“Thank you for completing this mission with me. Now I must go.”
“Er…where are you going?” Lucy asked hesitantly. “Do you want me to, uh, come along?”
She hated the silence that had grown between them! If only he hadn’t gotten so stiff and proud after letting her fuck him. But she had hurt his masculine pride by taking him in such an intimate way—that much was clear—and apparently he wasn’t going to be quick to forgive her for it.
“Do you want me to come with you, wherever you’re going?” she asked, since he hadn’t answered the first time.
T’zaren shook his head.
“Unnecessary. I’m just going to bring thedimrielto Chief Commander Rarev so that he can do the Mother Ship’s heart transplant as soon as possible.”
“Oh,” Lucy said in a small voice. “Well…then I guess I’ll go see Iyanna. Ididpromise I’d spend some time with her before I headed back to Earth.”
“Are you planning on leaving soon?” T’zaren asked—as though he couldn’t wait to see the end of her, Lucy thought indignantly.
She lifted her chin.
“Yes, actually. I have a lot to do back home.”
“Well then…I wish you a good life.” He nodded frostily.
“Well I…I wish you the same,” Lucy said.
She wanted to shout with frustration—to tell him to stop being so stubborn. So what if they had switched roles and she had fucked him? They’d both enjoyed it, hadn’t they? At any rate, she hadn’t heard any complaints when they were doing it. And it wasn’t like it had been a one-way street—hehad penetratedherthe night before. So what was the problem?
The problem is that his male pride is hurt,she thought to herself. Well, maybe he would come around eventually. In the meantime, she didn’t have time to hang around and baby his hurt ego.
“I’d better go,” she said stiffly.
T’zaren nodded.
“I must go as well.”
They rose from their seats and left the ship without another word. As Lucy watched him walk away from her, she caught the silver glimmer of her bite-mark on his neck and wanted to cry. They had gone through so much together and it had all amounted to nothing.
She doubted she would ever see the big Monstrum again.
FIFTY-TWO
T’ZAREN
T’zaren waited patiently for several days, but Lucille never called for him as aS’renthashould call for her chosen male. She never sent word for him to visit her or even picked up a Think-me—the telepathic communications device that Kindred and Monstrum used to make mental calls—to bespeak him once.
At last he could wait no more and went to the domicile of Dra’vik and Iyanna, since he knew that was where she was staying. Dra’vik was out but his pregnant mate, Iyanna, opened the door.
“Oh, I’m sorry but Lucy already went back down to Earth,” she said, making a sympathetic face when T’zaren bowed stiffly and inquired about Lucille. “She had to help her aunt decorate for Halloween—that’s an Earth holiday where everyone dresses up,” she added as an explanation.
“I see. Forgive me for bothering you.” T’zaren nodded and turned away…only to feel a light touch on his arm.
“Wait,” Iyanna said. “Please.”
“Yes?” Unwillingly, T’zaren turned back to face her. His chosenS’renthahad completely abandoned him. He just wanted to go home and lick his wounds.
“Look, I know there was something between the two of you,” Iyanna said awkwardly. “Lucy wouldn’t talk about it much, but I got the picture that everything was going great and then it suddenly fell apart.”
T’zaren hung his head. So Iyanna knew—Lucille had told others of his failing.
“My shame is complete,” he said, his voice sounding hollow in his own ears. “I see that myS’renthahas told you of my weakness.”