Chapter 10
Tuvo
Hattie was singing.
When she had returned from shopping with Keith, she’d been noticeably dour. He asked what was wrong, but she just smiled and assured him that she was fine. Keith went outside to tan, and Hattie sat down to watch something on the television.
Tuvo joined her and listened as she explained the premise of the show.
Something about a peacekeeper female and the male that clearly loved her and followed her around.
Tuvo didn’t know why the male didn’t just claim her.
He clearly wanted to. Tuvo couldn’t understand the dialogue, but even he could see that.
Tuvo and Hattie talked during the show, and it was comfortable. Mostly. They were still deliberately avoiding the topic of what happened this morning. Neither of them willing to discuss it.
But besides that, it was an easy conversation.
As it got later, she went to the kitchen to begin cooking dinner. Tuvo followed after, eager to continue their easy chat. It wasn’t deep or interesting, but it was a sense of closeness that he hadn’t been able to enjoy with his mate before.
It wasn’t the claiming, but it was some form of intimacy. It was something. And while his knot was still hard, some of the pressure was relieved from his mind. Not much, but enough that it was like an encouragement from his own body.
Yes. Get closer to his mate. Gorge her. Mount her. Claim her.
“The Alfredo is from a jar,” she said, oblivious to his desires. “I’m going to touch it up a bit, but it’s not really going to be gourmet.”
“I don’t mind,” he said, sniffing at the emptied jar curiously as she stirred the contents in the little pot she had put on the stove. “What’s Alfredo?”
“It’s cheese. The pasta is made from brown rice, not flour, so you should be able to eat it. And for dessert: blueberry cheesecake! You won’t be able to eat the crust, but that’s not the best part of cheesecake, so it’s okay.”
“Can I help with anything?”
“Yeah, can you put that cream cheese in a bowl and beat it with a spoon? There’s no beaters or mixer, so we have to do it the old-fashioned way.”
“I can do that,” he said, looking through the kitchen for what he needed. He wasn’t a professional chef like Hattie, but he could feed himself.
It was comfortable to work together. Easy. Tuvo wished the kitchen were bigger. Maybe with proper, modern appliances. An oblong island. A big window with a fantastic view of the upper canopy of Calvitorum.
His kitchen.
He was imagining Hattie in his kitchen.
Himself, right beside her. Helping her cook. Tasting everything as she worked. Watching as she hummed and danced and smiled.
Pushing her over the counter and fucking her deep whenever he had the chance.
“Try,” she smiled brightly, turning to him with a wooden spoon coated in cheese sauce.
Tuvo swiped his tongue along the wooden body. Keeping his eyes on her the entire time. The sauce was thick and creamy and delicious. Just like Hattie.
Her plump little lips parted, eyes going foggy, as she stared at him licking the spoon again. Slower this time. Savoring the taste of her food as he would her cunt.
No, he wouldn’t. He was not doing that.
But he could lick the spoon.
And he did so, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. And Hattie kept holding it up for him, staring at his tongue, her breaths deepening. Her body trembling. Eyes half lidded. Silently begging for his lips and tongue on her instead.
“Ugh!”
The two jumped apart as Keith, wearing a pair of gym shorts, walked back inside. Ocean water dripped off his body, sand coated his feet. He grimaced at them.
He said something, gesturing with a look of disgust.
Hattie, frowning, shook her head, and put the spoon back in the sauce. Keith made that sound again as he stomped to the bathroom.
“What was that about?” Tuvo asked, equal parts annoyed and grateful for the interruption.
“He was getting all sensitive about you licking the communal spoon.”
“Ah. He doesn’t want my saliva in his mouth.” Tuvo wasn’t exactly looking forward to that either, but Hattie would have it in hers as well. And like the primal beast he was slowly reducing himself to, he liked that thought very much.
“I usually don’t do that if I’m cooking for others,” she said softly, face burning with shame. “But I kind of forgot he was here, and it wasn’t just me and you.”
Tuvo growled. Low and slow and sexual. Just for her. Pleased because that clearly meant she didn’t mind sharing spit with him either.
“C-Can you get the blueberries?” She said quickly, pointing to the fridge. “Fold about half the container into the cream cheese mixture?”
She was deflecting. He let it happen, because he needed some distance. He kept his third eye on her however, as he went to the food preserver and pulled out-
“Are these celti berries?” He asked, shocked by the familiar, round fruit.
Hattie suddenly laughed. “I said the same thing! I mean, the opposite thing when I found celti berries on Turv. Blueberries have a stem though. See? Not the same.”
“I do see.” He plucked one of the fruits from inside. It was tiny between his two fingers. The color, the size, the shape were all exactly the same as celti berries. But the little pucker where a stem would have been was not. Celti berries formed in pods, not on a stem.
“They range from sour to sweet, depending on the berry. But they’re tasty. Try one.”
He obliged, tossing it into his mouth. Visually prepared for the sweetness of a celti berry, he was surprised by the tartness that exploded across his tongue instead.
But it wasn’t an unpleasant taste. He hummed his approval as he ate another.
“Good, huh?” Hattie smiled, stirring the boiling pasta. “I love blueberries. I love celti berries. I don’t know why, but it feels like they’re connected even when they’re not.”
“It must have been strange for you when these came into season on Turv. That was before you knew you could go home, wasn’t it?
” Celti berries only ripened at the beginning of the rainy season on Turv, and that had been before they had even discovered Earth’s location.
It must have been a very disappointing moment for her.
“It was weird,” she agreed. “But it was also kind of nice. In a painful way? If that makes sense?”
“Sure. Like poking at a healing wound. Not because it feels good, but because it focuses you. Maybe even makes you feel alive.”
He poured the blueberries into the mixture and began to gently fold the berries in.
“Poking a wound, huh? Yeah, that’s exactly what it felt like.”
He knew that feeling. He had experienced it with a few of the wounds that had come a bit too close to ending his life.
The pain reminded him that he hadn’t, in fact, died.
He imagined the pain of seeing the celti berries was a reminder to Hattie of the same.
She might have been abducted and stolen from everything she knew, but she was, thankfully, still alive.
Keith emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered, and flopped back on his bed.
He scrolled through their limited options on the television as Tuvo and Hattie cooked together.
Occasionally, he called out something. Tuvo figured out quite quickly that he was asking for updates on the status of dinner, and each question made him more annoyed.
He was doing nothing but demanding food. He hadn’t even carried the groceries back from the store for Hattie. He had taken pictures and videos of himself that day and little else. Yet, he dared to lay there like he was exhausted and useless.
Only not actually wanting him over here, bothering them, kept Tuvo from growling at him for the insult towards his female.
Hattie finished his food first. She topped the pasta with the chicken meat she had burned on the stove and started to take it to him. Tuvo stopped her, claiming the bowl from her hands so he could bring it to the lazy male instead.
He was rewarded with a bright smile as she turned back to prepare their bowls next.
Tuvo brought the food over and Keith had the audacity to hold out his hand without even looking away from the television.
Tuvo grabbed his wrist and yanked up. He cried out in surprise as Tuvo half dragged him off the bed. His legs squirmed as Tuvo held his torso off the ground by one arm. He made sounds of pain and protest as he grabbed at the shoulder he was dangling from.
“I assume your legs must be injured if you can’t get up to get your food yourself,” Tuvo said, using his grip to bounce the human. “How tragic. It’s because you’re so weak and frail. You should put more effort into strengthening yourself.
“Hattie!” He yowled.
“Tuvo,” she called to him, sounding somewhere between amused and exasperated. “What are you doing?”
“Helping him strengthen his ligaments.”
“You’re going to break his arm. Or yank his shoulder out of socket.”
“Then, maybe, next time he should get his own food.”
“Is this how discipline is handed out in the domini military?”
“Actually, yes,” he grinned as he tossed Keith back onto his bed. The yellow haired male was up, snarling, only to have Tuvo shove the bowl into his chest. He was forced to grab it or risk having his food spilled.
He returned as Hattie was setting their bowls on the table. Her chicken cooked to, he guessed, perfection, while his were spiced and raw, laid across his pasta in the same manner.
And they smelled delicious.
“Thank you,” he said as he sat.
“I hope you like it,” she beamed, sitting across from him. She immediately began stirring her chicken into her pasta, so he did the same.
Unlike the food they ordered last night, he tasted this. The flavors and texture were unusual, but it was good. Rich and creamy. Well spiced. The chicken was chewy and lent a pleasant, fresh flavor to the dish.
“This is really good,” he said after swallowing his first bite.
Hattie beamed, finally taking a bite for herself. Clearly pleased.
They were exchanging stories of childhood. A very safe topic, since it involved a time before they had known each other.
She told him about how her parents had met late in life and had her purely by accident.
They had believed that her mother was too old to have children.
To be given Hattie was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one.
They had devoted themselves to her completely, and she had flourished under their absolute love and devotion.
Tuvo listened, fascinated by the story of his female. A simple, but joyful one, marred only by an abduction that only added more love and joy to her life.
“What about Keith?” He asked, realizing that the male hadn’t played a role in the story of her life she had been telling.
“What about him?”
“How did you meet him? Why did you leave him?”
“Oh. That.” She shifted in her seat. Their empty bowls forgotten between them. “Keith and I met on a dating app. A, er, program that lets people meet each other for, usually, romantic purposes. Like, we were both there looking for a relationship.”
“What drew you to him?”
She frowned, biting her lip. “You really want to talk about this?”
“He’s part of your past. I want to know.”
She eyed him curiously for a long moment before finally answering. “He was nice initially. He was always interested in making a big social media presence, but that didn’t bother me. I was even kind of proud when he started adding me to it.”
She stopped talking, biting her lip now.
“You don’t want to tell me more?”
She hesitated before smiling. “He’s not worth lingering over. I should clean up.”
Hattie stood, gathering the bowls. Tuvo similarly got to his feet and followed after her, intent on helping.
That was strange. Why would she refuse to talk about the end of their relationship?
Unless it was still hurting her.
What had that male done to his Hattie that had put that look on her face? Cautious. Uneasy. Like she wasn’t even sure she should speak.
Hattie called out to Keith and, with a look at Tuvo, he brought his bowl as well. Tuvo didn’t growl this time, but he did bare his teeth, and the little male was quick to rush back to his bed.
Tiny, weak thing.
“There,” Hattie said with a satisfied nod after he put away the last dish. “It’s not too late. Want to take a trip down to the beach?”
“Sure,” he agreed.
“Cool. I’ll get my swimsuit. Meet you down there!”
The previous disquiet on her face was gone as she nearly skipped to her luggage, pulled out her swimming outfit, then went to the bathroom to change.
Tuvo did the same, changing in the bedroom, before walking out onto the balcony. Down to the grassy path that led to the beach.
The sun was just starting to set, turning the ocean to fire. The waves beating at the beach were soothing and understated in their power. The sand under his bare feet was rough but not uncomfortable.
Movement from behind made him turn, but it wasn’t Hattie. Keith had come out as well and he was taking off his shirt and laying it on a beach chair as he, predictably, reached for his phone. Still very carefully not looking at Tuvo.
Tuvo hadn’t even really hurt him, but he had intimidated him. He was not a male worthy enough to have Hattie. Even if Atem allowed his courtship, he would never be able to impress him enough to earn the right to claim her.
No male was worthy of that.
Not even Tuvo.
With that harsh reminder, he waded into the water. Needing to work off some of the excess frustration of being so close to Hattie and not being able to touch her.
His female, so close, and still so far out of reach.