Page 235 of Fated Mates of Breeder Prison

“It’s a terrible thing, not to feel like you belong,” Egara said.

I looked him over.

Was that how he felt?

With who? I wondered.

“I never felt that way,” I said. “The truth is, I never really belonged in my hometown. It was so small, so parochial. A great place to retire, but not the kind of place I wanted to spend my life. I became fascinated with history, with the pursuits and efforts of greater men and women.”

Egara reached out a hand and gently rubbed my cheek.

“You are a great woman.”

Then his eyes flicked over from my cheek to my eyes.

No one had ever said that to me.

No one had ever thought I was special or unique.

Just one of many.

“We should get some sleep,” I said.

“Yes,” Egara said. “With any luck, tomorrow we will be on our way off this planet and we will never return to it again.”

That sounded good to me.

I curled up and rubbed my arms around myself.

I still felt a little awkward sleeping without a blanket.

I mashed the sand up, forming a rudimentary pillow.

It was chilly and I shivered.

Egara curled up behind me, spooning me, and wrapped his arm around me.

He would be my blanket, I realized.

My security blanket.

His warmth pressed against my back and I hugged his arm.

He couldn’t have been comfortable with the position but did not complain.

Concealed within his warm embrace, I found sleep easily.

I knew something was wrong the moment I woke up.

The sand slipped down my collar and rubbed at the delicate skin of my lower back.

I slept well for most of the night but for about the past thirty minutes or so, I drifted in and out of sleep due to a lump digging into my back.

I took it to be Egara, growing amorous during the night.

He didn’t wake me, didn’t probe me further.

I suspected we were both exhausted from the previous day’s activities.

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