Synnr's Hope - Kate Rudolph Page 0,11
sure without physically testing the Match, and that was done between the suspected couple. Or throuple. Or however many-ouple made up the unit. But as far as Lena knew, the Bureau didn’t make many mistakes. At least, no one seemed eager to mention it if they did.
Solan was still looking at the papers, so Lena kept talking, in case there was any doubt. “I want to see if it’s real. And I want to bond.”
SHOCK MADE SOLAN MUTE. He looked down at the crumpled papers he held in his hands, but the words blurred and made no sense. For an insane moment he wondered if his mother had known this was coming, her remarks about Matching still fresh in his mind from their lunch. But no. She would have said something. It wasn’t in her nature to win by surprise.
Not that she’d consider this a win.
Why hadn’t the Bureau informed him? He’d have to follow up to make sure he was the Solan Zadra that Lena had Matched with, but when his eyes finally agreed to focus, everything he could see made sense.
“You want to bond?” It came out more harshly than intended, and Lena flinched. Solan immediately regretted his tone, but the sentiment was still true. “We don’t even know one another.” The ten minutes of this conversation was the longest they’d ever been alone together and possibly the only conversation they’d ever had. “You can’t possibly want to bond with me.”
Lena made a frustrated noise and stood up. The plant behind her was trembling. It was a rare breed, one his grandmother had been particularly proud of. It could somehow sense the emotions of the people and animals around it and reacted to them. And from the way it was reacting, it was scared of what Lena might do next.
Solan wasn’t scared, but he was curious.
“I’m not talking about what Oz and Emily have.” She crossed her arms and paced in front of the plant, shoulders stiff. “I’m sure you’re nice and all, and you—” she cleared her throat, then kept talking. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend. I’m looking for a job.”
His curiosity shifted to intrigue. “There are lots of jobs in Osais.” He studied Lena, watching the tic in her jaw and her narrowing eyes. She didn’t like the sound of that for some reason. Why?
“Show me a place that wants to hire a displaced human who’s been here for a month.” Her eyes got big, eyebrows going up and face challenging him. “I can’t read your language, I can only speak it because of this thing behind my ear,” she gestured to her head. “And half the days I wake up and forget that I’m not in Kansas anymore!” She cleared her throat. “Well, Oklahoma, if we’re being technical.”
Comforting words were on the tip of his tongue, but he was almost certain Lena would smack him if he said them. And the thought of her ire made his cock twitch. That was something interesting to find out. Interesting and completely useless.
What would his mother think of Lena?
Ah, there. Desire completely gone.
“A Match isn’t something I can just jump into without thought,” he said. “We’re talking about a lifelong connection.”
“And a career in your military,” she added. “Emily might be new to the concept, but I was in Kuwait. I’ve served.”
He didn’t know the difference between Oklahoma, Kansas, and Kuwait, but clearly they meant something to her. He didn’t know how to process this information. That his first inclination was to deny her because she was human made him a little sick. He wasn’t an Apsyn. He wasn’t like his former captain, who saw the Zulir as superior to other species. But he could also imagine what his mother and their family friends might say.
It wasn’t kind.
But he was a soldier, by Brazon’s bowels, and he couldn’t avoid something because of that.
It didn’t mean he was ready to bond with a stranger. “I can’t commit my life to someone I don’t know.” And he refused to consider whether he’d have the same resistance if Lena was from Aorsa.
She knew. He could see that she suspected his reasoning. Her eyes narrowed as she asked, “What are the odds of you finding another Match?”
He’d known the exact percentages when he was a boy, but he’d forgotten them. Now he knew the basics. “Not very good. And if there was another Match, it would be the three of us Matched together, most likely. Assuming the Matching Bureau is right