Page 14 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
Damn Rebel for leaving them such a mess.
“Of course you’re my son,” he said. He flexed his fingers, wanting to pull Zero into a hug, but the adolescent resisted such affections. Instead, he lightly thumped Zero on the nose. “You have the Cayne family nose. It is distinguished.”
Zero rubbed his nose. “Freaking huge, you mean.”
“Monumental.”
“Honking. Big and honking.”
Father and son grinned at each other. Zero’s nose came down from his brow in nearly a straight line, with no dip at all, and seemed a few sizes too large for his face. He’d grow into it. Winter knew from personal experience.
“Every male in the Cayne family has been gifted with intellect, which is balanced by our nose. It keeps us humble,” he said.
Zero snorted but kept his comments to himself. More than anything, Winter wanted to bundle his kit up and hide him away from the rest of the universe, where malicious gossip could never reach him. Winter tried his best to protect Zero, but new threats arose every day.
“The assistant was a mistake,” he said.
“As was the pilot. And the other assistant. And the student.”
Winter scratched the base of his ear. He refrained from adding that he had hired none of the people Zero listed. Chase had sent them. “What are you saying?”
“We started the summer with a team of five. Now it’s just you and me.” Zero’s nose wiggled, almost a sneeze.
“They were unacceptable. Better to have no one than the wrong person.” The fired staff members had all leaked information or committed some transgression. The student, though…Winter caught the student playing music on a device as he took apart the inner workings of a prototype bot. “Perhaps I overreacted with the student,” he admitted.
Zero snorted. “It’s lonely in these hills.”
“I’m protecting your privacy.”
“You’re suffocating me.”
Winter held up a hand in surrender. While he and his kit shared many qualities, they were not the same person. Winter could happily spend years in isolation. Zero wanted friends.
Fuck. He was a selfish male, pretending to be motivated by protecting his kit and not merely avoiding awkward social interaction.
“We do not have to stay confined here. Perhaps we can explore the village,” he conceded.
Initially, the mountainous terrain had been chosen to test Chase’s newest bots. They were designed for reconnaissance in all terrain and weather conditions. Winter rented an isolated farmhouse to use as a base of operations because no matter how state-of-the-art and luxurious Chase made a ship, it was still a ship. Camping long-term always ended with foul odors and short tempers. Winter wanted the space—and windows—of an actual building.
The nearby historic temple intrigued Zero, who could wander the ruins while Winter tried his level best to break Chase’s toys. It was the perfect arrangement for Winter, but had to be lonely for an amiable kit.
Zero’s entire body perked, and his tail wiggled with excitement. “This is excellent! I want to go to the beach. And sailing! Can we go sailing?”
“As you say.”
Work could wait.
Chapter 3
An unlikely voice from war-torn Talmar! Rebel Cayne, formerly Ferre, releases her recording debut, Starshine, with catchy, lighthearted lyrics.
-Interstellar Music News
Marigold
The communication unit vibrated. With a sigh, Mari checked the message.
A pair of deep purple, velvet-booted feet rested on her sofa. The caption read,“Had a report of a water leak.”
