Page 10 of Sloane

I've decided that as soon as we make it back to a port, we'll add human food to the food synthesizer on board. I doubt they'll be as good as Sloane's, but it'll be something to remind us all of her when she's no longer part of the crew.

"You coming in, or you just standing out there like a weirdo?" Essa snaps her fingers at me, dragging my attention away from the pretty slope of Sloane's neck.

Of course, Sloane seems to notice this. Even worse, she notices the violet blooming across my chest. A sign of my arousal that I wish would stop showing up every time I'm around her. It doesn't help that it's been so long since we had pleasure crew, and the three-day waiting period is usually manageable because the female stays in her room, not wanting to have any sort of relationship with anyone on the crew unless needed.

I do prefer the needy ache in my balls to the cold shoulder we'd get from previous pleasure crew members. If this is my punishment for getting to be near Sloane, it's well worth it. I'll ache and ache for her so long as I get at least a taste of her when the time comes. Even more if she keeps wanting to be around me.

"What are you making?" I ask, stepping inside the kitchen so the door can close and leaning against the wall.

My question is directed at Essa since she's the one behind the counter cooking something, but my eyes stay on Sloane. The way she smiles up at me like she's happy to be near me. It causes a strange feeling in my chest that I worry will never be replaced when she leaves us after this mission.

I force the thoughts away, not wanting to think about the end of this mission when we're just barely beginning. I need to enjoy every moment I have with Sloane. I can mourn her absence when she's actually gone and not a moment before.

"It's a dish from my planet that I told Sloane is very much like her cookies in how my people like them." Essa gives me a twisted smile that tells me neither of us is going to like whatever her version of a cookie is.

"She's having the machine make it," Sloane adds. "I told her it doesn't count because she can't add love to it. What good are cookies with no love?"

I frown, confused by what Sloane's saying. "You can't add love to a dish."

At least, I've never heard of adding love to something. Maybe it's a mess up in my translator. Maybe she's talking about a human herb or spice that's well-known on her planet and not the feeling of absolute belonging one can find in another.

"Yes, you can." Sloane cocks one of her eyebrows at me, and I try not to laugh at how silly the things seem. She looks better with them, though. It makes up for her lack of a third eye that's missing from the middle of her forehead.

I've never been with a female who's not from my species, so I never gave myself a chance to wonder if I found any other species attractive. I'm finding that I definitely find human females very attractive, even if they lack a pair of arms and a whole eye.

There's something enticing about Sloane's body. Maybe it's that she looks so soft or that she most definitely looks like she needs someone to keep her safe and protected. There's also the voluminous excess of her chest and backside that I'm not used to seeing since our females normally have more muscular frames until they swell with young.

Mine and Alik's intrigue in her hasn't been helped by the reading material the pleasure crew company sent to make sure we're aware of the physical differences between Varon females and human females. We've been studying it frequently so we don't make ourselves look foolish when Sloane finally allows us the pleasure of her body.

"Is love an herb?" I ask, moving closer to Sloane. I've tried to keep my distance since I'm supposed to treat her as a human crew and not a pleasure crew until she turns her pendant backon. It's so hard not to be near her when she makes talking to her so easy. "I think there's a translation issue."

"No." Sloane swats at my chest with one of her delicate human hands.

When she lets her hand linger on my chest, I realize I've moved much too close. I'm practically pinning her to the counter with my body, my lower hands planted on either side of her body, my upper arms crossed over my chest, still trying to hide my arousal.

Sloane doesn't seem worried when I cage her in, and the growing pink that stains her cheeks makes me think that maybe she's feeling the weight of these three days of waiting like I am. Maybe she aches, too. That thought has my cock fighting for attention, but I manage to keep myself calm.

"Love is the feeling you have with other people you care for. It's warm and fuzzy and safe." Her pale blue eyes stay pinned on mine as she talks, her nails pressing against the soft fur of my chest, scraping softly to leave little trails.

I lower my face, knowing I'm playing a dangerous game with myself as I do it. Essa's still in the kitchen with us, though. If I go too far, she'll tell me. Worst case scenario, I tell Essa I'd do the same thing to her, and she would just kick my ass for doing it.

My voice lowers to a soft whisper as I respond. "Love can't be added to food, Sloane."

Yes, I'm playing a dangerous game right now, but the way Sloane's eyes widen, the slight catch in her breath as I speak, it makes all of it worth it. I don't get to hear her retort before Essa clears her throat. It's her version of telling me to back the fuck off before she pulls a dagger on me.

She's protective over the pleasure crew females, always has been, even though most of them never even speak to her. Sloane becoming her friend means she's even more protective of her. It makes it hard to work on slowly courting the female. Not thatI can do anything once Sloane's interested in me. She'll leave our ship, move on to the next, or take her paycheck and live a pleasant life back on Earth.

What she won't do, because no one ever does, is stay on as our permanent crew. I can't even think about it, because it'll have my hopes getting too high. I'm asking to be hurt even more when she leaves by thinking about her choosing to stay.

I push away from the counter, turning around so I can readjust myself in my pants. Tomorrow can't get here soon enough. Once I've been inside Sloane, maybe I can get the all-consuming need to claim her out of my system and start being around her more often without the need to be as close to her as possible.

When I turn back around, lower hands covering my crotch, it's clear that the females know what I did. Not that I can care much since Sloane's here to handle it once her waiting period is over. By the look in her eyes I wouldn't be surprised if she isn't interested in handling it now.

"We're doing a movie night tonight," Sloane says.

Her eyes drop to where I'm covering myself. If Essa wasn't right behind her staring me down with a dagger twirling in her fingers, I might remove my hands and let Sloane see how she makes me react when I'm so close to her. The threat on Essa's face is clear that she'll not only cock block me, but she'll also cut off my entire cock if I don't give this human her three days to acclimate.

"Movies are nice." I lean back against the wall, hoping it shows Essa that I'm no threat, sexual or otherwise, to the human female we've all come to like over the last couple of days.