Pluma Creo peered down at me, blinking repeatedly, and mumbled in complete shock, “Did you cut off their fingers?”
On their own, my eyes lowered to the ground, and my lips thinned. “I didn’t hurt my Plumas.”
They had hurt me. My breath still caught at the thought, my stomach even churning with nauseous acid at being duped as I had been. They had each other. Loved each other. I was merely a plaything to them.
Stiller gaped. “Then how did you get their rings-”
“Enough,” Pluma Moir commanded in the gentlest, but most demanding, tone. “I believe Ms. Valorn has had enough excitement for now.”
I didn’t raise my gaze. His words were true – and surprisingly appreciated.
It was quiet for a few beats until Jax turned, and marched back to the old fashioned stove, stating loudly, “She and I still need to have our breakfast.” He paused, and sniffed the air. “If it’s not burnt by now.”
Pluma Creo grunted, gently setting me on my feet. “Not alone, you won’t.” He peered at Pluma Moir, his voice a deep timber. “We’re staying in here.”
Pluma Moir nodded once, not speaking, but agreeing while he silently watched Jax.
“What are you two doing?” I asked.
My curiosity had piqued two hours after breakfast when Pluma Creo had produced vials of liquid from his bedroom closet. It was now almost dinner time for Jax and me, and he was still taking up the entire kitchen mixing these liquids together with extreme care. Pluma Moir had joined him, bringing what appeared to be a clear piece of engineering adhesive strip with him - about the size of half my hand. Together, they were sprinkling the cooled mixture on the adhesive material.
Studying his work, Pluma Moir stated evenly, “The medication in your system is almost gone.”
I fisted my – slightly – shaking hands. “How did you know that I was taking medicine?”
Absently, he sniffed the air. “We can smell it on you.” He shrugged when I continued to gape at their sense of smell. “It’s understandable, being as far away from your Vaq as you are. Before Killeg and I invented this, many Vaq and their Soul did the same to handle the pain.” He paused thoughtfully, and then chuckled quietly. “Don’t worry. We’ll bill your Vaq for the cost.”
“Uh…” I stared at their handiwork. “That’s for me?”
“Yes,” Pluma Creo answered, lowering his face to stare as he coated the outer edges.
I blinked, “You two invented a way to reverse the side effects?”
Again, Pluma Moir shrugged, and then blew lightly on the material, drying it. “I’m an engineer. Killeg’s a botanist. We enjoy creating items to help our people.” His dark eyes peeked up at me, capturing my gaze as he blew once more on the drying liquid. When I didn’t glance away, unable to, my very being caught on his, his lips curved in a sensual manner. He gradually straightened as my cheeks heated. “When we’re not killing people, that is.”
I jerked my attention away, and stared at the stove. It was safe there. Bland and boring. “You two are a muddle of unparalleled contradictions.”
“We are who we are,” Pluma Moir stated simply, humor lightening his tone.
I glanced his way, and snorted. My lips even curved into a slight smile. “That you are.”
Pluma Creo caught my attention when he lifted the adhesive strip - with delicate care - and walked toward me. “Lift your hair.”
I eyed the strip. “You’re sure it’s safe? For a Human, that is?”
He chuckled quietly. “If the Mian medicine that you ingested didn’t kill you, then this is safe.”
I guess that was true. “What do you two call it?”
“We named it Solo.”
“That’s fitting, I suppose.” I lifted my hair into a high ponytail, and dipped my head forward, showing my coded bars of the Cold Mark plainly. “Slap it on.”
His tone was quiet as he stepped directly behind me, bring a wave of his scent and heat. “We do not slap women on this planet, Ms. Valorn.” Ever so softly, he placed the strip against my Cold Mark, and it instantly adhered to my skin, providing an instantaneous relief that had my shoulders sagging, my head no longer throbbing, and my limbs no longer on a simmer of fired pain. His fingers traced the strip, just grazing my flesh, making gooseflesh rise and a shiver of…heat…run down my spine. He leaned forward, resting his muscular frame against my back, and whispered against my ear, “We live to please our females, and in return…they love to please us.”
My chest warmed with a feeling unlike I had ever known. It was a yearning. I wanted to press myself back against him. To lower my hair, and drop my head back, and allow him to hold me.
I ached for his hands to be on me.
I sucked in a harsh breath. The raw emotion was enough for me to lurch away. I dropped my hair, and even though I knew what this was…it was dangerous. I swung my fingers between the two of them when they advanced a step in my direction. “You said this was a bad idea. Remember? You said my Vaq wouldn’t appreciate it.” I tilted my chin up and eyed them. They appeared like they wanted to take a bite out of me - in the most erotic of ways. Like I was a tasty treat they wanted to savor. “You were right. They wouldn’t.” It was best to put on a false face when I was shaking now…and not in pain. I didn’t want to feel this way. It wasn’t Human no matter what Jax said. It was barbaric.
Pluma Creo’s lips twitched almost playfully. “They would never know.”
Ah, shit. I had said my Vaq didn’t wear their rings any more. “No.” I shook my head. It wasn’t going to happen - whatever was roaming inside their heads. “No matter what, no matter that I ran from them, I am their Soul. Not yours.”
At my words, specifically at the word ‘no’, both stopped in their tracks. Good.
Inhaling and exhaling a large breath, I muttered into the stifling silence, “Okay…so I’m just going to go watch a flicker show with Stiller and Jax.” I pointed to the parlor. “I’ll be in there.” Moving as quickly as I could without sprinting from the kitchen, I headed toward the parlor.
Pluma Moir’s quiet words almost made me trip. “You may be their Soul, Ms. Valorn, but it is Killeg and me that you want. That much is obvious.” He paused. “No matter your words.”
“Dragon!” Stiller shouted.
I gaped, turning my attention from Pluma Creo, who was imitating some type of flapping bird, to the purple haired Mian sitting next to me. “You have dragons here?” I had read about them in the few remaining children’s book from Earth. “I want to see one!” The lingering amusement I’d had, because I was playing Charades with aliens, was now gone. Now…I wanted an up-close-and-personal view of a dragon! Hell yeah…