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He raised his fist again, and the Yeknod cowered. Avel huffed out a breath and stepped back. Holly’s image entered his head, and his anger cooled. Other than her interest in his hair, she’d said nothing about the way he looked. She hadn’t treated him like a freak or an object of curiosity.

When he’d had her pressed against his chest and his tongue in her mouth, she’d wanted him. He’d tasted her desire. She was different from everyone else. Holly hadn’t batted an eyelid at his unusual looks. If anything, she’d been intrigued by him.

“You’re not worth my time.” Avel held out his wrist comm. “Last chance. Punch in your information and send me the money you owe, including the interest.”

The Yeknod slowly climbed to his knees, grimacing as he did so and clutching his side. With a shaking hand, he keyed in the information on Avel’s wrist comm.

Avel checked the balance in his account and nodded. It was amazing what money people could scrape together when their backs were against the wall and a knife too close to their vital organs. “Same time next month. Make it easy on yourself. Don’t pretend you haven’t got your repayment. I might not hold back if you do.”

The Yeknod muttered curses, which Avel chose to ignore. He’d had enough for one day. Five collections, two of which had been similar to this. He was done in. He needed a break. He needed some sweetness in his life.

Avel grinned. Sweetness, that was exactly what would wash away the stench of the scum he’d dealt with today. And he knew just where to find it.

He jogged back to his quarters, stood under the shower for five minutes to remove the blood and bring down the swelling on his hands. He dried himself roughly with a towel, smoothed down his erratic hair, and climbed into a clean black jumpsuit. He checked the time. If he was quick, he’d just make it.

Avel jogged to the dining hall and entered through the double doors into the kitchen. A group of five individuals stood around, wearing white aprons. There were two Koobs, two Draxdans, and a Lillip.

Holly stood in front of them, a white apron covering her curves and a white hat on her head. She raised her gaze, and her eyes widened as she saw Avel.

He grinned at the surprise on her face. “You did say you had a spare space.”

“Of course.” Holly dropped the bag of flour she held, and it puffed around her in a white cloud. She coughed and swiped a hand in front of her eyes. “Please, join us.”

Avel nodded a greeting at the other participants before taking the apron Holly passed him and tying it around his waist.

He got a kick out of seeing how nervous Holly was around him. He took it as a good sign. “Do you need a hand with that?” He pointed at the flour.

Holly folded the top and shot him a sharp look. “Everything’s under control. We’re just getting started.” She looked around the group and smiled. “We’re here to perfect your cupcake recipe. We’re making vanilla cupcakes with a butter cream and strawberry frosting. You’ll also get a chance to refine your icing techniques when you decorate your cupcakes.”

“Will there be sprinkles?” one of the Koobs asked.

“Sprinkles if you choose.” Holly’s shoulders eased down as she continued to teach. “You’ll have a variety of toppings to use. Don’t be afraid to experiment and add your own signature to your cupcakes. That’s part of the fun of baking; you get to create your signature dish.”

She explained the basic recipe for cupcakes and set out the ingredients on the table as she talked through how to make them.

Avel tried to focus on Holly’s words, but his gaze kept running over her body. This was exactly what he needed after today, something fun. Something that soothed his soul. Something that helped him forget that every day he chased people who owed him and had to handle scum who tried to cheat him. No one cheated him and got away with it.

“Is everyone ready?” Holly asked. “It takes about fifteen minutes to mix everything together and then eighteen minutes to bake your cupcakes. There are enough ovens for everyone, so they should all be ready at the same time.”

Avel chose a space close to Holly as he set out the ingredients as she’d instructed. Flour, eggs, butter, sugar. What was he missing?

“Vanilla essence.” Holly passed him a small brown bottle. “It enhances the cupcake flavor. None of the cheap extract stuff. I use the essence from the vanilla bean pod. It makes such a difference. It’s expensive but worth it.”

“Much like Dackin powder,” he said.

She grinned and looked away. “Just like that.”

Avel dumped in the flour and sugar, not checking if his measurements were accurate. It couldn’t be hard to knock up a few cakes.

“Err, you need to be careful.” The Koob next to him peered into Avel’s bowl. “Cupcakes are a delicate art. If you don’t get the wet to dry ratio correct, you’ll end up with a gloppy mess.”

“It can’t be that hard,” Avel said. “Put everything in a bowl and mix it together.”

“No, dry ingredients first, as Holly told us,” the Koob said. “Then add the wet.”

Avel grunted and continued to shove everything into his bowl. He grabbed a spoon and tried to mix it together. The butter stuck in a clump, and nothing would combine. He added muscle behind his stirring and ground the butter to a pulp. It looked a little dry, so he dumped in some water.

He grimaced and glanced around. His mix looked like beige paint. He added more flour and slung in half a bottle of vanilla essence. It still didn’t look great, and it was nothing like the Koob’s next to him. His mixture looked golden brown with tiny bubbles in it. There wasn’t a lump in sight.