Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“Have a seat,” Goodie Bo-long said. “I’ll get us both a good stiff drink—you look like you could use it. Oh, and it’s perfectly fine for your Manimal to be on the furniture—I had it built specially to withstand a bit of rough play,” she added with a wink before sauntering off.
Andi settled on the large couch which was built almost to Kindred proportions. In fact, this furniture wouldn’t have looked out of place aboard the Mother Ship, she thought. Well, except for the black and white spots—the Kindred tended to have more subtle taste than that.
Cade settled beside her and put an arm possessively around her waist, pulling her close to his big, muscular body. Andi liked that—though she was still half mad at him.
“You nearly got yourself killed out there, you know,” she remarked, knowing that he couldn’t understand her. “I was so scared you were going to stay and try to fight that whole pack of Manimals!”
Cade only made a low rumbling sound in his throat and nuzzled her hair gently.
Andi sighed. At last her heart was beginning to slow its frantic beating as she realized that they were truly safe—however unlikely it seemed.
After the awkward encounter she and Flow-da had with Goodie Bo-long earlier that day, she never would have guessed that the eccentric woman would be the one to come out and save them in their moment of need. However, she was very grateful and extremely relieved not to be out on the street being raped to death by a pack of wild Manimals!
At that moment Goodie Bo-long came back with two large glasses of fizzing, pale purple drink.
“Here you are, my dear,” she said, handing one to Andi. “This ought to calm your nerves, which I presume are quite on edge.”
Andi nodded her thanks as she took the drink. She took a cautious sniff.
“Thank you but…er, this doesn’t have any Boom-boom juice in it, does it?”
“I should hope not! I can’t stand the stuff,” Goodie Bo-long sniffed. She draped herself elegantly over a black and white spotted chase lounge. When she patted her knee, her Manimal, Gobi, hopped up and snuggled with her, his head resting on her hip.
“Oh, good.” Andi took a small sip and then another, larger one. “Mmm—this is really good! Is it alcoholic? I can’t tell.”
“Extremely alcoholic, my dear, so go easy if you’ve got an empty stomach,” Goodie Bo-long warned her, taking another languid sip herself. “Now tell me absolutely everything—what happened with that awful Goodie Tight-azz?”
“Oh, well…” Andi cleared her throat. “She…she caught me, uh, giving Cade my…my honey,” she said in a low voice. “But in our defense, it wasn’t like we were right out in the open,” she added. “She just burst into my room!”
“Dreadful woman!” was Goodie Bo-long’s comment. “And then what?”
“Well, she pulled out some kind of weapon—I think it might have been a plasma rifle,” Andi went on, taking another sip of the pale purple drink, which tasted like the sugared violet petal candy her grandma used to give her. It seemed to have loosened her tongue somewhat and it had certainly warmed her up—she was no longer shivering as she relaxed against Cade’s muscular side.
“A plasma rifle? My! I thought those were illegal in these parts!” Goodie Bo-long remarked. “Did she threaten you?”
“She told me to get out and take Cade with me,” Andi said, feeling a surge of anger. “She…she threatened to blow a hole in him—to kill him!”
The very thought brought a little sob to her throat and she pressed back against the big Hybrid, needing to feel his solid body against hers for comfort.
Cade responded by tightening his grip on her and rubbing his face against her hair. His warm breath tickled the nape of her neck.
“What a horrible ordeal!” Goodie Bo-long shook her head sympathetically. “And I take it that she didn’t allow you to gather your belongings?” she added, gesturing to Andi with her glass. “Since you literally don’t seem to have anything but the shirt on your back.”
“She made me leave everything else behind—including my money pouch.” Andi felt another surge of anger. “I’d already paid her two gold pieces and a silver piece but she wouldn’t even let me have two silver out of my pouch to pay for a ticket on the Moon shuttle when it comes back! Now I don’t know what I’m going to do!”
“You’re going to stay right here with me where it’s safe and warm and no one will judge you for loving your Manimal,” Goodie Bo-long said firmly. “And when the Moon shuttle comes, I will personally buy you a ticket.”
“You will? I mean—I don’t know when I’ll be able to pay you back!” Andi said anxiously.
“Oh, pooh!” Goodie Bo-long made a shooing gesture which caused the pale purple liquid in her glass to slosh alarmingly. “Do I look like I’m hurting for money? My late husband, Dr. Bo-long, left me quite well off before he turned Manimal and ran off into the forest, never to be seen again.”