Page 11 of Who Did This To You?

I clung to the rope, taking soft, shallow breaths as I tried not to look down another time. I'd gotten up a heck of a lot higher than I thought I would go. The climbing structure that adorned the edges and ceiling of the room seemed like an easier place to start than the more human looking like weight machines, or the treadmill room. I'd seen several humans traipsing about on it like they were born to be spider monkeys previous times I'd come to this physical recreation room masquerading as a gym, and I thought that it looked like a lot more fun.

"Sure, Róisín," I hissed at myself. "Why not bite off more than you can chew? Nothing's more attractive to an alien than breaking your neck. You could have just started with some sit-ups or a Zumba class or something. You didn't have to climb right up to the top!"

The interwoven net rope ladder had seemed safe-looking, and was at a slight angle from the floor to the ceiling, so I kept going, feeling a thrill as I realized how much fun it was to put one foot after another, climbing up the structure until suddenly I realized I was at the ceiling, where the ropes extended out horizontally a few feet down to allow the nimble to swing themselves around like there weren't other people traipsing about on the floor to land on top of. Not that there were any people down there right now. Nobody was awake at this hour, and if they were, they were at some of the more popular late-night spots, like the club or one of the many stargazing spots.

"Are you in need of assistance?" a purring voice sang out to me, dripping with the octave fluctuations that indicated flirtation.

I glanced over to see the familiar spotted Norratar, Mr. Gotta Catch 'em All, draped across the ropes next to me as if he had just woken up from a nap. He was not there when I got up to the top; I was certain.

He gave me a big, toothy grin and I frowned at him.

"Are you threatening me?" I asked as I hugged the rope to my chest, another one pressing into the back of my knee and the top of my ankle as I wedged myself into the ropes to try to feel safe. I had come here during the low activity hours, hoping I'd be able to play around on the equipment without anyone seeing me.

His lips snapped closed.

"I thought humans liked seeing teeth," he sang out, in tones of apology.

"I don't need help," I said. "I'm just resting."

"Feel free to cry out for help if you change your mind," he purred out again, his tonal shifts heavy with flirtation again. "I will come to your rescue and carry you to safety."

"I'm fine," I repeated.

He flicked his ears at me, and then he was off, swinging across the ropes only to let go of them at the last second. I let out a gasp as the arc of his fall took him over to one of the huge rope-covered columns that were scattered around the room. He landed, all of his claws out as he caught himself on the column. He let go with one hand and twisted to look back up at me, and gave me another huge, toothy grin.

"Prance on, playboy," I said, knowing he could still hear me at that distance.

His ears twitched, and he winked at me before continuing on his way.

It wasn't that I was immune to the ridiculous number of hot aliens romping around the ship. My heated collision with Zandaor made that explicitly clear. My physical needs hadn't vanished just because I wasn't exercising them.

I just wasn't in the market for a hookup.

I wanted something real, something meaningful and long-lasting, and that meant not throwing myself at every male that winked in my general direction, looking to hump his way through all the options until he found the one that his symbiote awoke for.

I wasn't sure what Zandaor wanted from me, but I wasn't willing to wait to find out. My Chyrrith lawyer had worked with me to draft up an extensive document. I made sure that Zandaor would be told everything I thought might cause him to not want to be with me, and I asked that he be questioned as to his intentions toward me. If he was only interested in casual mating, he would be told that I was off limits to dump his pheromones all over.

I didn't want a taste of heaven if it was only going to be taken away.

The Norratar was back in my line of sight again. He was leaning against the base of one of the rope columns, and he stared up at me. When he caught my eye, he grinned again, all teeth.

I hissed at him.

His grin grew wider, and he took a step toward the base of the netted rope ladder I was on. Damnit. He definitely was the type who enjoyed the challenge of wooing a borderline hostile female. It was getting to the point where I would have to file a formal leave-me-alone notice with my Chyrrith lawyer. The whole point of having representatives was to help iron out miscommunications with firm, clear boundaries.

The door to the gym slid open, and the one male I was hoping and yet also terrified to see walked in. He was just as handsome as I remembered, but now he was wearing a skin tight suit that looked like it was made out of light leather suede. It left nothing to the imagination. I could see every line of him, every bulge.

He walked a little ways inside, looking around the room.

But he didn't look up.

After a moment, he turned to leave.

There was a chance he wasn't looking for me. There was a chance that when he told me no, told me to go, it wasn't because he was being honorable; it was because he didn't want me, and was just being betrayed by his body.

I had gone over all the possibilities in my mind, waited anxiously for my legal representative to tell me I had received a 'leave him alone' notice, and that I was no longer allowed to approach him to initiate social contact. What if the entire thing had been in my head, the product of a desperate, horny woman who deluded herself into thinking she could attract a male who looked fit and in his prime when she was not?

Those racing thoughts were the ones that had driven me to the gym in the first place, to see if I could alleviate my mind's attempts to tear myself down by building myself up physically. That was how I got stuck up on this ladder, thinking it would be fun, when in reality I climbed too high and now was too scared to start the climb back down.