Page 44 of The Alien's Private Redemption

"Ah," Zoric said, and shifted nervously. "You witnessed one of the side effects of the Bond, sir."

"Explain."

"As the Bond grows stronger, the couple have the ability to pull each other into their dreams by accident," Ae-cha cut in. "Until that Bond is consummated, the dreams they'll each have willgrow increasingly explicit. The emotions from those dreams can leak out to be experienced by those who are sensitive to that kind of thing."

"So you were angry because you were caught up in their foreplay," the Colonel said. He looked skeptical but didn't argue with her.

"That's right," she said.

"And you want to be close to them now why?"

Ae-cha sighed. "Because a trigger was introduced to the dream. One set specifically to happen during their consummation. Because it was a dream, Private McBride was able to control the manifestation and neutralize it. Zoric pulled me in to remove and analyze it."

"I see," Colonel Schuh said, his brows pulled down in worry. "And you suspect there are more of them?"

"I believe there is an active attempt to introduce more triggers into Private McBride's psyche," Ae-cha said. "And they're getting sloppy about it."

"Well, then, I respect your willingness to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation to help Private McBride. I'll show you to your rooms so you can get some rest."

Colonel Schuh wasn't asking questions and that made Angela suspicious. He was observant if he'd caught Zoric and Ae-cha fighting and she wondered what else he'd seen.

Her hackles raised even further when he drove them himself to the empty house on base and handed them the keys. She would have been less surprised if he's fluffed their pillows and wished them a happy honeymoon.

"What's wrong with him?" Angela demanded when he drove away.

"What do you mean?" Zoric asked.

"Did that not strike you as odd? He basically dropped us off and said happy fucking!"

"He thanked me for being willing to help hunt down your triggers in a situation that makes me uncomfortable. That is not quite the same."

"But he knows we're going to…" Angela trailed off. Despite her very willing participation in the dream with Zoric, she hadn't quite acknowledged what was going to happen in the waking world. It had all seemed like something that would happen in the future.

"It would seem you need to have an important conversation," Ae-cha said. "As it's not one I want to be part of, I'll excuse myself. Hopefully, I won't see either of you until tomorrow."

The lizardwoman walked into the house and Angela heard a door open and close, presumably with her on the other side.

The weight of expectation settled on Angela's shoulders and she could feel herself stagger beneath them. When she looked up at Zoric, she saw nothing but compassion in his eyes, and knew he could feel her conflicting emotions through their Bond.

"Ae-cha is correct, we should talk," he said, and held the door open to the house.

She expected him to lead her to the bedroom but he went to the kitchen instead. She sat on a stool at the counter that separated the kitchen from the dining room and watched him search through the cupboards until he found a couple of glasses. He filled them with water and handed her one.

"I've been told this conversation should happen over coffee," he said casually. "But I didn't see any in the cupboards and I don't particularly care for the taste. Do you?"

"Do I what?" she asked. This was not the direction she'd expected the conversation to take and she'd been caught off guard by the question.

"Enjoy the taste of coffee," he said. She watched him drink from the glass, fascinated by the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed.

"I'm not sure it's a question of enjoying it," she answered. "It's a necessity, like air and water. And what kind of conversation is supposed to take place over coffee?"

"The kind where we discuss, like adults, how we would like to proceed with the relationship. Before we're drowned in hormones and desire, we should talk about what we want, and what our expectations are."

"Oh," she said. "I don't think I've ever done that before. It seems like a very civilized way to go about it."

She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice that he wasn't going to take her to bed and rip her clothes off. Not that she particularly wanted to be overwhelmed and told what to do, but she liked the idea that he desired her enough to do that.

"I thought so," he agreed. "So I'll start, if you don't mind?"

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