She sighed. "I told you. I'm ordinary. I'm not anything attractive."
"I do not know who told you these things, but you are attractive. Beautiful, even, whether you believe it or not."
"When one is not considered attractive by their peers, it seems unlikely when one person tells you differently."
He sighed. “I won’t win this fight with you, so I wish to end it here. When I see you, I see beauty and strength, and I am attracted to what I see. Do not attempt to change my opinion on this.”
She shifted on the bed, crossing her legs underneath her. Ironically, she made a desirable shift, and he doubted she realized what she was doing.
It only made his natural desire for her start to spark more. However, she did not look like she was in the mood for more kissing, or anything else for that matter, regardless of her sexy pose.
He wanted to move away from this fight, so he switched gears. "You were saying something when my mother walked in. What was it?"
She waved her hand. "It's not important. I was feeling a little intimidated by everything. That is all."
He glanced at her. Something about her seemed off, and it had from the first day he'd met her. Different, but he wasn't sure what it was. Not bad, exactly, just different from what she’d told him. "So, may I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Who are you?"
She blinked. "I'm Janae."
"You told me your mother was from Trinity Alpha Prime, and your father came from Neville."
"Yes? What about it?"
"I feel as though there is more to the story. That you have a more complex home than most realize."
She shook her head. "I don't. I live on the streets most of the time. My family." She shook her head and started fiddling with her hair again, and pulled it into her eyes. "I do not have contact with them."
His instincts alerted--he knew there was much more to this than she was admitting. What that could be, he didn't know. "I understand. You have been very adamant about that from the beginning. I want to know what else there is."
She sighed. "My life was not safe before. Living on the streets, I had a better chance of survival than I did in my residence." Her expression shifted. "Is that enough? What is it that you are determined to find out?"
"Now, just wait."
"No. I don't want to wait. What are you trying to determine? Will I be submissive to you as a mate? That I will do as you command every day all the time?"
"That is not--"
"Then explain yourself. Now."
He shifted on the bed, the pain in his side tolerable, but he wasn't about to be lying down. "In honesty? You don't carry yourself like a homeless person. You don't speak like someone who grew up on the streets of any world I've ever seen. And you're educated." He shifted again. "Who are you?"
She leaned closer to him and adjusted the pillow behind him.
"Thank you. Now answer my question."
"I don't want to," she said.
He blinked and looked at her. "Why not?"
"I didn't always live on the streets. I did have a family who took care of me as much as they were legally required to do. Otherwise, they rejected me. So, I left."
"How old were you?"
"Nine standard."
