Page 53 of Star Mates

She looked at him in shock. “Your home? I think there’s been a mistake-”

“You’ll be more comfortable here,” he interrupted. “The shelter has too many beds placed in very small rooms and as you know, overcrowding can lead to unsanitary results. In fact, the director of the shelter called and said they didn’t have room for one more person.”

“You could take me to another shelter.”

He shook his head. “Too far to travel at this time of night.”

That sounded like a bad excuse. “I don’t feel…comfortable about this.”

He frowned, the skin around his scar pulling and contorting his eyebrow into a twisted line. “This offer comes without strings, Miss Tice. I am Honor Guardian of the Durian High Council as well as the General in charge of the entire Durian Armada. I would never force a woman into any sort of compromising positions that she did not want.”

She flushed. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I never meant to impugn on your honor. I am grateful for your generosity.”

He relaxed. “Right this way, Miss Tice,” he said before walking briskly from the lift.

For such a big, brutish man, his home was surprisingly…fragile. A bull in a China shop came to mind as she stared at the delicate furniture within the glass walls. It looked a cross between French Provincial and English Regency, a blending of two eras that couldn’t hold the weight of a Pomeranian, let alone an alien warrior whose fists should be classified as lethal weapons.

“This is your home?” she asked hesitantly. Perhaps she’d misunderstood.

“Yes. Why? What’s wrong with it?” he demanded.

“Nothing. Just…you know what Milton Berle said about people living in glass houses.”

“No. What do he say?”

“That, um, they don’t have much of a sex life.” She bit her lip. That was something she should not have brought up.

He stared at her, obviously perplexed. “Was he a human doctor that he should reference reproduction?”

“No. He, ah, was a comedian. I was just referring to the glass all around us.” She gave a forced, strained laugh that clearly held no humor in it. “I only meant aren’t you afraid of people seeing you in your, ah, birthday suit?”

It took him a moment to reference that. “You mean naked.”

“Yes,” she said with relief. It was far time to drop the subject.

“You don’t have to worry about people seeing you in such a state. The building is made with a material called hide glass. You can see out, but no one can see in. Provides a lot of natural light and is a very durable building material.”

“While your home is beautiful, I must say that you look like someone who would live in the woods,” Emmarie said bluntly. “Or in a log cabin with lots of antlers on display.”

“What are antlers?”

“Never mind,” she interrupted, waving away the statement with her hand. Silence fell between them, odd and uncomfortable. “May I ask why you are being so nice to me, to a lowly human?”

The brackets around his mouth tightened. “I admire courage.”

“Do Durians prize courage above everything?”

He hesitated. “No, not…everything.”

She cocked her head questioningly.

“It... pleases me to see you in my home.”

Her mouth fell open and she had to scramble quickly to cover her surprise. “I’m sorry?”

“It has been a long time since I’ve had company.”

“Company?”

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