There was no denying it, Need admitted to himself as she pressed her lush, curvy body against his, while they watched a vid about deep-space asteroid mining. He wanted her—wanted to keep her. And that was dangerous territory to be in.
He couldn’t fall in love with her, he reminded himself sternly. That way led to heartache and ruin. Yet he already had one foot on the path because of all the touching they’d been doing.
A Kindred warrior—unlike males of other species—had a very difficult time giving his body without giving his heart. It was simply the way the Goddess had built them, which made having a loveless sexual encounter which was purely physical was difficult, if not impossible, to do.
Have to stop touching her, Need told himself. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to push the curvy little female away. She felt so right nestled in his arms, her soft cheek pressed against his chest. Curled up against him as she was, she reminded Need of a happy, contented feline and he couldn’t bear to dislodge her.
Well, it’s only this once, he told himself, trying to put his uneasiness out of his mind. You can sit with her on the couch without losing your heart. Besides, soon she’ll be gone and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.
The thought made him unaccountably sad but he pushed the emotion away. The girl had to leave—it was for the best. In the meantime, he would guard his heart and try not to do anything foolish.
What else could he do?
Twenty-Seven
Last Meal that night was a rousing success, much to Lan’ara’s delight. Everyone on the crew loved the subtly different yerba stew and peebla bread.
“This is the best you’ve ever made it!” Kreeva gushed to Need.
“It’s the same yet…different. But really good,” Krax said, agreeing with his other half for once.
“It does seem to have a whole different flavor profile,” Laxah said, nodding thoughtfully. “And the broth is thicker. I like the herbs in the bread, too.”
“You can thank Lan’ara here, for changing things up a bit,” the big Kindred rumbled, proving once again that he actually did know her name. Lan’ara wished again that he would call her by it instead of referring to her as “girl” all the time.
“Well, she’s done a wonderful job of waking up your tired old recipes,” Psoas said, grinning. “I’m just hoping she did half as good a job on the small cakes.”
“And the jim-jams!” Karx and Kreeva said at once.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to trying a piece of that brittle if it came out,” Laxah remarked.
“I have dessert for everyone,” Lan’ara told them, smiling. “If everyone is done with their main course, I’ll be happy to serve it.”
There was a chorus of agreement, so she got up and began clearing away the dishes. But to her surprise, Need got up too.
“I’ll do this, girl,” he told her, taking the stack of dirty dishes she was collecting from her hands. “You just dish out dessert—they’re all bursting to try the goodies you made for them.”
Surprised but grateful for his help, Lan’ara nodded and murmured, “Yes, my Lord.”
She went to work and soon had the small cakes, the jim-jams—which were a type of fried turnover with jammy fruit filling in the middle—and the chieva brittle all on the table. She passed out small dessert plates as well and everyone dug in.
Lan’ara had made certain to make enough of all the desserts so that everyone could try some of each. For the next few minutes, there were oohs and ahhs from everyone at the table as they enjoyed what she had made them. Psoas declared that her small cakes were just as good as the ones his mater used to make and Kreeva and Krax exclaimed that the jim-jams were the best they had ever tasted. Laxah was pleased with the chieva brittle too and complimented her on a job well done.
“That’s not an easy recipe,” she told Lan’ara. “Believe me, I’ve tried it more than once and I could never get the brittle this thin and delicate. How did you do it? Mine always comes out like a lump of lead!”
Lan’ara shrugged and smiled.
“I don’t know—I just seem to have a knack when it comes to food, especially sweets. At least that’s what my mother used to say.”
“Your mother was right,” Need told her. “I don’t usually have much of a sweet tooth, but these are damn good, girl.” He nodded to the small cake he still had on his plate and took another bite of it.
Lan’ara flushed with pleasure at his compliment. No matter what the rest of the crew thought of her efforts, it was Need’s opinion that mattered to her the most.
“Thank you, my Lord,” she murmured, smiling at him.
“Well, it seems like you’ve made my crew extremely happy with your culinary expertise, my dear,” Captain Glo’ll said to her. “Though I don’t approve of the kind of food you meat-creatures eat, I’m glad to see them satisfied.”