Captive - Cheryl Brooks Page 0,31
concubine than anyone else’s.” After taking note of Moe’s stunned expression, he chuckled. “I’m right, and you both know it. You two need to get a room already.”
Silence reigned for several moments before Moe cleared his throat to speak. “Seeing as how there’s only the one room here, that wouldn’t be terribly private.”
“I’m good with that,” Temfilk said eagerly. “Watching the two of you go at it would be the high point of, well, my entire life.”
Nexbit buried his face in his hands. “I can’t believe you said that,” he muttered. “We really need to get you a girl.”
“That would be great, but for now, watching is all I’m going to get.” Temfilk rubbed his hands together with glee. “Go for it, boss. Bite him.”
Klara glared at the Norludian with all the indignation she could muster. “I will do no such thing. I only asked if he knew why I felt that way. I wasn’t asking his permission.”
“Maybe not, but I’m pretty sure I’m right.” Temfilk glanced at Moe. “Biting is part of your mating ritual, isn’t it?”
“Mating ritual?” Klara exclaimed. “How can biting possibly be construed as a form of–of”—she paused, searching for the right word—“affection?”
Moe winced. “Remember what I said about Pelarus seeing me as his competition? It’s probably truer than you might think. You’ve already hissed at me twice, I purred while we were alone together, and now you want to bite me. I think you can guess what the next step is.”
“Sex!” Temfilk hopped up and down, slapping his flippers on the rough wooden floor. If he’d been excited before, he could barely contain himself now. “Whoo hoo!”
“Get a grip, Tem,” Nexbit advised. “Unless you want to find a new hideout and leave them to share this one, it ain’t gonna happen. Not tonight, anyway. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”
Temfilk’s nod was pure solicitude. “Too much shape-shifting will do that to a guy.” With a regretful sigh, he added, “Okay. I’ll stop. But just as soon as we’re someplace safe, I expect plenty of sexual fireworks.”
“You don’t really think we would let you watch, do you?” Moe asked, his expression one of morbid fascination.
“Oh, I don’t have to watch,” Temfilk said. “Just being in the same building with people having sex beats anything I’ve done so far.” He shook his head sadly. “This is the most undersexed world I’ve ever been on.”
Moe bit back a smile. “Exactly how many planets have you visited?”
“Three,” Temfilk replied. “I was born on Norludia. After I was kidnapped, we stopped once on Darconia, and now I’m here. Of those three, this is the worst, and Darconia, as I’m sure you know, is full of giant prehistoric monsters. They probably have sex, but I never got a sexual vibe from them or their planet. Whereas on Norludia, everything affects us in a sexual manner. Even the water.”
“You astonish me,” Moe drawled. “I never would’ve guessed.” He leaned back in his chair with his elbow on the armrest and his cheek pressed against his fist—a move that aimed the exposed side of his neck in Klara’s direction. Even a high-collared shirt wouldn’t have hidden all of it, but the low collar of the T-shirt he wore under his jacket allowed her to see the entire length of his succulent, muscular neck. She’d never appreciated exactly how intoxicating the mere sight of a man’s neck could be. Especially his…
She sucked in a ragged breath and nearly choked on the saliva flooding her mouth. If the table hadn’t been between them, she would’ve bitten the base of his neck without hesitation. The edge of the table dug into her ribs as she strained toward him until the table legs screeched across the floor.
Startled by the sudden noise, she pushed away from the table. “It’ll be dawn soon, so if you guys are finished, I suggest we try to get some rest while we can.” She glanced at the Racks, who, for once, appeared to have more sense than any of the rest of the gang.
“Hey, you’re the one who got us on this subject,” Temfilk insisted. “It’s not my fault this time.”
“I never said it was. But we need to end it. Now.” Just when she would’ve loved to stomp down the hall to her room and slam the door, Klara’s only retreat was the nearest corner, which was dirty and entirely uninviting. Certainly not conducive to sleep. As alternate hideouts went, this one had very little to recommend it.
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