Tamed By the Alien Pirate by Celia Kyle Page 0,9
the Kilgari aboard the Queen are always teasing each other, typical of the competitive psychological schemas exhibited by alpha males, but Zander has reacted poorly to it. Instead of responding from a position of strength and confidence, he just tried to protect his ego in order to look cool.
He has never been like this before, so why now? Is he trying to impress me?
Well, if that’s the case, it’s not working.
“You make sure he keeps you safe, alright?” Kintar tells me before turning around, and I answer him by patting the butt of the pistol hanging from my waist, the cold metal caressing my fingers.
“I can handle myself too.” It’s a bit of a lie, as I’ve never had any kind of military training, nor have I ever fired a gun before, but I figure it’s the right reply. I don’t want to play the role of damsel in distress, after all, especially after Zander’s idiotic macho behavior. “Thank you for checking in on us, though.”
“No worries.” Walking out, he gives us both a little wave, and the door slides back into its locked position once more. Immediately, Zander’s tough posture deflates, his shoulders slumping down as he exhales. Only then do I realize he had been puffing out his chest as well. Oh, sweet mercy.
“What a pompous idiot, right?” he asks me, shaking his head as he points at the door with his thumb. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping you safe down on K’Patel. Besides, there are better things to do than to spend your time holed up in the gym. Typical meat-head.”
“Yeah, sure,” I tell him dismissively and then focus on the gear. It seems like Kintar somehow bruised Zander’s ego, and now he’s trying to act all cool about it. Well, toxic masculinity has never been cool, and the fact the Kilgari have two cocks doesn’t really give them a pass.
While before I didn’t know if Kintar’s sudden appearance had been a good thing or not, now I’m definitely relieved he showed up when he did. As much as I might find Zander an interesting male, I’m definitely not interested in participating in this chest-thumping display of primitive behavior.
He’s hot, though, my inner voice comes back, and I mentally slap it down. Of course he’s hot. That doesn’t mean I’ll have to start melting in place every time he thumps his chest and struts around like an angry primate. I’m interested in him because he’s intelligent and takes pride in a job well done, not because he’s an “alpha” or whatever guys like to label themselves as. Although, to be fair, he is most definitely an alpha.
Silently, we both pack up the rest of our gear—comms units, reserve batteries, two knives, and ammunition—and then start heading toward the door at the same time. His whole body stiffens once I’m standing close to him, and I look into his eyes and raise one eyebrow. Waving him forward, I step aside.
“Lead the way.”
Chapter Five
Zander
Have I done something?
Ever since we left the armory Thrase has been awfully silent. At first, I thought it was because of Kintar’s stupid interruption, but I quickly dismissed that thought. She was nice to him, even when he started acting like a jackass.
But if that’s the case, then what?
She has been like this the entire shuttle ride onto the surface and, even after we started our trek toward the perimeter we designed, she hasn’t offered a single word. She just remains focused on the path ahead, never even bothering to glance at me. As we split from the rest of our group, leaving the other teams to cover other parts of the perimeter, I suddenly feel the silence between us as an oppressive weight around my shoulders.
I was aware that human females could be difficult creatures, but I never figured I’d be at such a loss this early on. After all, we were this close to kissing. I expected things to be slightly awkward after that, but this doesn’t make any sense. To say I’m at a loss would be putting it mildly.
As we enter a cobbled market square reserved for pedestrians, an ocean of different sapients walking around, I start perusing the different stalls. Here and there, I try to make small talk with the vendors, but the majority of them are only interested in plying their wares, not conversation.
The ones willing to talk quickly clamp up if you mention the IHC or the Star Crushers. These damned mercenary bastards have their roots here,