Page 32 of Forbidden Desires

“Helee?” Zylar barked. Despite that, Amelia could feel the love he had for that five-pound menace.

Helee prowled out of the back of the shuttle like he owned the damn thing, and they should be taking orders from him. He stopped to look at Zylar and then Amelia. He sniffed loud enough for them to hear and then sat on Amelia’s lap like it was nothing.

Amelia’s eyes cut to Zylar to find him restraining himself from laughing.

“Really?” She pointed at Helee.

“Pet him. He likes you.”

He does not like me. “This is called tormenting the human because she might be slightly scared of me. On Earth, cats know who likes and who doesn’t like them. Then they torment anyone who isn’t fond of them. It’s part of their predatory nature.”

Against her better judgment, she petted Helee, who meowed for her. Maybe he wasn’t that bad. At least she wasn’t allergic to him since she had a feeling Zylar wasn’t going to get rid of him.

“How long have you had Helee?”

“My mother gave him to me when I was five of your earth years. I don’t remember a lot of what happened when I was that young, but I remember Helee. He listened to all my problems and protected me whether I needed it or not.”

She grinned but refused to say anything. It wouldn’t do to ask what protection a five-pound sky-blue cat-like animal could offer. Did he meow them to death? That was possible. He was a talkative little thing. Oops, cat-like animal, not a thing.

“I guess he’s going with us?”

“He is. I’ve left him on the ship too long. Haven’t I?” Zylar reached over and picked up Helee, holding him to his chest petting him, and stroking down his back.

“He’s mine. Don’t get too many ideas,” Amelia told Helee, groaning before she got up. “I’m too old to be on the floor.” She stretched, trying to get the kinks out before she went back to the chair next to Zylar’s.

“Not compared to me,” Zylar said.

“I know you’re an old man. Want to tell me how old?” She used the word man deliberately and laughed when he ignored her.

He thought about it for a while and then shook his head no. “We’ll talk about age later. I am, as we both know, older than you. I think that’s enough.”

Amelia thought it over and decided he was right. It didn’t matter his age or the conversion of Diza years to Earth years.She wasn’t going anywhere. Her relationship with Zylar and whatever it brought with it was something she had to navigate because she was tired of running.

Zylar brought Helee with him to the controls and dropped him into Amelia’s lap before he sat his fingers dancing over the controls. She loved his fingers, not just for the way they looked. He played her body like a magic flute using them.

“Are you ready?” Zylar asked her.

“No, but do I have a choice?” It was time to confront her cousins. Either they forgave her, real forgiveness, and just not saying the words and then staying away. If they didn’t forgive her well in a way, it was all over.

“You worry too much,” Zylar said.

Amelia huffed. “You don’t worry enough. Even when we were attacked on the ship or when the Tan-ge tried to kill us just minutes ago.” More than a few minutes passed, but he knew what she was talking about.

“Those aren’t times to worry. I strategize and figure out the best solution to gain the outcome needed. As you can see, we are still here.”

He had a point they were still here and worrying hadn’t gotten her anything or anywhere in her life. “You might have a point.” She gave in, but it wasn’t graceful.

“My grumpy mate.” He winked at her.

“Helee, did he just call me grumpy?” Her breath caught in her throat as they made their descent. Being in space hadn’t affected her until now. It was suddenly real when she left the darkness of space to be greeted by the eternal daylight that was above the clouds. She never understood how above the clouds it was daylight and below them, it could be night. It always made her think she missed something. No one taught it in school. It was like this big secret unless you were someone who flew a lot or you took off or descended during the night.

The shift from darkness to light was amazing. Maybe after seeing it a hundred times, she’d become used to it, but she didn’t think so.

“This is amazing,” she whispered.

“You’re beautiful,” Zylar said, watching her face as the different emotions crossed it.

She threw him a quick smile before going back to staring at the sky outside. “I wish we could all see our world from here. Maybe we’d stop fighting long enough to talk. If not, then we should just hang out up here unable to move or do anything because the clouds wouldn’t hold us until we put petty pet peeves aside and acknowledge that we are all people. No one is better than the next.”

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