“But when will I see you again?” she asked softly.
“I don’t know.” Need shrugged. “It’s my turn to cook Last Meal tonight. I suppose we’ll see each other then—if you want to help.”
“It would be my pleasure, my Lord,” she said eagerly and he detected true interest in her voice. She really must like to cook, he thought.
Cleah had enjoyed cooking and baking too. She had always said it was an act of pure creation and a joy to watch other people eat what she’d cooked.
The thought of his dead mate filled him with shame again.
“Fine,” he said shortly. “I’ll see you then. Just stay out of the back part of the ship where you might run into Drung. He usually stays in his own room for First and Mid Meal—he has his own store of Trollox food in there and Gods does it stink! But be sure you avoid him just the same.”
“Of course, my Lord. I’ll be very careful,” she promised. She shivered, a look of fearful disgust coming over her face. “I have no wish to be anywhere near the Trollox.”
“Good.” Need didn’t want her anywhere near Drung either. Just the thought of the big bastard trying to touch her threatened to raise the protective Rage in him—a feeling he pushed back down with difficulty.
“You don’t…don’t think he’ll try anything, do you?” She sounded so worried that his heart twisted in his chest. He had a sudden urge to go back to the bed and take her in his arms—to shelter and protect her and assure her that he would fight to the death to keep her safe.
But he knew he couldn’t do that.
“Not if he knows what’s good for him,” he said shortly. “If he tries to bother you, come find me. I’ll be in the front of the ship at the Nav-com with Captain Glo’ll.”
“Am I allowed up there?” she asked.
Need barked a laugh.
“For most people, the answer to that would be hell no. But the Captain seems to have taken a real liking to you. So I don’t think he’ll mind if you come to the forward deck.”
“All right. Thank you, my Lord. I will endeavor to keep myself busy until we see each other to prepare Last Meal,” she said. She bit her lip and added in a low voice, “I…I will miss you.”
Again the urge to take her in his arms came over Need. It was so strong this time he could barely fight it off. What was wrong with him? How had he become so deeply attached to the girl so quickly?
I must go,” he said abruptly. “I have duties to attend to.”
And he left the sleeping chamber without looking back.
Twenty-Four
Lan’ara sat for a moment, huddled in the covers, wishing she hadn’t told Need she would miss him. What was wrong with her, acting so clingy like that? Clearly her neediness had driven the big Kindred away.
But the fact was, she did need him. Already her nipples and pussy felt achy and hot—clearly she was still in the Ripening process, whatever that was. Despite all their activity of the night before, she wanted more. More of Need’s hands and mouth on her—more of his big body pressed close to hers.
Well you’re not going to get it, Lan’ara lectured herself sternly. So just get over it and get on with your day.
She was glad she’d had a shower the night before, since she couldn’t really take a bath without the wash blossoms coming after her. Getting up, she put on the second bronze shirtdress Need had given her and cinched the black neck-cloth around her waist. She stepped into the fresher briefly to check her appearance—making sure to stay away from the wash blossoms, which were apparently sleeping around the edge of the tub.
Once she was satisfied that her hair was in order, Lan’ara decided to see what she could find to eat in the Food Prep area. She had been hoping to find it deserted, but when she got to the communal living space, she saw that Psoas and Laxah were both there.
The engineer’s lanky long-bean body was draped over one of the couches in the vid viewing area. He was sipping something that steamed from a cup and watching some kind of sports program which involved others like him—all with elongated, stretchy bodies. They were bounding over the field, passing a large bright purple ball around between them. Lan’ara couldn’t figure out the rules of the game but every once in a while, one of the teams seemed to score because they got very excited and twisted their bodies together into a writhing mass that looked almost like a bunch of snakes.
Laxah was pouring something hot into a mug and she nodded at Lan’ara as she came into the food prep area.