Challa (27 page)

“But they’re sensitive as hell.”

This time it was the deputy’s turn to look puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, when you lick them, she practically comes.”

DeGrassi’s eyebrows rose an inch. “Really?”

Compton chuckled. “Ohhh, yeah. Major erotic zone. You mean you haven’t tried it?”

“To be honest, no. Thanks for the tip. Oh, one other thing. What does Challa smell like to you?”

“Smell like? Like honeysuckle. Why?”

“Because blood mates have a unique scent to each other.”

“Challa told me that already. What does Roni…Tiron?” At DeGrassi’s nod, he continued, “What does Tiron smell like to you?”

“The sweetest damn maple syrup you ever tasted.” The deputy grinned. “You know about their ability to smell emotions, right?”

“A little, yeah.”

Compton suddenly sensed a disquiet within himself. A gentle worry from missing a beloved presence. It tickled. He started to comment on it when DeGrassi spoke first.

“Roni’s starting to realize I’m not there. That’s my cue to get back to bed before she wakes up.”

“Yeah. I feel it, too. It’s kind of…freaky. But a nice freaky.”

“See you in a few hours, then. Goodnight.” The deputy left the kitchen. A second later, his head popped back around the doorway. “Licking the wings?”

Laughing softly, Compton nodded. “And they taste exactly as you expect them to.”

“Sweet. ’Night, Compton. Thanks.”

DeGrassi disappeared again, this time for good. By the time Compton reached the doorway, the hall was empty except for the sliver of light spilling out of his bedroom. Smiling, he went to rejoin Challa.

Chapter 35

Reunion

He heard giggling. Laughter. People talking. The smell of coffee and bacon wafted through the room. The bed and the room felt strangely empty, but he knew Challa wasn’t far away. Compton barely had time to open his eyes when the bedroom door flew open and she danced into the room.

“Good morning,
t’kor
! I felt you starting to awaken!” She laughed, jumping on the bed and on him. She was human, and in the morning light shining through the window, she never looked more beautiful.

Challa straddled his chest and bent down to kiss him. She tasted like applesauce.

“Good morning, yourself,
t’korra
,” He chuckled when she finally sat back. “You’re in an especially good mood. You must be feeling better.”

“I feel
won
derful! I have a blood line, and I have you.” She leaned over to whisper, “And I love you more than you’ll ever know.” She kissed him again, opening her mouth to taste him further. Allowing him to delve into her, into her moist sweetness that now sported a cold appleness. Her hands braced his face, and Compton could feel her joy trickling into him. Long moments passed as she suckled on his tongue, building the flames in his blood into a bone-afied hard-on. He started to pull her down onto the bed when his stomach chose to rumble with hunger. Challa giggled into his mouth.

“Everyone’s in the kitchen having breakfast. Hurry and get dressed so you can say your thank yous and goodbyes before they have to leave for work.”

He slid his hands over her hips and gave them a wiggle. She wasn’t sitting directly over his groin. Not yet. But a couple of inches back would put her there. Challa giggled again.

“Later,
t’kor
. I want you to come meet everyone properly. Please?”

Damn it. She was right. Compton had forgotten this was the middle of the week. Their hosts had jobs to go to. By the same token, he and Challa needed to think about heading back to Cooper. He groaned. “All right. But when we get back home, it’s you, me, and the J.P. Got it?”

“J.P.?”

“Justice of the Peace, Challa. The man who’ll marry us so that it looks legal on my end.” He eyed the blouse and jeans that were a bit big on her. Obviously they were borrowed. “We have a lot to talk about on our way home.”

“That’s okay.” Challa smiled, and the whole room seemed to brighten. Her dark red hair shimmered like miniature fireworks in the sunlight. “I’m looking forward to going back with you. I’m ready to begin our lives together.”

She watched him strap on his prosthetic before pulling on his jeans. When he reached for his shirt, she crawled off the bed to head for the door. “I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

At her comment, Compton remembered DeGrassi’s remark the night before about Ruinos not having an anus. He smiled. The idea of mapping out Challa’s alien topography was going to be an interesting challenge.

He grabbed his boots and socks, and headed for the kitchen. Reaching the doorway, he paused to take in the sight of a roomful of people already sitting around the table. He vaguely remembered everyone. When he had arrived last night at the DeGrassi home, his sole focus had been on Challa. Now he had the chance to separate who was who. Dropping his boots against the wall, he walked in. It was DeGrassi who spotted him first.

“Good morning, Compton! Have a seat.” The deputy gestured to the chair next to him.

A dark-haired man stood up at the other end of the table and extended a hand. “I’m Jebaral Morr. Jeb. I’m glad to finally meet you.”

Compton stared mutely at the way the man’s warm brown eyes had gold-colored flecks swimming around in them. His examination was cut short when another man with the same build but shorter in stature also stood to shake his hand. This one was blond, and his blue eyes had greenish flecks in them. At that moment, Compton realized the unusual eyes must be a Ruinos trait.

“I’m Simolif Morr. You can call me Simon.”

The Ruinos brothers.

“How do you like your eggs?” a woman asked, getting to her feet and moving over to the stove. She was a stunning beauty, with her jet-black hair pulled back into a ponytail. She also wore a forest ranger uniform. Like the two men, her accent gave her away.

“Uhh, I don’t care,” Compton managed.

“Good, because you’re getting them scrambled. There should be bacon still on the table. I’ll pop you some more bread in the toaster.”

A chuckle behind him diverted his attention away from her. Compton turned around to see DeGrassi sitting at the head of the table. Unlike last night, the man had on his deputy sheriff uniform, complete with badge and name tag. A holstered gun hung from the back of his chair.

“Guess I’ll get our guest of honor some coffee,” another woman seated beside Jebaral said. She was also a blonde. Strikingly cute and pert like a hometown Prom queen. She wore her long hair in a ponytail, as well. “It’s not like I haven’t done that a time or two,” she quipped as she slid out of her seat. Her wry comment got chuckles from everyone, and Compton vaguely remembered DeGrassi explaining that Hannah, Jebaral’s wife, worked as a waitress at the downtown diner.

Jeb and Hannah, Thom and Roni, Simon and…
Compton glanced around.

“Something wrong?” Jebaral asked.

Compton turned to Simolif. “Where’s Sarah?”

“In Thom’s office,” Challa supplied, entering the kitchen. She took the only seat left, which happened to be next to Compton. Leaning over, she gave him a warm kiss. “I take it you’ve met the family?” she commented as she pulled back.

Compton gave her a warm smile. He continued to be amazed at the change in her since last night. Glancing around the table, he answered, “Basic introductions have been given. It’s going to take me a while, though, to get used to it all.”

Hannah reached over and squeezed his hand. “That’s to be expected. We sort of come on strong when we gather. Sorry about that, but it can’t be helped.”

“We don’t come on full-force unless we feel it’s necessary,” Jebaral added.

Compton frowned slightly. “How necessary?”

“To defend the Ruinos,” DeGrassi said, giving a nod in Challa’s direction as she sat down. “In this case, to save Challa’s life.”

Compton felt the blood rush from his face. He remembered the deputy explaining to him that once blood mates were found, the loss of one could lead to the death of the other. In the case of the Ruinos, it was almost a certainty. But since he was human, he wouldn’t suffer as debilitating a fate. Unconsciously, his other hand found her waist, and he pulled her closer to him.

“Thank the stars we were in time,” Tiron said. She brought the skillet over to the table to drop scrambled eggs onto Compton’s plate. At the sight of them, he realized how hungry he was.

“Dig in. I’ve already eaten,” Challa said and grabbed a piece of toast from the platter in the middle of the table. Compton thanked Hannah for the cup of coffee she set in front of him and began eating.

“All right! I’m done!” Tiron placed the skillet in the sink and wiped her hands on a dish towel. “The cook is now a forest ranger, and I have to get my ass over to headquarters quick, or else Folson’s going to file another report on me for being late relieving him.” She gave an exasperated sigh and went over to the table to give her husband a kiss goodbye. She followed by giving both Compton and Challa a peck on top of their heads. “
Tol raha, kolli. Di marandi
,” she told Challa with a smile, then hurried out of the room. There was the sound of keys jingling as the front door opened and closed with a slam.

“What did she say?” Compton asked.

Challa giggled. “She said I had good taste in mates.”

Simolif snorted as he shook his head. Getting to his feet, he picked up his bowl and coffee cup, and took them over to the sink. “We need to think about hitting the road,
t’korra
,” he commented. Pausing slightly, he then shrugged. “Okay. I’ll give the boss a call and let him know.” Turning around, he smiled at the rest of them still seated at the table and pulled out his cell phone from his pants pocket. “Excuse me for a moment.”

Compton watched as the man disappeared into the living room to place his call. He realized that the more he saw, the more confused he became. Of course, this was all part of their normal, day-to-day lives. But how often did one see a man talk to thin air and get an answer?

A hand on his arm drew his attention back to Challa. For several seconds he stared into her blue eyes with their purple flecks, when a bright sense of comprehension opened up inside him.

Life mates. Blood mates.

You’ll understand once you and Challa become blood mates.

“You can talk to each other mentally?” he whispered to her. “Like telepathy?”

“No. Not like telepathy. It’s a bit more emotional than that,” Challa replied.

“Don’t worry, Compton,” Hannah reassured him. “You’ll get the hang of it real quick like. Honey, I gotta run, too.”

“Same here.” Jebaral rose and gave Compton a nod. “Planning on staying another night? We’d love to get the chance to catch up with Challa on what she’s been doing since we landed.”

“I-I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it,” Compton admitted, glancing over at the woman who was giving him a pleading look. Grinning, he started to say more when someone’s cell phone jangled.

DeGrassi threw them an apologetic look as he reached into his breast pocket. “’Scuse me,” he said, glancing at the display window first. “It’s the office. DeGrassi.” The big man was immediately all business. “Yeah, George. Yeah.” He waved at Jebaral, who quickly came back to the table. “Yeah, I did. Yeah, they’re right here. Want me to bring them in with me? Yeah, they are. Okay. Will do. We’ll be leaving here in about fifteen minutes. See you at the station.”

Closing his phone, DeGrassi grimaced. “Lawson Hall is at the sheriff’s office, filing a report. He says we trespassed on carnival property and kidnapped Challa.”

“No such thing!” Hannah protested.

Challa added her own denial. “You can’t kidnap someone who goes voluntarily!”

DeGrassi raised a hand. “Hey, the man has a valid complaint. That woman you were with, she must have given my name to Hall, and apparently he tracked me here. You gotta give the man kudos for being resourceful.”

“What should we do?” Compton asked.

“What the law says we should do,” DeGrassi told him. “We go to the office and face Hall.” He turned to Challa. “The man knows you’re Ruinos, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Anyone else in that outfit know the truth?”

Challa shook her head. “No. Not that I’m aware of.”

“George asked me flat out if Challa was family. It’s code for Ruinos.” DeGrassi took a deep breath. “There’s probably a dozen people here in Tumbril Harbor who know the truth. Good people. Trustworthy people. Some of them have even put their lives on the line to help protect us. Challa, you’re safe here. I just wanted you to know that up front.”

“So we go in and confront Hall. Then what?” Compton wanted to know. “Challa’s an adult. She’s not being held here against her will.” He looked at the woman leaning against him. “Is there any reason why Hall would be so adamant to have you back?”

“Did you sign any kind of agreement with him?” DeGrassi added.

Challa nodded slightly. “I signed a contract.”

“But I’m willing to bet she has no idea what the contract contains or what it meant at the time,” Compton said. The others agreed.