Page 20 of A Darkside Interlude

Mari doubted this powerful, intimidating Kordolian would understand what a pain-in-the-ass it was to be broke on Earth.

“You don’t plan on stealing again, or you don’t plan on getting caught?” He switched to her other foot, deftly applying the silver gel-stuff to her other sole. His hands were tough and callused, but his touch was feather-light, and it sent a pleasant shiver down her spine as the magical salve did its thing.

Blissful relief came to her feet within seconds. Only when the pain had completely disappeared did she realize how bad it had actually been.

“I’ve learned not to steal from people who wear sunglasses at night,” she said carefully as she experimentally wriggled her toes. “I won’t do that again.”

“Hm.” His hard features revealed no emotion.

Her heart fluttering wildly, Mari took in his overwhelming presence. He practically filled the dingy little room, making everything else—the shitty furniture, the swept concrete floor, the flickering solar light, the faded plas-posters on the wall—seem irrelevant.

She didn’t even have time to feel self-conscious about her shabby little domicile, and the alien didn’t show any sign that he was bothered by the surroundings. His attention was fixed entirely on her. Suddenly, Mari felt like a rabbit that had caught the interest of a wolf.

He couldn’t be an entirely bad wolf, though. He’d taken her home and healed her feet.

“Wh-what do you want from me?” Mari broke the brittle tension by asking the question that had been on her mind all this time. Now that the thrill of the chase had worn off, she felt nervous.

She was alone with a strange male alien who was bigger, faster, and stronger than her. She didn’t have anything to offer him, except… Mari’s stomach did a backflip.

“Firstly, I want what you stole from me.”

Done. She dipped her hand into her belt-pouch and produced the precious item. “I kept it safe for you.”

White eyebrows rose in disbelief. He took the pendant and the attached leather cord, his fingers brushing against hers ever so briefly. Was that intentional? He seemed like the kind of man who wouldn’t do such a thing by mistake.

His touch was electric.

Never taking his eyes off her, he fastened the pendant around his neck.

“Secondly, I want to know why you stole from me.”

“I need to eat.” Mari shrugged. “Got bills to pay.”

“That I understand, but out of all the targets you could have chosen, why me?”

Because of the way you stared at me. In that moment, I could have stolen the shirt right off your back and you wouldn’t have noticed.

Deep down, she knew he would never be dumbstruck like that again. He wasn’t the sort of person to repeat the same mistake twice.

“The sunglasses,” she said instead, tapping the side of her nose. “On Earth, there are two sorts of people who wear sunglasses at night: those who are trying too hard to look cool, and those who aren’t from around here—those who might have something to hide.”

He shook his head. “Make that three. There are those who consider the Glory Strip a garish nightmare of headache-inducing hyperstimulation. The dark glasses were necessary.”

Was it just her, or did he sound a little defensive?

“Either way, you stood out.”

“You thought I would be an easy target.”

“An interesting target.”

“Oh? And did I prove interesting enough for you, little human?” White fangs flashed again, glinting in the flickering light.

“I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night, thank you very much.” The soles of her feet started to tingle like crazy, as if someone were gently tapping the bottom of each foot with a thousand blunt-tipped needles. It occurred to her that he was still holding her left foot in his rather large hand. He stroked the surface of her heel with the pad of his thumb, and Mari was surprised that it wasn’t painful at all.

His gesture was slow and deliberate and strangely sensual, and he really was a tall, striking, handsome male, and the way he looked at her, with those slightly narrowed eyes…

It was powerful and terrifying, because nobody had ever looked at her that way before. People stared at Mari because she wanted them to; they ogled and leered and generally treated her like eye candy, but they never scratched beneath the surface.

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