Crystals Three Chosen Mates Read Free Page B

darker one. She knew the First Quadrant relied nearly entirely on nutrishakes, but she thought that was because they were convenient and fast. She’d had no idea whole food production was so limited on the other side of the planet.
    She pulled out a chair and sat. “Your meal’s getting cold.”
    Henri and Stepho took their chairs and began poking at the fish and vegetables with their forks.
    “Come on, boys. Give it a try,” she teased. “It doesn’t bite back.”
    Stepho sent her a lopsided grin before inserting a forkful of fish between his full lips. His brown eyes closed as a look of pure joy crossed his face.
    Stars, the man was good-looking for an intelligentsia. She’d always imagined members of the brainy class would be thin-necked and bug-eyed from staring too long at their datapads. Though Stepho was definitely on the too-thin side of what she considered healthy, he had good bones on which to add some muscle mass. A few days of her cooking and a little time in the gym, and he’d be one hot scientist. She particularly liked the way his wide nose complemented his thick lips. Lips that looked as if they would feel oh-so-good kissing their way down her—
    “Crystal…Crystal?” The sound of Henri’s voice interrupted her impromptu erotic fantasy.
    “Uh, yeah.” She turned to face the other scientist, hoping her cheeks weren’t too flushed from her overactive imagination.
    Henri pointed his fork at his plate. “What soil type produces vegetables such as these?”
    “It’s a mix of organic materials and minerals. I’m merely a Food Preparation Specialist, not a Food Production Specialist, but I can introduce you to some of them if you are interested.”
    “Merely?” Stepho inclined his head. “Who designed this meal?”
    “I did,” she said. “Do you not like it? I can get you something else.”
    “Whose directions did you follow?” Stepho asked without answering her question.
    “We call it a recipe, and this is one I created myself.” His brusque questions provoked her ire, causing her own words to come out clipped.
    Henri laid his hand over hers where it rested on the table. “Please forgive Stepho. He tends to lose his manners when he gets excited by his research.”
    “Research?” She waved at their plates. “We just call this evening meal around here.”
    “Do these vegetables come naturally with this blend of flavors? I’ve never tasted anything like them,” Stepho said, seeming to ignore Henri’s comment about proper table manners.
    What Crystal found hard to ignore was Henri’s strong hand covering hers. Her gaze skimmed up his forearm to meaty biceps that were evident even beneath his shirtsleeves. How did tapping on a keyboard all day build such strength?
    She glanced up at his face, which displayed two long dimples on either side of his smiling mouth. A mouth that looked as tasty as the berry tarts she’d made for dessert.
    “If you’ll do the talking, Stepho will get more eating done,” Henri suggested.
    Crystal returned his grin, and had to fight to keep it in place when he removed his hand from hers to pick up his fork. Just that brief physical touch had her craving more. She’d like to take both of them back to her personal pod and get to know them each on an intimate level, but she didn’t know how the intelligentsia viewed casual intimacy. Did they save themselves until they were assigned their mate?
    Oh, blasters. Maybe these two already had a mate. Why hadn’t she considered that? She would never proposition another woman’s mates.
    Then she remembered their introductions. They would have mentioned the names of their woman and the third man, rather than their parents, if they were mated.
    Her grin gained in strength. She was going to take a shot at these two. It was a perfect opportunity to expand her knowledge base. Even though she’d had a few sexual encounters with individual men, she’d never moved on to two men at once. How much better it would be to