“Are they still trying to kill you?” Bahadur asked as he set a glass of fiery orange Curizan liquor down on the table next to Viper before settling into the chair across from him, a full bottle of the potent drink in one hand and an empty glass in the other.
Viper watched as the other male poured a glass for himself and set the bottle down on the table next to him. Leaning forward, Viper grabbed the bottle. He settled back in his seat, picked up the full glass next to him, drained it, refilled it, drained it again, before he filled it a third time and set the bottle down next to him.
“Yes and no,” he replied in a clipped voice.
He heard Bahadur release a loud sigh before he cleared his throat, pulling his attention back to the Curizan’s amused face. His fingers tightened around the glass in his hand to the point he was amazed it didn’t shatter. If Bahadur said one more snide remark about his getting shot in the ass, he wouldn’t stop his cat from ripping the male apart.
“Perhaps I can help,” a quiet voice said.
Viper turned his head to look at the smooth face of Carmen Walker-Reykill, Creon’s human mate. His lip started to curl with a sarcastic response before he thought twice about it. He had been unable to get in touch with his brother and Riley. Perhaps this female could shed some light on why Tina and her grandmother were behaving so irrationally.
“Do you want a drink?” Viper asked, nodding toward the bottle next to him.
Carmen glanced at the liquid and shook her head. “No, thanks anyway,” she replied.
Viper shrugged and watched Carmen as she gracefully sank down into the chair next to Bahadur. She studied him for several long seconds before she shook her head and leaned back in her seat, folding her arms across her chest.
“What?” Viper demanded before he took a sip from his glass. “You said you could help, so help. Why are the females behaving irrationally? I can’t even get close to them without ending up with an ass full of salt.”
Carmen’s lips twitched at his disgruntled admission. The movement, combined with the amusement in her eyes and the exasperated expression on her face, didn’t help his disposition. If anything, his frustration grew.
“What did you tell them about Riley?” She inquired politely.
Viper shrugged again and looked down at his glass. He frowned as he tried to remember exactly what he had said. All he could think about was Tina’s soft lips against his, her sweet taste, and the silky feel of her skin against his palm.
“I told her that she had been kidnapped by a trader and sold to the Antrox and had to choose a mate. That she chose five, one of which was Vox,” he muttered. “I told her Vox had taken Riley as his mate and given her a cub.”
Carmen raised her slender hands and made a steeple with her fingers. She rested her chin on them as she focused on what he was telling her. Viper reluctantly admitted he was thankful that at least she was listening to him.
“Did you tell Tina and Pearl that Riley loves Vox and wanted to be with him? Did you explain that she could now shift like Vox?” She asked in a quiet voice.
Viper frowned. “Of course not! Why would I say that? Of course Riley has feelings for my brother,” Viper said. “That is why she insists her family be brought back, so he can complete this human ceremony with her.”
Carmen raised an eyebrow and looked at Viper. “And did you happen to mention that they were getting married?” She asked pointedly.
“Married?” Viper asked, looking at Carmen with a blank expression before it cleared with understanding. “That is the word I could not remember. I told her they are mated. That Vox chose Riley and Riley had no choice, but to accept. That is like your human ceremony, yes?”
Carmen tilted her head back and burst out into laughter. It took several long minutes before she eyed Viper with a look of such pity, he could feel his face flush. A sinking feeling in his stomach told him he wasn’t going to like what she was about to tell him. He glanced at Bahadur, hoping for a little support. Instead, he caught the Curizan fighting a fit of laughter at his discomfort.
“What?!” Viper growled. “You got an ass full of salt, too. You also got your ass handed to you by the females. I’m not the only one having trouble with them,” he reminded Bahadur as he pointed his finger at the other male.
*.*.*
Carmen shook her head and wiped the moisture from the corner of her eye. She smiled ruefully at Viper. The guy was a total ass, but he had looked so dejected when she walked by earlier that she felt a moment of softness.
She and Creon would be traveling down to the planet later that day and she had been on her way to meet up with him when she glanced through the door and saw the Sarafin sitting in the dim room. There had been something about him, something almost… heartbreaking, that she couldn’t resist coming in the second time she passed by.
Drawing in a deep breath, she leaned forward and looked Viper in the eye. She couldn’t guarantee she could help him clean up the mess he had made, but she would try. The first thing he would need to do is get close enough to apologize for being an idiot. The second thing would be to prove that he wasn’t still one.
“Okay, I’m not making any promises, but if you try what I’m about to tell you, you have a fifty-fifty chance of at least telling them that they are invited to a wedding without getting shot again,” Carmen chuckled. “After that, you are on your own.”
“Well,” Bahadur interrupted, holding up his drink toward Viper. “That means he has a hundred percent chance of messing up.”
Viper’s eyes narrowed on Bahadur. “If I do, I’ll be using you as a shield again,” he bit out before turning back to Carmen. “Now, what do I have to do?”
*.*.*
Viper glared at Bahadur. He had never thought he would want to accuse the Curizan Admiral of being a coward, but the way the other male stood back and waved for him to go first was seriously making that difficult not to do. Opening the back door to the bar, he peered down the dark corridor. A faint light came from Tina’s office and more lights and the sound of glasses clanging and voices alerted him that there was someone in the main bar area.
He slipped into the dark corridor, gripping the items he had brought and feeling like a fool. Bahadur carefully closed the door as he squeezed through the door behind him. He glared when Bahadur nudged him in the back.
“Go on,” Bahadur whispered. “I want to see if this works.”
Viper glared over his shoulder at the Curizan. “Then, why don’t you go first?” He retorted.
“Because I wasn’t the one who made them mad,” Bahadur grunted. “Plus, I’ve already been shot by one and hit by the other. I’ve had my fill of human females. I thought the Marastin Dow was a bloodthirsty lot. They could take lessons from these humans.”
Viper rolled his eyes and turned back toward the entrance to the bar area. The humans were nothing like the Marastin Dow. Well, except for the fact they liked to be violent and draw blood and were unreasonable. Okay, maybe they were a little like them. Still, Carmen said this should work. It was a universal symbol that the females would recognize and give him a chance to explain.
“Marriage,” he muttered, trying to make sure he remembered the right human word. “Wedding. Riley wants you to come to her wedding… marriage ceremony.”
“She doesn’t want me to come,” Bahadur whispered in exasperation. “I don’t even know her and Vox can’t stand me.”
“Not you,” Viper growled, casting another heated look at the male behind him. “I am trying to remember the human term. It is wedding… marriage… not mating.”
Bahadur shrugged and pushed Viper. “It means the same to me,” he responded. “Now go! I want to find the other human female named Toni. I’ve decided she owes me for knocking me out.”
Viper paused and turned again with a raised eyebrow. “I thought you said you were done with human females,” he whispered with a frown.
“After I deal with this one,” Bahadur muttered and pushed on Viper again. “Then, I’ll
be finished. Now, go!”
“You two boys just don’t know when to give up, do you?” A cold voice asked.
A low curse escaped Viper as he turned to face Tina and Pearl St. Claire. Tina had her arms folded across her chest and was glaring in their direction while Pearl had that damn weapon of hers aimed at them. Viper hastily held up the white cloth that Carmen told him he would need to wave. She swore that the other women would understand its meaning.
“Truce,” he growled. “Carmen said you would understand what a white cloth means.”
He flushed when he saw Tina roll her eyes at him and drop her arms. His eyes flickered to Pearl. A relieved sigh escaped him when he saw her slowly lower her weapon.
“It worked,” Bahadur muttered in surprise. “These humans are even stranger than I thought.”
“Just… shut up,” Viper gritted out. “I have these as well.” He thrust his other hand out toward Tina with a scowl. “She said this would also help keep you from trying to kill me.”
“You brought me weeds?” Tina asked in disbelief, gazing at the drooping mass of green, yellows, and whites in his hand.
Viper looked at the crumbled bunch of flowers he had picked near the back wall behind the bar. They did not look as good as they did ten minutes before. He had thought they looked nice when he first saw them.
“They are not weeds, they have blooms on them. See,” he argued, thrusting them toward her. “Carmen said the white cloth and flowers would calm your temper and give me time to explain about your sister. Now, take the flowers. If you put them in water, they will look better.”
He glared back at Tina, daring her to refuse him. For a brief moment, he thought she might. It was only the sound of her soft curse and the fact that she snatched the blooms from his hand that made him realize that she would give him a chance. Now, he just had to make sure he didn’t ‘screw it up’ as Carmen so eloquently phrased it.
*.*.*
“Can you put that thing somewhere else?” Viper asked gruffly as he followed Tina and Pearl into the other room. “Even with the regen, I swear I still have salt in my buttocks.”
“My back, ass, and legs were covered in bruises,” Bahadur commented as he walked into the room and glanced around with a frown. “Where is the other female?”
Tina turned and walked across the bar. She briefly paused by the trash can to toss the flowers he had given her into it. A scowl darkened his face at her disregard for his gift. He paused long enough to push the lid back as it started to close and retrieve the crumbled bunch of wilted flowers.
He ignored Bahadur’s chuckle and Pearl’s snort as they watched him. Following Tina, he waited until she sank down at the table where she and Pearl had been working. He set the bouquet of flowers down on the table next to her and sat down in the chair across from her.
He watched in frustration as Tina ignored his peace offering. Instead, she picked up some silverware and wrapped a napkin around it. She then picked up a small strip of paper and wound it around the bunch. Setting it aside, she picked up another.
His eyes followed her as she efficiently folded a half dozen more before he rose up out of his chair and stomped over to the bar. He walked behind it, ignoring Bahadur and Pearl’s bemused expressions as they watched him. Instead, he looked under the bar until he found what he was looking for. Pulling a tall glass out from the neat stack, he walked over to the small sink that was built into the bar and filled it with water.
Twisting the faucet off, he walked back around the bar and returned to the table. He paused long enough to pick up the flowers he had picked, then retrieved from the trash, and placed them in the glass. He ignored the way the stems drooped over the side of the glass, instead he carefully set it down in front of Tina with a small thump.
He returned to his chair, sat down, folded his arms across his chest, and stared at her, willing her to accept his peace offering. The seconds turned to a minute and he was about to give up when she finally released a deep sigh and looked up at him. The amount of pain and sadness in them made his chest ache.
“I am sorry,” he told her in a husky tone. “I did not say the words I meant to say the other day. Your language… It is not the easiest to learn. Too many words sound and mean the same thing.”
“Why?” She whispered, a single tear escaping to slide down her cheek. “Why would your brother do that to Riley? Why?”
Viper leaned forward at the same time as Pearl reached for her granddaughter’s right hand. There was something he was missing, something important. She wasn’t looking at him any longer, but the sad, crumpled weeds that he had picked.
“They remind me of you,” he murmured, not realizing he had spoken aloud at first. He continued when he saw her puzzled look. “These flowers, they remind me of you.”
Her left hand rose and she ran one finger along a bent stem. His eyes followed the movement, mesmerized by her gentle touch. The flowers were beginning to stand up a little in the cold water.
“I remind you of weeds?” She asked, confused.
Viper shook his head and reached for her left hand. “No, you remind me of how they grow in the wild. You remind me of the colors and how in the harshness of the sun, dirt, and hard ground, how they stood above to dance in the wind,” he explained with a slight frown as he stared down at the delicate blooms. “You are strong, but beautiful, just like they are.”
He reluctantly released Tina’s hand when she pulled it out of his to wipe at the dampness on her cheek. Regret filled him for making her sad. Confused by his feelings, he sat back and stared at Tina.
“You never answered my question,” she said in a thick voice. “Why would your brother hurt my sister like that?”
“He did not hurt her,” Viper said, shaking his head in disagreement. “He sent me here to retrieve you and your vic… your grandmother.”
“Why?” Pearl asked in a hard tone.
“Because his mate is sad,” Viper said, wincing when Bahadur punched him in the arm and scowled.
“You are about to screw this up,” Bahadur growled under his breath. “You are supposed to use the human word.”
Viper scowled at Bahadur. “I’m trying,” he snapped.
“And what word is that?” Pearl asked, sliding her hand down beside her to where she had set her gun.
“Marriage,” Viper said hastily, quickly pulling a paper from his vest and setting it in front of Tina and Pearl. “Vox has asked that you attend their marriage. They wish to have a human wedding ceremony to seal their bond.”
He watched as Tina’s trembling hand reached out and she picked up the stiff paper Riley had insisted he give to her family. He had forgotten about it until late last night. It had been stuck inside the other papers that he was supposed to give them.
Tina’s voice shook as she read the message out loud.
You are cordially invited to the wedding of
Riley Ann St. Claire, from Denver, Colorado, Earth
to
Vox d’Rojah, King of the Sarafin
When: As soon as you get your asses here
Time: It better be quick because I want to be married before the baby comes
Where: Sarafin, my new home
P.S. I love the big oaf and want you here for the wedding. Shotguns are optional, Grandma Pearl, unless he changes his mind, then I definitely need you
Pearl chuckled when she read the messy, bold writing under Riley’s beautiful, elegant print.
I won’t change my mind! I choose Riley St. Claire for my queen. Signed Vox d’Rojah, King
“Is he really a king?” Pearl asked with a raised eyebrow.
Viper bowed his head. “Yes,” he replied in a firm voice. “And he has ordered me to return with you both, whether you wish to go or not.”
“Great! Now that you have that settled,” Bahadur said with a relieved clap of his hands. “Where is the other female?”
Chapter 10
Tina glanced over to where Viper was talking quietly with Bahad
ur. He glanced at her before he nodded. Tina’s eyes narrowed suspiciously when the other man grinned. She rose up when she saw the flash of light as he disappeared.
“You need to warn people before you guys just vanish,” she said crossly, walking over to the bar and picking up the bag of sugar-free jelly beans she’d bought for Tiny.
Tiny’s wife had told her that Tiny’s doctor was worried about his weight and that Tiny was trying to cut back. The problem was, Tiny had a terrible jelly bean sweet tooth. Tina decided to replace the regular jelly beans she kept for Tiny with the sugar free variety after his wife said that would be great.
“He is limiting himself to eight a day. It is his reward to himself for having a good day,” Karen said with a grin. “I love the big guy the way he is, but the doctor said he had to lose some weight.”
“Why only eight?” Tina remembered asking.
“He has cut back from a half pound bag of regular jelly beans a day to eight of the sugar free ones. Trust me, it has made a huge difference. He is addicted to the damn things,” Karen replied with a laugh.
She tried to tear the corner off and almost groaned in frustration when she realized that she would have to get a pair of scissors to open the package. She started when Viper took the package out of her hands and stared at it with a confused frown. He opened the bag and sniffed it.
“What is this?” He asked. “You are sick?”
“No,” Tina replied. “It is candy for Tiny. He likes to reward himself for a good day.”
She watched as he picked a piece of the candy out of the bag. He sniffed it again before he carefully placed it on his tongue. A look of surprise widened his eyes and he slowly chewed on it.
“It has a surprisingly good taste,” he said. “Why are they different colors? Do they taste different?”
Tina rolled her eyes and reached for the bag. He pulled it back and took out several more jelly beans before he reluctantly handed the bag to her. She emptied the contents into the clear plastic container labeled “Tiny’s Sweet Treats”. She had made sure that she posted a warning under the label ‘Do not eat more than eight pieces per day” after reading the consequences on the manufacturer’s label warned that it might cause intestinal discomfort.