"No objection," I say, mystified. Normally we have to chase down every idiot that breaks the law. This one just fell into our laps. It's…too easy. It's like the universe is letting me know that I don't have to marry Lucy after all. That she'll be safe without a husband. It's an easy out if I want it.
But I absolutely don't want it.
I want Lucy. "Good job," I say to Khex. "Lucy will be pleased."
He sets his data pad down and rummages through some of the items on his desk, looking for something, distracted. "You're here early. Did your night not go as planned?"
"Yes and no," I admit. It went wildly better than I dreamed, and yet…not how I intended. "I am going to marry Lucy," I blurt out. "Today."
Khex sits up, a baffled expression on his face. "You are?"
"I am."
"A marriage? Like…a human ceremony?"
"Yes." I hesitate again, wondering how much I should confess to him. "She says she needs a mate, and she asked if you were available. I am here to tell you that you cannot have her."
Khex crosses his arms over his chest. "What if I want her?"
My entire body stiffens with anger. I bare my teeth, ready to fight…and realize that he's grinning. He's teasing me. "You are a rotten friend," I mutter. "For a moment you had me believing you."
"What brought about this change of heart? You've been afraid to talk to her for weeks now. She comes in daily and pushes her tits right under your nose and you never look at her. I thought the poor thing was going to give up."
Khex thinks she's coming in to see me? That she's trying to lure me into noticing her? Me, an unwanted, overfed bastard son with no name to call his own? I'm utterly surprised…and yet in a way it makes sense. I've just been too blind to notice it. She does come in daily. She always sits right across from me. Her clothes are always low cut. I think about this morning, and the welcoming smile on her face…and how her breasts practically spilled out of her dress and onto my plate.
Kef me, I'm an idiot. "I never realized." I rub a hand down my face. "I…she…we touched last night."
"Aaah." The look on his face is full of understanding. "And was this your first female?"
Coming from anyone else, I would be enraged at that question. But Khex knows me, knows my history, knows how strait-laced I am. Knows that my focus has always been my career. A mesakkah female would not look at me twice. She would ask about my family and then run in the other direction. But I also never thought I would meet anyone like Lucy. She's beautiful, clever, loves to cook…and wants me for some reason.
I never hoped for a mate. Now I can't get the thought out of my head.
"She is my only," I tell him, and hope that answers it. She is not the “first” because that implies there will be more at some point. I do not want more, I just want Lucy. Only Lucy.
Khex beams at me. "Congratulations, my friend. I'm happy for you. A word of advice, though—don't listen to all the hygiene law nonsense. Plas-film on everything ruins all the fun."
Plas-film. I didn't even think about plas-film. It's a thin film designed to protect one body from another, to prevent the spread of germs. I think about how she touched me last night, her hand covered in my spend. How she licked her finger to taste me. There was absolutely zero plas-film involved and it didn't occur to me to ask how she feels about such things. It is a very common practice on Homeworld. It also strikes me as very sterile and unpleasant. "I will talk to Lucy and see how she feels about it."
"Good idea. In fact, talk to her about everything. She's had a traumatic experience being taken from her planet and dragged to this one. You will want to make sure she's absolutely okay with everything you two plan on doing. She might not bring something up, but then it means it's your job to do so. No matter how uncomfortable the conversation is, it's far better to have the discomfort ahead of time than when you're balls-deep inside her. Feel me?"
"You have given this a lot of thought," I point out.
"Let's just say that I'd much rather have no partner at all than an unenthusiastic one," Khex replies with a grin. "And trust me, you don't, either."
I really don't. I can't imagine Lucy looking up at me in distaste or displeasure, not when her smile is so utterly entrancing. "I'll talk to her about everything," I reassure him. "I've no wish to scare her."
Talking isn't something I particularly excel at, but I need to try harder…for her sake.