He raised his brows like I’d surprised him. “Why would I do that,Aneah?What would I do with information about your friend who encouraged you to cut me off?”
“Um….”
“Look me up?” Andrew asked. “Why? Does he think I’m cute?”
“Andy, remember what you told me when you saw his picture?” I said under my breath.
“What did he say?” Yiri asked, but I ignored him.
Andrew thought for a moment, and then comprehension dawned. “He’s not asking because I’m cute,” he said. “Right… Well, it’s getting late. See you later.”
“What did he say?” Yiri asked again as Andy let himself out.
I sighed. “He took one look at you and told me you’re a bad man.”
He took that in with his usual stoicism. “Do you think I’m a bad man?” he asked.
“I think… You might be kind of a bad man, yes,” I admitted. When his face didn’t change, I added, “But I think you might also be a good one.”
His features softened slightly, and he dipped his head. “I’m often a bad man, as you put it,” he said. “I do bad things for the good of my family. If and when the need arises, I will do bad things for you. ButAneah,I will always be goodtoyou. Do you understand?”
His last words didn’t have the commanding tone I’d normally associate with them, but I still answered with a quiet “Yes, sir.”
He wet his lips, his look turning hungry. “Were you good today?”
An unstoppable grin pulled up the corners of my lips. “Yes, sir,” I said a little louder.
The camera followed him as he reached back to pull his shirt over his head, and then sank onto a soft, cushiony surface that could have been a big couch or a bed. I wasn’t sure which. His hand trailed down his tattooed chest and distracting washboard abs. “Tell me how good,” he said, hooking his thumb under his waistband and stopping there.
“Um…Oh.I did what you told me to,” I said. “I’ve been packing. Or, preparing to pack. I have to figure out what I want to bring first, but I’ve been doing that all day. And I know you said to let you know if I needed anything, but I just had questions. I didn’t want to bother you at work, so I made a list.”
“Alright,” he said. “Hit me with it.”
“Some of this is going to sound crazy,” I warned him. “There’s just a lot I don’t know about Bion 8KV and Venastea.”
“We both have a lot to learn about our different worlds,” he said. “I won’t tease you,Aneah.”
I scurried to the bedroom and slid the notebook out from under Mr. Darcy, who did not appreciate the disturbance. “Okay. So first, do you have chocolate?”
He frowned as he registered the translation. “No.”
“Okay. I’ll bring some. What about Earth technology? Will I be able to charge my e-reader?”
More frowning. “An e-reader is… a nexus frame for only written stories?”
The translation for nexus frame on my end was very long and confusing. “Um. Is that like a cell phone? It says it’s for communication, information, and entertainment. But how big is it?”
“How big do you want it to be?”
I snorted. “Um. Are we still talking about this nexus frame thing?”
Yiri cracked a smile. “You tell me, wife.”
Cheeks burning, I nodded. “Yes. The nexus frame. It’s different sizes?”
“Yes,” he said, pointing to the camera. “I’m using this one that’s a mod to my nexus core. It’s about this big.” He spread his hands to show the width and height of a medium-sized TV. “But I carry this one with me when I’m away from my cruiser orhome.” He reached to the side a produced what looked like a thin plate of glass, a little larger than my cell phone.
“Okay. Hmm. Well, I thinkmaybemy e-reader is like that, but only for books. I like to read on it all the time.”
