Page 75 of Mazorium Buys a Human

Her smile came back and she repeated the sound. “Ahhhpooof!”

Purring loudly, Maz moved behind me and put his hands on my shoulders and lowered his face to rub his scent glands on the top of my head.

“I’m not planning to die. I only want to make sure you’re cared for if anything happens to me.”

I kept my smile in place for Nadia, even though I didn’t feel it. “I understand, but thinking about you dying makes me want to cry. I love you, Maz. I don’t want to live without you.”

“You’re my scent-bonded partner,” he murmured.

We stared at each other, and my heartbeat calmed. No one was dying anytime soon, and it looked like we had new friends. That made me feel a lot better.

“I have a proposal for you,” Iris said, drawing our attention from each other and back to the other couple.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“We have a healer on our ship who specializes in humans. Would you like her to give Nadia a checkup?”

I loved that idea, but by the sound of Maz’s negative rumble I guessed he didn’t.

“We won't be trying to kidnap you,” Damascus said, clearly annoyed. “You know our secret, and we know yours. All our crew has been with us for solars and have as much to lose as us if they let anyone know about how we’ve scent-bonded with our humans. What more do you want?”

I touched Maz’s arm. “I want Nadia to have a checkup. This would also mean we don’t have to trust a healer we don’t know.”

“I suppose this is safe,” he agreed grudgingly.

“Thanks,” I murmured, then went up on my toes and waited for him to lean over so I could give him a quick kiss on the cheek. He was a little stiff, but I’d be too if I was him. I’d grown up in a culture where small displays of affection were expected.He came from a species that seemed to abhor any of the softer emotions.

Honestly, he might be wealthy in credits and possessions, but I was definitely far richer when it came to understanding and experiencing happiness and love.

It took longer to talk Mia into packing her rocks and leaving Maz’s ship than the trip from the planet's surface to Damascus and Iris’s ship.

The moment we docked the healer was there to meet us, along with most of the crew. They were excited to meet Nadia, but they were also polite about it. We weren’t mobbed, and they all maintained a polite distance and kept their voices low and calm.

All the purring was a little disconcerting though!

One Talin came up and Mia ran to her, talking excitedly about rocks. That Talin took the box of rocks from Damascus, then she and Mia walked away to add them to her collection.

Once they got a look at us, most of the rest of the crew politely wandered away to see to their duties. Honestly, it was a relief when all but two of them were gone. Then a Talin in the same green tunic that all the healers wore stepped up.

“I’m healer Umarum. Are you able to carry Nadia to the medical bay?” she asked. “Or would you like Mazorium to carry both of you?”

I had Nadia in the little front carry pack, so I shook my head. “Please lead the way and we'll follow.”

The healer gave a rumble of agreement, turned, and walked at a sedate pace. To my surprise, everyone else fell in step behind me. The crew let me pass without a single one of them trying to touch me.

It was a relief to be treated with respect. Unlike our visit to Helsin Station, I wasn’t intimidated or scared.

Iris caught up with me so we could walk side by side while Damascus and Mazorium walked behind us and talked about how to make a more convincing collar.

“You’ve scent-bonded to Mazorium, right?” Iris asked as we turned a corner.

“Um, I think so?” I said. “I mean, I love him.”

“Does he rub his bonding oil on you often?”

I snorted. “At least a few times a day.”

“That means he’s scent-bonded you,” Iris declared.