“The laughter of an unvirtuous female is the worst insult a male can endure,” said the other Fr’Enson, sounding as though he was quoting some kind of religious text. “How dare you flash your teeth at us?”
“I…I…” Kara shook her head and put a hand self-consciously over her mouth.
“If you’re so afraid of being laughed at maybe you should cover your junk before you go out,” the Unbondable rumbled, stepping between her and the Fr’Ensons. “You look fuckin’ ridiculous, you know. Maybe get a jock-strap hat or at least wear some safety goggles so you don’t go poking each other in the eyes when you literally start dicking around.”
Kara laughed again—she couldn’t help it. But she made certain to keep her hand over her mouth when she did, hiding her fangs.
“Outrage! Once more the unvirtuous one laughs at us,” exclaimed one of the Fr’Ensons, pointing at her. He glared at Kara. “I know who you are.”
“What?” Kara shook her head. “But I’ve never even met you before.”
“You are the only female to have fangs—you must be the progeny of the Chancellor of the Kindred High Council.” He nodded decisively, his sex organ bobbing rigidly from his forehead. “Your father will know of this insult. Oh yes—indeed he will.”
“But…” Kara had a sinking feeling in her gut. All their lives, she and Kaleb had been warned to be on their best behavior because of their father’s position on the High Council. Her dad wasn’t going to be happy when he heard the Fr’Enson elders complain about her. Plus, were her fangs really that noticeable? She put a hand to her mouth again, self-consciously.
As the doors opened, the two emissaries waddled out, exclaiming over and over that they had been dishonored and insulted. Both were still huge, their saggy skins puffed up with outrage, so they looked like a couple of balloons.
Balloons with dicks sticking out of their heads, Kara thought and giggled again despite herself.
A great many other people left the car and Kara should have too. It was the last stop on the transport’s line before it returned to the station at the far end of the Mother Ship. If she stayed on, she would be making the entire return trip and would doubtless be late for work.
But somehow, she felt frozen to the spot. She didn’t want to leave—didn’t want to get off at the same stop as the offended Fr’Ensons.
The big Unbondable Kindred stayed too, standing quietly beside her until the doors slid smoothly closed and the transport started its return journey. Then he turned to Kara.
“Well that was a fuckin’ interesting way to start the day.”
“Oh, um…I guess so.” She nodded uncertainly at him and realized uneasily that they were the only two people left in the transport car. She remembered her brother’s words about the Y’lyn Kindred being amoral and doing anything they wanted. Would the big male try to hurt her now?
But to her surprise, he didn’t lift a hand to her. Instead, he apologized.
“I’m afraid I got you in trouble, making you laugh at them that way. Sorry about that,” he rumbled.
“It’s okay,” Kara mumbled, looking down. This close to the big male, she felt rather intimidated, although she didn’t like to admit it. She was used to being almost as tall as many of the males around her but the Unbondable was so huge and muscular and wild-looking with his mane of ebony hair and his silver-ringed eyes. He towered over her in a rather daunting way.
“Are you really the High Chancellor’s daughter?” he asked.
Kara nodded. “Yes, Commander Sylvan is my father. He, uh, won’t be very happy when he hears about what just happened. Although I don’t see how I could help laughing,” she added mutinously. “They looked so ridiculous, all puffed up and poking each other in the eye with their, uh, parts.”
“Like I said, literal dick-heads,” the Unbondable said. He put one long finger out and held it to his forehead as he mimed staggering back and forth and poking it in the air. Then he clapped a hand over his eye. “Oh, my eye! You have dishonored me with your dick!” he moaned in a high voice which was an eerily good imitation of the Fr’Ensons.
Kara clapped a hand to her mouth and laughed, unable to help herself.
“Like…like dick-headed unicorns,” she gasped, still covering her fangs since she couldn’t stop laughing.
The Unbondable was laughing too, a deep rumbling chuckle that seemed to come from the very bottom of his chest. It was an infectious sound and somehow it made Kara laugh even harder until her sides ached.
“What’s a…a unicorn?” he asked at last, apparently having trouble getting the words out through his laughter.
“A legend from Earth—the planet we orbit,” she explained, still giggling. “It’s supposed to be a beautiful, magical creature with a horn growing from the center of its head.”
“Hmm…beautiful…magical…and horny. I guess one out of three isn’t bad,” he remarked.
Kara laughed again, keeping her hand close to her mouth.
“Oh, stop,” she begged. “My sides ache as it is—I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time.”
The big Unbondable Kindred was suddenly serious.
“Why do you do that?” he asked, looking at her.
“Do what?” Kara looked up at him with wide eyes.
“That.” He gestured to her hand. “Why do you cover your mouth when you laugh?”
“I…um…” Kara looked down at her hands, now clenched together in front of her. “I guess to hide my fangs,” she admitted in a low voice, although she didn’t know why she was telling the big male, whose name she didn’t even know, such an embarrassing thing.
“Why should you hide them?” He sounded genuinely curious, as though he really couldn’t imagine why she ought to hide her shame.
“Well, because…they’re unladylike,” Kara said. “Only males are supposed to have fangs.”
“Says who?” the Unbondable demanded. “Males who feel intimidated by you? Assholes with little dicks who can’t stand to see a female doing things they think only they
