18. Clair
CLAIR
Clair hadn’t realized how much she’d been waiting for Kaelus to come back until she heard his deep voice in the hallway outside their suite and felt a ridiculous little surge of happiness that had absolutely nothing to do with science.
It might be silly, but she was excited to see him again and pretend he was her husband.
And she didn’t care if it was only a temporary situation—she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
At least that was what she told herself as she hurried toward the door.
She had spent most of the afternoon with Maera hunched over the botanical laboratory equipment, running the veloria samples again and again to make absolutely certain she hadn’t made some kind of mistake. But the results had remained stubbornly consistent.
The raw plant contained the VEL-7 precursor compound.
The prepared nectar contained the same precursor.
But Maera’s blood, taken after she drank the nectar, contained something completely different—a metabolized form with the protective outer molecular groups stripped away and a highly reactive central structure exposed.
Conclusion—something in the female body was changing the plant compound into another substance entirely, and Clair’s mind had been buzzing with possibilities ever since.
Still, the instant she heard Kaelus, all those fascinating scientific possibilities temporarily vanished beneath another, much less intellectual thought.
He’s back, sang a little voice in her head. He’s back…he’s back…he’s back!
She opened the door just as he raised one huge fist to knock and for a moment they simply looked at each other.
Kaelus was still wearing the charcoal-gray tunic she had dressed him in that morning, and the dark silver band she had fastened around his biceps gleamed against his skin.
His black hair was slightly mussed, as though he had been running his hands through it while he worked, and there was a tired look around his golden eyes.
Clair’s heart gave an annoying little flutter.
“Hi,” she said, feeling bashful as a schoolgirl seeing her crush.
“Hello,” Kaelus rumbled.
“You’re back,” she said. Why was she stating the obvious?
“I am.” He nodded.
“That’s generally what that means when someone is standing in front of you,” Clair said, because apparently the sight of him had rendered her incapable of normal conversation. “I mean, that they, uh, came back.”
One corner of his mouth twitched.
“I had not realized you required clarification.”
“Well, I’ve had a long day,” Clair said.
“So have I.”
They were still staring at each other, and she found she couldn’t look away from his molten gold gaze.
Also, for some reason she had suddenly become acutely aware of the places his mouth had touched that morning.
Her nipples were tight under the metallic blue gown she still wore, and she had to press her thighs together because her pussy was suddenly so hot and wet.
Apparently Kaelus was thinking of the places he’d kissed too, because his gaze dipped briefly to her lips, then lower before snapping firmly back to her eyes.
“So,” Clair said brightly, trying to hide her confusion. “Did you find anything?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did,” he rumbled.
Her scientist brain immediately kicked back in—thank goodness because it had been in the backseat while her lust was driving for a while there, Clair thought.
“So did I!” she exclaimed. “And I think it’s really relevant.”
Kaelus gave her a rare smile.
“I thought you must have found something.”
Clair raised an eyebrow at him.
“How could you possibly know that?”
“Because you have that look—the one you get when you have discovered something and are attempting not to tell me before I have even entered the room.”
Clair stepped aside.
“Well, get in here then, big guy, because you are not going to believe what I found.”
Kaelus came inside carrying his data slate, and Clair had barely closed the door before he said, “You first.”
“No, you first,” she said.
“I asked you,” he said frowning.
“And I said you first,” she returned, giving him a teasing grin.
He gave her a stern look, though she could tell he wasn’t really angry.
“Clair…”
“Kaelus…” she said, in the exact same tone.
They stared at each other for a moment and then Clair started laughing.
Kaelus sighed and shook his head.
“I have missed this considerably less than you might imagine,” he remarked.
Clair looked up at him from under her lashes.
“Aw…you missed me, big fella?”
Kaelus frowned and she smiled even wider.
“That is not what I said,” he protested.
“It kind of was.”
“I said I missed this.” He made a motion with one hand.
“This being me.” Clair loved teasing him. She did a little twirl and bumped him with one hip. It was like bumping a brick wall.
“This being your irritating habit of arguing about everything,” Kaelus said, but she could tell he was fighting to keep the grumpy look on his face when he really wanted to smile at her antics.
“So you missed arguing with me,” she said, deliberately misunderstanding him. “Aw, honey, that’s so sweet—I missed arguing with you, too.”
Kaelus blew out a breath.
“Clair, I swear by all the gods that ever were…”
“You totally missed me.” She poked his broad chest with one finger. “Missed me all day.”
Kaelus gave her a dark look.
“Would you like to discuss our findings or not?”
Clair laughed.
“I would. But I’m also enjoying teasing you.”
He made a sound somewhere between a growl and a groan.
“I am aware.”
Before Clair could tease him further, a soft chiming sounded near the suite door and a recessed panel opened in the wall. Then a floating silver tray drifted into the room.
Clair stepped back in surprise.
“What in the world?” she murmured.
The tray glided past them and settled gently onto the low table near the enormous bed. Then a message appeared in glowing letters above it which read,
EVENING NOURISHMENT FOR THE JOINED PAIR. PLEASE ENJOY PRIVATELY.
Clair read it twice and felt a surge of relief.
“Oh, thank God!” she exclaimed.
Kaelus frowned.
“For what?”
Clair turned to him, excited.
“It doesn’t smell like goosenburly.”
Kaelus’s expression immediately relaxed.
“A definite improvement,” he admitted. “The goosenburly was…not exactly to my taste.”
“That stuff wouldn’t be to anyone’s taste,” Clair told him. “I know it’s supposed to be a delicacy here, but it’s definitely an acquired taste—only I don’t know anyone outside of Titus Four who’d want to acquire it.”
“Well, let us see what it is,” Kaelus suggested. “Just because it’s not goosenburly, doesn’t mean it’s appetizing.”
“Let’s hope for the best,” Clair murmured.
Together, they approached the tray cautiously. Apparently both of them had been traumatized by breakfast, she thought.
Luckily, the evening meal looked much more appealing.
Rather than strange gelatinous piles containing ground insect legs, the tray held an enormous assortment of alien fruits arranged around several small bowls of creamy sauces and what looked like thin slices of fragrant bread.
There was even a small, written guide to tell them what everything was.
Clair’s eyes widened as she took it all in.
“Oh, this looks amazing,” she breathed.
The alien fruits were unlike anything she had ever seen.
There were clusters of translucent white berries, each one roughly the size of a large grape, with faint silver veins running through them like tiny streaks of moonlight.
Beside them sat a large oval fruit with metallic-gold skin that had already been cut open to reveal brilliant blue flesh surrounding a glossy black center.
There were deep purple pods which had split naturally into curling ribbons of soft pink pulp, and small crystal-clear berries that looked like glass marbles with red and gold seeds suspended inside them.
A pile of round crimson fruits sat at one end of the tray, each covered in fine golden fuzz, while another platter held star-shaped green slices which smelled vaguely like citrus and mint.
Clair sat down eagerly.
“Now this is alien food I can get behind,” she exclaimed. She hadn’t had anything since the goosenburly, and the lavender shake that morning because she and Maera had worked through lunch. By now she was starving.
But Kaelus remained standing.
“What are you doing?” she asked, looking up at him.
He frowned.
“Examining it.”
Clair sighed in exasperation.
“It’s fruit. The little written guide says so.” She pointed at the note that had come with the tray. “Come on—let’s eat.”
Kaelus still looked uneasy.
“On this planet, fruit may contain legs,” he growled.
Clair burst out laughing.
“That is a fair point. But I think it’s okay. Come on—we’ll be careful, but we have to eat something.”
‘That’s true,” Kaelus admitted. He sat beside her and picked up one of the translucent berries.
“Maera left descriptions,” Clair nodded at the note.
“There are some here as well.”
Kaelus touched a small symbol beside the platter and glowing words appeared in the air.
“Moonpearls,” he read. “Sweet. Cooling. Commonly eaten at evening meals.”
“Sounds safe,” Clair said.
Kaelus inspected one suspiciously—then he put it into his mouth.
Clair watched as he chewed and swallowed. He didn’t make a face or spit it out, so she assumed it must be good—or at least, not bad.
“Well?” she asked.
His eyebrows rose.
“Very good.”
“What does it taste like though?” Clair asked.
He picked up another and held it toward her.
Clair reached for it, but Kaelus moved his hand away.
She frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Open your mouth,” he commanded.
Clair stared at him.
“So now you’re feeding me?”
The big Hybrid shrugged.
“That is apparently what a proper husband does for his goddess.”
She put a hand on one hip.
“I thought you hated all these customs.”
“I am attempting to learn.”
There was something in his voice that made her stomach fill with butterflies. He wanted to learn for her.
“All right—feed me, husband.”
Clair opened her mouth.