He changes course for the kitchen, and opens the fridge, removing the plate with my masterpiece on it. He takes a huge bite. “No onion. Perfect.”
Onion. My brain takes note this time. “And a ton of salami. Oh, and my special sauce. Can’t tell you what’s in it, though. Proprietary.”
I wince. That sounded dirty. He’s thinking the same thing—I can see it in his dark eyes—but wisely keeps his mouth shut. If he says something, I’ll say something. Then we’ll wake up Gem and then Atlanta will behead us.
I make more coffee to pass the time and discover that Atlanta did bring my phone. Aces. I pull up my latest kinky romance novel on my kindle app. There’s a lot of spanking in my books of choice. When Zhang smacked my ass earlier … dayum.
Is it wrong if I beat it to that later? I know I complained—it’s Zhang, I had to—but I loved how real it was. I’m not into the “scene” kind of stuff some humans are. I want it to be like it is back home.
Humans are made from stardust. The Gods used Pleiadian DNA to create them. But we have an entirely different culture than humans do, and I guess I miss it.
It’s also why I’ve resigned myself to the Timothys of Earth. I’m never gonna find my person here. I had a someone—once—when I lived in the Pleiades, but when I fell, he didn’t want to fall with me.
So, fuck him.
Also, he’s the world’s biggest douchebag. We fought about absolutely everything. It’s just … he was super-hot and really good at sex. Not functional reasons to be with someone—I know—and yet I was fucking besotted.
Stars and angels have an innate understanding of sexuality particulars that are often not even sexual in nature, and he—yes, he was an angel—knew mine well. I think only a star could meet my needs at this point.
Oh, and I am never dating an angel again.
“Thanks for the sandwich, babe,” Zhang says, interrupting my read right in the middle of Johnny getting his ass beat for setting his daddy’s living room on fire. You’re not supposed to interrupt people while they’re reading.
Though—sigh—I guess he doesn’t know I’m reading. I should inform him of the rules. “This is the reading area. Speak to me again while I’m in the middle of a great spanking scene and I’ll be doing the beheadings. That goes for everyone.”
“I have zero interest in talking to you at the moment, Treyu,” Atlanta says only just above a whisper.
Zhang snatches my phone. “Let me see.”
“No. Zhang!” Even standing on my toes doesn’t make me tall enough to reach my phone in his barbarian hand.
“Hmmm, yep. Yep, yep, yep.”
“What does that mean?” I shrill.
“Treyu,” Atlanta growls. “You woke Gem with your screeching.”
“It’s okay, baby. I want to get up. Father will contact us soon.” Gem yawns and stretches his arms until they encircle the back of Atlanta’s neck. Atlanta immediately calms down because Gem is the Atlanta Whisperer.
Zhang finally hands my phone back, and I swipe it from him. Our fingers touch and there’s an electric tingle. We back away from each other.
“I need … more air,” he says. For the third time, he stalks out the door.
“For fuck's sake, Treyu. What did you say this time?” That’s Atlanta. Obviously.
Nothing. Maybe for the first time, but nothing.
“I need air too.”
Gem is up with only the thin blanket wrapped around him, fanning behind him as he races across the room. His slender fingers dig into my arm and I’m gonna have Gemini prints. Fuck, he’s strong. “Treyu, please. I know how you feel about him, and about all this, but please stay in the room.
“Stay in the fucking room, Treyu. That’s an order,” Atlanta says.
Remember the four people I won’t argue with? Atlanta’s one of them. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna be fucking gracious about it. “I’m taking a shower. Is that all right with everyone?”
“Turn it on cold. You need to cool off.”
I think he means that as an order too. My brother has no issue punishing me when someone else isn’t around to do it. But I’m gonna play dumb on that one. I head into the bathroom to use the tub as a bed, and sink into my spanking novel.
