interested in your proposal to aid us in our search.”
“We don’t need help,” Belle grumbled.
“Apparently we do. I do not understand. If he is willing to give us information, why do you not accept?” asked Ishtara.
“Because, in exchange for this info that doesn’t yet exist, I’m supposed to interfere with his engagement.”
“Facilitate,” he corrected.
Her nose wrinkled. “I’d rather not convince some poor woman to marry you. If you’re going to be cruel, then maybe it would be kinder to kill your fiancée rather than subject her to you.”
The insult amused him. “Are you certain being mated to me would be horrifying?”
“I don’t know. I’ve yet to see your face.” She cocked her head and tried to peer in the shadow of his cowl, but he already knew she wouldn’t see a thing. A slight mirage, projected by the tech woven into the fabric of his cloak, made him anonymous.
“Does appearance matter?”
“Yes.” She didn’t even hesitate.
“What of character?”
“That’s important, too, but most people don’t want to be hooking up with someone gross.”
“What is this gross?” he asked.
“With her, anything that swings a dick apparently,” Ishtara muttered.
“Don’t you start again,” Belle growled.
“I’ll do whatever I like, little girl.”
“Don’t call me little!”
“Fine. Red. Tide.” Each word was enunciated and meant to rile Belle.
Before they could truly try and murder each other, he said loud enough they would both hear, “Do we have a deal or not?”
“You know, it occurs to me that maybe instead of getting help from you, perhaps I should approach your fiancée. Find out how she feels about getting hitched to you,” Belle sourly stated.
“I can save you the trouble. She’d be appalled.”
“You mean she doesn’t know?”
“Not yet,” he said with a hint of a smirk.
“Then she won’t miss you at all when I slit your throat and dump you in the freezer for dinner.” Belle thumbed the hilt of a knife.
“I am beginning to think your companion is correct when she says you hate males.”
“I don’t hate men,” she huffed.
“Says the female uttering death threats instead of being mature and striking a bargain,” he countered.
“Ha! He just called you a whiny child.” Ishtara snorted.
“This child is about to have an epic meltdown. I don’t want your help.”
“You might not want it, but you need it,” Ishtara declared. “We can’t keep wandering around aimlessly, looking for compatible males.”
“I thought you sought a human settlement,” he said.
Again, the Zonian made a disparaging sound. “She seems fixated on the idea of finding human males, but I say she shouldn’t be so picky and should accept anything with a compatible penis. Even a deft tongue would solve the problem she and the other orphans are suffering.”
“The problem being?” he asked, knowing the answer but wanting to see the explosion.
“Lust. The females are in heat and in need of some sexual relief.”
“Oh, my gawd, I can’t believe you’re telling him this!” Clarabelle squealed.
“How is he supposed to find you compatible stock if you don’t advise him of your requirements?”
No mistaking the heated color in her face. “I am not just looking to hook up with a guy. I want to have a home, a family, a life with people like me.”
Did Clarabelle not see the sad tilt to Ishtara’s features when she threw that statement?
“I know you do, which is why I’m here to help you find it.” Ishtara switched from melancholic to rapier sharp as she zoned in on Thyos. “Can you truly help?”
“I can find her a compatible male,” he insisted. He wasn’t completely lying. After all, he hadn’t specified that male would be human.
“I don’t need you playing matchmaker.” Belle wouldn’t budge.
Ishtara ignored her. “How do we know you are trustworthy?”
“You don’t.” He shrugged. “But I would say me not attacking like those six in the alley would show some measure of respect.”
“Six?” Ishtara swung her yellow gaze onto Clarabelle.
“Seven actually, but the first one was some random dude who thought he could grab my buttocks. He failed the worthiness test.”
“And the other six?”
Clarabelle smirked as she said, “They all failed, too.”
Knowing a bit about the Zonians and their mating rituals, he was aware that they often fought their males to see if they were worthy of their sexual attention. The idea of grappling with her oddly excited.
“How will you ever find acceptable males if you keep killing them?” Ishtara harangued.
“Would you feel better if I said I won’t kill any human men we find?”
“What if they deserve it? Will you spare them simply based on their genetics?” Thyos interrupted.
She turned