Page 40 of All or Nothing
I gasped, my eyes widening. Derris was like his brother—he couldn’t mean that. Could he?
He kissed me once more, then released me, smiling softly. “We still have a few hours before they are expecting us. What can I do to help you get ready in that time?”
I was feeling a lot less panicky after talking to him. Was this why Dr. Jackson was always telling me I needed to communicate more? Because this was pretty damn great. I was even feeling a little saucy now. There was just something about a guy being willing to burn everything to the ground for you that really soaked the ‘ole panties.
“You can keep kissing me,” I purred at him, fluttering my lashes and thrusting my chest forward. “Maybe even on the mouth.”
His brow furrowed, the look of confusion on his face quickly replaced by heat and lust once he got it. “My Joss,” he groaned, grabbing me and hauling me up so that our faces were at the same level. I squeaked, clinging to him with my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. His mouth slanted over mine, claiming me hungrily, making me pant and whine with the rush of need flooding me.
DERRIS AND GESEAwere lovely, of course. I’d known there wasn’treallyany reason to worry—but anxiety had a way of getting to me like a greased-up freight train with busted breaks.
When they’d met us at the front door I was feeling uncomfortable about how slippery I still felt between the thighs from Xollen’s pre-dinner attentions back at the apartment. Luckily the billieuans didn’t have the hyper-sensitive sense of smell that so many aliens in the romances I loved had.Thatwould have been more embarrassing than I could stand. As it was, they were both smiling warmly, Derris’s arm casually wrapped around Gesea’s waist.
Derris looked pretty much the same as how I remembered him from the video call a couple of weeks back, copper eyes swirling warmly, and his skin a deeper and greener shade than Xollen’s, kind of like oxidized copper. I didn’t think I’d ever get over that cleft they had running down the center of their faces, but at least I no longer felt tempted to start giggling when I saw it. Gesea was a delicate-looking female, her slight willowy build reminding me a lot of Ghena. Her complexion was closer to Xollen’s pleasant mint, her eyes a bright and hypnotic gold that her cobalt hair complemented well. Her cleft was also less deep than Derris’s, reminding me more of a peach than a full-on butt.
“Warmest of welcomes to you, Xollen and Joss. We’re so glad you could make it,” Gesea greeted us, her voice soft and sweet. I immediately felt like a bull in a china shop. I took Xollen’s hand, squeezing tight, and he looked down at me, his eyes so full of affection that it took the worst of the edge off. Dr. Jackson used to tell me all the time that I was probably the only one in a room judging me as harshly as I did, and I had to admit, looking around at the group, that that did seem to be the case. Gesea and Derris were being genuinely warm and welcoming, and no one was staring at my big tummy or my double chin. I relaxed the tiniest fraction.
Our hosts led us on a quick tour of their home, since not even Xollen had been there yet, then we settled into the dining room to eat and drink. They’d prepared a wide selection of dishes, making me uneasy. Were more people going to be coming by after all? Had Derris mentioned how big I was and they’d prepared extra food because they thought I’d eat it all?
Gesea waved a hand at all of the dishes, looking sheepish. “I went a bit overboard with the cooking, I’m afraid. I didn’t know what humans liked to eat so I made a wide variety to make sure you’d have something you like, Joss.” She shot Xollen a brief frown. “Someonewas absolutely no help when we asked him what you liked.”
I laughed, feeling a little guilty for my minor freakout.Corrective experience, Joss. They’re not messing with you!“Yeah, I’m not too picky so I’m sure it’ll all be delicious! When they did my medical scans at the port they didn’t identify any food allergies so nothing should kill me.”
“See, I told you! She likes everything!” Xollen cried, throwing his hands up. “I know my Joss,” he pouted at a laughing Derris.
“So you did, Xoll. You have our apologies.”
I squeezed Xollen’s thigh under the table, giving him a little smile. He put his hand on top of mine and squeezed me back. So far it wasn’t too bad. I was still tense and nervous, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it usually was when I found myself in these sorts of situations. I wasn’t ready to just jump into the conversation yet, but it was still nice to sit there and listen to the three of them talk.
Over the course of the meal—which was delicious, the dishes full of fresh vegetables and soft grains—I learned that Gesea had gone to the same school as them for most of their childhood, and had been one of the few people outside of Derris who hadn’t bullied Xollen and had actually tried to be his friend. She’d been born with only one heart instead of two, and could identify with Xollen and his struggles since most of her young life had been spent with a kind of pacemaker device hooked up to her chest. She’d had to move away and switch schools when she was a young teen, and they’d fallen out of contact.
“But the Goddess had a plan,” Derris interjected smoothly, tucking a strand of his mate’s wavy blue hair behind her pointed ear. “I’d had a crush on her for many years, but hadn’t wanted to make things awkward if we started a contract and then had to nullify it. But then once I got to university, guess who was in my very first class on my very first day?”
Gesea tilted her head back to meet Derris’s adoring gaze, the smile on her lips blooming bright and beautiful. “From there it was a bit of a whirlwind,” Gesea continued, her voice dropping an octave and getting a bit husky. “He had a relationship contract drawn up by the end of that first week, and becauseIhad always harbored a secret crush onhim, of course I signed it. Within a month we’d moved in together, and after a year we were talking about getting engaged.”
I couldn’t stop myself from sighing and leaning my head on Xollen’s bicep. “Oh my god, that’s so romantic! I can’t believe it worked out like that,” I told them. Xoll kissed the top of my head, careful not to muss my meticulously curled hair, and Derris and Gesea looked surprised at the gesture, but both of them smiled brightly at us.
“You two have quite the story, too, do you not?” Derris asked, putting his arm around his mate’s shoulder and holding her close against his side. “How was it that you met again, Xollen?”
My alien man flushed, ducking his head and making the decorative chain he’d draped over his horns tinkle. “You know how, Derr,” he grumbled. I frowned at him, wondering if he was ashamed of how we’d met.
“You rescued me and four other females from some slavers you ran into on Quellor Station. You even cleared out your savings to do it!” I swatted at his arm gently. “I don’t know why you’re being so shy, Xoll.”
He stiffened beside me, his hand leaving mine under the table.What the hell?Had I embarrassed him? Xollen cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, pulling his leg out of my grasp.
Cold dread filled my stomach, making it sink like a heavy stone. My meal was going sour on me. Ihadupset him by telling them that—but how? Why would he be embarrassed about the fact that he’d rescued all of us? Maybe he thought that just that bit made it sound like he was taking advantage of me.
“He was a perfect gentleman the whole time,” I plowed on, my hands tangling together in my lap. I was starting to get sweaty now. I had to fix this. I had to make sure I explained it all so everyone understood. “I offered to stick around instead of moving in with one of the girls or trying my luck with the shelter because even then I was drawn to Xollen. And the rest is history!” I smiled up at my quiet alien boyfriend, hoping I’d fixed things.
He was looking straight ahead, his jaw muscles tense and ticking, his purple eye swirling wildly.
I had not fixed things.
I shoved back from the table, keeping a bright smile plastered on my face. “Where is your hygiene room?” I asked. I needed to get away, needed to calm myself down and regroup.
Gesea stood, smiling gently. “I’ll show you. There’s a lot of turns to get there from the dining room and it’ll be easier if I just take you.”
I nodded, feeling grateful. With how upset I was getting I probably wouldn’t have been able to remember directions anyway.
