Excerpt from Mate Index: First Contact

This is a small excerpt from chapter 4 in the Mate Index Prequel First Contact. The hero of the novella is a Forad which, if you missed it in earlier books, is a reddish feline species.

“

Ehmhy was overwhelmed. Never in his life
did he imagine that any one place would have so many females. Granted many of
them were heavily intoxicated and reeked of the fumes of strong drink. The one
who had clung to him like a vispon vine had come close to alarming him. Among
his own kind, males were very territorial over their females. If one didn’t
belong to an elite family that would give him access to a female, most found
pleasure partners with offworld females, only few of which could successfully
breed with the Forad, and reproduced via depositing their genetic substance
into artificial wombs with donated eggs that each female was required to give
for the first five years after reaching sexual maturity before she found a
mate. Forad females never touched an unknown male, or really any male that was
not a relation or her mate.

Having human
females touch him so freely had not been something he was prepared for. Forad
were a very tactile species but preferred reserve such contact for only those
who were the closest and most trusted to them. Most males would not appreciate
strange females brushing up against them, and Ehmhy was no different. Yet, he’d
made an effort to consider the cultural differences of the planet he was on,
even as he attempted to gently extract himself from cloying embraces, and a
fondling or two from more adventurous females in the crowd. More so, he’d been
concerned that he would come into conflict with human males who’d see him as
poaching in their territory. He’d been surprised when not only male confronted
him, and in fact on a few occasions had laughed despite his obvious discomfort.
Ehmhy wasn’t sure what to make of the human species.

He was even less
certain of what to make of the strange festival he’d landed himself in. While
it worked in his favor that no one suspected him of being an offworlder, he’d
been bombarded by the bright colors, leering masks and loud sounds of festivity
that surrounded him. He flattened his ears against the onslaught and felt a
strange anxiety build that he’d never before experienced. He’d been positively
drowning in sensory overload when a accidentally ran into a small female who’d
been walking behind him.

Instinctively he’d
reached out for her to halt her fall rather than recoiling from the contact,
which had surprised him. He was drawn in and captivated by the dark mass of
curling hair, near-black eyes that widened in surprise, and skin the warm brown
color of the koro nut. Everything within him focused on her and cried out: Mine!

Perhaps that is
why he did not notice the other female until she was on top of him. He had
resented the touch immediately but had managed to temper his reaction so that
he would not hurt the female as he tried to gently extract himself from her
grip. He’d been immensely grateful when the female of his desire jumped into
the fray to aide him. She’d had no compunction about pulling the interloper
free of him and sending her on her way. That alone made her increasingly
desirable to him; that she shortly thereafter agreed to help him made her the
dearest of females in his eyes for her compassion and generosity of spirit.

He knew that he would do whatever it took to not let any harm so much as touch her. When the crowd surged closer to her than he was comfortable with, he rolled his shoulders back and snarled, growled and hissed at every transgressor who failed to take care around her. Each time she darted a quick amused look at him, her lips curving in a way that sent a pulse of interest directly to his cock. Although it was unlikely that their species were compatible, Ehmhy was fixated on Geree and was consumed with the need to demonstrate and prove himself a worthy mate. It didn’t matter if they would never breed kits together, after all he still had years ahead of him rearing his nephew. ���”