Page 34 of An Alien for Her Heart

“Your past, the one you shared with the male you cared about, that will always be a part of you. But it doesn’t dictate your future. Just as your path led you to him, it has now brought you here, to the plains, to…”To me. But I dare not utter it. Not yet.

Catherine’s breath hitches anyway, her eyes widening. Perhaps I said too much.

Frakk.

I should give her some space. Some time to think.

Reaching into my pocket, I take out the gift I brought her. It’s a sleek, oval-shaped device, no bigger than the palm of my claw.

I carefully set it down on the table between us. Catherine’s eyes widen as she looks at the device. She picks it up carefully, turning it over in her hands. “What… what is this?” she asks, her voice tinged with confusion and something else I can’t quite place.

“A gift for you.”

Her delicate hands pause with the item held between them as her eyes shift to mine.

“It’s a calming device,” I explain, though I can see a flicker of something in her eyes that makes me pause.

A surprising bubble of laughter leaves her lips and warmth floods right through me. Perhaps I have salvaged this after all.

“You think I’m not calm enough?”

Frakk.

I sit up so straight the stool beneath me almost topples. “No. Your spirit sways like a calm wind. This device is only meant to help with relaxation and stress relief.”

Catherine releases another small laugh, this one quieter than the last, and I realize she’s joking. Toying with me in the nicest way possible. “I’m only joking. This is…this is very thoughtful. Thank you, Varek. But I should be the one giving you gifts. You’ve already—” Her gaze shifts to the senzsi fruit off to the side before she shifts her gaze away from them.

“I thought you might find it…useful.”

In her perusal, she accidentally activates the device and the soothing vibrations begin emanating from the oval.

“It vibrates,” she whispers, shock at the edges of her tone. “And people use this to relieve stress?”

“Usually several times each sol. It is especially bought by females across various species.”

“I see.” After a moment, a look of shocked realization crosses her face. “Oh. OH!” Her cheeks flush a deep pink as she quickly sets the object back down. It vibrates, dancing a path across the table before I reach out and turn it off.

I can’t tell if she likes it or not. Her beautiful face is almost as red as the stain she’d placed on her lips.

“Th-thank you, Varek, I—” She lifts her head the moment there’s a sound not far outside the lodge. I can tell it’s the Raki who has arrived, despite the fact I wish he wouldn’t return, to complete his job. “Oh, the Raki is here!”

She jumps to her feet, gathering the trays. “I should get to work.” She gives me a sort of wide-eyed strange panic-filled look but I’m not sure I’m even reading that right. One thing I surely am reading is the fact this conversation is over.

I rise, barely glancing at my untouched tee and dough meal as Catherine disappears into the meal preparation room.

It feels like she’s running away from me and I want to reach out and pull her right back in.

I can’t.

With a tightness in my chest, I head to the door instead. “I’ll get back to work, then…”

I pause, hoping that she’ll return and tell me to stay a bit longer. That doesn’t happen. Instead, I hear her voice from the other room as she calls out, “Sure thing!”

11

CATHERINE

He bought me a sex toy.

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