Page 15 of My Alien Jewel

She opens her mouth, presumably to thank me, but no sound comes out. She tries again, her body trembling, tears glistening in her eyes, but only manages a hoarse groan. Her tears fall, clinking as they hit the floor.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to speak now. It will come back to you when you’re ready.”

A defeated sigh rushes out of her as she moves closer to the food. She’s still keeping her distance, staying at least six feet away from me at all times, but we’re making progress.

“Do you want me to taste it in front of you again?” I offer.

She seems to be considering it before shaking her head.

“Good choice. It smells so good I would have probably eaten most of it myself,” I joke. “You are wise to keep me away from it.”

Her shoulders twitch as she chuckles, the quiet sound causing butterflies to flutter around my chest cavity. She picks up a plate with what I think is grilled fish and some dark brown alien potatoes, and takes a cautious bite. Her expression of absolute bliss has my stupid cock hardening again.

I shift on the floor to hide it from her. She stiffens at the sound of my movement but quickly relaxes when it becomes obvious I’m not about to jump her.

I don’t want to stare as she eats, so I look for something to distract me. Actually, scratch that. I do want to stare at her, I just don’t want to creep her out. My eyes find tiny, clear crystals on the floor that surely weren’t there before. Her tears, I realize, fascinated.

I pick up one of the tears that had landed beside me to study it more closely. It’s not as solid as the tinkling sound suggested. It’s more like silica gel, those tiny transparent beads manufacturers on Earth use to absorb moisture in packages.

The tear is neither solid nor liquid in its texture. It doesn’t leave any residue on my fingers and after a minute or twoof examination, it completely vanishes, evaporating instead of melting into liquid like an ice shard would. Incredible.

As I raise my eyes from my now empty hand, I see Z’Ree’s large purple ones, widened in fear. She’s tensed up and looks ready to bolt. Just because I examined her tear? No. She must be worried that the tear could help me identify what race she is and she’s all but determined to hide it.

“I’m sorry, I was just curious,” I apologize, carefully choosing my words. “Are you worried I will find out where you come from? Would that be bad?”

She nods, retreating a little, squeezing the spoon in her hand so hard I’m worried it will crack and cut her.

“Are your people disliked?” That’s the only reason I can come up with. “Do you come from a planet of evil pariahs and think I’d dislike you if I found out? Because I don’t care. I don’t know anything about galaxy gossip and even if I did, I don’t believe in collective responsibility.”

I’m clearly nowhere close to the right answer because Z’Ree just mutely shakes her head. I don’t even know which part of my speech she is saying no to. With a sigh, I give up. “It doesn’t matter, Z’Ree. I will always be here for you, no matter where you come from or what you are. I will always protect you.”

She watches me, her body slowly relaxing. I still have her trust, what little there is.

“Is there something else I can do for you?” I ask, needing to change the subject. “Do you want me to bring you something? Like…shoes?” Her bare feet are caked with filth that probably provides some protection against the cold seeping through the metal floor, but it still can’t be comfortable.

She pauses, chewing on her lower lip. The sight does terrible things to my cock. I pull my knee to my chest to hide it from Z’Ree.

After a moment, she points to my datapad. I hand it over to her without hesitation. D’Aakh has a ton of these things lying around. If she wants it, it’s hers. “It’s not equipped for interstellar calls,” I warn her as she taps on the screen. “If you want to contact someone, I can arrange it, but not from this device. Do you have someone you want to contact?”

The sorrow in her eyes makes me regret asking the question. I don’t need her head shake to know she’s all alone.

Well, not anymore. She has me now. I’m not sure if it’s a win but I hope it beats being alone.

She opens a text editor, her dirty fingers hovering over the virtual keyboard before she starts typing.

I feel like an idiot. How did I not come up with this idea? She may not be able to speak, but that doesn’t mean she can’t read or write. I should have offered the datapad to her earlier, not waited for her to gather up the courage to ask for it.

When she hands the device back, I stare at the symbols, wishing the stupid translator nodes would work on written words as well. Since they don’t, I have the device translate Z’Ree’s words for me, hoping it won’t change the meaning too much.

“I would like to understand you,”she wrote. I scrunch my brows, not understanding her request until I move to the next sentence.“I hate the voice coming from this thing. It doesn’t sound like yours. Could you please update my nodes?”

My lower jaw hovers somewhere over my sternum as I raise my head to look at Z’Ree. Of all the things in the world she could ask for, she wants her translator nodes updated? Because she likes my voice? That’s…flattering?

I’m not sure about her motivation, something tells me she sees me as a potential master she needs to placate, but I won’t deny her the first request she’s made. “O-okay,” I say, clearing mythroat. “That can be done. I don’t suppose you want to come with me to the infirmary?”

Z’Ree is quick to shake her head, fear creeping back into her expression.

“Alright, that’s no problem. I’ll set up the device and bring it back here. Will you wait for me here?” I wouldn’t put it past her to lose her nerve and flee the moment I leave. Not that I’d blame her.

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