Page 75 of I'm Not Your Pet

“What was that?” I asked him, because I was certain there was significance to the action.

“A kiss.”

“Kissh?” I repeated, logging the word away for later. This was a new kind of kissing. Much less chaste than anything we’d tried before. Now that I knew the word in his language, I could request more of them. The thought made me hungry. This sort of kiss was as close as we had gotten to the kind of kissing my people enjoyed.

“Mhmm,” Huu-goh hummed. It was different than the one he used to soothe me. It wasn’t a song. A simple few notes he often repeated. “M—hmm” meant yes, somehow. Music that had meaning, just like his songs meant comfort.

Huu-mans were such magical creatures.

And my Huu-goh was the best of them all.

We raced each other. I won. Every time. And every time Huu-goh simply snickered and claimed another filthy kiss. When we returned to our rooms I felt lighter than I ever had before. Things were looking up. They truly were. And even the ever-present threat of space pirates could not dampen my mood as Huu-goh and I showered off and retreated to bed for the night.

Soon we’d speak to each other candidly.

Soon I’d get that damn collar off him.

Soon we’d go home.

“You’ll keep an eye on him.” It was a statement, not a question.

Mala rolled his eyes and Ushuu coughed out a laugh. They both thought I was being ridiculous, and maybe I was. This was not my first, second, or even fifth time confirming that both of them would take care of Huu-goh in my absence.

There were negotiations to be made, shipments to be dropped off, and schedules to be updated. Those were all tasks required of Captain, which meant now that we’d landed on planet Sha’hPihn I wouldn’t get the opportunity to take Huu-goh out myself until I’d had a chance to finish my duties.

On top of that, landing on Sha’hPihn meant that we were close enough to our home planet that I could send home communications. I would be spending the next few days rather busy planning Huu-goh and my ceremony for when we arrived on Osheania.

It was a momentous occasion. There were many people to invite—all my “siblings” from the orphanage, for one. The caretaker who had taken care of me after my father had passed. All the retired Sahrks that I had served under before I’d become captain—and more.

It was a giddy feeling, knowing what was to come.

Even more than that, however, I was excited to give Huu-goh the autonomy he needed. Which was why…though I wanted to take him shopping—and I would, eventually—I didn’t think it was a bad thing to send him out on his own first.

With guards, of course.

Huu-goh needed friends.

And he needed to make choices on his own.

That was important.

“You won’t let him out of your sight,” I confirmed again.

“We won’t let him out of our sight,” Mala repeated, obviously making fun of me. Asshole. I glared at him, but it had been a long time since I’d been able to intimidate him, so it did nothing but make him laugh outright.

“If you run into trouble—” I continued.

“We’ll call you on your communicator—we know, Roark.” Mala slapped my back playfully. Then his snout was bumping against mine. He grabbed my fin to keep me in place, giving it a tight squeeze. “I woulddiebefore I allowed something to happen to your mate.”

I shut my eyes and centered myself as I nodded. “I know,” my voice was unusually hoarse.

“He is my heart,” I told him, trying to explain why I was acting so irrationally. “It isn’t that I don’t trust you both.”

“I know,” Mala gave my fin another squeeze, his breath puffing against my lips. He was slightly smaller than me, but not by much. We were easily the largest Sahrks on the ship. I had only known two larger than us in my life, and both had died before I’d met Mala. It was a sobering thought to have, and one I pushed aside.

When Mala pulled back, I felt settled in a way I hadn’t before.

I’d come a long way. Pushed my own limits to the point they’d been forced to expand. There were no more leashes inour future, and I hoped—if given enough time—I would only continue to grow.

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