Chapter 7 Holly
We reached the toy store just as the snowfall thickened into a storm. The wind whipped around us, flinging icy flakes into the entryway as I pushed the door open and stepped inside, Burr’k close behind.
The front of the store was in chaos, with overturned bins and toppled displays. One poor teddy bear had a perfect boot print across its face, probably preserved for years from when society first collapsed.
Farther in, the store felt like a time capsule. The shelves were still lined with rainbow-colored boxes and stuffed animals perched in neat rows, all of them frozen in place like they were waiting for Christmases and birthdays that never came.
After a quick search to make sure the place was devoid of any man-eating space bugs, we went in, lanterns in hand and ready to forage.
“Ah,” I murmured, spotting a box of dinosaur figurines.
“This is perfect for Mateo.” The little tyke was in love with dinosaurs.
I reached for it, brushing off a thin layer of dust with the tackiest-looking plushie I’d designated for the job, and dropped it into the already overfilled cart. Another one down!
So far, the shopping trip had been quite successful, though we’d had to make substitutions for a few items. We’d need to make a stop at the bookstore next door, but for now, I focused on what I could find as Burr’k trailed behind me.
I didn’t claim to be a good judge of Xarc’n emotions, but his mood seemed to be lighter now than it had been when we first embarked on this quest. His warm golden eyes scanned the shelves, and occasionally he’d pick up a toy and turn it around in his hands like he was trying to decipher its purpose.
I watched him examine a glittery slime kit with furrowed brows before setting it back down.
“My mom used to hang paper snowflakes from the ceiling,” I said, filling in the awkward silence. “She’d tape them to fishing line, and they’d spin when the heater kicked on. It was like our own little blizzard.”
He made a low sound in his throat. That was better than no response, right?
“We’d stay in pajamas all day,” I continued. “And Nana would come by with homemade cinnamon rolls.”
“What are sin man roles?” he asked, surprising me.
I hadn’t expected him to actually listen.
“Cinnamon rolls,” I repeated slowly. “They are spirals of sweet dough swirled with cinnamon sugar and covered with creamy icing. Very sweet and yummy.”
He grimaced. “Humans like sweet foods. I prefer meat.”
I laughed. “Some of us, yes. I have a notorious sweet tooth. But Christmas isn’t just about sweets. There are savory foods too. Roast turkey is popular. We did a Christmas ham. And even a rack of lamb one year. Are you staying for the celebrations this year?”
“I do not know. I am only in New Franklin to train. I am waiting to be reassigned to a new position.”
“Well, in case you are still around and haven’t been invited, consider this an official invitation. I can do that because I’m organizing the festivities. Well, it's not just me. There are a few of us. But—”
I paused since we’d just turned down the arts and crafts aisle. This had been my favorite place as a kid, and even now as an adult, seeing all the fun things to make was getting me all excited.
“Evie was right. Bedazzlers still exist!” I grabbed several, then tossed in a ton of extra rhinestones. “The girls are going to love this. The boys too. Who said they can’t be sparkly?”
“The boys and girls are young males and females, are they not?”
His question reminded me that he hadn’t been living with humans as long as the other hunters had.
“Yup.” I pulled my jacket in a little closer. Despite being indoors, it was getting chillier by the minute.
“Do adults not get gifts?”
“They do,” I said. “But it’s usually reserved for close friends or family.
But with how things are since the bugs came, we keep things simple.
I have gifts ready for my friends.” I grabbed a few friendship-bracelet-making kits and tried to pile them into the cart, but there was no more room.
“I think we should get these back to the shuttle.”
We made our way back to the front of the store, where the only windows were located, and were greeted with a whiteout blizzard. The thick concrete walls and the tall shelves had blocked the sound of the howling wind. I guess we weren’t flying back tonight.
“I will take these to the shuttle,” Burr’k said, taking the cart from me.
“Thanks.” I grabbed the lantern and hooked it onto an empty cart. “There’s more on the list. I’ll keep shopping.”
I was back at the great wall of plushies near the front when Burr’k came back in with a flurry of snow and cold. He shoved his body weight at the door to get it closed.
“Will your shuttle be okay out there?”
He grunted. “It has been in worse.”
I squealed and reached for it before I could stop myself.
The stuffed toy mouse was ridiculously adorable: round ears, tiny whiskers, big round eyes, and a little red scarf tied around its neck.
Other than the scarf, it looked just like the one we’d seen scurrying through the hay in the barn earlier.
I picked it up, cradling it in my hands, already imagining it tucked into the corner of my bed.
I wanted to keep it. Badly. But it felt so frivolous.
We were here for the kids, not for me. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to put it down right away, so I carried it with me as I searched the shelves, scanning for the ones on my list. There were a lot of them.
Some of them were real animals, some of them not. Others weren’t animals at all.
After I checked everyone off the list, I placed the mouse plushie back on the shelf with a reluctant sigh. “Maybe next time,” I whispered, giving it a gentle pat like it might understand.
Burr’k was watching me with his head tilted, an unreadable look on his face.
“Come on,” I said. “We need to head to the back. I’m missing one item. It was sold out, but there was a SKU number on the notice, saying more were arriving soon. Let’s hope it got in before the bugs did.”
The warehouse at the back of the store was much chillier, and the howling of the wind outside rattled the roof above. Our lanterns cast long shadows between towering shelves stacked with dusty cardboard boxes. Eau de rusting shelves and mildewy concrete had my nose wrinkling.
Legos wouldn’t get moldy, would they? I sure hoped not.
Holding my lantern up high, I spotted the box I needed near the top of the shelf and out of reach.
The rolling ladder was only a few yards away, and with any luck, the wheels wouldn’t be seized in place.
But luck wasn’t on my side. I shoved at the ladder, but it wouldn’t budge, the wheels having locked in place.
The ladder had seen better days, and there was rust on some of the rungs.
I glanced over at Burr’k, who was preoccupied with an advanced construction set meant for budding engineers.
Was that what he’d done back on the mothership?
There were always shuttles that needed work in the mothership building.
His eyes were wide, and there was a boyish look of excitement on his face.
Aww. That was awfully cute.
I decided not to bother him. These warehouse shelves were sturdy; I should be able to climb up there, shuffle over a few yards, grab the Lego set, shuffle back, and climb down. Mind made up, I started climbing up to the final prize, the railings freezing on my hands.
I knew I’d fucked up the moment I heard the creak. I scrambled up onto the shelf as the rung I was on gave way with a groan.
“Why are you up there, female?” Burr’k sounded annoyed.
“The Lego set I need is here.” I shuffled over to the box.
“So you climb a broken ladder instead of asking me?”
Great. Grumpy was back.
“Maybe there’s another ladder somewhere.” Hopefully, it would be in better condition.
“Just throw me the box,” Burr’k demanded.
Um, okay. That was one way to get the box down, but that still left me up here. I tossed the box down, along with several others so we’d have some backup presents, and he caught them and placed them in the cart.
Then, before I could even ask how he planned on getting me down, he was climbing up the shelves, his arms and legs making quick work of the shelf’s generous spacing. At the top, he just grabbed me like I weighed no more than a box of Legos, and tucked me into his body.
“Hang on tight,” he ordered.
I did, wrapping my arms and legs around him so that he could use his arms. Then he was making his way back down.
We were pressed together, our bodies bumping in all the right places, his generous muscles rippling against me.
And my brain totally went there, imagining us in the same position, except naked and horizontal, and in his sleeping nook.
My body reacted, wetness rushing between my legs. Burr’k reacted instantly, his movements becoming more rigid as we landed on the concrete floor. He inhaled, his nose buried in my hair, and the purring started up in his chest.
Crap. Didn’t they say that Xarc’n warriors could smell arousal? So much for keeping it to myself. The vibrations didn’t help, especially with us pressed so close together.
He released his hold on me, and I slid slowly down his body, only to have my clit bump right up against the very hard and very aroused cock that tented his loincloth.
I gasped, and Burr’k let out a tortured groan.
“Do not be frightened.”
Frightened? Frightened was the last thing I was.
More like desperately turned on. Grumpy might not be what I was looking for in a forever after, but I was a red-blooded woman, and how could I not react?
But knowing how these hunters could go from strangers to mated forever in sixty seconds, I knew better than to tempt fate.
I scrambled away, leaving his arms empty. When I looked back at the spot I’d vacated, the glow of the lantern left nothing to the imagination. A huge bulge threatened to burst right through the leather of his loincloth. The sight sent another rush of desire through me, and I tore my gaze away.
The purring went from soft but insistent to a loud and demanding rumble that threatened to bring down the building. It continued unabated as we moved back through the store to the front door. With our haul in our cart, we opened the door.
The blizzard greeted us like an angry mob, each snowflake a tiny pitchfork.
The wind whipped at our faces as we fought through the blinding snow to the shuttle.
We’d parked just outside the door, but the wind was so strong and the snow so heavy that it felt like the opposite side of the parking lot.
By the time we got to the shuttle, I was drenched in wet snow.
Ugh! Why did it have to be the wet, slushy snow and not the soft, fluffy kind?
“Go inside,” Burr’k yelled over the howling wind. “I’ll load it up.”
I didn’t argue. Teeth chattering, I stumbled into the shuttle.
I tried to get out of my wet jacket, but I was shivering so violently that my hands refused to work the buttons, especially with my mittens still on.
Cursing, I tore them off. Not seeing anywhere else to put them, I tossed them onto the only counter that wasn’t under the navigation screen.
My jacket was soaked, and so was my hair, and I was dripping onto the shuttle floor. I stood there, still chilled through, not wanting to make more puddles, but not quite knowing what to do either as my fingers warmed up.
Behind me, the door opened again and in stomped Burr’k, nearly bulldozing me over.
“Why are you standing there, female?” Then he noticed the puddles. “You are getting my shuttle wet.”
I didn’t know if it was the cold, or the frustration at not being able to work the stupid buttons, or if I’d just had it with his surly mood, especially after we’d had such a successful haul, but I snapped. I whirled around, pinning him with an icy stare.
“Look, Gr-Gr-Grumpy. I’m c-c-cold.” Damn it! Why was I shaking so much? “And I’m p-p-p-pissed.” I poked my finger at his rock-hard chest. Why the hell was he so warm when he was barely wearing anything? It wasn’t fair! “D-D-Deal with the d-d-damn p-p-puddles!”
The look on his face changed, softening, as a big, warm hand grabbed mine. Then I was yanked to an even bigger warm, purring chest.