She watched him sleep. His eyes were closed, but his eyes danced beneath his lids.
He must be dreaming, she thought to herself. She wondered what he must be so actively dreaming about.
His past?
His hopes and fears?
She couldn’t guess. He’d said he was an assassin. Some part of her thought she should fear that, but she didn’t. He didn’t scare her. He only made her feel protected.
Besides, he treated her cat with respect. Annoyance, obviously, but respect. She would probably be annoyed occasionally if she could hear Mr. F’s thoughts.
Still, she wasn’t scared.
If anything, he impressed her for not being an automaton who followed orders without giving them any thought.
He’d stood up for his own principles, even when it would cost him everything.
And it might still cost him his life. He’ll be looking over his shoulder every day for the rest of his life. However long that would be.
Who knew how long he really had? How long anyone had, really.
He might as well enjoy his time.
She let her gaze run over his features.
She should take her own advice. Especially when she was lying in a bed with a being that looked like he did.
The pale skin didn’t look so pale in the light, and the flecks of gold that seemed to glisten in his skin sparkled even more, with the dancing light of the Christmas tree from the living room still creating their magical light all around.
A piece of hair covered his face, and she brushed it away.
He truly was a beautiful specimen. His shoulders were broad and firm, his stomach fairly flat, though she could see muscle lines through the clothing.
Lying next to him, she felt small.
She had felt so tiny when he scooped her up outside the bathroom and carried her into the bed. They laid there, and he held her tight while she cried over what Phil did.
How in the world was she going to get out of this one? It was so much, she just wasn’t sure that even if she got any public information taken down, that it would be enough. It was obvious many people had her personal contact information. She would have to get a new phone number, new email, all her social media would have to be shut down.
Though really, that wasn’t horribly huge. She wasn’t a big social media person. Mostly, she just liked to post quick videos and photos of cool stuff in her life.
The coolest thing, though, was all of this with the aliens, and she couldn’t post any of it, because of the NDA’s that she signed going into this project.
That was going to be such a mess.
“We should just go back up to the station,” Jenny said. “Just live there. We don’t have to be here. Or better yet, get on a ship and travel to another galaxy. Just get out of here completely.”
“And let him win?” Karuk asked, not opening his eyes.
She shook her head. “I was just thinking about all the things that would have to be done to block and disconnect myself from the internet. It is overwhelming.”
“We shall solve this together. That is what mates do.”
She smiled and scooted so they were pretty much face to face. “Oh yeah? What else do mates do?”
He put his hand on the back of her head and brought her down to him for a kiss.
This one was as passionate as before. Yet it felt even more profound. Deeper even. She put her hand on his cheek, and when her tongue darted out, meeting his, they danced around each other.
