As for the other human female now living within the city, she had not only healed up quite well from her broken limb and Raxxian imprisonment, but she had finally received her Dotharian runes, setting the male population abuzz with thehopes that, just maybe, one of them might be as fortunate as Arkness and Rykker had been. Time would tell.
“So, how’s it all feeling?” Olivia asked her friend as the pair strolled the city, snacking on the little pastry treats their favorite café owner refused to take payment for. “You settled in comfortably now that you’re one of us?”
Harper lifted her arm, looking at the fine lines connecting the runes running from her wrist to her elbow, shoulder, and beyond. “It’s still taking some getting used to, truth be told.”
“To be expected.”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s all waaaay more than either of us ever experienced back home.”
“That’s for sure,” Olivia said with a chuckle. “But it sure as hell beats the other kind of alien encounter.”
Harper chuckled happily. “By a million miles, no doubt. And speaking of alien encounters, tell me more about your latest exploits. I still can’t believe you landed not one butbothof the most sought-after men in the entire city.”
A dreamy grin crept onto Olivia’s face without her even realizing it, confirming Harper’s assumptions about the trio’s ongoing adventures. “Without going into details?—”
“But I love the details!”
Olivia paused as a group of young men passed, all of them nodding their polite greeting, more than a few eyes lingering on the novel sight of not one but two women, and from a world they’d never heard of, no less.
“As I was saying, without going into detailsin public, let’s just say that I think we’ll have run out of taboos within a month. In fact, I’m thinking that we may need to sit down and draft up our own version of the Kama Sutra.”
“TheHot Fucking Aliens Sutra, perhaps?” Harper suggested with a wicked chuckle.
“To be fair, that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.”
“From what you said the other day, I think your tongue has been plenty busy, as have theirs.”
Olivia’s cheeks flushed at the thought. “Let’s just say that they’ve taken all that book learning and put it to incredibly good use. With a little help from their very willing tutor, of course. I mean, it would be rude of me not to offer my services.”
“Oh, terribly,” Harper said with a laugh. “One mustn’t offend the locals, after all.”
“Amen, my sister. Amen to that.”
Harper nodded politely to a trio of men sitting outside a nice residence as they passed, the three of them watching with clear interest. Unlike back on Earth, however, there was no cat calling, nor any hint of danger to them. Respecting women was part of the core cultural values among this male-heavy society, and to cause any female discomfort, or worse yet, motivate her to leave, would be seen as the ultimate violation. It was refreshing, to say the least, and it made Harper hopeful for what the future might bring. But still, men would be men, and they couldn’t help but look.
“Do you think I’ll find a man too?” she asked, waving politely to the trio as they walked by.
Olivia’s eyebrow cranked skyward so hard and fast she feared it might fall off her face from the speed of it. “Seriously?” she shot back. “Are you shitting me?”
“I just mean?—”
“Girl, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to find a man, of that I’m sure. And there’s certainly no lack of interested parties, in case you hadn’t noticed.” Olivia glanced up at the sky, noting the sun’s dipping path. “But we’ll dive into that later. It’s time to head home. Rykker’s making us dinner.”
“You guys are staying at his tonight?”
“Yeah. It’s just easier on the nights he cooks.”
Harper nodded appreciatively. “You know, you really have it great. Two great men, each with a really nice place, as well as your own spot, which may be smaller, but it’s also really quite cozy. And the three of you just rotate around and stay wherever makes sense for the night without any possessiveness or jealousy? It’s pretty amazing.”
Olivia couldn’t have agreed more. That these two formerly fierce rivals were now essentially best buddies, roommates, and co-lovers to the woman they both adored was about as perfect a world as she could ask for. And speaking of perfect–
“Okay, I really do need to get moving. I’m helping with meal prep tonight.”
“Go get some for me,” Harper chuckled.
“I’ll have an extra helping, just for you.”
“I wasn’t talking about food, you know.”
