Page 12 of The Alien's Private Redemption

"I could not let you go," he admitted. "Not then, and not ever again. And I must apologize."

Angela frowned at him and leaned forward. "Why would you apologize for keeping me alive? I wanted to live."

"The methods I used…" he trailed off and she watched the emotions play over his face.

When she'd first seen him, she didn't think it was possible for his face to be so expressive. He was a strangely beautiful combination of a human and some kind of lizard, with surprisingly supple lips, and expressive eyes.

"What was wrong with the methods you used?" This was the most information she'd gotten from anyone since she'd been arrested. If he was willing to keep talking, she'd keep asking questions. Maybe she'd even get some answers.

Zoric gave her a wry smile. "They are at least part of what I am here to make amends for. My people believe there is a perfect match for them somewhere, and if they're lucky, they'll meet them in their lifetime. When that happens, a bond will form between them that allows them to speak without words, to feel what the other feels, and to make physical proximity to the other person a source of joy and contentment."

Angela shivered and remembered what he'd said about her projecting at him. "That sounds a little creepy," she admitted.

"It's a beautiful thing, and signals what should be a lifetime of happiness," Zoric argued, then paused. "However, my people also discovered that, with the right person, that bond could be forced. Once it was, both of them would need the other one to live. And they would only feel happiness, even if everything else in them was screaming in pain and horror."

"And you forced that bond with me?" she asked. From what he said, she should be terrified from what had happened but she wasn't.

"I'm afraid I must have," he answered. "To save you as quickly and thoroughly as I did, the bond had to be immediate, and deep enough to be permanent."

Angela nodded. "I thought you said it felt like someone setting a broken bone when you created the bond."

"To me, it did," Zoric acknowledged. "But I had reason to believe that my ability to bond with a human woman had been broken beyond repair. To create one with you healed something in me that I thought destroyed."

"And saved my life," Angela pursued. "I'm not afraid of you. Or of our bond. I'm not even sure I believe we have one, yet."

"Will you allow me to prove it?" he asked.

"Yes, please," she said. Something else occurred to her, so she put up her hand and added, "Gently, if you can. I've been through enough trauma over the last few days."

"Of course," he said, and settled back onto the stool.

A blanket of warmth wrapped around her, followed by a feeling of contentment she'd never experienced before. She closed her eyes and relaxed into it, craving more than anything to be held by the arms she had found herself in yesterday.

"Describe what you're feeling," Zoric said, his voice soft and low.

Angela relaxed more into the sensations and sighed. "It's like waking up in a fluffy blanket in the middle of winter. The only thing that will make me move is to roll over and cuddle."

"Do you want to cuddle?" he asked, and she could hear the longing in it.

"Yes," she answered. "I haven't cuddled in years."

He sighed and she could feel his regret a moment before the warm and fluffy feeling disappeared. It was followed by a sharp stab of pain in her left thigh.

Her eyes flew open and she saw one of his claws pressed hard against his left thigh.

"There are downsides," he said simply, and took his hand away. The pain in her leg dissipated, though the ache remained a little longer.

"I can see that," she said. "Do you mind if I try?"

Chapter 6

Zoric nodded his assent and Angela sat up on her cot. While he'd known digging his claw into his leg was going to hurt, he hoped that the comforting warmth he'd sent her first had eased some of the pain from her ordeal. While the chill in the air didn't bother him much, he knew the thin hospital gown hadn't offered her much warmth. The clothes he'd left for her had been better, but her fingers and skin still showed the tell-tale signs of being too cold.

He was prepared for her touch to be hesitant and awkward, maybe a little painful. So when he felt a gentle stroke along his jaw, he was certain he was imagining it. Then it continued down the side of his neck and he growled.

It stopped abruptly and he looked up to see her eyes wide with fright. It was an unpleasant echo of his first bond and he knew she felt the spasm of pain from the memory.

"Did I hurt you?" Angela asked. "I didn't mean to hurt you. It didn't feel like I was."

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