A Civilized Mating by Marie Harte Read Free Book Online Page B

the vague impression of pinning Skye to a tree, concern for Lisa my only goal. Skye then battled me . I have no idea what else happened until Xav woke me.”
    Now everyone was staring at her, and Skye felt the way she had at home. Not fitting in, alien among her own kind. Women didn’t possess fighting skills. If anything, their intellect had risen to surpass most men’s. So to find a “throwback” like Skye, who aligned more with fighting skills than cerebral pursuits, hadn’t painted her in a very good light.
    “Truly, Skye?” Xav asked. She couldn’t read the emotion in his voice. Awe or disbelief? Pride or disgust? “You defeated Maht and the others?”
    She glanced at Maht but didn’t see the scorn she’d thought she might. Most men didn’t like being beaten by a female. He appeared fine with it.
    “Skye?” Xav said again, more impatient.
    “So what if I did? I came here to protect my friend. Instead, I find her getting freaky with a giant. Then two more of you guys showed up, and they weren’t all that nice. I did what I had to do.” She grew more concerned with the sober faces looking back at her.
    Xav stood. “Put out the fire. Break camp. We’re returning home. Talzec needs to know of this Nasuhl interference.” He kept looking at her. “By now they will have returned to their village and reported.”
    The others made haste obeying while Skye tried to figure out what the hell was going on. “Hey, Xav, wait.” He stopped in the middle of his conversation with Maht, the odd dialect of course one she couldn’t understand. “What’s up? Why are we hurrying now? Is it some big deal that I dealt with the Nasuhl instead of Maht?”
    He just stared at her, his entire bearing that of a conquering warrior. “Yes, it is.”
    Instead of explaining, he turned back to Maht and their conversation, ignoring her.
    “Asshole.” She glared at him, annoyed to be relegated to standing with Lisa like helpless cargo. Whatever. She’d use her gifts to protect her friend—her pregnant friend. To Lisa, she said, “So you’re pregnant, huh?”
    “Yes.” Lisa signed and rubbed her belly. “It’s totally weird, but I can feel a little tickle in my stomach.”
    “Sure that’s not the flehik we just ate?”
    Lisa laughed, much lighter about the whole mess than Skye would have thought. “No. I’m… I don’t know. I’m happy about the baby and Maht. Still not sure about living with barbarians away from everything I know.” She let out a breath. “But I feel a sense of excitement and almost acceptance. Weird, right?”
    All that talk of bonding and energy melding had Skye thinking. “Maybe not as weird as it sounds. This phelthar stuff sounds like a psychic joining. Your psychic skills lay in charming the pants off of people. So at Welcome, you were personnel management, right?”
    “Yeah. So?”
    “So you managed yourself into a husband, is what I’m thinking. They mate or marry, whatever you want to call it, on a deeper level than finding a justice of the peace. His psyche seems to have bonded with yours.”
    Lisa took Skye’s hand and squeezed it. “The Green Moon dance is in another five days.”
    “You know?”
    “Yes. So I have a little more time before it’s all or none. Life here with Maht and the baby, or life back at home. I know I’m done with the resort. They won’t take me back, not with a barbarian baby. That’s a clear violation of their fraternization policy.”
    “You think?” Skye snorted.
    Lisa grinned, then a tear trickled from her eye.
    “Damn. I’m sorry. I was just teasing.” Lisa had seemed so okay with her pregnancy.
    “No. I’m just emotional. Happy one minute, scared out of my mind the next. I mean, a baby?”
    “Life is seriously throwing you some curves.” Skye shrugged. “But no biggie. We can handle it.”
    “I’m so glad to have you as a friend.” Lisa gave her a hug then pulled back, and more tears followed. “Oh my God. I just realized. With you