Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Mara
The public transport out to the compound isn’t quick, and Andrew lets me know he finds it lacking in speed.
“This is absurd,” he whines, as the transport rushes along and the lights of the colony flash past us.
“Who lives this far out? Why are they on the edge of the jungle? Isn’t it supposed to be dangerous? ”
I’ve got my face half-turned toward the window, watching the dark press up against the glass, the two green moons riding low over the canopy. “I guess they like their privacy.”
“They like being a forty-minute round trip from work.” He slumps in his seat. “I don’t get it. You’ve got the whole colony right there and you choose to live at the literal dead end of the road, near the predators at the edge of the jungle.”
I don’t answer, because I don’t want to argue, and I don’t feel the same.
I like it out here. The ride is enjoyable and I like the way the colony thins and gives way to the wild green dark.
And when the transport lets us off and we walk the last stretch up the road on foot the jungle closes and drips on both sides, something trills in the canopy, the air is warm and thick with blossom.
The compound finally comes into view at the end of the street, low and long and lit up gold against the trees.
I actually stop for a second, in awe of the natural beauty of these surroundings.
“There it is,” Andrew mutters. “Fortress of solitude. It looks like a place where you’d get murdered.”
“I think it looks comfortable and charming.” And I mean it.
It’s big and strange and set at the edge of everything.
All the windows are lit and even from the road I can hear the muffled noise of a lot of people and children, all in one place.
It looks like the kind of place a big family fortresses up and fills to the rafters with life.
It looks, if I’m honest, like the exact opposite of every grey little place I’ve ever lived.
“Ugh,” Andrew grunts. “I’d much rather return to my high rise in Singapore. Remind me why we agreed to this?”
“Because we’re trying to network and make more friends so that later, they’ll remember to ask for us again if they need help, or they will refer us to someone else.”
He nods, takes a deep breath and continues forward.
In reality, I’m here to see Cayzor of Eight.
I smooth down the front of my skirt as we step up onto the porch. We’re both in civilian clothes and I find myself hoping that Cayzor likes my blue sundress.
Andrew knocks on the front door.
The door opens fast, like someone was already nearby.
An enormous Margol Xylan fills the frame, and for one second his face is unreadable and then he smiles warmly.
“You found us, good. I’m Chief, Crew Leader of the Fever Brothers and also the eldest brother living on the planet.
Come in, come in, before the jungle does. ”
I’ve heard good things about Chief. I smile in return and step inside. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Andrew greets him too, shaking hands.
Chief waves us into a wide foyer, and the noise of the house meets us. To the left I can see a living area with a fireplace and there is a long hallway.
And then I see Cayzor.
He’s standing just inside the foyer, looking devastatingly handsome in his civilian clothes.
I have seen this male in a mine and in my own quarters, filling my too-small kitchen.
I thought I had a handle on the specific problem of how good he looks.
I thought I could act smoothly, ignoring how my body instantly heats up the moment he’s nearby.
I did not have a handle on this unrequited passion I feel for Cayzor of Eight.
Because here, in his own home, in dark clothes that do absolutely nothing to hide the sheer size and shape of him, he looks like a male who could be modeling and selling male fashion. Standing in the light of the foyer, he’s the single most devastating thing I have ever laid eyes on.
“Mara,” he greets, low, and sexy.
Jeez, the space between my thighs is already wet and my nipples are two hard points begging to be pinched and sucked. Nothing is going to come of this, absolutely nothing, which is heartbreaking. I need to keep a lid on this and carry on, as if none of this epic desire is swirling inside of me.
“Cayzor.” It comes out a little breathless. I clear my throat. “Hi. Thank you for the invite. It’s nice to see where you live.”
“Thank you for coming.” His eyes move down my face, over my chest and along the line of my dress then back up to meet my gaze.
And now I’m even more hot and bothered than before.
Andrew’s saying something to Chief behind me, charming and easy, and somewhere deeper in the house I can hear deep voices. The whole place is warm, loud and alive. I stand in the foyer of the Fever Brothers’ compound and think: oh no. I could love it here.
And then there are more crew members moving forward to greet me.
Everyone’s moving toward the dining room, and I’m swept up in a wave of introductions I have no hope of fully tracking.
Some of the faces I know, thank gods. Leah’s here, grinning, giving me a little wave.
I also already know Roxy, Jana and Naomi.
And there are new faces I’ve been dying to meet.
Lila is married to Claws and she basically runs the house and takes care of the offspring.
I meet Hallie, who tells me she’s the newest bride, married to Rook.
She’s visibly pregnant and also works at home, caring for the children and the finances of the Fever Brothers.
And I meet Ines, who lets me know that she’s a journalist and is married to Trunk.
She greets me, with a newborn baby tucked in her arms.
Darling.
During the whirlwind of moving into the dining area I see so many children.
They’re everywhere, these darling half-Xylan, half-human offspring, and they are — I don’t have another word for it — they are ridiculously beautiful.
The little ridged brows and the human eyes, the tiny clawed hands and the chubby human cheeks, the two species blended into something that makes my chest ache.
A little girl runs circles around the table, someone tells me her name is Lia, and she’s Claws and Lila’s. A boy is in a high chair, his name is Rux and he’s Heavy and Jana’s son. A tiny girl named Zora is in Cannibal’s arms. And Argyl, who I’ve already met many times, is here with Hook and Leah.
And there are three newborns in the room. Three.
“Yes, three newborns,” Naomi chuckles. “We know it’s a bit much, but mainly we feel blessed. All three are perfectly healthy too. This little one in my arms is our son, Bay. And Ines and Trunk had a little girl named Vela and over there with Chief is their baby boy, named Dax.”
I nod, knowing I’ll never remember all these names.
“It’s okay if you don’t remember all of these names,” Cayzor says from nearby, as if he’s reading my mind. “There’s plenty of time later for you to remember.”
I glance over at him, surprised that he would say that. What ‘plenty of time’ is he referring to, considering I’m here on a temporary work contract?
I glance around at this room, unexpectedly filled with small children, infants and pregnant women and…
I want to tell them. The wanting comes up so sudden and hard it nearly closes my throat.
These women know exactly what it is to be sick every morning and exhausted every afternoon and terrified and amazed all at once.
These are the women I could commiserate with about what’s happening to me.
The changes that will come with each trimester and the tips and tricks.
I’ve been carrying this completely alone, handling it the way I handle everything, by myself, in the dark.
Yet here is a whole room full of women who would get it and who I could call and message…
And I can’t say a word.
Because it’s not the plan. I’m the engineer here to fix their grid, not the pregnant new girl. I’ll be gone before I show. So I smile, and coo over the babies and keep my own pregnancy to myself.
And then we are all sitting down for dinner.
The table is enormous. A long, heavy table that somehow seats this entire impossible family, and it’s already laid for the meal with every dish out, plates, cups and pitchers.
It’s a spread that looks like a restaurant and smells like heaven.
And I notice that there are rich Xylan dishes I don’t recognize, and human food, clearly made with care.
“Oh this is nice,” I exclaim. “Do you guys eat like this every night?”
“Yep,” Jana answers. “It’s a good way for us to all reconnect at the end of a busy day.”
I nod in agreement, absurdly distracted by a bowl of what looks like actual roasted potatoes.
When I go to sit, I realize, as I’m already lowering myself into the chair, that the enormous male settling in beside me is Cayzor.
I’m surprised because I guess I thought I’d be seated next to Andrew, but I look up and find him seated far away. How did that happen?
I shrug and just accept that I’m going to be seated next to the male I prefer. This is no hardship.
Dinner is chaos, in the best way, and I have never in my life been so aware of my own left side.
Cayzor keeps a careful few inches between us.
I can tell he’s doing it on purpose, holding that small deliberate distance.
Both of us are wearing the green gloves of the unmated, so at least there’s that.
But then Lia darts underfoot and Cayzor shifts, suddenly his arm is against mine for a moment, warm and solid.
Luckily this contact is through two layers of fabric, but is of course, still devastating.
I reach for the potatoes and he reaches to steady a pitcher at the same moment and our gloved hands nearly touch on the table.
We both go still for half a second before pulling back.
This is torture.
“How are you enjoying living in employee housing?” Hallie asks.