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them.”
    “Why?”
    “I do not approve of the alliance.” His voice hardened with vehemence, and grimness settled over his face. “Commander Dak initiated the treaty and the trade venture. He has been led astray by his interactions with your people and his own misguided nature.”
    Tara blinked. Touchy subject. Note to self: avoid future discussions of Parseon-Terran relations . In defense, she clutched his warm, alluringly scented shirt to her chest. The fabric smelled like him, and though he knelt way too close for comfort and fierceness had contorted his expression she had the oddest urge to bury her face in the fabric—or against his chest for the full effect.
    “Your people’s customs and traditions are repugnant,” he said.
    What nerve! Who said such a thing to another person’s face? “Well, that’s a little rude, isn’t it?” Tara scowled.
    “Rude? What is rude? I speak the truth.”
    I’ll probably regret asking . “What do we do that is repugnant?”
    “The way your males and females couple as if they were alphas and betas, for one. Your practice of elevating weaker, inferior members of your species does not serve your society.”
    Of course she’d known what Parseon males believed. That too had been briefly mentioned in her prep sessions, which she had attended , unlike a certain Neanderthal who preferred to keep his mind locked tighter than the refuse hatch on an intergalactic shuttle. And she’d observed some of the behavior when dealing with customers at the Bazaar. But she’d never heard their ideology stated so blatantly.
    If she hadn’t been naked, she would have thrown his shirt back in his face. Instead, she snuggled into it and jutted out her chin. “If females are so inferior, then why did you bother to take me?”
    Marlix rose to his feet in a fluid motion. “You ask too many questions.” He stalked from the room.

Chapter Five
    “I have acquired a female for the evening; do you wish to use her first?” Urazi asked as they settled at the table for the sundown repast, what smelled like a succulent and savory roast. His beta was an excellent cook, but Marlix’s appetite had deserted him.
    With the tine of his utensil, Marlix poked at the food on his plate. He sighed. “I shall pass this time.” He waved the utensil. “Do as you please with her. She is all yours.”
    Urazi arched his eyebrows. “As you wish.”
    He and Urazi shared their lives and a secret. They preferred to seek sexual release from females instead of each other. Protocol excused Urazi’s penchant for using females, as it was expected of males of a lesser status to succumb to coarse behavior. But for alphas, a Commander no less, to seek pleasure in a female was inexcusable—unless the act derived from competition, to usurp another’s property. Breeding did not count.
    Marlix had heard the whispers surrounding Commander Dak’s devotion to his breeder Omra. One could forgive a little side action, but to make such debauchery central to one’s home life? He shuddered. If nature did not permit one to enjoy release with another male, one should at least not flaunt his aberrance. When Marlix could no longer fight the temptation, he at least kept his perversions secret. And if those hurried, clandestine arrangements failed to satisfy, well, that only proved the rightness of Protocol, did it not?
    “The Terran female has been here three days,” Urazi said. “How long do you intend to keep her?”
    “I have not decided.” Marlix grabbed the goblet of fortified nectar and took a gulp. It burned down his throat, spreading heat into his face.
    Urazi arched his eyebrow in skepticism.
    “She must recover from her injuries,” Marlix offered as an explanation. The redness had receded from Tara’s wounds, her bruises had faded, and her movements suggested the stiffness had left her body. In truth, her condition had improved enough for her to return to her people.
    Speculation glinted in Urazi’s eyes. “Do you