Page 49 of Guardian's Heart

Just roll with it, Nova.

"Any idea what happened?"

"Nothing yet. I'm looking through archives, but so far, crickets."

"Crickets?" I laughed.

His grin was mischievous. "I took the liberty to study a bit of human vocabulary, specifically English, since it's your nativetongue. Although, some words sound very different from how you say them."

My laughter deepened. "That's because I'm from the south."

"Meaning?" Zaarek put two plates and three cups of what I assumed to be carvel juice in front of us.

"Different people on Earth have different dialects, even when speaking the same language," I explained, sniffing the juice. Whatever it was, it smelled strong. "Don't you have dialects?"

"Yeah, I suppose we do," Nock conceded. "Anyway, did I use the word correctly?"

"You did." I brought the cup up to my lips, and because he looked like a child looking for praise, I gave it to him. "Very surprisingly, and well, good job."

He beamed, and I braved a sip. It wasn't bad. A bit sweet, but mostly, it tasted like water with a hint of some fruit that I couldn't quite define.

"So what were you two up to? Giving in to the mating mark urges?" Nock elbowed Zaarek, who had just put a sporkful of mush into his mouth.

His expression turned thunderous, and I kicked him underneath the table, shaking my head.

"That's not really something to discuss in public," I chastised Nock.

He looked befuddled. "No? Interesting. I did several streams on mating marks, and nobody ever indicated that giving in to their urges was something to be ashamed of, on the contr—"

"Nock." Zaarek had swallowed his bite down and shut Nock up.

"Fine." Nock looked pouty, but turned back to his screens. "If you ever change your minds, I could do another whole stream on—"

Zaarek's fist hit the table, making me jerk. Nock's chair with him on it moved back in fright. "Alright, alright, I got it."

He pulled the chair back, looking more irritated than bashful. I was sure this wouldn't be the last time he tried to dig into this question.

Not much later, Zaarek excused himself to check on our course on the bridge. It was evident he needed some alone time, so I didn't charge after him. Instead, I pulled a chair up closer to Nock and asked him to teach me about the alien technology. The sooner I picked up on it, the sooner I could start supporting myself again.

Strangely, the thought of going to Pandrax or Astrionis without Zaarek didn't seem that appealing any longer, and not only because of the strange pull the mating marks had on us. The silver alien was growing on me. That he wasn't half bad in bed only added to his charm. Oh, who was I kidding? That man was an expert when it came to sex. I didn't want to believe that it was because of the mating marks. I thought that even without him, Zaarek would have wrought magic with his body on mine.

There was more to the alien, though, and that was beginning to intrigue me. I always had a weak spot for aman. A real man. One who didn't act like a boy, one who stuck by you, one who could hunt, be vulnerable and strong, one who would lay down his life for me. A man who was there when you needed him and able to admit he didn't have all the answers, but who would make damn sure he would find them. I had just never met one before who met my criteria… until now. And I wasn't so sure if I was willing to give that up.

ZAAREK

I needed to getout of the nutrition room for a bit. Nock was irritating, but it was an irritation I found myself getting used to.

Nova on the other hand… Nova was an enigma.

Most of all, because I couldn't figure out my feelings for her. I would have loved to blame all of them on the damn mating marks, but I would have been lying to myself. Nova was getting under my skin in more ways than just markings. She was smart and brave. Her survival instincts were as strong as mine. Her fighting skills were kind of lacking, but what she didn't have, she made up with an iron will that would never allow her to give up. I doubted she would abandon a course once she had chosen it, and for some reason, deep down, I wished she would choose me.

I realized I wasn't the best catch in the universe, especially now with all the unanswered questions surrounding me and Guardians as a people, but by the love of the seven suns, I strongly doubted that I could ever just let her go.

It didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes and an explosive in bed, but that wasn't what this was about. No, this ran a whole lot deeper, so deep, I didn't really want to overthink it right now.

I was about to rip his head off when Nock hinted at themating mark urges.Never before had I experienced an urge to kill like this. No, scratch that, I had when the Mmuhr'Rhongs had tried to get to her. That had been a bit more intense. Still, Nock implying… I was getting angry just thinking about where his mind had gone.

I reached the bridge and stared at the lit-up screens without really seeing anything. If there were a problem, my comm would have notified me. There was no reason for me to be here other than to find solitude.

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