Chapter 17 | Kara

Chapter 17

Kara

My heart was pounding in my throat after that encounter, my legs felt all wonky, and my panties were soaked. Rex was a naughty, naughty man, and I couldn’t believe that conversation had gone the way it went. He was mad at me for putting myself in danger, I knew that. Maybe he was even a little hurt that I hadn’t asked him for help, stung in his pride. But it felt like I’d been rewarded rather than punished, and I’d definitely felt the admiration.

I felt ten feet tall when I stepped into the barroom, still floating on the aftereffects of my orgasm and the feeling that Rex had approved of what I’d done. Next time, I definitely wouldn’t keep him out of the loop. The warm, fuzzy feelings in my chest warned me that I was inches from falling in love with my alien chef. I’d taken crazy risks for him already; what was one more?

If I hadn’t been so lost in my feelings, I would have seen it quicker. As it was, I was barely in time, saved only by quick reflexes. I dropped to my knees behind the bar as soon as my eyes landed on the black-and-green-streaked skin of a Kertinal male. My breathing caught in my chest with a sudden wave of fear. There was only one option: crawl back into the kitchen on hands and knees and hope nobody saw me.

I was panting when I made it, leaping to my feet and racing for Rex at the stove. “They’re here!” I yelped, catching my alien by one of his arms and clutching his thick biceps tightly. “Those guys from last night are back, the ones that kidnapped me.” I waved a hand at the door to the bar. “Rex, Drova was talking with them. He knows.”

My chef pulled me close, giving me a quick, tight squeeze before setting me on my feet behind him. I saw him yank his apron from his narrow waist, knives flipping through the air in quick, tight spins before ending up gripped in equally tight fists. It was the first time I’d seen him handle his knives quite like that, and my stomach dropped with a hint of something—a suspicion that he was once something completely different from a humble cook. “Stay here,” he signed with a quick, firm gesture, and then he prowled into the bar with lethal grace.

Standing for ten seconds at the counter left me a nervous wreck, and I was done feeling like that. Despite being told to wait, I tiptoed to the door and peered around the edge so I could see what was going on. I didn’t want Rex to get in trouble, and he’d looked so angry, his spots had turned as red as the rest of his skin.

The barroom was completely quiet when I peered inside. Any patrons remaining at a handful of tables had their heads ducked low over their drink or food. Drova stood near one of the booths, and five aliens sat at the table closest to him. One of them was the Kertinal male I recognized. The others were two Krektar, a Rummicaron with the very distinct head of a shark, and a pair of Asrai with identical grinning skull faces. Now that I got a good look, I had no doubt that this was the group that had stolen me from Ker.

Rex stood next to the bar, his arms out to his sides and his knives glinting in the light. He had settled a glare on the Kertinal male, and that was it, but it was making all of them squirm in their seats. Rex didn’t need to use words to get his message across; he was so fucking intimidating right now that it sent chills up my spine. I knew he’d never hurt me, but this was a side of him I had suspected was there but had not personally seen. Not like this.

The group shuffled out of their seats, then bolted from the bar without a backward glance. Drova looked upset about that, but he did not protest to Rex for scaring off his customers. No, he planted his ass in a chair and made himself small. He was waiting for the storm to pass, too afraid to face Rex’s wrath. I was very impressed, and I couldn’t wait to find out why they were so incredibly scared of my chef. It wasn’t just the knives and the bulging muscles, though I was sure that helped.

Eventually, Rex turned around and stalked back into the kitchen, and he did not look surprised to find me right next to the door. A smile flitted across his face, his spots briefly flashing yellow before they settled back into a dark purple. “They are gone,” he signed at me. “But they’ll be back. I’ll man the bar; you’re going to have to cook today, sweet one.”

He was going to discover in a hurry that I was a terrible chef. I loved eating, but I had never managed a proper homecooked meal in my life, despite my mom's valiant efforts to teach me. I could cut vegetables, though, so that’s what I did. Any of the grunt work I could take care of for him, I did, but I never left the kitchen. It was all Drova and Rex manning the bar for the evening crowd. I hated it, but I had to admit that it was nice to be off my feet and safe in Rex’s very cozy domain.

As the dinner rush started to wind down, I was beginning to believe that Rex was wrong: they weren’t coming back. Had he scared them off for good? I had seen hide nor hair of the Ovter I’d gotten the contacts from either, and Rex had been on the lookout. The other shoe had to drop at some point, though, hadn’t it? I didn’t fully believe that I’d managed to scam that creep and avoid my would-be kidnappers.

When Rex ducked into the kitchen with three trays piled high with dirty dishes balanced in his hands, I felt my nerves flutter away on the wings of a whole lot of butterflies. Yup, I was definitely falling for him. He was so confident and sexy, and all he seemed to want to do was take care of me. It was a very alluring mixture. It didn’t hurt that he was always showing off his sexy abs, either. My eyes lingered on his chest as he put the trays down. Then I hurried over to load the cleanser while he checked on whatever food was still in his ovens or on the stove.

It felt like a very normal, homely moment, and I could suddenly picture hundreds of moments just like this one in my future. I didn’t want to leave Rex, and I definitely didn’t want to go back to Ker, which was probably the most boring place in the Zeta Quadrant. I could see myself working in this bar, side by side with Rex for a long time. I liked it here, and if Drova fucked off, which appeared to be Rex’s plan, it would be perfect.

It was like my thoughts jinxed it, but that was silly. One moment, everything seemed warm and mellow, with the whole world stretching in front of me, a curl of desire in my belly for what Rex had promised me for the night. The next moment, Drova pranced into the kitchen wearing an unholy kind of grin that turned my stomach. He was followed by two Ovters in crisp white uniforms and the Kertinal male who had to be the ringleader in my kidnapping.

Rex jerked me away from the cleanser and behind his back protectively, and I instinctively curled my fingers into the belt around his hips. It was then that I noticed the cleaver he had tucked into a loop, and I realized that while I had started to relax, Rex never had. I didn’t know what to expect, but my alien chef seemed almost gleeful when he glanced over his shoulder and winked at me, his spots bright yellow before they leveled off into a soft gray.

“Are you Rex, former Prime Gladiator?” one of the uniformed Ovters asked. This male was taller than I remembered Laza to be, but not by much, and his gray skin was freckled around his jowls and cheeks with green spots that darkened into brown at the edges. When my chef nodded his proud head, the male stretched his very wide mouth into a disapproving curl. “You have been accused of stealing the property of this fine gentleman here,” his eyes flicked to me while indicating the Kertinal male, “and you have been found in the presence of said contraband. What do you say?”

The coldness of that statement struck me to the bone. I was the contraband, the property that had been stolen; they did not care one bit that I was a human being. This was exactly what the Kertinal had warned me about in the safety classes, but I had started to believe that it couldn’t be that bad. It wasn’t that bad with Rex around.

“That’s a false accusation, sir,” Rex signed fluidly. The sight of his hands moving made Drova smirk, and it made the Kertinal male bark out a surprised, “He’s mute!” But the two Ovter officials remained professional, their eyes on my man’s hands. They understood what he was saying, which was good. “I have the paperwork to prove that Kara is a registered employee of this establishment, and not a stolen or escaped slave. Here,” Rex said, and he pulled free his datapad to hold out to the nearest of the two Akrod police officers.

The male bent his salamander-shaped head over the tablet, eyes flicking left to right as he perused the documents that Rex had produced. I had no clue what they were or when they’d been filed, but they kept the Ovter occupied. He slicked his eyeballs twice with his long slimy tongue before he was through, but then he gave his partner a decisive nod. “The paperwork is in order. This human was licensed as a salaried worker a week ago. That was well before the gentleman’s property was reported missing. Can you prove that this is your property?” they asked of the Kertinal male, and he started to nod.

“Hold on,” Rex signed, his boot clashing with the floor for a loud, interrupting noise at the same time. “This female was stolen from Ker, from a Human Compound. As such, I have informed the Kertinillian Empire of the situation like a good citizen should.” He leveled a glare on the Kertinal male. “More likely, that male is the thief who stole her from his homeworld.”

“We will leave that for the Kertinillian Empire to decide,” the first officer said, the one with the green and brown spots and the officious expression. “Very well, our work here is done.” The two Ovters turned and began to walk out, under the sound of a spluttering, confused Kertinal speaking in his deep sub-harmonic voice. Drova stared in baffled confusion, which quickly darkened into fury. “You idiot! You registered her? Why would you do that? You could have been pocketing her wages this entire time!”

The first police officer had already stepped out of the kitchen, but the second was still within hearing range. He spun on his heel and wagged a finger in warning. “Must I remind you, sir, that such sentiments are illegal under Legalization five point six two?” He caught Drova by the arm and guided him out of the kitchen, still talking in a very stern voice. Sadly, it sounded like Drova was getting a reprimand, but that was it.

The Kertinal still remained in Rex’s kitchen, staring after the pair of officers but no longer talking. He was a big fellow with smooth, spiraling horns jutting from his forehead. Green streaked his black hair and ran like jagged lightning bolts over his black skin. His eyes were also green, and they glowed with fury when they landed back on Rex. “You are going to regret this, you bastard. That human is going to make me a fortune on Ov’Karal. I’m not leaving without her.”

Rex shifted on the balls of his feet, his upper set of arms crossing over his impressive chest, the lower set with balled fists on his hips. Apparently, the Kertinal didn’t mean to leave with me right now, though. He bolted as soon as my alien leaned forward, racing off with his tail between his legs. Literally, as the Kertinal had a long, spade-tipped tail.