19. Terra
TERRA
Terra was excited to get to the Monstrum Market where she hoped she could find some souvenirs for her mom and the kids. But it turned out that in order to get to it, they had to ride on the back of an enormous centipede-looking animal.
“This is a wole,” Taurex explained, as he led her to a kind of train station where several of the huge creatures were waiting on wooden tracks.
Large balls of pastel hay were hanging above the head of each centipede and they were all happily munching as people boarded their long, flat backs which had been fitted with platforms and chairs.
Terra saw mostly Monstrum warriors of all kinds at the wole station, but there were human women too–obviously mated to some of the Monstrum. They looked happy and contented and for a moment she wondered what it would be like to live here.
But that was crazy talk, she told herself.
Taurex hadn’t made a single move on her in all the time they’d been working together.
She had almost convinced herself he was only interested in a business partnership and possibly a friendship…
except for the way he looked at her sometimes, when he didn’t think she noticed.
“There seem to be a lot of Monstrum with human mates here,” she said lightly, testing to see how he would respond.
“Yes, we have been working hard to make the Monstrum Mother Ship as inviting to human woman as the other Kindred Mother Ship is,” he said, nodding.
“That’s one reason for the Market we’re going to.
We also have a shopping district for other items like clothing and other necessities.
And there are several new restaurants open, from what I understand.
Maybe tomorrow I can take you to one, but tonight I want to cook for you. ”
“I’ve never been with a man who actually wanted to cook before,” Terra confessed.
“What?” Taurex frowned as he leaned across her to tighten her belt and make sure she was secure in her chair. “Did your ex-mate dislike it when he had to take his turn to make meals?”
“His turn?” Terra laughed. “Please–he never took a turn. According to Jackson, cooking and cleaning and anything to do with watching the kids was all ‘women’s work.’”
Taurex gave her an incredulous look.
“So he expected you to do all of the domestic labor?”
“One hundred percent of it.” Terra nodded. “But of course, that made it easy for me when I decided to divorce him after I caught him cheating. Because I realized I was doing more with him around–being married to Jackson was like having a third kid.”
“Wait–back up.” He held up a hand. “So not only did he refuse to help in your domicile, he also betrayed your trust with another woman?”
“Several other women, to be exact. They could form a book club if they all got together,” Terra said dryly.
“He, uh, said he wasn’t attracted to me anymore after I had the kids.
Because my hips and behind got bigger,” she added, feeling her cheeks go pink with the remembered embarrassment and shame.
Her ex had acted like his cheating was completely her fault because her body had changed during the two pregnancies she’d had.
“You’re too fat now–why don’t you lose weight?
” Jackson had demanded, looking at her with disgust. His cruel words had wounded Terra to the core.
In fact, in a way, stripping had helped to heal those wounds because she realized she wasn’t unattractive or too fat to be loved, but remembering that look on his face and the way he’d talked to her still stung.
“So you became an Elite and he didn’t like it?”
Taurex’s words broke her out of her unpleasant reverie and Terra looked up at the big Monstrum with a frown.
“Sorry–a what?”
“An Elite–a woman the Goddess has blessed with extra generous curves.” He nodded at her. “Most Monstrum love Elites–it is considered a special blessing to find one as a fated mate.”
“So Monstrum like big girls? Girls with a little junk in their trunk?” Terra asked, raising an eyebrow.
Taurex frowned in confusion.
“Why would we prefer women with extra junk in the storage compartment of their vehicles?”
Terra threw back her head and laughed.
“No, that’s not what I meant at all. I mean, the Monstrum prefer women with wide hips and big behinds–is that right?”
“Yes, that’s right.” He gave her an admiring look. “A woman like you is a prize to be won, Terra–a goddess to be worshipped. I don’t understand why your ex-mate couldn’t understand that.”
Terra blushed again–this time with pleasure.
“Well…thank you. And let’s just say that most human men don’t like ‘Elites’ the way Monstrum do.”
“I’m lucky he was such an idiot,” Taurex rumbled. “If he wasn’t, I never would have met you.”
Terra felt a warm rush of pleasure. All the time they’d been working together, the big Monstrum had been keeping everything strictly business and by-the-book.
This was the first time he’d really given her compliments since she’d danced for him at The Doll House.
Maybe he had just been taking things slowly.
Maybe now that they were on this little mini vacation together, he would want to move their relationship in a different direction.
“I’m glad I met you, too,” she said, sliding her hand into his. She liked how safe she felt with him and the fact that he was so gentle despite being so huge and powerful. He could break her in half with one finger, but she knew he would never hurt her.
Taurex looked like he was going to say something else, but just then a whistle blew somewhere and everyone who was on the wole straightened up.
“Hang on,” Taurex murmured. “We’re about to take off.”
“Take off?” Terra was slightly worried. “I mean, how fast can a giant centipede really go? Especially with a bunch of seats and people strapped to its back?” she asked.
But before Taurex could speak, she got her answer.
The ball of hay that the wole they were sitting on had been munching was suddenly lifted above its head–just out of reach. Deprived of its delicious, crunchy treat, the wole rushed forward, trying to catch the hay ball, which dangled temptingly above its head, just out of reach.
The result was that it rushed down the tracks, its many legs skittering so fast Terra could see nothing but a blur when she looked over the side.
“Oh my God!” she gasped, tightening her grip on Taurex’s hand.
He squeezed back, comfortingly.
“It’s all right–we don’t have far to go to get to the market.”
But even as he spoke, the wole rushed up the tracks and then down again, making Terra feel like she was on a roller coaster.
Her stomach flipped and flopped, and she was extra glad she hadn’t eaten anything but a single piece of dry toast and a small cup of coffee that morning.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like roller coasters–she’d loved them when she was younger.
But she hadn’t been on one in years–not since Cody had finally gotten tall enough to ride most of the coasters in Busch Gardens on his own.
Luckily, the wole–or should she call it a “wole-a-coaster?” stopped just a minute or two later right in front of a vast, forest type area.
Most of the passengers disembarked and Taurex helped Terra–who was still slightly shaken–to stand. He stepped off the platform on the giant centipede’s back first and then put his hands on Terra’s waist.
“May I assist you?” he asked. “You look shaken.”
“Oh, er, if you want to–thank you. And I was just a little surprised, that’s all,” Terra told him.
“Riding a wole for the first time can be a surprising experience,” he agreed. He lifted her down to the ground as easily as if she was light as a feather and Terra had to admire the way his muscles bulged under the dark blue button-down shirt he was wearing.
“Come,” he said, taking her hand again–which was beginning to feel very natural since they were holding hands so much on this trip–let’s visit the Market and see what we can find.”