sweeping cloaks.”
“We’ve stolen stuff from him before,” Klara said. “Never anything that personal, but we could try.” She turned toward Moe. “What are you suggesting we do? Show up at the spaceport and commandeer a starship?”
“Something like that,” Moe replied. “But no matter what we decide to do, having one of us look like someone with power and money couldn’t hurt.”
Temfilk started giggling. “Nex could go to a store pretending to be Pelarus and try on some clothes and have the bill sent to his palace.”
“He lives in a palace?” Moe echoed.
“Dunno what you’d call it, but that’s how everyone around here refers to it.” Temfilk popped a fingertip off the end of his nose. “It’s quite grand, you know.”
“Gotcha.” Moe studied Temfilk for a long moment. “You once said you thought you were the only Norludian on the planet. Have you ever seen any other species that look like you? Something you could pass for if disguised?”
“I doubt it,” Temfilk replied with a wag of his head. “I don’t look anything like the natives, either. Although if I covered myself in rags, most people would probably assume I was something else.” He tapped his chin. “That is, if they’ve ever seen one of us before. I try to keep a low profile as a rule.”
Moe nodded. “Nex would need a sidekick or a servant to go with him to the clothing merchants. I don’t know the man at all, but he strikes me as the type who doesn’t go anywhere without an entourage.”
“You got that right,” Klara said. “Even if we were all shape-shifters, there wouldn’t be enough of us.”
“We should be able to come up with a story to tell in case anyone questions his lack of lackeys,” Moe said. “Like maybe he’s out shopping for gifts for his staff.”
“No one would ever believe that story,” Klara scoffed. “It’s completely out of character.”
Moe shrugged. “Maybe he could say he just wanted some time alone. Or he’s out in the community under cover to find out what people are saying about him.”
“That’s even less likely,” she said with a derisive snort. “As far as I’ve ever been able to tell, he doesn’t care what anyone says as long as they don’t disagree with him. However, by all accounts, he is rather vain…”
Moe slapped his palms on the table. “I’ve got it! Nex can pretend to be Pelarus, but with some sort of deformity or skin lesion that he wants to hide. He doesn’t want anyone to know about it, so he has to go out incognito. He could even wear your hooded robe.”
Klara appeared to consider this, raking her lower lip with her fangs. “That might actually work.” Given her shudder of revulsion when she glanced toward Nexbit, his impression was probably spot-on.
Moe took the disguise idea one step further. “And if you were with him, acting the part of an adoring concubine, any bounty hunters would leave you alone.”
The thought of acting like anyone’s adoring concubine made Klara want to vomit.
In contrast, Temfilk waved his arms with patent enthusiasm. “Oh, that’s perfect!”
Nexbit would also be playing a role. If she held onto that thought, she might actually be able to pull it off.
Entirely unbidden, the thought of posing as Moe’s concubine stole into her mind and captured her imagination. That role would require very little in the way of pretending. Depending, of course, on how far their playacting needed to go.
Why not all the way?
Posing as his lover, his mate, the mother of his children…
Every cell in her body should have at least threatened to rebel. Instead, any rebellion fell apart when she glanced at Moe again. This was no cocky braggart spouting unbelievable lies. He was simply stating the facts.
For a Zetithian woman, only a Zetithian man will do.
She might as well give in to him now.
Unfortunately, giving in was the last thing she wanted to do. First and foremost, she wanted to bite him hard enough to draw blood.
That can’t possibly be right.
He would know. All she had to do was ask him. He’d been honest enough before. Surely he wouldn’t lie to her now. Not about that.
She turned to face him. “Why do I want to bite you so badly?”
Clearly taken by surprise, Moe didn’t say a word.
Nexbit returned to his resting state faster than Klara had ever seen him do it, a worried frown wrinkling his pale brow.
Temfilk, on the other hand, cackled like a Haedusian crone. “Probably because you would rather be his