Page 42 of Rescued By The Alien Prince Pirate

"I know you wouldn't." I smiled as I stared at this hunky, alien captain in front of me, still baffled at how he had captured my attention so benevolently and so quickly.

"He's married. He is starting a family. He loves to talk about the ones he loves and holds closest to his heart. You can see the spark in his energy when he talks about them."

"Is he like a 'proud dad' type?" I asked, grinning.

"Absolutely. He takes that role extremely seriously."

"He must be missing them right now."

"I know he is, but he's too diplomatic to show it. He's also good at his First Mate role. He's our ship's best gunner, and he knows his responsibilities. He manages them without complaint."

"I can tell he has a knack for that, too," I admitted. "Just because he's huge and has a bellowing voice that practically makes the walls shake— doesn't mean he has to be scary."

Cyburn gave me a funny look. "Were you scared of him at first? Of me?"

I shrugged. "No… I mean… notreally. I remember feeling safe almost immediately. Although Iwilladmit that your size took me by surprise. I was just glad you weren't brooding robots trained to kill me immediately."

Cyburn laughed. His voice boomed through the room, but it delighted me to see him in good spirits again.

"Yes, I'd imagine that's something that a human would have to get used to."

"The Belic's arefarmore terrifying to me," I said with a long sigh and a shudder as a chill went through my bones. "The fact that they are so willing to kill and hunt us down… it'sreallyterrifying if I allow myself to think about it too much."

"Don't think about it then." Cyburn's face was hard to read.

He stared at me, and I stared back, trying to break through the surface once again.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

I suddenly felt like he was putting me on the spot.

"Do you wish that you could just wake up from this nightmare and be back in your bed in Boston?"

"That's an impossible question to answer."

"Why? Because you don't want to face it?"

I frowned. "No… I don't think it's fair to put it that way."

"You look like you are torn with mixed emotions."

I scoffed, but it was more of a laugh than an actual protest. "Don't we all?"

Cyburn shrugged. "Yes, I suppose in certain ways."

I didn't want to talk about me anymore. I was coping the best way I could with my current situation. It was a lot to process, and I still felt like the angel of death was waiting for me around the corner if I made any wrong moves.

Cyburn was triggering me in an innocent way, just trying to get me to open up to him and discuss my complex emotions, but it was still difficult for me to do so.

"You still need your rest," I said steering the conversation back to him. I never liked being in the spotlight anyway. It just wasn't who I was as a person.

"I'm really fine," Cyburn tried to protest.

"I know, but you will be evenbetterif you allow yourself to be still for a little while to build up your strength to where it was before you got hit with that paralysis light."

Cyburn grinned, but he didn't say anything.

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