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“You know what’s funny?” she said with a sad laugh. “I was so scared people would be gossiping about how I got the job at Archam Tech, how they wouldn’t believe that those ideas were mine, that I just wanted to hog the spotlight, that my career would be over if Richard spun the story in his favor. And here I am, facing my worst fear. Only this time, it’s at a new job. With you. And it’s not only confined to whispers and gossiping at tech shows and networking events. It’s plastered all over the news. I’m being called a temptress. Me, of all people.”
“I wish I could make it all go away.” Nazyn rubbed his thumbs against the back of her hands. “I don’t see how that is funny.”
“Because…it’s been my worst fear ever since I broke up with Richard. Hell, maybe even before. That feeling of not belonging. Not being good enough and that somewhere, someone would find out.” She licked her lips. “But you know what? It happened. The absolute worst scenario. It’s here and I’m living it.”
“It will pass,” Nazyn said soothingly. “I have as much responsibility for this as you.”
“Yeah, but they’re not calling you a temptress on national news. You’re the genius boss and I’m the employee screwing my way up the ladder. Nevermind that I got the job without meeting you. Or that I deserved it based on my own skills. Or that I’m the one who can secure Alien Inc.’s platforms against Richard. Nobody sees that.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “And I didn’t even get to truly enjoy our kiss because I was so afraid. And here I am, still paying for it.”
“You–you didn’t enjoy kissing me?”
“What? No, no, no. I did. I mean–” A blush crept up her cheeks. “I really did. But I shouldn’t have stopped it, we were both having a great time. But I was afraidthiswould happen. Afraid of you turning out like Richard. Afraid of so many things.”
“I amnothinglike that creature,” Nazyn growled. “I will never hurt you.”
And Darcy believed him. Universe help her, she did. He stuck up for her when nobody else would. He’d acknowledged her contribution before all the making-out. Even when they’d first arrived, everyone wanted to speak with him, but he took the time to introduce Darcy. Not as his employee, but as his equal.
People were more interested in him because he was the Deruzian genius who’d opened a portal to another world. Nobody really knew who Darcy was, and that wasn’t Nazyn’s fault.
“You don’t feel like him,” she said, then hesitated. With so much going on, she hadn’t had a chance to ask the question that had been slowly embering in the back of her mind. “On that night I fell and you saved me, which, by the way, I’m truly grateful for.”
A slow smile spread over Nazyn’s face. Universe, he was gorgeous. “What is that human expression?The pleasure was all mine?”
“Yes, that.” She cleared her throat. “What did you mean when you said you didn’t know how you opened the portal?”
It was Nazyn’s turn to hesitate. “You know how you never told anyone what truly happened to Richard?”
Darcy nodded.
“I never told anyone that, according to my calculations, the portal should have opened three days before it did,” Nazyn said. “You sun and our star were at the perfect gravitational alignment for it. But I didn’t calculate how long it would take for the portal to take shape. It was a gnarly little hole at first, barely big enough for my fist to push through. And then it kept growing, until it reached the full capacity it has now. But I still don’t know why it took so long–and that infuriates me.”
His hold on Darcy's palms tightened, as if nowshegroundedhim.
“That is my greatest scientific achievement so far and I don’t fully understand it,” he went on. “It’s…humbling.”
“There are always new laws of nature to discover,” Darcy said. “One of them might be the culprit.”
“That’s my theory as well. But I want toknowfor sure. Understand it.”
A corner of Darcy’s lips quirked. “Spoken like a true scientist.”
“That’s why this entire issue with the hologram felt so infuriating. Another detail I have skipped,” he went on. “I know what it is now and I can fix it, but what if it happens again? And what if my mistake will be dangerous next time?”
He looked so open and vulnerable, the first time Darcy saw him like this. Doubting his intelligence.
Of their own accord, her palms fell from his and slid into his hair, right above his temples. Darcy didn’t know what had possessed her to do it, but she was powerless to stop it. Like his body and hers were magnets, calling out to each other.
Nazyn’s eyelids fluttered as a low groan echoed in his throat. They stood like that, him watching her, her caressing him, for a long time.
It felt…easy. Comforting.
“I think we both need to understand that we can’t know everything in this life. And we definitely can’t predict the future.” Damn it. Nowthatwas a superpower she really wanted.
“You’re right. One thing I do know.” Nazyn said, his large palm cupping her cheek. It felt so natural that Darcy leaned into his tender touch. “Darcy…what happened was not your fault. Today and a year ago with Richard.”
Darcy gulped and averted her gaze. “I know.”
“Darcy.” Nazyn tilted her chin toward him, searching for her eyes. “None of it was your fault.”
