Noir Kioko had only ever seen one human before his undercover work brought him to the diner at the Luna Terminal, and that was at a distance. Humans are rare, most of them disappear without a trace, and he hopes hanging around the restaurant will give him a lead on the smuggling ring he’s investigating. There was no way he could’ve known the human would turn out to be his mate, and no way he can let it show without putting his mate in danger and possibly jeopardising his mission.<br><br>Max Welch is the proud owner of the only restaurant within a light year’s distance. He left Earth four years ago to create a better life for himself, but he hadn’t considered the possibility of scary alien pirates making his restaurant their favourite hangout spot. As a measly human there isn’t much he can do about it, but as one of the pirates starts coming by almost every day he has to come up with something before he loses all his customers. That the giant cat man is rather nice to look at changes nothing.<br><br>When rumours of another human arriving at the space station start to circulate, Noir's species trafficking infiltrate and observe only mission may need a revamp. But will Noir be able to protect his mate and another one of his rare species?

It Doesn't Translate

“How may I help you, gentlemen?” Max wiped his hands on his half-apron and stared down at the counter.


“I always play nicely.” The purring man flashed him some sharp-looking teeth, and Max looked down before he could see the eyes.


“Erm...okay.” Max continued to stare at the counter. He might have imagined it, but did the alien sigh?


“If you have some of that ice cream, I’d like to try it this time.”


Max winced, both at the tone and the memory those words brought on. He vaguely remembered yellow eyes somewhere in the poisonous haze but he didn’t dare to look up now—had he helped Max away from Bair? “Sure, I still have some, not much but there should be enough until the next delivery.” At least if Max didn’t eat any of it himself.


Chapter 8