Page 30 of An Alien for the Farm

“I should have allowed you the choice of hiring that Raki. I overstepped.”

I can only stare at him. “That’s…you don’t have to apologize for that. It’s not like you didn’t give me a choice.”

His head tilts slightly, gaze slipping from my eyes to my lips. My whole body heats at the memory of his kiss. I decide to just go for it. What’s the use of beating around the bush? All it does is confuse the gardener.

“Zynar, what happened in the barn, it can’t happen again. Especially if you’ll be working here for a while. That kiss was…”

Beautiful? The best thing I’ve felt in over a decade? The thing that has my heart beating, my skin flushed, and me feeling young again?

“Kees?” he whispers.

I squeeze my eyes shut again. He doesn’t understand. “When we ki—” Ah, how do you even describe that? “When we…brushed mouths together. When our tongues…” I roll my hands to communicate etcetera etcetera because if I utter the words, I’m only going to get lost in the memory and forget the purpose of this.

“You didn’t like it?”

Oh heavens.

I open my eyes to stare at the ground before looking up at him. “You’re my employee.”

“That means you didn’t enjoy it?”

“I—” I stammer now. “I didn’t say that.”

“So, you did like it.” He beams now, his gaze brightening, and I realize now that worry had been clouding his eyes. God, I’m doing this all wrong.

“Regardless,” I clear my throat, “it can’t happen again.”

Zynar frowns now, turning to face me fully. The breeze brushes past us and his scent comes along with it, swirling around me and making me dizzy. Something has to be wrong, I’ve never reacted to a male like this before. This is new and, admittedly, confusing.

I thought I’d already figured out life. Why, oh why, is it still throwing curveballs at me?

“Why not?” He takes a step forward and I take one back, holding my hands up. All that does is press my hands against his chest. He rumbles something deep at the contact but he stops advancing. “Why stop something that we both enjoyed? Something we both liked? I do not understand, Liora.”

I shut my eyes again. “Because…” Well, isn’t it obvious? Do I have to spell it out? And then I realize I do. He’s not human. He can’t understand my emotions without an explanation, and even human men struggle with that, anyway. “Because we hardly know each other.”

“We can get to know each other. I would like to get to know you, Liora.”

God. This is hard.

His words call to a part of me that’s been wounded for so long, even the possibility this might be something real scares the life out of me. And the rejection if it’s not? The ultimate heartbreak…I…I’m a coward. I can’t.

“We hardly know each other,” I say, meeting his gaze. “I just want to be honest—I’m not looking for something casual. If this is just fun for you, I understand, but I’m at a point where I need something real and meaningful…or nothing at all. I hope you can understand that.”

His brows furrow slightly as he digests my words.

“So, if you’re going to work here, I think we should keep it professional.” I drop my hands from his chest and outstretch one for a handshake instead. It stays suspended in the air like that until Zynar crouches before me. He meets my gaze as he presses his lips to the center of my palm. Electricity erupts from the spot, and I have to stop breathing to prevent myself from inhaling sharply.

“I will heed your concerns, Liora,” he whispers, those yellow eyes boring into mine. “I read in the literature about your species’ mating habits. I understand. But…”

“But what?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

“But I am not playing games, Eleanor. I have no interest in games. I am interested in you.”

Fiddlesticks.

He rises and places another kiss on my hand, his touch brushing my skin in an unexpected softness that sends a tingle right through me. Smirking, Zynar steps away. He points to the roof, a twinkle in his eyes.

“All done, sweet bird.” Then he salutes, tapping two fingers to where I think his heart must be. “I will see you at the start of the new dawn. We will have tea and you can tell me what you want me to do. I will do anything you desire.” His eyes darken even as he steps away. “Anything.”

---