Monsters Under Mistletoe

4. Kyavri

Chapter 4

Kyavri

I had folded myself into one of the low chairs in my little human’s corner so she did not have to crane her head quite so much. She was not scared of me, probably because she had no clue what kind of alien I was, but I did not want to give her any reasons to dislike me. The chair was a bit on the small side, and it groaned beneath my heavy frame when I moved, but it was holding. I had an unobstructed view of Olivia’s face as she talked. She gestured with her hands as she did so, and I enjoyed that very much.

Already, I knew all about her past as a navigator, and how she would never fly again. She'd been brought to the Zeta Quadrant by her own government to be used as currency, but was rescued by the Kertinals. Now, she was here on a one-time trip, with Kertinal escorts ensuring the safety of her and the other humans. This made me glance around the bustling bar, my eyes quickly scanning the few Kertinal males stationed around the room. So few against so many. I noticed, however, that some of Thar’oc’s mercenary friends were also present, somewhat leveling the playing field.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that the little human, Olivia, was the least safe of all. But whether that was because of my own rapidly growing desire for her, or for other reasons, I wasn’t sure. My presence was keeping others at bay, creating a nice little circle of privacy around our table. However, it also kept away the waitress who was too scared to come serve me, even though she knew me.

“I’m sorry, Kyavri. Nature calls. I’ll be right back,” Olivia suddenly announced, and she rose to her feet. Since I was seated, I was now at eye height with her and she paused, surprised as she passed me, before offering me a pleased smile. Then she sauntered into the crowd and headed directly for the restrooms in the back. I kept a careful eye on her progress and bared my teeth when someone so much as glanced at her shapely rear, it kept her safe all the way to the door.

By the time she came back out, I was on the edge of my seat, and the chair was nervously groaning beneath my unbalanced weight. Eyes darted her way as soon as she appeared, and I didn’t just bare my teeth in warning; I rumbled a low growl. It was so low that Olivia couldn’t hear it, but it served as a solid warning for most of the aliens in her path. Others took their cue from the rest.

Was she going to walk back to where I sat, or had someone managed to inform her about the supposed dangers of hanging out with a Hoxiam male? I hadn’t been this nervous since waiting for my license to be approved to stay on this station.

Hoxiam did not sweat like other species, but I’d been a nervous wreck while sitting in that too-small chair in front of the Master of Strewn’s office. I felt like that now, as if my world would shatter into pieces if Olivia didn’t come back to me. Why did this feel so important? I tapped a knuckle against my sternum where an ache throbbed, and then Olivia’s eyes met mine from across the room, and she smiled.

Everything inside me eased at that look. She was not afraid of me; she was happy to see me, and that smile told me she liked what she saw. I did not think it was possible to find a female outside my species that could look at me that way. And her smile did not wane when I instinctively grinned back. To a Hoxiam, a smile meant a threat, but I’d been out here long enough to have adjusted.

She was halfway to the table; her smile only growing warmer when a male stepped into her path. This was human, just like her, and I instantly regretted not pulling my possessive growl into the higher registers; he hadn’t heard me. “Oh, Eli,” Olivia said, her smile vanishing like snow before the sun. I did not like the pained expression on her face or the way the male loomed over her with a leering grin.

Shooting to my feet, I abandoned the table and approached in time to catch the man’s words as he gestured and spoke to her with a wide smile. He had even reached out and curled his hand around her upper arm. I growled out loud, and the human male had enough instinct to glance over his shoulder at me and flinch.

“Come on, Livliv! It’s tradition to kiss under the mistletoe… One for old time’s sake?” he asked her in the most pitiful fashion. The growl in my chest intensified. He wanted to kiss my female? Her awkward, deeply uncomfortable expression said it all. This male was not welcome. He was also an idiot for thinking he was safe, but I’d make that clear to him.

“Is this male bothering you, Olivia?” I growled as I stepped up behind her. I did not presume that I was welcome to touch her, the way the human male did, but I brushed close, and with my stature, loomed over her and the male. Then my head bumped into some dangling branches and my mouth split even wider in annoyance.

“Oh, Kyavri. Uh… Yeah, actually he is.” She shot the male an angry glare, “Back off, Eli.” Then she turned her back to him and pressed her hands against my pelt-covered chest, or rather, just above my belly button, since that was as far as she could reach. “He did helpfully remind me of a fun human tradition. Shall I enlighten you?” She beckoned me closer with a crooked finger and a tantalizing, cheeky smile.

I shot the male a triumphant grin that made him go green in the face, and then I did what my female had asked of me and bent down so she could cup my head with her tiny hands. What happened next was so shocking that I froze in place, and a deep hush settled over the entire bar, rippling outward as people pointed and stared.

She pressed her tiny mouth against mine, her soft pink lips brushing against my large, dangerous maw without a hint of fear. I groaned at her scent, her taste, and the idea that she was putting herself in my grasp. Olivia didn’t know it yet, but after this taste, I knew I could never let her go. She was mine to protect, mine to cherish, and mine to pleasure. I owned her taste now, and no one was going to get in my way—least of all the shocked, indignant male staring at us.