Total pages in book: 175
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Jamef places his hand on my thigh and pats it. “It’s a thoughtful one. And luckily Bethiah knows someone who has a female that just had kittens.” He eyes her across the table. “Alice is still looking for homes for them, right?”
“Rich keffing homes!” Bethiah stares at him as if he’s gone mad. “We’re not made of credits!”
“Yes, but they’re your friends and like any friend, she’s probably more interested in finding a good home instead of a pricey home. And Alice is human. I imagine she’d want to help a fellow human out.” Jamef shrugs.
“Did you miss the part where I said they were as expensive as a ship?” Bethiah leans in. “Should I speak slower? Enunciate?”
He gives her brow a teasing push. “All I’m saying is you can ask her if she’s found homes for them yet. Maybe we can work something out. Go with them on a run or two. Offer to carry some cargo. Do some ship upgrades while we’re at Jerrok’s.”
“All this for Simone?” Bethiah asks in a near-whisper. “Seriously? What next? Should we steal a shipment of gold for Rhonda just for funsies?”
I eye my mate. She sure is blustering a lot. “You don’t think she’s worth it? Because she’s a human?”
Bethiah points at me. “I’m not answering that because that’s a keffing trap.”
She’s not wrong. I just flutter my lashes at her, taking a page out of Rhonda’s book. “What could it hurt to check with your friend?”
BETHIAH
Keffing hells.
I’m going to have to contact Alice and Kaspar and see about their carinoux cubs. As we finished off our drinks and Dora and her small human bladder ran to the lavatory, Jamef pulled me aside and whispered in my ear. “I want a carinoux for Dora, too. She deserves the best.”
And he’s right. She does deserve the best. It’s just that the “best” is so keffing expensive. Mentally I go through my list of things to sweet-talk Alice with as we head back to the ship. I stand with an arm around Dora’s shoulders as Jamef makes longer-term arrangements for ship docking. We’ll stay here a week, like Dora wants…but I’m going to make them eat fried leaves every day of the keffing week that we’re here, because no one makes them better than Port’s little cantina.
And as we wait, Dora slides her hand over my backside. She caresses my tail base, a subtle invitation for bed play. Well now. Get a couple of brews into a human and they turn all frisky. I’d forgotten that part.
She turns a dreamy smile up at me, her face round and pretty and so sweet that it fills me with emotion. “Tonight was really nice.”
“It wasn’t a fancy cantina,” I grumble. “You deserved better than that. When I initially proposed it, I thought we’d give you a chance to get dressed up really pretty and we could get a nice table someplace with music. We’d drink fine wines and eat roasted spores from seven different systems. Instead, you got fried leaves and crappy local brew.”
Dora chuckles, sliding both arms around my waist. “It was wonderful and I had an incredible time. I just wake up every day and feel lucky to have both of you.”
I never know what to say to her effusive affection. Nothing that comes to mind seems to be enough to encompass how I feel. I pat her shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. I love you, too.”
Jamef looks over at us hugging and a small smile curves his hard mouth. That makes me feel all kinds of things, too. Kef me. I’m just turning into a blubbering ball of feelings, aren’t I? This is what happens when you get two mates, isn’t it? You get all soft and spout about love and end up buying expensive pets for people you gave a ride to, all because it makes your mates happy.
We stroll back to the ship, the three of us, my tail curling with Jamef’s and Dora between us. Jamef’s tail is rubbing against mine in a meaningful way, and by the time we get back to our quarters, Dora’s casting sultry looks in both of our directions.
“Can I be the middle tonight?” She licks her pink lips and starts stripping off her clothing as the door shuts behind us. “I’d say we should use my strap-on but I’m sleepy.”
“I told you that you drank too much brew,” I tease, softening my voice to take the bite out of it. “Now you want us to do all the work, huh?”
“I’ll wake you both up with head,” she tells us, tearing off the last of her bodysuit and kicking it to the floor with her boots. Naked, she flings herself into bed and gives us a come-hither look.
Jamef gives me an amused glance. “She definitely drank too much.”