Page 43 of Her Alien Cyborgs
Hezza cleared her throat. “Hello, Sajita. I’m hoping to transfer a contract and leave the cargo here for pickup by another party. If that happens, I’ll file the paperwork, but there’s no sense in you doing all the work if I don’t have any takers.”
“Oh, of course. I’ll make a note of that,” Sajita said, but she didn’t look down at the data tablet in her hand. Instead, she let her gaze roam up and down his body.
Hezza chuckled, but there was no warmth in the sound. “Do you want me to do your job for you? Because it looks like you’re busy ogling something that doesn’t belong to you,” she said. Her voice remained soft, but the underlying tone was full of steel.
“I’m just appreciating the male form. If they’re interested, I’d be willing to let them appreciate my form right back.”
Hezza’s lips curled up in a snarl. “Back off, Sajita.”
The female tore her eyes away to give Hezza a haughty look. “You don’t own your crew. They can make their own decisions.”
“We have already made our decision.” Kalan placed a possessive hand on Hezza’s shoulder while Fyr’enth walked past Sajita to place his arm around her waist.
“Hezza is ourmahaya,” Fyr’enth declared.
The other female blinked in surprise, but then her expression turned sour as her eyes went cold. “What a waste. How much does she pay you? I can’t imagine any other reason why two hot young males like you would spend time with a shriveled hag like her.”
Hezza’s next words came out with a guttural growl that would have done any Vardarian proud. “I don’t have to pay them, sweetheart. They’re with me because I am the only female in the wholefraxxinggalaxy who can give them everything they want or need.” She took a small step toward Sajita. “Starting with respect. Since you don’t have any for yourself, I can understand why you find it difficult to give it to anyone else. Now find somewhere else to be, or I’ll report you to someone so senior you’ve never even heard their name.”
Sajita’s dark skin turned ashen in the brief moment before she turned on her heel and hurried away.
“I would report her anyway. If I knew who to complain to,” Hezza muttered as the female fled the area.
“But you said you’d tell one of her senior supervisors?” Kalan said.
Hezza lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I lied. Beings like her only get away with that kind of behavior because no one is willing to call them out on it. Sure, she could make things difficult for me here, but we’re not moving cargo right now, so she’s got no way to threaten us.”
Fyr’enth tugged her back to his side and nuzzled her cheek. “You are hotter than a supernova when you get growly and possessive,zana.”
“Now you know how I feel when you do it,” she replied, her cheeks stained with color. “But enough talking. We have places to be and beings to meet.” She jerked her thumb in the direction Sajita had gone. “And something tells me she won’t be willing to let us extend our stay longer than the three-hour window I set up before we landed.”
She led them out of the port by following the pathway painted on the tarmac. Different colors led to different places.
“If something happens, come back here and follow the blue line back to our section of the port,” she told them.
“You’re expecting trouble?” Kalan asked.
“I always expect trouble, but I don’t think we’ll have any. With all the jumps and navigational changes we made, even if someone is chasing us, they’ll be hours behind.”
“Do you think you’ll get a buyer for our cargo in the time we have?” Fyr’enth asked. It didn’t seem likely.
“Oh, we will. Flek is already working on that for me. We haven’t agreed to anything, but if there’re no takers here, he’ll likely buy the contract himself. He’ll take a cut and sell it on to someone later.”
“But you told that female there was nothing to offload,” Kalan said.
“I told her what she needed to hear. I’ve dealt with her before, and every time I do, things go mysteriously missing, but by the time I notice, I’m light-years away and can’t do anything about it. Flek will know who to trust and get them to handle the transfer.”
“You lied to her,” Kalan sounded more amused than concerned.
“I did.” Hezza stopped walking but held on to their hands, so they both stopped and turned back to look at her. “When I told you that I bend rules and do questionable things, I meant it.”
Fyr’enth shook his head. “You protect yourself and those you care about. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“Me neither,” Kalan agreed.
“And this is why I’ve stopped questioning the universe’s decision to put us together.” She smiled and squeezed their hands. “We have matching kinds of crazy.”
“We do,” Fyr’enth agreed.
