the honor of testing mating compatibility with me?”
“No. He did not just ask for her hand,” a voice shouted out.
Lila glanced at the two other Xylan females in the room, who stared back at her in shock.
“He did, and he also placed his honor above hers…oh gosh, I haven’t seen a male formally do that, ever. Have you?”
“No. Never.”
Lila looked back at Zayzon, who was still on his knee, staring at her, waiting for an answer. She took a deep breath and made the hardest decision of her life. “I can’t test mating compatibility with you,” she blurted out. Yes, she was unbelievably attracted to him. Yes, she really, really liked him. She couldn’t believe this amazing Illibrium miner wanted to possibly marry her. But no, she couldn’t test while she was on the run from assassins. This was the worst possible timing ever. “I appreciate you asking, that’s very kind of you. But my answer is no, we cannot test compatibility.”
There was a sharp gasp from across the room. “Did she just say no?”
“Oh my gods, is she denying a Fever Brother?”
“Yep. Claws directly asked for her hand in testing, bypassing her Manager, and she said no.”
“She denied Claws?” the other female snort-laughed and pulled out a tablet. “Oh my gods, I have to tell Sulinda.”
The other one eagerly picked up her tablet too. “I have to tell my mother. She’s going to die.”
Lila turned back to Zayzon. “Why are they laughing?”
His lips pursed. “Because you denied me.”
“Why is that funny?”
“The other inhabitants of this mining outpost find me and my brothers interesting.”
Lila had a feeling there was more to this story that what Zayzon was admitting.
The two females loudly chuckled and elbowed each other. “…This is the second human his line has mated with.”
“No, no, the third. I heard Daxon mated a human.”
“Oh, that’s right, I forgot. Are they all going to mate humans? Is that why they’ve rejected every unmated female in the colony?”
“Might be.”
“That human is smart. I’d say no to Claws too. He’s scary as fuck.”
A growl rumbled in Zayzon’s chest as he got up from the floor and stood to his full height.
Their heads jerked up and they both scooted back a step.
“Sorry,” one of them breathed, “It’s just so…” And then she darted away, still tapping on her tablet.
Lila stepped down from the med bed and placed a hand on the fabric of Zayzon’s sleeve, trying to distract him. She hadn’t meant to embarrass him in front of the other Xylan. But he was the one who’d asked her in front of an audience. And she noticed that neither of the females were using the name he’d given her. “Zayzon, why are they calling you Claws?”
“That’s my crew name, it’s what everyone here calls me.”
“Oh I’m sorry, I can call you Claws, too.”
“No, I like it when you call me Zayzon. It sounds right. Only my mother called me by my birth name and now you.”
“Oh.” Gods, could he make her feel more guilty?
“Let’s go,” Zayzon gritted. “We need to return to my domicile.”
“Sure.” She glanced down at her pajamas. “Um, can I purchase some new clothes, though, on the way home?”
“Yes, you can.”
Lila walked down the crowded street hand in hand with Zayzon. Despite the fact that she’d embarrassed him in front of the two females in the med bay, he’d still insisted on holding her hand again as they left. The moment they were outside he reverted back to the menacing miner he showed everyone else, except for his brothers, and now her. She glanced up at his profile. His fangs were bared, and his gloved claw twitched, like he was having trouble restraining himself from reaching out and kicking ass.
It was actually kinda funny. And for some strange reason she found this endlessly attractive. She continued to walk next to him with a warmth between her thighs and a pleasant tickling sensation in her belly.
She couldn’t believe that he’d basically asked for her hand in marriage. She had no makeup, baggy pajamas and nerdy slippers—and this was when he’d gotten down to one knee? Although truthfully this made her like him more. And he’d gently tapped on her nose twice now. He even seemed to like her nose?
And jeez, she’d publicly embarrassed this amazing man by telling him no.
She hadn’t meant for any of that to happen. He’d been nothing but nice to her and this was how she treated him? But she couldn’t test right now and to make