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Heather waved a hand in the air. “You didn’t. Besides, we’re not here to work together on your tests.” She didn’t know why she’d thought they were compatible. Maybe she’d been flattered that someone as hot as Loka would be interested in her. It wasn’t meant to be. She had her own ambitions, the same as he did. The two did not make a good match.

Loka looked at the petri dishes. “I was simply concerned about contamination.”

“I get it. You don’t want me messing up your tests.” He couldn’t have made it any clearer.

Heather turned as she felt Loka’s hand on her shoulder. The touch was tentative. “I know you would not have done it out of malice.”

“You never know. I might have been able to help.” Heather shrugged his hand off her shoulder. “Let’s focus on the problems here.”

“You’re right. I am sorry if I offended you.”

Heather turned and walked toward the door. “First things first, we need to make sure there are no malfunctioning bots running around.” She pressed her ear to the door.

“Do you hear them?”

“I think it’s clear.”

“Then we need to get the lights back on and full power restored, which means a visit to engineering.”

“Agreed.” Heather ignored her confusing feelings about Loka. She needed to keep them fixed at the bottom of her to-do list. She should scrub them off completely.

Loka was too good for her and too caught up in his own work. A human with a liking for 80’s TV re-runs and too much cookie dough would not appeal to someone as incredible as he was.

Even though he came with an unhealthy side order of uptight when it came to his petri dishes, Heather knew she would have a tough time not dwelling on what might have been.

Chapter 6

“Let me go first.” Loka moved in front of Heather before she had a chance to open the door. “I will be able to detect any bots out there.”

“Fine. They might not be so interested in getting their cold metal limbs on you.”

Loka glanced at her. “They really did seem intent on attacking you. Was it just because you threatened them with a laser?”

“I can think of no other reason. Maybe I smell funny to them.”

He inhaled deeply. “You smell pleasant. I don’t think it’s that.”

A flash of a smile passed across Heather’s lips. “Whatever the reason, I don’t want them to target me again. They might think twice when they see you, especially considering what your horns did to the last lot.”

Loka self-consciously rubbed a knuckle against his horn. He’d never stopped to think that Heather might consider his horns unusual. On his home planet, the bigger the horns, the higher regard you received.

This time, Heather grinned properly. Her gaze rose above his head. “Your horns are lovely.”

Loka blinked at her. It was as if she’d read his mind. “Thank you. And you have lovely... teeth.” And she did. They were too small to be of any real use, but they were neat and white, and her face lit up when she smiled.

Heather’s nose wrinkled up as she bared her teeth at him. “I’m not afraid to use them if you step out of line.”

Loka chuckled. His hand reached into his pocket before he was even aware of what he was doing. He held out the piece of coal. “This is for you.”

Her eyes widened. “Another gift?”

“You like my gifts?”

She took the coal from him, holding it as if it was a fragile creature that could break at any second. She placed it under her nose and sniffed. “I do. I call them friendship lumps.”

“Friendship lumps?”

“I figured that was why you’ve been giving them to me. You want us to be friends. You want us to have a bond.” The color in Heather’s cheeks rose.