leave scars I could relate to. “I’m so sorry.”

I ran my hand over his arm, not really thinking about the move, just offering whatever comfort I could. The muscles were solid under my hold, his skin warm beneath my fingers. I shivered a bit at the thought of the man’s strength.

Maverick stared down at my hand on his flesh, but he didn’t pull away. And neither did I.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice little more than a whisper. That thanks was more than I could have asked for, more than I’d expected.

Perhaps there was hope for him yet.

We started walking again with me hanging on to his arm. For protection, of course. Detroit was a dangerous city. There was no comfort in that hold, no desire being granted.

It was only for my protection.

Maverick

Her hand on my skin made me excited in ways it shouldn’t have. Something about her touch, about the feel of her skin, stirred my esehhnce and made me want to croon for her all over. I’d been fighting that particular need, but I didn’t know how long I could hold off. She was so close, so desirable, so beautiful.

But it was her quietness, her comforting demeanor and acceptance of my truth without arguing, that truly drew me to her. She’d calmed so much since the disastrous start at the hotel, and she seemed like an entirely different person than the one who’d stormed into Cutlass’ unit just a few days before. But which was the real Stacy? Bossy and brash, arrogant and rude, or soft and kind? I had no idea, and that kept me on edge.

“What about you?” I asked, seeking more knowledge about her. “Tell me things.”

“There should be a please there,” she said, though a small smile turned those pink lips up. My people didn’t mate mouths like the humans did, so that was something I’d never experienced. I was curious for sure, though. Especially after seeing so much mouth mating being enjoyed by my brothers once they met their mates. Curious, but not quite enough to make that move.

“Please,” I said, drawing the word out and letting the air drag over my tongue. “Tell me.”

Stacy didn’t seem able to focus, and a lovely flush spread across the tops of her breasts. I longed to touch there, to run a finger from one side to the other to see if they were as soft as they appeared.

She sighed. “What do you want to know about me?”

Everything. “You have a twin sister.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she suddenly seemed far warier. “Yeah, I do.”

“She looks very much like you.”

Stacy bristled, her shoulders squaring and her eyes hardening right before mine. No longer intrigued by my teasing, this was a woman ready to attack. Or to be attacked and defend herself.

“Yeah, well…twins.”

The tone of her voice seemed to be an ending, but I needed more. I wanted to understand. “I have no recollection of multiple births where I’m from. In fact, I didn’t know such a thing was possible. What was it like?”

“What…to have a twin?”

“Sure. To have such a close bond from birth to another person must be something unique.”

She looked up at me, almost shocked, it seemed. “Really? You only want to know what it’s like to grow up together?”

“Yes, really. Why?”

She shrugged. “Most guys who find out I have a twin sister want to know if we’ve ever had a thhree-sum.”

That word didn’t translate well. Or at least, the images thrown at me from the communication core were a little…confusing. “What is a thhree-sum?”

Stacy stopped in her tracks, yanking her hand from my arm. I missed her touch immediately, something I wasn’t about to admit.

“Don’t mock me. I won’t be sarcastic with you again, but you don’t get to make fun like that.”

Fiery. Hot. Determined. There was a Stacy that intrigued. “I don’t know mock. I asked a question to get to know you.”

“You asked me to explain a threesome.”

“Yes? Why is that wrong?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared. “Fine. It’s when three people have sex all together. Most guys have some weird fantasy about getting with my sister and me at the same time simply because we look alike.”

My growl was loud and unstoppable. That sort of thing wasn’t done on planet Xouthhgros. Sure, until a mate was found, bedgames were casual and varied, but no mated male would ever allow such a thing with his female. We gave ourselves fully to our mates—and expected the same back. No wonder my asking about her sister upset her.

“I had no idea that was an issue for you and Macy,” I said as I held open the door to the hotel for her. I made sure to grab a good look at her ass when she passed me as well. These manners she spoke about seemed like a fair trade in the end. “I understand your rules here are far more lax than where I’m from, but we don’t seek extra partners that way. We find the one person meant for us, and we don’t ever let anyone come between that bond. We honor our mates, cherish them. Asking others into a mating bed just isn’t done. I’m sorry if that’s what you thought I was looking for when I asked about being a twin. I can assure you, it was not.”

There was a moment of quiet, a handful of seconds where Stacy stood and did nothing but look at me. The corridor was shadowed and quiet, the back hallway where we stood nearly empty. And she stared. I wasn’t sure how to react, had no idea what the look on her face meant.

But I knew exactly what to do when she lunged for me and jumped into my arms. I grabbed her and pulled her close, giving myself over to the desire that had been building within me all night. Stacy wrapped her legs around my hips and planted her lips against mine in what had to be the most brutal mouth mating of all time.

Kissing…it was called kissing on Earth.

When Stacy’s tongue slid between my lips to stroke against mine, I no longer cared what the hell the right word was. I was done. Completely overtaken by the sensual power of the little female with the big attitude. She was mine, and I was going to claim her with my cock.

But mouth mating was definitely going on my list of favorite things about being on Earth.