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Her muscles had tightened again. Gone was the easiness which had surrounded her since they’d landed. Actually, it had started back in the ship, after Taryn had held her to his chest. A glorious feeling he hoped to experience again and again and again.
But, first, they needed to solve this problem.
Talking to him seemed to put her on edge. Taryn didn’t remember if he’d said anything which might have made her feel more guarded. Apart from Quillons being related to Zavorians, but he hadn’t sensed she had a problem with that. Was it his mere presence?
“Anything and everything,” he said. “For example, what are you feeling right now?”
Leah furrowed her brows. “Hungry.”
“The food is good, you’ll enjoy it.” He watched her pick up a shard and lick it. Her face lit up with delight as she swallowed it whole, a soft moan passing her lips and straight into his Light.
“You’re right, this is amazing.” She picked up another one, popping it into her mouth. The moan was louder this time. Nines, she was going to kill him, and he needed to pay attention right now. “I don’t know if Quillons start their meals with sweets first, but this is what I want to do every day while I’m here.”
Good. A snippet of information he could use. Taryn wanted to know everything about her, but she was so guarded, it hurt. “Do you do that back home, too?”
“Oh, yes,” she said with a smile. “Used to drive Nana crazy when I snuck sweets before dinner, but they’re the absolute best part.”
“Used to?”
The smile fell from her beautiful face. “Nana’s in the hospital. Now, when I get to eat, I eat alone.”
Get to eat. So he’d been right. She had gone hungry.
“How is her condition?” he asked, unsure of how to proceed, exactly. Humans had unusual customs when it came to illness and death, this he knew.
“Improving, now.” She went quiet for a few moments, working her jaw. Then she took a big inhale, as if readying herself for war, not for an answer. What in the Nines was going on? “Enough about me, my life’s pretty boring. What can you tell me about you?”
Utterly puzzling. Leah was like a riddle he’d been destined to crack. The reactions did not suit the words.
Which meant her secret was far greater than he realized. Even her energy, as faint as he let himself feel it now, was crowded by shadows.
“My life isbo-ring, too.” If one counted being an intergalactic spy as dull.
Taryn had his own secrets. He was Quillon enough to admit he wanted to share them with Leah–it was getting close to a compulsion, if he was truly honest–but he would refrain until they reached a balance.
“What do you do, exactly?” she asked, spearing the stika piece as if she wanted to impale the poor creature all over again.
“I deal in information.” Which he usually took through less than permissible means, but that was the entire point of being a spy.
“What kind of information?”
“The useful kind. I procure and deliver.” He leaned back in his seat. He already said too much, but something about her made him want to open up. “Other than that, I enjoy spending time at my estate. It’s remote. Quiet. Safe.”
Most importantly, very few beings knew where it was located. Taryn liked his privacy.
“Does…anybody else live with you?”
“No.”
Leah nodded, too many times, even for a human. Finally, she asked, “So we’re going to be alone?”
Ah. Was this it? She was afraid of being alone with him?
“You will be safe, I assure you. You will have your own room–” He hesitated. “If you feel uncomfortable sharing a room tonight, Icansleep inside the ship.”
The thought hadn’t crossed his mind. Lightmates were supposed to never be parted and he needed to protect her. It was a notion ingrained in his Quillon way of being. At his estate, where he knew the perimeter was safe, she could have all the rooms she wanted, all to herself. Nines, he’d sleep in the garden if that made her feel better.
But this wasn’t his estate. This was a tavern where anyone could come in and out as they pleased. Taryn knew how easy it was to enter any location.
