“And now?”
“Now I’m lying half-naked in an alien prison cell with a seven-foot reptile who has a tail that won’t stop touching me.” Shelaughed softly. “The shoes have all dropped. There’s nothing left to be afraid of.”
His arm tightened around her. “I would never hurt you.”
“I know.” And she did. With a certainty that defied logic, that had nothing to do with their circumstances and everything to do with the way he looked at her like she was the most precious thing in the universe.
Silence stretched between them, comfortable and warm. She was just beginning to drift towards sleep when he spoke again.
“I want to be a family,” he said quietly, his voice tentative. “With you and Robbie.”
She went still.
“I know we’ve known each other only a short time. I know our situation is… complicated. But when I think about the future—any future—I can’t imagine it without you.” His hand stroked slowly up and down her spine. “I would love to have a child with you someday. But even if that never happens, even if we escape and go somewhere far away and it’s just the three of us forever… I would be content. More than content. I would be happy.”
Her throat tightened. She thought about Vijay, who had proposed marriage like a business proposition and discussed children like line items in a contract. She thought about her parents, who had been so relieved that someone “suitable” had finally shown interest in their difficult daughter. She thought about all the years she’d spent believing that wanting passion and partnership was naive and impractical. And here was this alien warrior, this creature from a dying world, offering her exactly what she’d never dared to hope for.
“I want that too,” she whispered.
His entire body seemed to relax, tension bleeding out of him in a long exhale. His tail curled tighter around her waist, and when she looked up, she saw his eyes shining in the dim light.
“You honor me,” he said, and his voice cracked on the words.
“We honor each other.”
She stretched up to kiss him again, soft and sweet, a promise for the future they would fight to claim. When she finally settled back against his chest, his heartbeat had synchronized into a steady rhythm beneath her ear.
“Six days,” she murmured.
“Less, if I can manage it.”
“And then?”
“And then we find out what kind of life we can build together.” His lips brushed her hair. “Sleep now, Melissa. I’ll keep watch.”
She meant to argue. She wanted to keep touching him, to stay wrapped in this bubble of intimacy a little longer. But her body had other ideas. The stress of the day, the emotional upheaval, and the intense physical release all caught up with her at once.
Just for a little while, she told herself, letting her eyes drift closed. Just a few minutes of rest.
She was asleep before she finished the thought, wrapped in the arms of the male who had somehow, impossibly, become her hope for tomorrow.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The summons came just after dawn.
Becsul had been watching Melissa sleep, her dark hair spilling across his arm like water, her breath warm against his skin. Robbie had only stirred once in the night, a soft whimper quickly soothed by her murmured reassurances, and then settled back into dreams. For a few hours, wrapped in their shared warmth, he had allowed himself to forget their situation.
Then the door chimed.
He extracted himself carefully, tucking the thin blanket around her shoulders before crossing to the door. The guard on the other side—not the obnoxious one, thankfully—handed him a datapad without comment.
Captain Becsul. Report to my quarters at your earliest convenience. —Councilor Naran vel’Rendar
At his earliest convenience. As if he had any choice in the matter.
He glanced back at Melissa, still sleeping, and felt something clench in his chest. Five days. Maybe less. He’d been so close to having everything mapped out, so close to?—
Focus, he told himself.Naran doesn’t suspect anything. This could even be useful.
