Page 46 of Kissed By the Alien
Good for him. He’ll live a little longer. Long enough for me to interrogate him.
I go to turn him around to secure him with my mag cuffs, but the moment I grip his arm, a familiar scent hits me.
Floral, like circanni blooms mixed with honey. I move my hand down an arm. Soft. Smooth. Shapely.
“Lutan?” comes the soft whimper.
Drekk! Immediately, I back away and slam my hand against the light control. Lexi’s standing there, utter terror in her eyes.
I grab her and pull her into my chest. There are no words that can undo what I’ve done. “Forgive me, sholani,” I whisper.
She buries her head against my shoulder but stays silent. I slip the knife into my pants and carry her to the bed where I lay her down, the light from the cleanser spilling into the bedroom. Her eyes follow every move I make.
“I thought you were an assassin. Sent by the people I hunt.”
“I went to pee.”
“In the dark?”
“I’ve been here for hours. Long enough to learn the layout. I’ve been sleeping for a while.”
I don’t know why she’s here, only that she is, and that provides relief I haven’t known since I left her in that cell. I run my hand against the back of her head, across her face, down her neck, and then her arms. “Did I hurt you?”
“If I say yes, will you keep touching me?” she quips with a smile that tells me she is well.
Drekk, I don’t deserve her. I drekking slammed her against a wall and held a knife to her throat, ready to kill her!
Mysholani.
I rise from the bed to remove my weapons. One by one, my knives clank as I drop them on the nearby table. These are guard’s quarters with few amenities, but I don’t need much. Just a secure place to rest.
“Why are you here?” I demand.
“Hello to you, too,” she says in a playful tone that tells me she’s forgiven me.
“Hello,” I match her greeting, though my voice remains clipped.
“I must say, I’ve had friendlier welcomes from people who hate me. At least none of them tried to kill me.”
I set my blaster on the table. “That’s not funny.”
“No, the funny part is, if this were a date, it still ranks higher than most.” She slides her legs off the bed and stands, then wavers.
In one giant stride, I wrap my arms around her and ease her back onto the bed. My fingers probe the back of her head and I find a slight bump. “You are injured. Why would you lie to me?”
“Why would you throw me in prison?”
I love how direct she is, but I’m not prepared to discuss my actions.
“I will call for a medic.” I head to my comm which I placed on the table with my weapons.
“If you do, I’ll leave.”
“Is that a threat?”
She takes a deep breath and pushes off the bed again, standing and waiting as she tests her balance. I’m inclined to reach for her, but her hand shoots out, warning me off.
“See? I’m fine.”
