Ramliel by A.M. Griffin

Chapter Eight

 

Ram eyed the attendees. Everyone wore their finest to be seen. Expensive jewelry accentuated glitzy dresses or well-tailored tunics for the males. It didn’t escape his notice that most of the jewels sparkled under the lighting, hinting at their exorbitant cost. Ram couldn’t help but wonder if they were all pieces from Zephon’s mines.

The jewelry adorning Ram was specifically worn for that reason. He hoped it would catch Zephon’s attention.

Ram knew a majority of the people who meandered about in the ballroom, either dancing, eating or huddled into small groups scattered around. The elders had been coming since he was a child and he’d had business dealings with the others.

Ram’s father had taken the family business and grown it exponentially. Nothing came on or went off the planet that didn’t have a Takeria family crest on it. Ram maintained the business relationships his father had cultivated over the years and built on that. With Zephon as a client Ram saw expansion to other planetary systems in the future for Takeria Transport. He wanted this contract.

And what Ram wanted. He got.

“Why aren’t we dancing?” the vixen on his right cooed in a high-pitched voice she thought appealed to Ram.

Spoiler alert. It did not.

He’d told Varona many times before, but she didn’t seem to care and he’d stopped reminding her. Instead, he’d taken to gritting his teeth and ignoring the shrill of her voice when she spoke into his ear during sex.

“We’re not here to dance. I’ve told you that already.” He picked up the glass from the dinner table in front of him and took a healthy swig of the green liquid.

As he swallowed, the warmness of the drink coated his throat and pooled in his stomach. A relaxing sensation spread throughout his body. The alcoholic beverage wouldn’t be enough to incapacitate him or send him into a drunken stupor, but it would help to warm bones which he welcomed on such a brutally cold night.

Even while sheltered inside the ballroom of the medical facility building, he felt the chill from outside. Some of it seeped in through the windowpanes. The wind made the glass on the windows rattle and the howling outside competed with the band playing for the guests.

As expected, Varona pouted lips painted bright red. “But I want to dance.”

He flicked his gaze over to one of the males standing off to the side. The male had been eyeing Varona since they’d arrived and Varona, the flirt, had been eyeing him back. “Feel free to dance with someone else.”

Varona straightened her shoulders and sneered. The pretense of being nice dropped. “So quick to get rid of me, are you?”

He took another drink, regretting that this was a work trip and he couldn’t get anything stronger. “Not this again, V. I’m offering you the chance to dance and enjoy yourself. At least one of us should tonight.”

She raised her chin and huffed. Varona was a beautiful female. As a Dorian it was a given that she would be the most stunning person in the room. Her people were naturally attractive, and the body enhancements their world was known for made her almost irresistible. Almost. There was no accounting for her attitude.

Varona smoothed a slender hand over the long, silvery braid in her hair. The strapless dress she had on accentuated every curve and matched the color of her hair. Although her neck, shoulders and arms were the only parts exposed on her body, it was enough. Every male’s gaze lingered on her more than once.

Ram knew the look in their eyes as they glazed over, hyper focused on Varona. He’d once been prey to her charms and wiles. They wanted to touch, caress, kiss and smell her pink luminescent skin.

“I think I will go dance,” she said with an indignant sniff.

“Please do. Once I conclude my business we can leave.”

She paused to glare at him. “Maybe I won’t be leaving with you tonight?”

Something else she’d threatened him with many times before. He let out a deep breath. “That’s also fine by me.”

He was tired of playing these childish games with her. He’d stayed with Varona longer than any other woman he’d had. Mostly because she didn’t mind that he could never mate with her. In the beginning of their relationship, she’d claimed she didn’t want to mate with anyone. She’d wanted her time to be her own.

Now, it seemed like it was bothering her. Or maybe, she was feeling the same about him as he did her. She could be just as bored of his company and tired of this relationship as he was.

Varona narrowed silver eyes at him then in a smooth movement, stood. A glass dropped and shattered on the floor. Deep sighs were heard. Someone coughed. There was a moan. All of this a reaction to her showing off the tight-fitting dress. Although Ram’s money had been used to pay for the dress, he didn’t mind everyone else’s approval. He had good taste when picking out clothes and females.

Varona sauntered toward the dance floor, not seeming to care that she walked alone. As she shouldn’t. By the time she reached the dance floor, there were five suitors clamoring for her attention and hand.

She accepted the hand of the male who’d been watching her while they’d eaten, turned to give Ram a smirk, then let him lead her to the crowd where they were swallowed by the other dancers.

Ram shook his head and took another drink. It didn’t have the bite needed to get through the rest of this night. He put his glass on the tray of the passing waiter and stood to make his way toward the bar.

The drinks the waiters had on their trays didn’t have enough kick to them. He needed something stronger to soothe his irritation. He’d approached Zephon as soon as he’d arrived. With a smooth smile, Zephon had shot him down, telling him to have his assistant talk to his.

Ram had already tried that route with no luck. Not wanting to press Zephon, Ram had bowed out of the conversation.

Zephon wanted to see him squirm. Ram understood, while he didn’t agree. Although Ram’s proposal was a lucrative one for both of them and their businesses, Zephon wanted to make sure Ram understood who had the upper hand. Since Ram didn’t have a contract to transport Zephon’s jewels, it was clear that the upper hand wasn’t Ram’s.

His plan now was to stick around for a little while longer, try to speak with Zephon again, then bid everyone a good night.

“I thought the rumors were untrue.”

Ram turned toward the deep voice that came from his side. It was his oldest and best friend Cohn, dressed in a crisp and finely tailored uniform. Cohn had joined the enforcement agency at a young age and had advanced through the ranks. He now ran the special division that was birthed a few years ago to accommodate the new human population. Cohn oversaw their safety and concerns.

Ram had grown up envious of Cohn’s life.  Ram had never told Cohn this, but he was proud of the male he’d grown up to be.

“Pray tell, what rumors might that have been?”

Cohn punched in his order on the processor. “That you’re visiting Teague.”

Ram snorted. “I live here.”

Cohn grabbed his drink when it was available and lifted the cup toward Ram. “You hardly come back. I’d thought you ran off and found a new love and new friend.”

Ram glanced toward the dance floor and couldn’t sight Varona “Not a love. Someone for right now that I’m about to end things with.” He turned back to Cohn. “New friend? Someone better than you? I could find dozens.”

“Replace me? Never?” Cohn let out a boisterous laugh and took a swig of his drink then grimaced. “This is awful.”

Ram set his now empty cup on the receptacle. “But it does the trick.”

“Why didn’t you let me know you were on planet? I could’ve tried to clear my schedule.”

“It was a last-minute decision and I don’t plan on staying long. On that note. You’re close with Zephon. Do you think you can sway him to give me his contract?

Cohn chuckled deep and low. “We’re friends, that’s exactly why we separate business and personal matters.”

Ram lifted a shoulder. “It was worth a try. If you’re free we can meet tomorrow and catch up before I leave again. How are your mother and father?”

Ram loved the elderly couple. Ram’s mom and Cohn’s mother had been best friends and had introduced their children to each other when they were born. After Ram’s mother had succumbed to a hereditary illness, Cohn’s mother had become the mother he’d lost. When his father died later, he’d moved in with Cohn and his family.

“They’re good. I’m sure they would love to see you before you leave again.”

Ram nodded. “I’ll make sure to stop by. So, what about us taking lunch or dinner tomorrow?”

Cohn shook his head. “If I’d had a few days to prepare, I could. But I just received a special assignment. I’m meeting with one of the humans tomorrow.” Cohn thrust fingers through his hair. “Her mate passed away.”

Ram frowned. “Really? While she was enroute?”

Cohn shook his head. “No. Earlier this week. She was allowed time to grieve but the associates are eager for her to find another. They’ve given her a month to pick someone new or they will assign her a mate.”

“Make someone mate with her is more like,” Ram snorted.

Cohn chuckled. “For every one person who grumbles about the humans and don’t want them here, there are one hundred who do. The human relations office is already fielding requests for potential suitors. If she doesn’t pick a mate there won’t be a problem finding one.”

“Can mine be taken off my hands?” Ram asked on a chuckle.

“It’s only a matter of releasing her from your contract. If you don’t want her someone else will.”

Ram ordered another drink as he thought about it. He could give up his mate and wouldn’t have the guilt associated with her welfare. The associates would vet whoever wanted to claim her and Ram could be free to mate with anyone he chose.

“Mmm. Something to think about.”

Cohn tapped him lightly on the arm. “I have to call it early for tonight. I just wanted to show my face. Don’t forget to see the parents before you leave.”

“I won’t.”

Ram watched Cohn leave, snaking his way through the crowd.

“Ramliel!”

Ram turned toward the direction of the call. It was from Ivo, one of his father’s oldest friends and a friend to the family. He’d headed the medical facility since Ram was a child. During their last conversation, Ivo had told Ram he would head the facility until the day he died. Which was fine with Ram since replacing Ivo would be hard to do.

Ivo had his arm up, waving for him to join the small group of people he was with. The only reason Ram didn’t give a curt nod and continue to the bar was because of who called him and the specimen standing next to him.

Human.

He recognized the female for what she was immediately. His father used to have holo-pics of female humans around the house when Ram was younger, trying to make them appealing to him. He vaguely remembered a picture of the female everyone claimed was his mate but he’d destroyed that particular holo-file in a fit. He regretted the fit, not the destroying of the picture.

Ram had wanted to mate with a female he’d thought himself enamored with at the time. It was a passing fancy—as his father had warned him. But that hadn’t really been the issue. The issue had been that he was mated to someone he hadn’t chosen for himself. Also, because he was mated he couldn’t date or explore females as everyone else his age did. Even now, he had to go to a different planet to find a willing partner.

But this one. He would’ve gladly waited for this human.

This human was the same skin tone as his mates. Although he couldn’t remember his mate’s face he did remember liking the brown on her. Radiant black hair was pulled into a tight bun on the top of her head. He wondered what it looked like if it were freed. His fingers itched to touch it. She was short in stature. The top of her head probably reached the middle of his chest. She was small, not skinny, but not thick as the females of his species.

She watched him with large dark round eyes that had hair slashed above them. Her skin wrinkled between them as she pulled her eyebrows together. Her nose was tiny and upturned and she had full, plump, pink lips that were almost the color of Varona’s skin. Ram briefly wondered if her lips and Varona’s skin were made of the same substance, because as people who viewed Varona’s skin longed to touch it, Ram longed to feel this human’s lips on his.

She pulled her gaze from his and turned to Ivo, angling her head up to talk to him. Ivo frowned, gave Ram a quick glance, then replied to her. She shook her head and Ivo placed a hand on her shoulder.

They were close. His mate? Ram hadn’t known that Ivo also participated in the human mating program. Ram had never asked him. Ram didn’t talk about the mating program with anyone. In truth, he didn’t know who the other participants were. There were only four thousand males on Teague who’d signed up (or had been signed up for it).

Ram advanced. The female tensed, her body stiff as she refused to glance his way again. Her eyes stayed locked on Ivo. Ivo turned at Ram’s approach. He smiled brightly, with a hint of nervousness. “Ramliel! So nice to see you again. You haven’t attended this event in ages.”

Ram stopped before them. While he watched Ivo, his focus, his entire being was tuned to the female. “I had business on planet that needed tending to.”

“Ah, well, I hope we will see more of you. How is the transport business?” Ivo asked. There was admiration and love in his voice.

“Before I make a decision about the company, I ask myself, what my father would do, and that usually puts me on the right path for success,” Ram answered.

The Yatur female who stood with them nodded toward Zephon across the room. “We use his diamonds for the x-ray machines. The results are astounding. The Torqs want us to train them on how to output our results.”

“I would love to claim that I was the one who brought him onboard. But I can’t. I wasn’t aware of the fact until now.” Ram made a mental note to himself. He would bring that point up to Zephon in hopes of sparking a conversation.

“I would love to pick his brain about how he came up with the concept,” the Yatur female said.

“Where are my manners?!” Ivo exclaimed. “Ram, this is Doctor Haliel. We borrowed her from the top facility on Capitalia. She’s studying our technology in hopes of improving bone scanning techniques.”

“I’m learning so much,” Haliel said. “While I originally came to study the bone scan technique, I have to admit that I’m getting sidetracked by the humans. I’ve only read about them in the files. Never met one up close and personal until Mia, here.”

Mia. That name tickled at his brain. It sounded oddly familiar. “Mia? That is your name? I like it.” It made him feel warm inside. He said it again in his head and the same strange feeling lingered. Familiar.

She finally turned to look…no…she glared at him. Ram tilted his head to the side. What had he ever done to this female?

Ivo fidgeted with the hem of his tunic. “Yes…um…Mia…um Takeria.”

“Takeria is my name too.” Was there another distant relative who’d also joined the bride program?

Ivo shifted on his feet and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “Um… Well…Yes, because this is your mate.”

“Oh, my,” Haliel said, glancing from Ram to Mia.