Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
I’m just glad she’s found a reason to smile again.
Chapter
Ten
SINATH
I eat the delicious human foods that the females pass to me as if it is my duty to do so. It’s clear to me that Liesje enjoys feeding me, so I continue to devour plate after plate of cookies and the nut-studded stollen bread. It reminds me of something my grandmother made when we ran out of our funded rations allocated for the month. She would pull bits of all kinds from leftovers and trade with our neighbors for nuts and fruits, and make a thick loaf of whatever we had available so it would last as long as possible. I remember dipping that hard, strange loaf in water to soften it and thinking it was the tastiest meal possible.
Grandmother just wanted someone to look after. Someone to have a connection of some sort with. Family. I suspect Liesje wants the same. She doesn’t want Devin, however well-intentioned, to do things for her. She needs to be goaded into doing them for herself.
So I polish off another piece of bread and hold my plate out for more. I’m going to have a gut like Rektar if I keep eating like this, but there are worse things.
Liesje is in a great mood as we eat and drink tea. Or rather, I eat and the females drink tea. Devin nibbles on some of the cookies, handing bits to her rodent, and I don’t even mind his presence. I pick a candied nut off of my plate and hold it out to him, and I’m rewarded with the little chirp he makes when he’s excited. He looks ridiculous in his sweater, though. I’m going to tease Devin about that later. Liesje sips her tea, talking of holidays in the past, like the time she caught her former mate cheating on her and threw him out in a snowstorm much like today’s.
Now that, I don’t understand. Mesakkah are decisive when it comes to females. Some might say “covetous,” but I like to think we know instinctively what we want. I knew when I kissed the first human that she wasn’t for me, but I was intrigued by the thought of kissing. She’d been yellow-haired and round-faced with pale eyes. Me, I prefer the vibrant snap of Devin’s darker eyes, the wide smile on her face, and the way she gives me defiant glares.
Oh kef.
I choke on a bit of stollen, coughing. Liesje and Devin both reach over and thump my back, and I grimace my thanks. Why is it when I picture a mate, I’m suddenly picturing Devin and it feels right? Like something has slid into place?
Khex is going to laugh so hard at me. I grab my tea and gulp it down, grimacing. I’m not even sure Devin likes me. A kiss means nothing, as I’m well aware. I glance over at her, wondering if this new revelation is evident on my face. I’m a terrible keffing liar, as I’ve been told a dozen times before by the other custodians.
She’s…so pretty.
There’s something about her that makes Devin seem lit up from within. It’s her smile, I think. Whenever she directs it at me, I feel rewarded. More than that, it’s her caring heart. She just wants happiness for everyone around her, even if it’s a rodent or a neighbor that tries to push her away.
Of course I’m falling for her. It makes total sense.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
For once, I’m tongue-tied. I have no clever—or stupid—words to say. I just shrug and take a gulp of my tea. “So how long do the presents stay under the tree before they’re ready?”
“Ready?” Devin laughs. “Ready for what?”
“You tell me. It’s your holiday. Why do we put them under the tree anyhow?”
She pauses for a moment, thinking. “I actually have no idea. Liesje?”
The older woman shrugs. “Tradition.”
“There you go,” Devin says, putting her hands on her hips and nodding as if this answers everything. “Tradition.”
“Does tradition say I get more cake?” I ask, eyeing Liesje. “Because I’d like more cake.”
“I should have baked more than one. I had no idea you’d arrive so hungry.” Liesje gets to her feet and heads to the kitchen. “But there is always more cake for a hungry man.”
The moment she leaves the room, Devin hugs her knees to her chest and scowls at me. “Quit laying it on so thick,” she whispers. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Laying what on so thick?”
Her hands flap in the air and she affects a ridiculous low voice that has to be mimicking mine. “Oh, I’m so hungry. No one ever feeds me. Let me eat you out of house and home.”
I throw my head back, laughing. “I don’t sound like that.”
“Yes you do.” She rolls her eyes at me, but her smile returns. “You’re acting like you’ve never had cake before.”