He turned to look down into her strangely beautiful delicate face. Her features were so unusual and her eyes were large, with black irises. It was her eyes that had his full attention. There was so much he could see in those eyes: intelligence, kindness, experience, and something else...interest. She was attracted to him. MarIK wasn’t sure what to feel about that.
After motioning for them to enter the open doorway, he showed them to the first of two quarters. “It’s not anything lavish. Just the bare essentials have been brought down. The males can stay here and there is another room next door for the female.”
“My name’s Sharon Task.”
MarIK bowed. “Commander MarIK.”
“I’m Lieutenant TanAR, and I’ll be staying with Sharon next door, seeing how we are a couple.”
MarIK sniffed the air around Sharon. “I do not detect your scent markers on her.”
Sharon answered for him. “TanAR and I have just started dating. It’s a new thing for us.”
Something in the way she said it made it sound like the truth, but he just felt that it wasn’t. She smiled, which should have set him at ease but only heightened his awareness of her.Goddess, why didn’t they heed my warning about not bringing a female?He cleared his throat as he made his way to the doorway.
“I will leave you all to settle in. You will have access just to these two rooms. Do not travel down the corridor. Our warriors are there.” He paused at the door to look once more at the female, Sharon. A part of him didn’t want to leave her, but she was surrounded by these warriors. She should be fine for now. He couldn’t let his concern for her cloud his judgment. “I will send warriors to bring you to the room Leader OrIN has chosen as the banquet hall.” He turned and left, fighting the urge to look back.Goddess help them all. There is no turning back now.
