Captive - Cheryl Brooks Page 0,18

the look the Norludian shot at him almost made him wish he had. “What do you call that other room? The prison?”

“Actually, we refer to it as the holding cell. We don’t keep our captives for very long,” he confided. “Only until we find a buyer.”

“I see,” said Moe. “And how do you find buyers? Advertise in the local newspaper?”

Temfilk shook his round head. “Word of mouth. We rendezvous with the buyers on neutral ground.”

“Where’s that?”

“The old plaza just west of here. It’s more defensible.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“About two solar cycles,” Temfilk replied. “The boss thought this would be a good way to harass Pelarus.”

“Who’s that?”

“Branethan Pelarus. I suppose you could call him her nemesis, or at least the villain in her story. He’s been making her life hell ever since she was a kid and her mother refused him.”

“One of the locals?” The idea of a Haedusian with the hots for a Davordian was a little ridiculous, but stranger things had happened.

Temfilk shook his head. “Vessonian. Ugly bastard. Not nice at all.”

“Gotcha.” Moe had seen enough Vessonians to know that any Davordian woman hung up on a Zetithian probably wouldn’t be interested. Granted, Vessonians weren’t all bad, but they didn’t cross well with other species because their forehead ridges had been known to cause problems during the birthing process, aside from being rather unattractive. “So, she’s his nemesis now, huh?”

“Maybe. I mean, I think she’d like to be that much of a thorn in his side, but to be honest, I don’t believe he cares what she does. He wanted her mother as his concubine, and now he wants her. That’s my theory, anyway.”

Moe wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of merely harassing someone like that. He’d have gotten as far away as he possibly could. Although if she couldn’t move to another continent—or better yet, another planet—harassment was probably her best option.

“Hey, no need to growl,” Temfilk said, waving his bony arms.

“Was I growling? Didn’t mean to. Automatic response.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

“What are you implying?” Moe demanded.

“The boss is a damned attractive woman. You do the math.”

Moe threw up his hands in protest. “Oh, puh-lease. Don’t make me laugh.”

“You offered to team up with her,” Temfilk said with a shrug. “Might as well go all the way.” The Norludian stared at Moe for as long as it took to draw a breath before he burst out laughing. “You should see the look on your face! Nah. No point in even trying with her. Hasn’t got a single drop of sexual desire in her body. Apparently Zetithian blood cancels out the usual Davordian tendency toward promiscuity. She’s about as asexual as they come, and trust me, I would know.” He waggled his fingers. “I’ve sampled her essence lots of times. Nothing there whatsoever. My tongue didn’t swell up at all.”

Moe knew exactly what he meant by that. Not only was Norludian sex exclusively oral, members of that species were affected sexually by nearly anything they touched—or tasted. And they talked about it. Incessantly. He was a little surprised Temfilk had taken as long as he had to broach the subject.

He also knew enough about Zetithian women to know that Klara’s lack of interest was perfectly normal. Only the right man could entice her, and if the way she’d hissed at him meant what he thought it did, well, nothing would come of it as long as he didn’t purr—something he had no intention of doing. Being mated to Klara was guaranteed to cause trouble. She didn’t strike him as the comfortable wife type, nor could he envision her as a farmer on Terra Minor. In all honesty, her current lifestyle seemed to be a perfect fit for her personality.

She did say she was tired, though, and she wasn’t exactly getting on in years. Moe wasn’t tired, and, at twenty-eight, he had to be at least two years older than she was, maybe even three.

Still, there were huge differences between his background and hers. Differences that would either kill a person or make them stronger. Klara was strong, all right. But the challenges she’d faced on a daily basis were enough to make anyone feel old. He’d seen the way her expression changed when he’d talked about leaving Haedus Nine forever. She wanted to leave. Badly.

Temfilk motioned toward an open door at the end of the hall. “You can sleep in there. Nexbit will wake you when it’s time for your watch.”

Moe nodded. He was looking forward to getting