Her eyes narrow. “Uh, not really.” When I don’t respond, she adds, “There’s no one here to judge you but me. Sure, I might be a bit of an asshole, but I’m not going to be a dick about your heartfelt answer.”
“Theveladooorchards.”
“Veladoo? Is that, like, a fruit?”
I take in the color of her lips—the exact color of ripe veladoo. “Yes. My favorite fruit.”
Our conversation continues, discussing our homes and the things we miss the most. She tells me about lush, green forests and something called “moss”. Her expression brightens as she tells me about tall mountains, covered in snow, and how humans slide down them for fun. It sounds like a strange activity, but also very enjoyable. The one thing she does not talk about is family or friends. I wonder if that is why she is here.
A short while later, we take a break. She perches on the table with a cup of water clutched in her small hands.
“You know, you’re different than I thought you’d be,” she says, kicking her legs in the open air.
“As you thought I would be?”
“After our conversation through the door, I made some assumptions.”
“And what assumptions were those?”
She laughs. “Honestly? I thought you’d be a bit of an idiot Casanova.”
I frown in confusion.
“Sorry. I keep forgetting about the cultural barrier—your English is really good by the way.” She pauses,glancing away in thought. “I guess I assumed you’d be a meat head— Nope, that won’t work. Uh … I thought you’d have more muscle than brain. You know?”
“What would have given you that impression?” I do not remember all of our earlier conversation, but I doubt I would give off such an impression in any state.Except this woman seems to draw out the least polished version of me at every turn.
She raises a brow. “For starters, making cocky and suggestive remarks when you’re about to die is relatively rare. For most people at least.”
What did I say to her?
Keeping my surprise from my face, I ask, “And how are you so familiar with what people are capable of when they are close to death?”
She sets down the water and moves back to the side of the bed where she kneels to resume stitching. “I was a corpsman,” she says before adding, “a combat medic in the?—”
“Youwere in the military? In combat?”
She scoffs, and it is clear I have made an error. “You’re surprised,” she says coolly.
I can feel the trap closing around me, but I fall into it anyway. “I am just surprised—” My words are cut short by a particularly painful jab of her needle, and when she meets my gaze again, there is a ruthless threat in her eyes that makes me swoon. She is fire and fury in a very deceiving package. “I am no longer surprised,” I grunt. Whoever this woman is, she defies my expectations at every turn.
She smirks, clearly satisfied with bringing me to heel, and continues. “As I was saying, I was a medic—we call them corpsmen in the Navy… Uh, Earth Navy? Whatever. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve seen my fair share of tough-guys with serious injuries and your reaction was … surprising.” Her eyes meet mine, and something strange happens.
For a heart-stopping moment, the cell around us melts away until the only thing that exists is her. The tug in my gut grows, and it is clear something inside me has shifted.
Words fall out of my mouth with little thought. “You are magnificent,” I say.
Her lips press together, holding back a smile. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. Let’s save the flirting for later, yeah?”
9
THE EMPIRE
AMARA
WELL FUCK. NOW I’ve done it. I didn’t mean to flirt with him, but evidently I just couldn’t resist, and now I’ve gone and confused the guy. Ok, maybe not ‘confused’, but I’m definitely leading him on. Is he stunning? Yeah. Is he fun to talk to? Yeah. Is he easily the most captivating person I’ve ever met? Yeah. But I still can’t let him distract me from the reason I’m here in the first place.
I finish another set of knots and clip the thread, trying to ignore the sensation of Vexar’s eyes burning into my face. My only hope is that he’s still delirious from blood loss and this will all blow over soon. Honestly, he might not even be staring anymore. It could just be in my head. I should check.
