Interesting. That’s one way to put it, I guess. “Yeah.”
I was still a little bit addled from masturbating, so when N’kal disentangled himself from me, I got confused. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I need to void.”
Oh! Okay. So, just a late-night toilet break andnotan indication that he didn’t like me taking care of business on my own. Got it.
“When I return, though,” he added, peering over his shoulder on the way to the bathroom, “I wish to join you.”
He grabbed the tented crotch of his boxers, and I realized then that any notion I had of being quiet had gone out the fucking window.
Chapter 16
Timber
Not surprisingly, I woke to several missed calls from Steve, with angry voicemails concerning my “relations” with N’kal in the hotel room. Despite the late hour of our tryst, many of the reporters out in the hall indeed picked up on what we were up to, and they did not hesitate to announce it to the world at large.
“Earth Woman Bangs Illegal Alien from Xalan!”was one of the more popular headlines, along with“Lady Cop Rails Spaceman in Hotel Room,”and the new trending comment was “CPD must stand for Craving Purple Dick.” Some of the more sensationalized online articles even had audio of our performance. I cursed the hotel’s thin walls. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but N’kal and I had both gotten rather loud, and the jerks in the hallway had the nerve to applaud us when we finished.
Great. Just what I was worried about. I could practically watch as my career sped down the drain.
It wasn’t long before my superiors at the CPD got hold of my burner phone number, probably from Agent Peterson, and I had to sit through a humiliating talking-to in the hotel bathroom while N’kal likely heard every word out in the room. I knew I was right when I saw his enraged expression as I exited the bathroom, after which I had to go into great length explaining why what we did was so incredibly inappropriate and why I was now facing suspension.
It might not have been as bad if it hadn’t been my second offense. The internal investigation into my affair with Rick was brutal, and now I had that to look forward to again.
My own damned fault.
I certainly couldn’t blame N’kal for any of it. He had no way of knowing our Earth customs, so he just went with his heart—er, hearts. He did what he thought was right, given our mutual attraction, and any fault sat squarely on my shoulders. I should have stopped him. At the very least, I should have made him wait until he was no longer under my watch.
Officially, my superiors took me off the case. I wasn’t his guardian anymore, but that didn’t matter. The PR damage—and the damage to me personally—was done.
Now I had a difficult choice to make: go back to Chicago with my tail between my legs, possibly never to see N’kal again, or take a leave of absence and stay with him. On the one hand, if I left, I might be able to do some major repairs and get my life back. On the other hand, I somewhat understood what N’kal meant by our bond. I didn’t want to leave him, didn’t want to spend any time away from him. I wanted him as much as it seemed like he wanted me, making any separation all the more painful.
What would we do, then? Would I follow him to the intake center, possibly to go back to Xalan if his father ordered himhome? Would he stay here on Earth with me, getting an Earth education and a job? Everything was up in the air at this point.
While I ruminated on my future, N’kal spent some time arranging the next stop on our adventure. Steve had a pair of AARO agents on their way to pick N’kal—or both of us?—up, and he busied himself with studying road maps to New York on my phone. The intake center wasn’t listed on any public maps, but it didn’t take N’kal long to figure out where it was. He sped through websites on electrical power usage, traffic control, and other such features until he narrowed it down to a three-block radius outside the Adirondacks, pretty close to where I’d been setting my GPS earlier. Amazing detective skills. He was a natural.
Our potential for side trips was hampered by the AARO cutting off the card they’d sent me. I guess I understood, but it sucked. I knew how many calories N’kal required, and I couldn’t afford to order room service given that I was temporarily out of work. We’d have to wait until the agents got here before we could eat, and there was probably a limit to our daily stipend.
“What about this?” he asked as he pointed to a photo of Niagara Falls. “This is listed as a good site to visit.”
I peered over his shoulder, rubbing his back. “It’s a nice place, but we can’t just visit anywhere. We’ve got to consider your safety in public places, and besides, the AARO agents are in charge of you now. I can’t say yes or no.”
He frowned and put the phone down. “Earth is dumb.”
“Hey, now!” I smacked his arm. “That’s my home planet you’re talking about.”
His frown flipped into a sly grin. “I know.”
“Jerk!”
We started roughhousing on the bed, which ended in N’kal pinning me underneath him. I wriggled and fought, but once again he proved too strong for me.
“Let me go!” I shrieked, giggling.
“Never,” he said, leaning in for a sweet kiss. “I will never let you go, Timber, in this life or any other.”
Our wrestling led to a heavy make-out session, which almost led to more sex, but we got interrupted by the AARO agents opening the door. I guess the concierge gave them a key. Pity.
