He watched yet another male reach out to touch her earrings, no doubt in an effort to graze her skin accidentally. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Go speak with her now, Asivva, before I drag that male away from her.”
Without a word, she hurried off.
***
“How has Theo been treating you?” a tall, beautiful, turquoise-haired woman asked Jade.
She was getting really tired of that question. Jade had talked to at least twenty people already, and they all asked her that.
The men she’d met had all tried to sweet talk her and convince her she could find greater enjoyment with them in her next marriage. Although they were handsome and charming, she felt repelled.
On Earth, she would’ve let herself be flattered by these men, but Jade no longer wanted an easy good-looking man to shower her with compliments. She wanted her rough, poor-tempered, alien sex pot who rarely knew the right thing to say.
A few minutes ago, she’d retreated from the crowd into a portion of the large room filled with low comfortable couches. She’d hoped the Clecanians would pick up on her hint that she needed a break. No such luck. Not five minutes after she’d sat down and ordered herself a prosecco 2.0 from a very nice elderly man who couldn’t have been more than three feet tall did the blue-haired woman come to join her.
Women, like the one she spoke to now, asked about Theo politely, but she could tell they wanted juicy gossip. She continued to disappoint them.
“He’s been treating me like a queen,” she said to the women with a tight smile. What was her name again? Hessy? Hally?
“Hmm.” The woman leaned back to recline on the couch. “And his scars don’t bother you?”
Jade bristled and glared at her. “They don’t look like scars to me. I like them.”
“How interesting.” She studied her nails casually. “Whenever I visited Theo, I always made sure not to focus on them.”
A bolt of bitter jealousy shot through Jade. Hussy. That’s her name.
“It’s a good thing you don’t have to visit him anymore, then. In fact, I’d recommend you refrain from looking at him at all.”
Hussy sputtered.
Someone cleared their throat next to her, and Jade glanced over to find Asivva and the small waiter staring at them. Asivva was glancing between the two women with a worried expression. The small waiter looked amused. He nodded respectfully to her as he served her drink.
Hussy rose with her chin held high. “Good evening, Asivva. I’d steer clear of this human if I were you.” She said the word “human” with disdain.
Jade flipped her the middle finger. Although the gesture must be unfamiliar to her, she appeared offended and skittered away. The small waiter snickered and followed Hussy.
“Well, you and Theo make quite the pair,” Asivva said, seating herself across from Jade, who continued to stare daggers at Hussy across the room. “He’s on one side of the room scaring off every male who tries to talk to him, and you’re on this side scaring off the females.”
“I’d been perfectly polite until she showed up, thank you very much,” Jade said sourly. “What did he even see in her, anyway?” Was she beautiful and delicate and feminine? Sure. But she was also way too uppity. Was she really Theo’s type?
Asivva pressed a hand to Jade’s knee to draw her attention. “I can’t be sure, but I think he saw an available sexual partner and nothing more.”
Jade gave an annoyed grunt.
“I know for certain he likes you far more than he’s ever liked any other female.”
Jade fluffed her hair, slightly appeased. Get your head in the game, girl! You wanted to talk to Asivva, remember?
“I’m glad you’re here, actually. I wanted to ask you something,” Jade said, leaning forward.
Asivva nodded, indicating she should continue.
“Well, as it turns out, I do like Theo. A lot.” Heat tinged Jade’s cheeks, and Asivva gave her a knowing smile. “I was wondering how I would go about trying to stay with him instead of leaving in two months.”
“How long would you want to stay?”
Jade shrugged sheepishly. “For as long as he’ll have me, I suppose.”
Asivva’s grinned widened, displaying her even white teeth. “I’m so happy to hear it.”
Feeling vulnerable, Jade murmured, “Do you think he’ll want me to stay?”
Without any hesitation, she said, “Yes. He absolutely would.”
Jade’s heart leapt and relief flooded her. Theo did like her. His behavior couldn’t be chalked up to alien differences—he actually liked her and wanted her to stay with him. Suddenly she needed to be next him.
“Asivva, do you think I’m done here now? I’d like to go find Theo. He was nervous about coming here.”
“Yes, I think you’ve done your duty.”
Jade rose to leave, but Asivva stopped her.
“Can I ask you a question before you leave?”
Impatiently, Jade said, “Of course. What is it?”
“Have you noticed Theo’s eyes change color around you?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty freaky, right?” She laughed, looking through the crowd, judging her best route. “How they go all black like that.”
Jade noticed Asivva’s thunderstruck expression but had no time to analyze it. She wanted to get to Theo, settle this once and for all. She weaved through the dense crowd. From behind her she heard Asivva call to Zikas.
Excitement coursed through her, thinking about what their life together might be like.
She broke through a group of statuesque women and spotted Theo. She grinned widely when she took in his glowering face. He looked so handsome and comically unhappy in the glittering ballroom.
His head shot in her direction as though sensing her. When he saw her, his shoulders relaxed and the corners of his mouth lifted.
Jade began to move toward him but was blocked by a large male figure. Xoris stood before her.
“Hello, Jade,” he said, looking down at her with a frown. Xoris was an official of some kind. Recalling Zikas’ words from earlier, she decided she’d better let him
