Tattle Tail: Celestial Mates (Tail and Claw Book 4) Read online

  “A kiss?”

  “That’s what people do when they’re engaged.” The challenge was in his voice, daring her for a kiss.

  That was the wrong move. He thought this was a game? A passing amusement? Yes, she dragged him into a lie that had already spun wildly out of control, but this was serious to her.

  Peaceable would not lose this game.

  She softened her posture, melting against him. Her fingers toyed with the front closure of his coat, dragging the zipper up and down. His throat swallowed, the muscle working in his neck, and he leaned forward.

  She licked her lips, pleased to note the way his eyes followed her tongue. Suddenly, she felt confident that while he wanted to make her squirm with discomfort, he also wanted a kiss.

  Desperately.

  “Yes, that is an activity…” She glanced away. Truthfully, she found herself unable to finish the preposterous statement without giggling.

  Nuzzling was more a Tal expression of affection. Humans seemed to enjoy licking each other’s faces. She had always thought of kissing as too wet and sloppy to be pleasant.

  Peaceable stretched up on her toes, planting her mouth on his lips. She wasn’t the most experienced kisser in the star system.

  He responded, his mouth opening, and then his tongue was in her mouth.

  She gasped. His hand settled on her waist, holding her in place. It was odd but enjoyable. Very enjoyable. Suddenly, kissing was not just wet and sloppy. It was terribly exciting.

  He guided her through the motions, leading her with a stroke of his tongue and his teeth nipping her bottom lip. Moving on instinct, her arms went around his neck.

  This was nice. This was good.

  She could do more of this.

  Her hands went to the back of his head, and she dug her fingers into his hair. The tips of her claws popped, scratching.

  He moaned and her body responded with an aching need.

  “Ahem.” Tolerance cleared her throat loudly.

  Peaceable pulled away, her cheeks burning hot. “Yes, um…goodbye.”

  She ran away like her tail caught fire.

  Joseph’s laughter followed her retreat.

  Joseph

  What was all that about?

  Joseph watched Peaceable leave, the taste of her on his lips.

  Specifically, he watched the swaying motion of her tail. She was almost pleasant when she wasn’t nitpicking his existence and relaxed. She had a cool exterior, like the icy starlight in the dark velvet of deep space. He wanted to melt the ice and make her purr.

  Damn.

  And then she kissed him. Clumsily, but she was a fast learner, and there was definitely heat under that ice.

  A hand smacked him on the back of the head, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get his attention.

  “Hey!” He rubbed the spot, acting as if it hurt more than it did.

  “No,” Marigold said, sitting down next to him. A container full of a gooey, pull-apart fried dough ring landed on the table. The delicious aroma of grease and sugar hit him, making his stomach rumble. Mari slid the container toward him.

  “No, don’t randomly hit your brother for no good reason?” He popped open the lid and inhaled.

  Mari pressed her hand to the lid, closing it while staring at him. “No, leave Peaceable alone.”

  “She chose to talk to me.” He neglected to mention their sudden engagement. The more Peaceable’s mother spoke, the more the lies piled up.

  Watching Peaceable squirm had been delicious, pure manna for his soul. It wasn’t compassion that moved him to pretend to be her fiancé. He wanted to see how far Peaceable would take her charade.

  Apparently, all the way to kissing him.

  Joseph touched his lips, remembering the feel of Peaceable against him. How much of that had Mari seen?

  “You know what I mean. Drooling over Peaceable. Watching my brother eye-fuck a friend is gross.” Mari waggled her brows, then panted and gave a wolf-whistle.

  She missed the kiss; otherwise, she’d be going on about that. Good.

  “Why is my family so embarrassing?” he asked, pulling the scarf up to cover his face.

  Mari bumped her shoulder into his. “Why does my brother flirt so badly?”

  “I was not flirting,” he protested. Sure, Peaceable had her moments, but she was mostly annoying and a know-it-all, which was not his type, so there was zero flirting going on. None.

  “You were totally pulling her pigtails…” She trailed off, teasing.

  “No tails were touched.”

  “Peaceable’s the kind of girl you’re serious with, and you’re not the kind of guy who’s serious,” Mari said.

  “I could be serious.” With her, absolutely. For her? Possibly.

  Marigold rolled her eyes.

  He could. He just hadn’t felt the urge to be serious with anyone. As a pilot for cargo ships, he was always on the move, going from port to port. Every stop brought new people and new experiences. He never stayed long. Even if he wanted something serious, how could he manage that? The younger version of him loved that kind of life. Now, nearing thirty, he wondered.

  His gaze drifted to the direction Peaceable departed, but he could not see her in the crowd.

  Another smack to the back of the head.

  “Oww! Knock it off, Sunshower in a Marigold Field.” He rubbed the back of his head.

  “Oh, the full name. You must be upset.” His sister did not sound concerned. “Look, Zero has that gala thing coming up. Are you bringing a date?”

  “I was.” Although after last night, he doubted Serena would go with him to the gala, even in a friend capacity. He needed to find a new date.

  “Just make sure they’re, you know…” Mari waved a hand around, searching for the right word.

  “Boring?”

  “I was going to say respectable. This is a fundraiser for Rebel’s Song. I don’t want it to be Joe’s Trashy Date Show.”

  Joseph’s brows went up. Maybe Mari did read about last night’s scene in the news feed. “That is some very judgmental language. You owe my date an apology.”

  He had intended to keep his tone teasing, but the words came out far more serious than he meant.

  Marigold sighed, then bumped her shoulder into his again. “That was harsh, but seriously, this is important to Zero. No antics. No scenes.”

  “Translation: boring.”

  “I don’t make the rules.”

  “You are literally making the rules right now,” he protested.

  Sisters are the worst.

  “And you’ll need to wear an evening suit,” she said.

  Swirling nebulas, could it get worse?

  Chapter 5

  Peaceable

  “You lied to your mother.”

  Peaceable stared at the screen. All evening, she dreaded the message from Joseph, the one calling her out on the lie that got out of control.

  He was not supposed to be at the market. Her mother was never supposed to meet her fake fiancé.

  “Incorrect. You do have a cargo run tomorrow,” she responded.

  “And I’ll be back in time for dinner. Therefore, liar, liar, pants on fire.”

  She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she ignored it and wrote, “We need to talk.”

  She hesitated to invite him to dinner. When she pictured Joseph in her home, something inside her purred at the notion. She wanted him here. It was not a sensation she had often experienced.

  Telling herself that they needed more privacy than they’d get in the company lunchroom, she sent the invitation. “Dinner. Tomorrow, since your schedule is free.”

  “We’ve got a lot to discuss, sweet pea.”

  She was in a hole and didn’t know how to stop digging.

  Joseph

  “Hello, sweet pea,” Joseph said with a wink. Pre-flight safety checks could wait a minute. Something far more interesting walked onto the landing pad.

  He scrambled down the ladder and draped
one arm over Peaceable’s shoulder. He pulled her in for a loose, one-armed hug, conscious of his grimy hands. Safety checks involved a lot of crawling around on the floor, looking at valves, and reading meters. It got dirty.

  “I know you said no hanky-panky at work, but I don’t think I can wait until dinner tonight,” he teased.

  Peaceable’s ears pushed back, and her tail slinked close to her body. Was she embarrassed? Oh, this wasn’t even him trying to embarrass her.

  She pushed his arm off her and took a full step away. “I want you to know that this was not my idea.”

  “I think this was very much your idea, sweet pea. Fiancé? You jumped straight to that. Buy a guy dinner first.”

  Truthfully, he did not entirely understand why he played along with the fiancé pretense. If a friend needed him to tell a little fib or play a role, he’d do it without hesitation, but Peaceable was not a friend. He wasn’t certain what she was to him. Not a rival, not an enemy, but definitely not a friend. Maybe he just wanted to watch her squirm, caught in a mess of her own making.

  Mari’s teasing about pulling pigtails came back to him. He’d have time to think about it once he was in the air. Pre-flight safety checks were not the time to be distracted.

  “I need to know if you have any allergies or dietary restrictions,” she said, sounding all business.

  A grin spread across his face. She could have easily sent a message, but she trudged out in the cold to the landing pad. To ask about allergies.

  “Is that why?” He glanced down at her delicate-looking leather shoes, splattered with mud. The thin wrap was suitable for a drafty office, not outdoors.

  She shivered. Perhaps Peaceable didn’t entirely understand her need to see him.

  “Are you sure? Is there anything else you need? Kiss your fiancé goodbye?” he asked. Heat crept into his voice, and her cheeks darkened. She was too easy to tease.

  “Yes. I mean, no. Just about dinner,” she quickly said.

  “No allergies. I’ll eat anything as long as it doesn’t have a face.” He did not appreciate his meal staring back at him. He once ordered a pickled fish dish from a Fremmian place, expecting to get a fillet, not the entire fish, pickled and watching him.

  “A face?”

  “No eyes, no faces.” He shuddered. “I eat meat, but I don’t want dinner looking at me.”

  “No faces,” she said. “I should get back…”

  “Wait a minute.” He touched her arm, making her pause. He leaned in close. The scent of the lightly perfumed powder on her skin smelled so damn good. He whispered in a low voice meant only for her, “I can’t wait until dinner.”

  She shivered, this time not from the cold.

  Peaceable

  What was wrong with her? Peaceable had typed out the message to call off dinner, drop the fake fiancé business, and eventually come clean to her mother, but she could not send it. A break-up, even a fake break-up, should be done in person. Etiquette mattered.

  Only once she got to the landing pad, Joseph had a sheen of sweat on his brow and a bit of grease on his cheek. He had a distinct odor that was…not unpleasant. Musk, rain, and heat. Her brain ceased functioning properly.

  Something must have been wrong with her. Perhaps a virus. It felt like she hardly knew herself.

  He had been gracious enough not to call out her pathetic lie—again.

  She picked up a meal on the way home, unwilling to risk cooking. While a competent cook, she was too distracted and would burn dinner. Peaceable knew herself well enough to know that. Whatever had affected her behavior recently had not changed that.

  In the brief window of time she had, she tidied up her apartment. Joseph did not need to see her dirty laundry on the bedroom floor.

  Not that he would see her bedroom. This was not a date. It was a business meeting. Still, she put fresh linen on the bed and ran the bot to clean the floors. If Joseph peeked into her bedroom out of curiosity, she wanted it to look inviting.

  No, she mentally corrected herself. Presentable. There were to be no invitations to the bedroom tonight. Or tomorrow.

  Anticipation simmered in her stomach.

  Chapter 6

  Joseph

  Did you bring wine to a not-date? Arriving empty-handed went against what he knew about being a good guest, but Peaceable hadn’t asked for anything.

  Wine. Everyone liked wine. Even if they didn’t, the gesture counted. Intentions matter, as his mother said.

  “Locally sourced and ethical,” he said when Peaceable opened the door. “But it should be chilled.”

  She accepted the bottle with thanks.

  Joseph scanned the apartment. It was cozier than he expected. Tucked into the top floor of an older building, the ceiling slanted dramatically. Skylights gave the space an airy feel, despite the sloped ceiling. The walls were a crisp white. A thick rug covered the floor. Clocks and plants lined the far wall, which held a small balcony. City lights twinkled beyond the balcony doors.

  Most surprising, and he wasn’t sure why it surprised him, were the books. Piles balanced precariously on the floor leaned against chairs and the sofa. Every surface had a book, open and face-down, holding Peaceable’s place. It was chaotic and disorganized, which clashed with what he thought he understood about Peaceable.

  A wuap pranced into the room, then froze once it saw Joseph.

  “Hello there,” he said, crouching down. He held out his hand for the animal to get a sniff.

  “That is Nettle. Do not be offended if she dislikes you. She dislikes everyone.”

  “Even you?”

  “I bribe her with treats.”

  “I’m not above bribery. Let’s make that happen,” he said. Peaceable handed him a small container.

  Nettle mewed and twined between them at the rattle of the treats. She sniffed the treat in his hand, then snatched it away with an alarming display of teeth. The wuap dashed across the room, jumped onto a pillow, and crunched into the treat.

  He liked the creature.

  “Let me chill this and we can eat,” Peaceable said, hustling to the eat-in kitchen.

  “Nice place,” he said.

  “It is close to work. Do you live nearby?”

  “I rent an apartment not far from here. I moved there a year ago. Before, I was in a cottage on Winter’s estate,” he said, even though Peaceable knew that. She had been to Winter’s house several times, worked in the shop on the property, and had access to his personnel file. They were awkwardly making conversation like this was a date, which was silly.

  This wasn’t a date, and Peaceable wasn’t his friend.

  Enough.

  “Are we going to talk about the fiancé thing?” he asked.

  Standing at the counter, Peaceable’s posture went rigid. “Yes,” she said, sounding reluctant, “let us do that.”

  He took a breath to organize his thoughts. What came out was, “What the hell?”

  “I know.” She turned to face him, her eyes down and her ears pressed flat, looking utterly miserable.

  “Do you? Because what the hell, Peaceable? Seriously. I’ve been thinking all day about this, and nothing makes sense. Why? What did you think would happen? I know this isn’t some long con to trick me into a relationship because I’m too nice to break it off. I’ve got news for you, darling: I’m not nice. I’ve got plenty of exes who will line up to tell you what a rat bastard I am.”

  “You are nice!”

  The shout rang in the small apartment. Their gaze connected, and fire blazed in her eyes. Then, as quickly as it came, the fire extinguished itself. She muffled herself, he realized, and it made his chest hurt.

  “I’m not that nice,” he said, his voice softer.

  She looked away, as if embarrassed, and grabbed two glasses. Pouring a generous amount in each, she said, “I am turning thirty in the spring, and my mother is anxious. She is determined to find me a match. A mate.”

  “And I’m better than the alternative?” He accepted the
glass she offered.

  “Recently, she set me up on a blind date with a male I’ve known my entire life.”

  “That’s not really a blind date. Technically.”

  Her nose scrunched like it itched. “I thought I was meeting her for lunch to plan a New Year’s party, but it was Lord Resolve. Only Lord Resolve, who is thirty years older than me and needs an heir.” She sighed. “He is at least upfront about his motive, but Mother demands to know why he is not good enough for me. Why am I so picky? Why am I determined to be alone? Here are more males, all willing to make do with you, so be agreeable.” She spread her hands, like a magician with a card trick.

  “Wait, she said that?”

  Peaceable did not answer his question. “My mother will not let this go. You’ve met her.”

  “Briefly.” The older woman had seemed very…focused, but more curious about Joseph than anything else. He didn’t have enough information to form an opinion.

  “Trust me, she is relentless.” Another sigh. “Which would be a better name for her than Tolerance. So, I told her I had someone to make her quiet.”

  “Me.”

  One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I was thinking about the piece of chocolate you left me. I only wanted her to stop talking. For a little while. I planned to tell her the truth, I was, but then she saw you at the market and…”

  “You went straight to fiancé, completely skipping the whole section where we fake date.”

  “She would pick at you, find fault, and keep bombarding me with better suitors. If there was affection, if you held my heart, then she would cease. Only an engagement would do,” Peaceable said.

  Joseph stared at her; misery visible in every atom as she clutched the end of her tail in her lap. He had left that piece of chocolate as a joke. Just a joke. Was her mother so terrible that a ridiculous lie was better than confrontation?

  Or maybe she needed an escape, any escape, from the pressure.

  Joseph had more than his share of an overbearing mother, but Valerian never made him feel like he couldn’t disobey. She encouraged disobedience and a healthy distrust of authority. His mother, for all her sins, was always his ally, never his adversary. He had never felt alone.