Page 20 of Soren

My stomach drops. She wasn't having second thoughts, was she? They warned us this could happen. Even with the omega serum, sometimes the change was too much for them to handle. We had policies in place in case someone got cold feet, but I didn't expect...

A lump forms in my throat as I let the worries run wild. My Lara. My beautiful Lara. What troubles her so?

The ache in my chest cannot bear to lose her, but if it came down to it...if she truly was unhappy here, and wished to leave...

As much as it would hurt, I would do it.

For her.

Swallowing hard, I shift closer to her. "Is everything all right?" I try to sound as casual as possible. Try not to think about how her answer could change everything.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She wraps her arms around herself, gaze downcast. "I just wanted to say..." Her face flushes the cutest shade of pink I've ever seen. "...thank you. For helping us."

The tension resting on my chest and shoulders takes flight, leaving only a warm relief in its place. I want to tell her that she's more precious than a jewel to me, that any investment seems minuscule next to her presence, but I do my best to keep my voice level. "Of course. It was part of our agreement."

"I don't just mean that." Lara looks up at me, and when she does I see tears flecking the corner of her eyes. "I know you had no way of knowing, but..." She bites her lip. "Things were really bad back on Earth. We barely had enough to eat, and my sister has a two year old, Iris..." She trails off, voice breaking.

I am still learning her language, just as she is with mine, but I don't need to understand every word to feel the emotion. It hits me right in the chest, burning with a pain I didn't know existed. I think back to how she marveled at the food on the breakfast menu. How she lit up at the smallest gesture.

My hands clench into fists and I only barely keep a growl from my throat. The thought of her -- and especially a child -- starving makes me sick to my stomach.

I knew they needed our help, but it didn't sink in just how badly until now. I clasp her hands in return, bowing my head. "You and your loved ones will never go hungry again. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Another, deeper pain twists inside me, but I won't tell her that one. Not yet. The very thought of a small human child fills me with an irrational longing. That is why our people signed the contract with the ISA, after all. Lara may have been starving on her home planet, but we were starving in a very different kind of way.

Starving for new sparks of life.

"If there's ever anything you need, anything at all, I trust that you will tell me. No request is too large." I assure her, brushing stray hairs from her face before leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. "I mean it."

Her throat bobs while she works on a response. At last, she gives me a simple, feeble "thank you", but it means more than all the riches in the world coming from her.

Lara sniffs, pulling away before glancing toward the bathroom again. Do humans make waste that often? I make a mental note to research that, too.

Lucky for me, she has a different idea.

"I was thinking about going to take a shower, so, um..."

I don't let her finish the sentence before she's in my arms, her soft body pressing against mine as I walk her to the bathroom.

SHOWERING

LARA

I don't think I'll ever get used to the feeling of Soren's strong arms around me. Not that I want to. He's so warm and caring and strong...to say nothing of his skills in bed.

I wonder idly if all Aesir are like this. One thing's for certain, though -- I'm pretty sure he's ruined me for human men at this point. How could I go back, knowing what I know now?

Soren, as if sensing my feelings, holds me tighter and presses a gentle kiss to the top of my head. I relax under his touch, my body responding to him in a way that even I don't understand.

First the heat, and now it's like my body is a magnet for his. Like we were made for one another.

How silly that sounds. But what if it's actually the truth? They did say we were matched on a genetic level...

Soren sets me gently on the wide bathroom counter while he steps into the huge shower. I ogled it once earlier, but the longer I look, the more complex and fascinating it is.

Water spouts surround the shower from every imaginable angle, complete with a dizzying set of dials and switches that reminds me more of a pilot's cockpit than a simple shower. Good thing I have Soren here to help me decipher things.

I can't help but chuckle at the thought -- even though the translator's helping me understand his spoken language, the written symbols take a bit longer to digest. If it was just me, I'd probably end up pressing a button for some weird alien slime instead of water and soap.

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