Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
CHAPTER
FORTY-NINE
ZHUR
I wonder if all human women are this unreasonable.
Maeve has been prickly since we heard the news of Nassakth, and the more excited I become, the more irritated she grows. Now she is upset that I have something on this planet to look forward to, which mystifies me. Shouldn't she be happy that I am happy?
"I'm not answering that," Maeve says, lifting her chin. "But I am also not jealous."
"Clearly not." She's such a liar. I don't know why she feels threatened by the presence of another praxiian—a male, to boot—and yet she is.
Maeve tosses her hair, shooting me another glare. "Let's just talk about tonight's sleeping arrangements while we're on the subject, all right?"
Good, because this is the opportunity I've been waiting for. "If you are asking if what occurred last night will happen again, it should not...provided you don't open strange vials of drugs."
"You keep saying that like I did it on purpose!"
"You act as if I marked your doors on purpose."
Her face flushes that reddish pink shade. "Okay, fine. I see your point. It's just...a door? Really? When I was standing right there?"
I tilt my head, studying her. Maeve's wounded expression is back and I realize that she is more than just jealous of Nassakth. She is jealous of her doors because I attacked them and not her. And here I thought I'd done the honorable thing by turning my attentions to that need instead of bearing her down to the floor and rutting her for a day straight. "Are you hurt I did not maul you last night? Is that what this is about?"
She huffs. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Do you even know what that was, Maeve? It was a plant called noli, and not a very good cut of it, either. If it had been, you'd still be bent over this table with my cock buried deep inside you, because noli's effects can last for days on end. Which brings me to my question yet again—why were you so eager to try drugs that a stranger gave you?"
Her shoulders hunch and she hugs her arms to her chest. "I thought it would be harmless if we just sniffed it a little. It looked like a mild thing we have back home called weed. It just makes you a little floaty and hungry if you smoke it. It's fun. Harmless. If I would have known it'd make you attack the doors I wouldn't have touched it. I'm sorry if it made you miserable. I just wanted to live a little."
She scuffs her shoe on the floor, staring down at it. Her expression is guilty and miserable, and for some reason, I hate seeing that. "It did not make me miserable. If anything, I was having too much fun."
Maeve looks up, startled at my joke. Her smile returns. "Okay, yeah, you did look like you were enjoying yourself, I take it back. I had no idea you were so into doors, though. Is it a fetish? I'll try not to judge you but just know that I'm probably going to fail."
I scoff at that. "A fetish? Hardly. We are married and I realized that I could either attack you or use my unstoppable erection in a more effective way. A praxiian marks the door of the female he is interested in courting to intimidate other praxiian males and to warn them off. If your door was not marked and we were married, someone would know me for a fraud."
Her expression grows unreadable again. "So it was just performance art? More playing pretend?"
"No, all of that was very real. I could not stop my reaction. I just channeled it into a more appropriate manner than tackling you and having sex." Her jealousy makes me reassess her appearance yet again. I've never thought about humans sexually, but Maeve fascinates me. She is small and delicate, and yet her form houses a very big personality. Her face is still very whisker-less and odd, but I find myself thinking of that smooth, elegant shoulder over and over again.
Perhaps I am approaching our marriage all wrong.
"We could have sex if you want," I offer. It would be no hardship to take Maeve into my bed and satisfy any urges we might have. "It is a marriage of convenience, but sex can also be convenient when it is between friends."
She stares up at me for a good, long moment, her mouth parted slightly.
"Well?"
"A guy would say that," Maeve retorts. "Did you seriously just proposition me after you attacked my doors?"
Perhaps I have read her conflicting emotions wrong after all. I shrug. "It was just a suggestion between friends who happen to be married. Think nothing of it."
"I won't!"
I straighten my body, retreating behind polite form and words. "It will not be suggested again. My apologies if it was offensive. If you have nothing else you wish to address, I should like to shower and clean myself off. It has been a long day."