Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
“From before. It’s as if when the infection came, the flowers decided to just stop blooming. Up until then, they’d bloom at dusk with random gems and drop their gems when touched in a way that many believe denoted someone’s fortune. They’ve only ever bloomed with touch by a female.”
Her eyes widened.
“And Ollie brought some to the Phallyxian female that was betrothed to Daxx as a gift when we met her, and she touched them and nothing happened.”
Zane’s vehicle took a sharp turn to avoid an oncoming vehicle. It sent Tanya tumbling against him. He caught her and held her tight. She was gasping for breath.
“Wh-what was that?”
“Some idiot. That was an older vehicle on manual override, one that has no on-board intelligence system. Evidently, the driver has no intelligence system either.”
“Your car knew to move?” she asked, astounded.
He gave her a squeeze. “Of course. I wouldn’t take my eye off the controls otherwise. I have something very precious to transport.”
She parted her lips again and stared into his eyes. He took a handful of her hair and brought her forehead to his mouth and let out a sigh. He grinded his teeth together.
“What’s wrong? You seem kind of annoyed. Road rage because of the driver?”
“That, and a few other things,” he said, speaking against her forehead still.
“Were you upset in your office just before we left?” she asked after a moment of silence, evidently trying to coax more information from him.
“I suppose so. A bit,” Zane admitted, letting go of her.
She sat up straight. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked, eyes filled with alarm.
“I guess I …” Zane shook his head and did his best to clear his angry expression. “Pace annoyed me. And I didn’t like how friendly you were with him. I’m just feeling possessive.”
Tanya startled. “Friendly? Should I have been rude?”
“Not rude, but… I guess I was jealous that you were so … opposite to rude.”
Her face went pink. Again. It kept going pink when she spoke to Pace, as it’d done with just the two of them, and Zane assumed it was because she was basking in Pace’s obvious adoration of her.
“I… oh.” She looked confused.
“Your face looked the same as it did right before I kissed you. Flushed. Bright-eyed.”
Tanya shook her head in confusion. “I blush. I’m shy. I’m very shy, Zane. I’m also a redhead so it stands out. A lot.”
“You don’t seem shy, Tanya. Well, you did on the live streams but…”
“I’m painfully shy!” she practically shrieked.
“Calm down,” he ordered, almost laughing because her shouting like that certainly wasn’t shy.
“Calm down? I was told to say things so that he could test the translator so that’s what I did! And you think…what… that I was flirting with him?”
“Weren’t you? In your coy little way?”
“Uh no.” She said this like the ‘uh’ was unnecessary, as if it was preposterous that Zane would’ve seen it that way
“We’re from very different places, Tanya. It’ll take some effort to figure one another out. And emotions are high right now with yesterday’s events.”
“Well, of course. Don’t get all angry-faced then. Next time talk to me.” She folded her arms across her chest with a bit of a pout on her face as she gazed out the window. “My coy little way. Pff. You are so off base it ain’t funny.”
“I apologize,” he said softly. “I guess I felt protective.”
“I’d say,” she replied, not looking at him.
Zane decided to let her stew for a minute.
And then her shoulders began to shake, and he leaned over to get a look at her face, concerned she might be crying. She wasn’t. She was laughing silently. Or, attempting to hide it. Her eyes flitted to him and then the sound of laughter choked out of her.
Zane’s eyebrows shot up. “This is funny?” He was not amused.
“Funny that you were jealous? No. That’s actually kinda hot.”
Zane jerked in surprise.
“Men are from Mars, women are from Venus,” she said, and she said it like she was reciting an often-used term.
“Pardon?” Zane tilted his head. What was this gibberish she was speaking?
“What’s funny is that you thought I’d be flirting with him. With Pace.” She laughed louder, grasped her stomach, doubling over.
Zane waited for her to stop, yet she kept laughing.
“Why is that so funny? He’s that unattractive?”
Tanya wiped at her eyes, which were tearing up.
“Uh, no. He’s quite attractive…”
Zane felt a growl rumbling up from his gut.
But she ignored it and kept talking. “From the neck up. But the rest of him?” She let out another howl of laughter. “Those ridiculous clothes. Those billowing baggy harem pants from the 80s and lime green socks with sandals?” She busted up laughing again, and was doing it so hard that she sounded like a hungry baby forest sow with those snorts.
“And compared to you?” She swept her hand up and down in his direction. “Puh-lease.”