Page 20 of The Alien I Fell in Love with on Walpurgis Night

“How am I supposed to know if that makes you human or not? No man’s tongue has ever been between my legs before yours.”

“What about my body?” I take her hand and run it over my chest. “My body is hairless through generations of genetic engineering.”

“People go hairless all the time with waxing and lasers.”

I bring her hands back down to my penis and guide one of her hands over my shaft. Back and forth until it’s erect. “Human men don’t have those ridges.”

“They could be surgical implants.”

I take her hands away. But surprisingly she puts them back, caressing my penis. It feels too sweet. “No, I won’t have this, Georgiana. You must believe this is real before we go any further. I will not take any pleasure from you as long as you believe this is a game.” I hold her at arm’s length. “You need to know what you’re agreeing to.” I can see in her eyes that she doesn’t believe me. Or that she’s so full of lust she can’t hear me. “Shower stop.”

The water turns off and the dryer comes on. She looks up at me in surprise. I assume where she’s from doesn’t have this kind of simple technology. When we are dry I lead her out of the shower.

“I had some proper clothes brought to us,” I explain as I point out a uniform for me and a dress befitting her rank for her.

She picks up the long blue dress and then leaves it and goes back into the bathroom. When she returns she’s carrying her dirty undergarments.

“You don’t need those. You just wear the dress with these stockings and shoes.”

“How do they know my sizes?”

“The sensors know everything.”

“Not everything,” she remarks astutely as she puts on the dress and then the stockings.

I take in her appearance. She’s lacking jewelry and her hair looks very messy. I find a comb in the bathroom and return. I hand it to her. “And you might consider braiding your hair as you had it before.”

She combs through her long blonde hair. “I don’t know how to braid. A German woman braided my hair in the traditional style you liked. I don’t know if I should be silently thanking her or not?”

I take the comb from Georgiana, our fingers touching longer than necessary. “Hold still. I’ll braid your hair for you.”

“You know how to braid?”

“Of course. Where would I be if I couldn’t braid?” I begin braiding her hair in the same simple style she had before. It suits her round face and big eyes. Although I think I’ve made it too even. It had a more artistic flair to it before, mine almost looks mathematical. When I finish I say, “There. Now you look complete. We’ve been invited to Commander Fox’s personal dining room for the evening meal. Remember what we talked about.”

Her brown eyes reflect confidence. “I remember.”

“Good. Remember as we walk through the station, all of this is real.”

“Okay,” she says as if she thinks I’m trying to trick her.

“Georgiana, please take this seriously.”

“Okay,” she says in a way that I know she doesn’t believe me.

I’m irritated but there’s nothing to do but continue to point out what’s unquestionably authentic. “Let’s go then.” We walk out into the corridor and almost run into two Alliance children. I hear their mother calling for them from the opposite direction. “Whoa,” I say playfully to the little boys. “Where are you headed so quickly? A secret mission?”

“To get the monster!” they yell excitedly together. I notice despite their imperial appearances they are speaking a human language as my translator kicks on. Their mother, a human woman, has caught up with us.

“Sorry, there’s usually never anyone down this hallway. It’s rare that we have such distinguished guests.” Then she bows.

I read her ranking ID. “Nurse Caroline, this is Madame Georgiana, my wife.” Normally introductions would never be made, but Georgiana is lacking any ID to let people know who she is. This is problematic in imperial culture where rank is always known so that everyone can act accordingly.

Georgiana holds out her hand to Caroline.

I instinctively put Georgiana’s hand down politely.

Caroline respectfully chides me, “We are human, Commander, it’s natural we should greet each other this way.” She holds out her hand to meet Georgiana’s.

---