Page 13 of The Alien's Private Redemption

"You did not hurt me," he assured her. "My kind do not purr. I'm sorry for frightening you."

"You wanted to purr?"

She sounded pleased with herself and Zoric couldn't help his chuckle. This was a much better reaction than fear and he found himself trying to pull more of it from her.

"Yes, I did. Your touch was very gentle. What were you trying to do?"

"I wanted to know what your skin felt like. My hands were restrained behind my back when I was close enough to touch you." Her cheeks flushed and he wondered why she was embarrassed by her desire. If he hadn't tasted her hormones on the air, he'd wonder if she'd caught a sudden fever, and he was filled with a desire to see her in the sun.

"Would you like me to move closer?" he asked. "I can let you actually touch me?"

"Are you allowed? I know there are people in the surveillance booth."

He tilted his head. "How do you know that?"

"Because you do," she admitted.

"Are you reading me?" The idea filled him with excitement. If their bond had progressed that quickly, if she was doing it on purpose…

She shook her head. "Not exactly. It's more that I focused on you and felt something. Like a phone cord? And I could hear what you were worried about. It was running through your mind like a mantra."

"You felt our Bond and used it to hear my thoughts without me projecting them to you?"

"Is that what that was?" she asked.

Zoric focused on the Bond and sent how pleased he was down it. When she gasped, he enjoyed the blush that rose up her cheeks. Then, she sent the same thing back and it was his turn to shift uncomfortably.

"Oh, the scales on your cheeks change color when you blush," she said, the joy in her voice a balm to his soul.

"I did not know that," he admitted.

"You've never blushed before?" she asked.

"Never in front of someone who would mention the color of my scales."

He felt her sympathy through their Bond before she spoke.

"That sounds lonely," she said.

Zoric shrugged. "In some ways, perhaps. I had my people and my place among them. There was companionship, if not true intimacy."

"What about your mother? Did she raise you to be the Captain of the Guard?"

"I don't think they can object if you touch my tail," Zoric said, avoiding more questions about his past. The lights cast strange shadows on his scales, making them shimmer green and gold as he shifted on the stool. He pulled his tail into his lap and enjoyed the feel of her eyes upon him.

Angela's curiosity rippled through their bond, even as he could feel her frustration and amusement at his change of subject. She watched him as he moved closer, and he was aware of the interest in her gaze, and of the sympathy at the spike of pain he'd shared when she'd asked about his mother.

"Is it sensitive?" she asked, her voice soft with consideration. Their Bond hummed with awareness. He recognized her gentle, careful approach, and appreciated her recognition of his need for boundaries.

The surveillance cameras whirred quietly above them, a reminder of their lack of privacy. Zoric felt Angela's awarenessof their observers fade as she focused on him, their connection growing stronger with each passing moment.

"Not in the way you might think," he answered, letting amusement color his response. "But it is part of my balance. You might want to warn me before you-"

Her gentle touch along his tail sent a jolt of surprise through him that echoed in their bond.

Angela giggled, the sound bright against the institutional silence. "Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "I couldn't resist."

He felt her delight at his reaction, saw her eyes widen as she realized she could feel his answering amusement. The bond between them strengthened with each interaction, growing more natural by the moment.

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