Smiling, I close my eyes and pull my covers up, snuggling down. Maybe I can convince the guys to read with me. I know Link probably will. I wonder if I can persuade him to play out some of the scenes. I must remember to get some cyborg stories too.
The guys are still watching television when I wake up the next morning. They have moved on from Joe Exotic and are now watching something else with a lot of shouting in it.
“Hey.” I slide into Xavier’s lap. His eyes are heavy, and I can see him struggling to stay awake. “You know you can stop this and it will be here when you wake up, right?” I tell the three of them.
“Yes, we know, but I had no idea humans were so…” Link trails off.
“Depraved?” Xavier says dryly.
“Stupid?” Caspian adds, rubbing his hand over his face and yawning.
“No,entertaining.” Link snorts, throwing a kernel of popcorn up into the air and catching it in his mouth. He points at the screen, getting sucked into the drama again. “This woman didn’t know who the father of her child was, so they went on TV so that everyone in the world could find out that this dude here isnotthe baby daddy.”
I frown and look closer at what they are watching. Oh, for fuck’s sake. Maury Povich. That’s it. I stand up and search through the pile of wrappers and mountain of food containers until I find the remote. I aim it at the screen and turn it off.
“Right, off to bed,” I tell Caspian and Xavier, who agree and stumble toward my room, even though the suite has two more bedrooms. I put my hands on my hips and look at Link who is wearing a fairly impressive pout. “Why aren’t you as tired as the others?”
“My cyborg nanobot DNA allows me to regenerate. I don’t need to sleep as often as someone with a fully organic body,” he explains, putting down the bag of popcorn and dragging me into his lap. “Which means I can go on and on and on,” he tells me, nipping at my neck and nuzzling his nose against my cheek.
Giggling, I push away from him and the pout comes back. “Sorry, Energizer Bunny, you’re going to have to keep it in your pants for now. I have a mission. Care to join me?”
He jumps to his feet and sweeps me into his arms. “I am but your humble servant.” He bends me backward and kisses me soundly before dragging me upright again and towing me out of the room. “But first, let me buy you breakfast.”
“Whoa there,” I say, digging in my feet. “You can’t go out there looking like that.”
He looks down at himself and back to me with a frown. “What’s wrong with the way I look?”
“Nothing at all, you are most definitely smoking hot, but you shimmer like you’re from the movieTwilight, and humans don’t do that.”
“Oh, okay.” I watch in amazement as his skin changes color, starting at his forehead and washing down his body. Soon he looks just like a human, albeit a bit of a punk with his silver eyes and hair, but that’s nothing that isn’t explainable. “Is this okay now? What about what I’m wearing?”
I eye his sweat shorts and T-shirt and decide it’s fine for shopping. I’d rather be comfortable than look fancy. Link just looks like a rock star or an A-list actor not trying too hard. His clothes are the last thing people are going to look at.
“You’re perfect. Let’s go!”
Link and I shop for the next few hours, and I have all my purchases sent to the circus to be put into my room there, except for a couple of things I want to wear when I go out for a late dinner with Susie and Mark tonight after the show. I’m hoping we can hang out together with my three guys on the second night, maybe go to a club or something fun.
Link has been such a good sport, but I think he’s also had fun looking at all the human stuff. I caught him picking up things and examining them closely.
“What exactly is this for?” Link holds up a brightly-colored plastic knitting loom while I’m shopping for craft supplies in Hobby Lobby. “Is it a torture device?” He runs his finger over the plastic hooks before cranking the handle and watching with amazement as it all moves.
Snorting in amusement, I take it from him and throw it into my cart. “No, it’s for making garments. If you go over there and pick out what colors you like, I’ll make you a scarf.” I point to the aisle full of wool. “Maybe pick some for Xavier and Caspian too. I’ll leave the colors up to you, but make it ten balls of each color.” He happily walks away, leaving me to the rest of my shopping, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Shopping with him has been exhausting. Next time I’m leaving him behind. Thank goodness the others had been too tired to come.
Finally the text message I’ve been waiting for arrives, and I squeal with delight. “They are here,” I tell Link, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the shop after paying for our purchases.
I find us a cab, and before long, we arrive back at our hotel. I told Susie to wait in the foyer for us so I could take her up to the suite. I message Cas and Xavier to let them know we are coming up, and I remind them to put their human glamours on if they are still there.
When the cab drops us off, I see a familiar dark head standing next to a shiny pink Cadillac. Susie and Mark are lifting their luggage out of the trunk. Mark’s normally stylish black hair is windswept, and he’s looking a little wrinkled, but he’s beaming at my girl.
“Hey, Link, is there any reason why Mark should make me feel icky?” I ask, remembering how I felt every time we touched in the past despite our awkward as fuck interactions.
He looks over to where my friends are standing. They haven’t noticed us yet, and I’m okay with that because I don’t want them to overhear what we are saying. “Probably because he’s a taken man. Although he and Susie don’t have a connection like Skarrians have, what they do have is obviously solid, and it’s your body warning you that he’s not available. It’s a Skarrian thing.”
A huge sense of relief washes over me. My body was protecting me and Susie without either of us knowing it. Not that I would have gone there anyway, but I guess not everyone has the same morals.
“Susie!” I shout, and she spins, dropping her bags and running for me. We slam together and hug in the middle of the valet parking area, oblivious to everything around us.
“Oh, girl, I missed you so much,” she murmurs as I breathe in her familiar scent and finally relax for the first time since I got on that plane to London.
