Page 14 of Tail Me No Lies
Nox crouched down and held out his hand. The wuap approached carefully, sniffing Nox’s fingers.
“What is your name, little hunter?” he asked in a soft voice.
The wuap knocked its head against Nox’s hand and flopped down at his feet. Nox went to pet the exposed belly and earned a bite for his trouble. The wuap vanished into the darkness.
A grin spread across his face. The little hunter and the ruthless female. What illustrious company he kept.
ChapterFive
Nox
A frustrated shout woke him.
Nox lurched up, momentarily disoriented. The little hunter dashed from his chest, digging claws in as it ran away.
He rubbed his stinging flesh. This wasn’t the first time he woke up half-naked in a strange bed, but usually, someone frowned at him and pushed him to leave. Nor did furry companions usually sneak into his bed in the middle of the night.
Today, though, he found a cup of tea on the bedside table. Steam curled up the cup, and there were even cookies on the saucer. The cookies appeared burnt around the edges. Clean clothes were folded neatly on a nearby chair. Not his clothes, but clean clothes.
Where in perdition was he?
Events of the previous day filtered slowly through the fog in his head. Right. The swap, dodging his uncle, and his little altercation with Geral. Worry pricked along his spine at his uncle’s presence on Corra. How close was Ashen to finding Nox’s location? He had done all he could to ensure a clean getaway, but apparently, that was not enough.
Finally, his thoughts came around to the widow. Or not-widow, as it turned out.
His chest warmed at the thought of Ruth. During the flight, he had studied the dossier that Celestial Mates gave him, his focus more intent on the solitary shot of the human female than the grounds and home she kept. He had imagined the unrestrained glory of her dark locks. In the photo, they were a deep, rich brown with red highlights in the sunlight. He wondered if they were soft and how it would feel when he grabbed a handful and pulled her head back to purr in her tiny human ears.
That didn’t matter. She hadn’t seemed overly impressed with him yesterday, which normally he would accept. He didn’t need entanglements, but when the entanglements came with tea and slightly burnt homemade cookies, he’d reconsider his position.
Nox moved stiffly, old injuries making themselves known. Ravenous, he devoured the cookies without chewing and washed them down with the tea. Reaching for the pile of neatly folded clothes, his shoulder reminded him of the long-ago fight that dislocated it. He never felt the aches and pains until the next day. In the heat of the moment, bloodlust sang in his veins. His body did as he commanded, moving with precision, fast and strong.
For all its benefits, the bloodlust took a toll on his body. It was too easy to ignore limits and do lasting damage. Ligaments tore and never truly healed. He was worn and aged before his time. A male entering midlife should not be in such rough condition, but he had not been kind to his body. Years of cage fights had seen to that. A day on a cramped shuttle followed by nearly pounding the smug off a smug male left him exhausted.
Nox rolled his aching shoulder and stretched, chasing away any lingering stiffness. The cookies helped.
His body ached in new and alarming ways. Sleep could not always tame the restless bloodlust, always wanting to lash out.
He flexed his hand, popping his claws in and out as he recited the seven virtues.
Humility. Patience. Kindness. Justice. Fortitude. Prudence. Forgiveness.
He remained in control.
Yesterday, Ruth believed that Nox could help with her problem. Now he needed to prove it. With Ashen sniffing around the main transportation center off-planet, Nox needed to stay put. Keeping his tail down with the widow and her cookies wasn’t a bad option.
A noise outside the bedroom door motivated him to investigate. He dressed and followed the commotion through the house to the source. He found the widow in the cleansing room, wrapped in a bathrobe and clutching a wrench. Wet hair dripped down her back. The robe barely contained all the goodness that was her figure, making a lot of promises about the swell of her chest and the curve of her hips.
Nox leaned against the doorframe. “Tell me there is an amusing story, not that I’m complaining about the view.”
“The worthless water heater! It goes from scalding to freezing and I’m sick of it.” She waved the wrench in the air. The front of the robe fluttered open, showing just a hint of thigh.
“Shouldn’t you be wearing your spectacles?”
“I don’t need to see to beat the crap out of this thing.” To demonstrate, she swung the wrench against the square heater mounted on the wall. The plastic casing groaned. The robe remained firmly in place.
The wrench arched back, ready to strike again.
Nox took the maltreated tool from Ruth. “Abusing a malfunctioning piece of equipment will not help.”
