Nokx (The Sraibur Crew #3) - Layla Nash Page 0,109
in. It sounded like she wanted to stay. “How do they fund themselves? Taking booty off the Slasu? Charitable donations?”
Her nose wrinkled as she looked at him, as if she could sense his underlying incredulity. “The space chickens have donors or they own most of a planet or something. They don’t talk about credits or how they resupply the ship. They handle it.”
Definitely sounded like pirates and criminals. Which tracked with what he remembered of the conversation in the gray room. They’d sent EJ out, alone, to commit crimes on their behalf, and they hadn’t tried to her until it was almost too late. He wasn’t about to forgive them for that. And he had no idea what a ‘space chicken’ was, but didn’t want to ask — since that meant distracting EJ, and a distracted EJ would not get back to the point for at least a standard hour.
Nokx took a deep breath and kissed her shoulder. “So then why are they just waiting here? Surely they would be better off chasing the Slasu mothership.”
“I know.” She rested her chin on her fist, frowning at the empty plates of food. “Although...”
When she didn’t continue, Nokx squeezed her gently. “What?”
“Bula asked me something earlier.”
She didn’t go on, her voice hesitant and soft, and he braced for something catastrophic. EJ being quiet? It meant danger or tears, very little in between. He kissed her shoulder again, then leaned his forehead against her. “What did she ask?”
“She asked if I made you better.”
Nokx blinked. Of all the things he imagined her saying, that was not anywhere near the top of the list. But he patted her hip to reassure her. “You’re making me better just sitting in my lap, my sweet little marmox.”
Another sideways look. “You know I’m going to look up what a marmox is, and if it’s ugly or horrible you’re going to pay for calling me it, right?”
“I’d expect nothing less.” But he didn’t try to hide his grin. “They are lovely sweet fluffy things, the marmox. A bit chaotic and clumsy but they are fierce for their size, and have been seen defending their burrows against sandsnakes and nauwat and other dangerous creatures. Not even a starving hunter dares attack a marmox in its burrow.”
She didn’t look mollified. “That still doesn’t sound very flattering. You think I’m chaotic and clumsy?”
Trust her to focus on only those words. Nokx squeezed her again and increased the pressure until she squeaked. “Listen to me, Earther. I think you are perfect and ferocious and beautiful and absolutely out of your mind with the risks you take, but I would not have you any other way.”
“That sounds like something you’d tell a crazy person just to get them to shut up,” she muttered, folding her arms over her chest. “All while you just keep on —”
“No, this is how I would shut up one very specific crazy person,” he said, and kissed her again. The hint of Xaravian spices on her tongue drove him wild, and she turned in his lap so she could link her arms around his neck. He took his time exploring her mouth and let her take the lead as her fingers tangled in his hair and she sighed in that gentle “mmm” that made his hearts trip and stumble until he felt as though he would black out. Nokx nuzzled behind her ear. “Now. What were you saying that — space chicken? — called me?”
“Well, first she asked if you made me better, made me want to do better,” EJ said slowly. She didn’t meet his gaze but stared at his chest instead, walking her fingers slowly along the edge of his tattered robes.
His hearts beat loudly in his ears. Why in the name of the northern winds would the alien be talking to EJ about something like that? And what had it told her to make her sound so lost and hesitant? He sensed a threat to his mate-bond and clenched his jaw against a growl. He couldn’t frighten EJ. She thought it important to tell him, so he would listen. Even if he wanted to hunt down the space chicken and make clear how he felt about others distressing his mate. “And what did you say?”
Part of him didn’t want to know whether EJ wanted to do better — whatever that meant — because of him. But being a good mate meant listening, isolating problems, solving them, and making life easier for his female. So he