Ka'Cit's Haven (Riv’s Sanctuary #3)

And she assumed he was completely relaxed. She could see it in the way he sat.

His muscles didn’t hold any tension and he appeared at ease.

Her gaze flicked back to his tail and she tried not to stare at it.

It was long and thick and it looked quite powerful, like he could slap someone with it and hurt them.

From the way he’d moved earlier, jumping from the floor to the ceiling and managing to hold on up there, she could only assume his people evolved from some kind of cat-ape hybrid.

It was a question she wasn’t sure would be offensive, so she didn’t ask about it. Not if he evolved from cats and apes but what his origins were. He was from a different culture, after all. The last thing she wanted to do was piss him off by asking something stupid.

Ka’Cit reached forward and his hand hovered over her meal.

“Don’t worry, I cleaned my hands,” he started. “I can cut those for you.”

Nia’s gaze dropped to the food.

It was already in small bits. She’d noticed he’d been cutting the food while she’d showered but apparently he’d overestimated the power of her bite.

“Thanks.” She nodded and Ka’Cit pulled the dish toward him.

Again his tail waved in the air behind him like a lazy flag.

“Ka’Cit?”

He froze.

“You aren’t a farmer, are you?”

“I am.”

Nia gave him a look. “Right.”

Ka’Cit glanced her way before continuing to cut her food.

He was using his claws and she stared at them.

They were wickedly pointy and sharp-looking.

“What kind of crops do you sow then?”

He shifted on the floor.

He wasn’t wearing his mask now and she could see a bit of the emotion pass over his features.

“I don’t sow. I harvest…” he paused, “…information.”

His answer made her chuckle and she could see some of the tension leave his shoulders at the sound.

He slid her meal back to her and as she took a piece of the meat in hand and brought it to her lips, he watched her every movement.

The way he watched her made a little tingle go down her spine and Nia had to focus on actually chewing just so she wouldn’t choke and die.

“You mean, you’re a bounty hunter.”

He looked genuinely surprised at that. “No. I don’t get paid for what I do. I don’t do it for credits.”

“What do you do it for then?”