~excerpt from Bound by War (Laken and Torin's story)
“Meat. I normally eat meat.
I like meat.”
“—but you just had
surgery.” Laken swallowed heavily.
Torin wanted to smack
himself. Had he frightened Laken?
“I like meat too.”
Laken’s gaze dipped briefly down, then jerked back up. He cleared his throat.
Apparently not. Torin
blinked in shock.
“Ah, yeah, anyway, Neo
said to go easy on your digestive system, so stop snarling.” Laken hesitated
before smoothing the sheet around the tray—the tray that was situated on his
lap. When he was done, Laken stepped back, a slight blush on his cheeks.
Was Laken flirting with
him? Was there a dirty mind hiding under that innocent-looking façade? Torin
felt every brief touch through the thin material of the sheet, even though his cock
didn’t react. The sudden rapid beeping of the heart monitor told a different
story. Hearing it, Laken grinned.
Fascinating. Torin
picked up his spoon. “And what does Neo know of the Blishue digestive system?”
“Enough to know that
this is the best thing for you right now.” Laken sat in the chair next to the
bed. “He actually had to do a quick crash course on Blishue anatomy since he
was the one who operated on you. He was damn impressed with how the Blishue are
put together.”
Torin blew on the liquid.
There were little chunks of some sort of noodles floating around. Noodles. A
warrior needed something more substantial than that. Tentatively he tasted it. He
refused to call it soup, as this was sadly lacking in spices and meat, but it
wasn’t bad for warmed up fluid.
“How is it?” Laken
asked.
There was no missing
the playful grin on Laken’s lips. Torin truly did not know how to react. Laken
didn’t fear teasing him. Torin had slit throats for less, and Laken blithely tread
where others feared to go.
Was it sheer brazen
nerve? A sort of monstrous cockiness? That fit with Tah’Narian personality. But
Laken was also part Ne Reynian, and the males were considered weak. Submissive.
Absolutely fascinating.
“Not bad,” Torin
answered finally. “Thank you for bringing me something to eat.”
Careful to hide how
much it bothered him, Torin took another sip. The meal itself wasn’t the
issue—having Laken provide it was. That was Torin’s job. As the more dominating
of the two, he should be the one to hunt food down, kill it, and bring
it to Laken.
It should be Torin who
furnished what was required for them to survive. Not Laken. Aaaand he needed to
remember they were both civilized beings on a starship and not stuck in a cave
somewhere like his ancestors used to be. He shook his head. Sometimes the
Blishue mentality was very primitive.
