Chapter 8
GEMINI
Breakfast in bed was as blissful as usual, the pillows and blankets piled up around Gemini making her feel at home.
At home, like she hadn’t totally invaded this nice alien’s space and made it her own.
She blushed as she finished her last bite of food, every bit of the meal tasting like heaven. Was she getting entirely too comfortable here with Apodis and Zenith? Perhaps, but the aliens didn’t seem to mind. Certainly if she were overstaying her welcome, one of them would say so?
Zenith wasn’t one to hold his tongue to spare someone’s feelings, so she was sure he would have let her know if he wanted her to leave. In fact, the little caerulian seemed eager to have her around, going on and on about the birdwatching expedition they had planned.
Apodis had suggested that Zenith take her to his favorite spot to see the rare birds, and Gemini had the distinct feeling he wanted some alone time. Was it because of her? He must have been used to being on his own, living out here by himself, but she’d thought they’d been getting along well.
Perhaps too well.
Some time apart was probably needed as spending time with him was becoming more and more difficult. Not because she wasn’t enjoying his company, but because she was enjoying it too much.
It had been so long since she’d had such fun conversations with someone who genuinely seemed interested in getting to know her. Someone who actually appeared intrigued by her attempts at flirting, if a bit confused.
Then there was the fact that she could hardly keep her panties dry when she was around him, the arousal getting more and more difficult to ignore.
“Are you ready to go?” Zenith asked, eyeing her eagerly.
He didn’t seem to get too excited about much, so the enthusiasm was sweet.
“I’m ready. Is it a long walk?”
While her ankle was a lot better and she could get around the cabin without Apodis’ assistance, she still wasn’t completely back to normal.
“Not far at all. Just a few minutes.”
“If you need help on the way back, Z can come get me,” Apodis offered, and she nodded.
“Come along, Gemini,” Zenith said, hopping off the bed and trotting out the door of the bedroom.
Gemini gave Apodis an awkward smile as she limped toward the door, pausing before it whirred shut behind her.
“See you later,” she said, and he grinned, a sight which made butterflies take flight in her stomach.
“See you later.”
Oh, he was so fucking cute.
Zenith was already out the front door, so she hurried to follow, feeling as light as a feather despite her sore ankle.
“Do you like Apodis?” Zenith asked, his voice a low whisper as they sat behind a large rock.
The caerulian was peeking around the side while Gemini looked over the boulder, spying on two small bright pink birds with long yellow tails that were pecking at seeds on the ground.
He was crouched low, as if ready to pounce at any moment, and she had to stifle a laugh as she considered his question.
“Of course I do. He seems really nice.”
“Apodis is a very nice male. And an excellent choice for a mate.”
There he was again with the mate talk. She still wasn’t entirely sure how Oslieth relationships worked, but they seemed pretty serious if everything Apodis had said about alphas and omegas was true.
And in that case, she wasn’t sure exactly why Zenith was trying to hook her up with someone who wasn’t interested.
“I’m sure he is.”
Zenith turned to look up at her, his beady eyes narrowed into a serious gaze.
“I believe you would make a perfect mate for him. You are a kind and intelligent woman.”
The corner of her mouth quirked, and she felt her face heat, a smile tugging at her lips.
“Oh, stop. You’re being silly—” she started, but Zenith softly growled, silencing her.
“I never jest. He enjoys your company and will be very sad if you leave. He pretends that he likes it out here by himself, but I can see the truth.”
“He has you…”
“I know I make him happy, but not in a way a mate would. And he deserves it. He is a good Oslieth.”
“I’m going back to Earth after this job.”
“Must you? The cabin is certainly big enough for one more. You could work on your book here. Tend to Apodis’ failed garden.”
Now it was Gemini’s turn to narrow her eyes, Zenith’s suggestion completely absurd. Wasn’t it? She couldn’t just… not go back, could she?
She’d lose her job, for one, and she needed money to live.
And she had her family, though it had been years since she’d seen them between work at NovaFlora and the fact that they lived on the opposite side of the planet.
It wasn’t like she had any real dating prospects, not when she couldn’t seem to compete with the chatbots.
No, she was being ridiculous. She had just met Apodis, and there was no way in the galaxy that he wanted some stranger to live in his house. She’d seen the horror on his face when she’d rearranged all the pillows, but he was too polite to tell her how he really felt.
The idea of working on her book in the middle of the beautiful mistforest was certainly idyllic, but preposterous at the same time.
“I need to go back. I get paid well at my job.”
Zenith stared at her, unblinking.
“Apodis has a lot of money. You wouldn’t need to worry about that.”
Gemini sputtered a cough, and the two birds they’d been watching disappeared in a flurry of feathers. Was this caerulian telling her that Apodis would be her alien sugar daddy?
“I’m sure he does, but that’s his business, not mine.”
Zenith huffed, his fur on edge as he glared at her.
“He enjoys taking care of others. He is an alpha, and that is what they do. Protect and care for others. Especially their mates.”
“I’m not his mate, Zenith. We just met.”
“And you are telling me you feel nothing for him?”
Gemini was caught off guard, her chest clenching at his words.
“I didn’t say I felt nothing…”
Good grief, why was she telling him this? It wasn’t like she was going to profess her love for someone after four days. Even if that someone was attentive, sweet, a great cook, had special tentacles that could relieve pain, was devastatingly handsome… the list did seem to go on quite a bit.
“Ah. Give it more time, then,” Zenith said, as if time were the only thing that was an issue here.
“Right,” Gemini replied, following his gaze as he turned his attention to another bird pecking at the ground, this one lime green.
There was a strange noise behind them, and she jerked around, peering into the brush and trying to see what had made it.
“Oh, no,” Zenith said beside her, and immediately she was on alert.
“What is it?”
“Step away, Gemini. Now.”
She glanced at the caerulian, then back at the brush, noticing a large green snake gliding toward them. It blended in with the leaves and grass, but the eerie slithering motion gave her the creeps, and she tried to shuffle backward.
Before she could take two steps, the snake struck, coiling around her leg and yanking her to the ground. She let out a piercing scream, grasping at the dirt as she was dragged into the forest, her muscles tensed with fear.
Zenith pounced, slashing at the beast while Gemini tried to scramble away. She heard the tearing sounds, but it was difficult to focus with the adrenaline racing through her, though suddenly the grip on her leg was gone and she scurried to get to her feet.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, her voice shaking with fear.
“Run!”
Gemini didn’t hesitate, taking off in the direction of the cabin with Zenith at her heels. She heard the snake behind them, crunching over twigs and brush, but she dared not look back, her ankle screaming in pain with each step.
“APODIS!” Zenith yelled, a screeching sound like a cat in a fight.
She could see the cabin in the distance, and by the time they arrived at the door, it was whirring open, a wide-eyed Apodis staring at them.
“Gegon root!” Zenith said, turning to face their pursuer as Gemini did the same.
Did he say root?
As the snake slithered up, she realized it wasn’t a snake at all, but a long green vine stretching toward them.
Holy shit, she had heard of things like this, plants that acted as if they had minds of their own, but she certainly had never seen one.
It was fascinating watching it slide through the grass, though her view was blocked as Apodis stepped between them.
His tentacles whipped around his body, swatting at the vine with a ferocity she couldn’t believe.
She winced as they connected, the plant letting out an anguished groan before retreating back toward the forest whence it came.
She felt bad, like it had been her fault that she’d disturbed it, and a mortifying sob rumbled in her throat.
Apodis turned, his eyes almost black as he looked her up and down. She pressed her palm to her mouth, trying to stop the tears from falling and the strangled sounds from escaping.
Without a word, he took a step forward, pulling her into his arms and hugging her to his chest. His embrace was like fire, heating her more than the sprint through the forest, and she slid her arms around his waist, desperate not to let him go.
“You’re okay. It’s gone,” he whispered in her ear, his soft voice a soothing balm as her heart thumped loudly in her chest.
“Zenith protected me,” she sobbed, tears spilling down her cheeks.
It was so embarrassing to be crying like this, but she was overwhelmed with gratitude for the brave little caerulian and the fearsome Oslieth hugging her close.
“Shhhhhh,” he cooed, brushing a hand through her hair. “Zenith can be quite scary when he wants to be.”
“I wasn’t going to let it hurt Gemini,” Zenith growled, still staring off in the direction the vine had come from with a glare on his face.
The electric blue fur along his back was raised, and a smile tugged at Gemini’s lips as she pressed her cheek to Apodis’ chest.
“Thank you, Zenith. I truly appreciate it.”