Surely there has to be another room I can use? I don’t mind if it’s not homey—as long as it’s warm and there're no skeletons.
“Only this room. Promise.” He nudges me onward.
“Okay. Only this room.”Whatever.Maybe he’s been here too long by himself and has filled this city with his imaginary friends.
I step around the last corner and am greeted with a cavern that’s been intricately carved. The walls depict trees and vines, on another there are mountains and storms. There’s a wooden table, chairs, and an enormous bed. I could have a party for a dozen in that bed. My cheeks heat again. The only reason the bed is big because he’s big. Twice as broad at the shoulders and his hands are big enough to grab my whole ass.
My skin remembers his touch and the pointed pressure of his claws. Now that I’m not in immediate danger I can acknowledge that I kind of liked the feeling. I shudder and can’t stop it from rolling down my spine. I’m going to blame the chill, not a spark of longing. I don’t hook up with aliens, and I don’t need a man to be big and strong and take over. Usually, that is. Today I want to throw all that out the nearest garbage shoot because the rules I’ve lived by have stopped working.
“Undress,” he says like he expects to be obeyed.
“What?” I pull his fur tighter around me like it’s armor that will somehow protect me.
“Your clothes are wet.” His gaze lingers on my body for a moment too long for it to be anything other than appreciation.
I swallow hard. “I’ll just warm up by the fire.”
My body disagrees. After breaking up with my last boyfriend, it’s been a while. Mostly because I couldn’t bring myself to trust another man. And Indiz, while a male, isn’t a human man. And I definitely shouldn’t be trusting him, even though he has everything I need to make it through the next couple of days.
Even though he said no signal gets out, I refuse to believe him. Help will come. My life is waiting for me to rejoin it, and this is just an unfortunate detour.
Indiz returns to lighting the fire, muttering something softly under his breath in his language. My education didn’t extend to learning other languages. I grew up speaking Basic, like everyone else on my home world, and that was all I was taught. There’s a reason I’m a survey drone operator and not an engineer or ship pilot. Pilots have a better background and better education. They learn Earth English as well as Basic and an Alien language.
The fire flickers to life, far quicker than I could’ve done. I wasn’t paying close enough attention to what he was doing, but he must have tinder and flint or a chemical fire starter. Why he doesn’t leave the fire burning all the time, I don’t know. Does he not feel the chill in the air? The flame grows and the room ripples like sunset, all pinks and oranges. The trees carved in the walls seem almost alive, their leaves dancing in an unfelt breeze. The effect is glorious.
Indiz stands. “Pretty, yes?”
“Yes.” I’m aware of him moving closer. He has a presence that radiates around him and my skin tingles as though longing for his caress. I glance over my shoulder, but I wouldn’t be able to touch him if I reach out.
“There is the fire for you to get warm by, but I am going to bed.” He pulls off his shirt, as though to make the point clear, and then tosses it onto the chest at the end of the bed. The firelight laps over his abs. He could be carved from the same stone as the walls.
His claws reach for the laces on his pants, and he undoes the knot. My mouth dries. I need to look away, but I can’t. He doesn’t turn his back or break eye contact either. He takes forever to undo his pants, and by the time he is done there is a sizeable erection struggling to break free of the leather.
Right.That’s enough for me to not just look away, but to move away. I stand by the fire to warm up. I don’t want to see what’s in his pants—okay maybe only a little. But if I look at him, will he expect the favor to be returned?
I hear Indiz shucking his boots and pants, then the bed clothes rustle and I know he is naked in the bed. My mind forms that image far too easily. What is wrong with me? Usually I don’t give aliens—no matter how hard and handsome a second glance. I certainly wouldn’t contemplate jumping into their bed. But then no other alien has ever saved my life.
It would be easy to join him and be warm, but I’m not sure how much rest I’d get.
The heat from the fire seeps into me, but my coats and flight suit are taking forever to dry. My socks won’t dry in my boots, so I sit and remove them, then lay my socks out on the hearth. I glance at the bed, but he isn’t watching me. I could take off my clothes and leave my underwear on. I can wrap myself in his fur and sleep by the fire. I don’t need a bed.
I’d like to be able to say I don’t need him, but I’d have been the beast’s dinner and we both know that.
I slip off the two coats, then undo my flight suit and lay it out, hoping it will dry while I sleep. I feel better already not having the wet cloth against my skin. I toast my butt for a minute and let my panties dry, then I bundle myself up in the fur that still smells like him and close my eyes. Sleep claims me fast.
I wake and I’m trapped.
For a moment I think I’m back in the ship. I struggle to break free of the straps. But as last night comes rushing back, my brain catches up with my fear. It isn’t the harness holding me in place, it’s a big arm. I’m not pressed against a chair, but a big hard body. I freeze, not sure how I ended up in his bed.
“You are safe. Go back to sleep.” Indiz’s words are sleepy, but he doesn’t remove the arm keeping me locked at his side.
“Let me go.” I’d fallen asleep by the fire, now I’m in his bed. The tiny teaspoon to his large ladle.
His hand drifts over my stomach, the tips of his claws trail over my skin. Then over my hip. Then I’m free. I wriggle away, crossing the vast landscape of his bed. But the fur is cold so far from his body. “Why am I here?”
“Because the planet lets no one leave.” He’s awake now, and his eyes flicker in the firelight.
“That’s not what I…what?” I don’t care about why I’m in his bed and not on the floor anymore. Why won't the planet let anyone leave? “What do you mean?”
