“Wanna play?” She winks.
I scan the room, at a loss for words, before I set Nubbins on the ground. He approaches the bed, sniffing the same arousal scent I smell. But Nubbins isn’t confused, and as he gets closer, he lets out a low rumbling from his chest.
Nubbins stares up at Tri'ot on the bed and growls.
“Can you put that thing in its cage and pay attention to me?” Her baby voice is saccharine as she pouts.
I ignore her and stomp past the bed. Maybe Marta heard her coming and hid in the closet?
My hand grips the door, and I fling it open a bit too hard. There’s buzzing in my ears as I realize the closet is empty.
“Marta?” I yell as I run to the bathroom.
“Raf’ere—” I hear Tri'ot trying to get my attention through my panic.
When my mate isn’t in the bathroom, I turn back to Tri'ot. She grins and curls a finger in my direction.
“Forget about that silly little human. Let’s have some fun, Raf’ere. It’ll be just like the old times!”
Tri'ot knows about Marta.
There’s a rage building in the pit of my stomach, crackling and burning like a lit fuse. I can’t feel my legs as I walk over to the bed. Tri'ot giggles as I kneel next to her.
The lithe fi’len female lets me roll her onto her back, pressing her tits up toward me as I slide my hand over her throat. Her breath catches when I start to squeeze.
Tri'ot pushes her thighs together and stares up at me with hooded lids.
It’s only about two seconds later when her look of pleasure fades to something more terrified. I tighten my grip, cutting off her airflow.
“Where the f’tee is Marta?” I growl, my tone cold.
She sputters, droplets of her spit hitting my face as she does. I release my grip to allow her air, and she gulps it down greedily.
“What the f’tee are you doing?” she yelps, pushing on my hands as she scrambles to get out of my grip.
“Where is she?” I seethe out through gritted teeth.
“Raf’ere, baby, stop you’re hurting me.” Her eyes are wide and I can scent her fear as it overpowers her arousal.
“Tell me where she is! If you hurt her—”
“I didn’t do anything to her. She left you! There’s a note on the table, go look!” she yells.
I let go of Tri'ot’s neck, and she scrambles to the far side of the bed and wraps her arms around her knees.
I rush to the desk and hold up the notepad. Tri'ot knows the fi’len can’t read human script, and I throw the note to the ground in frustration.
“Why in the goddess’s name do you care about her? She can’t do anything for you or the monarchy! F’tee Raf’ere, she’s a liability.Humans don’t belong in the reefs.Do you remember what you told me after the Deenz ship crashed?” She trips over her words, talking fast and looking at her knees.
“Why are you here, then? And where is Marta?” I ask sternly. I don’t believe for a second that Tri'ot had nothing to do with her disappearance.
“I’m here to win you back, although it’s proving more difficult than I thought it would be,” she says as she rubs her neck. “Can’t you see that I’m a better fit forour lives?We could rule the Liin’gan Reefs together, with me as the duchess—”
“Even before Marta, you would have never been the duchess, Tri'ot. You were nothing more than a dalliance.” I can’t help but laugh at her aspiration. “I haven’t thought about you at all, not once, since I met Marta."
“What do you mean?” She snarls at my admission. “We’ve been playing this little game together for years. Raf’ere, darling, there is an unspoken promise between us.” Her voice strains.
“How can I promise you anything, unspoken or not,when I am mated a male?”
