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“Well,” I said as I wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, “I appreciate you being wifey, so long as I can be husbandy as well.”
Amber giggled. “It doesn’t quite work as well the other way around, but I get your point. I’ll let you be husbandy if that’s what you want. I could use a husband who wants to act like one, rather than a cheating drunk.”
The reference to her ex hung heavy in the air between us, and a surge of regret flowed through me. Normally, I did not regret my actions. I did what I thought was right, what the situation called for, but I caused Amber undue strife with that action. Shame heated me more than the flames from the fireplace ever could.
“I am sorry, Amber. I did not intend to make your life worse when I attacked Ryan. I shall try to think of how I can make amends, but I don’t know that I can.”
She took my hand in hers, stroking my scales. “Unless you have a device on your ship that can wipe both their memories, you can’t really make amends. Not one hundred percent. But that’s okay. I thought a lot about it while I was trying to sleep, and I realized that, scared as that made me, I’ve never felt safer than I do with you right now.” She smiled at me. “You were only trying to protect me. That doesn’t make what you didrightby any means, but it makes it … understandable.”
“I shall try to do right in the future.”
“Just do what you do, Q’on. Right or wrong, be yourself. That’s all I have any right to ask.”
From abject terror the moment we first met to this new understanding and acceptance, in only a matter of Earth days … perhaps I was not wrong about the mate bond after all.
Amber rested her head against me and nuzzled close. I put my arms around her and held her to my chest. Her breathing evened out, and she finally fell into slumber. I was done sleeping for the night; I wanted nothing more to do with dreams. Instead, I watched her serene face as she slept. I hoped her dreams were pleasant.
The hour was nearly three when I heard a rustling outside that did not sound familiar. The lynx that hunted at night in the woods around Amber’s home was too clever to be so noisy, and the sound was not loud enough to be something larger such as another predator or a moose. I disentangled myself from Amber to creep to the window and peer out into the night. My eyes adapted well to most low light conditions, even near-blackness, and the shape of a man took form in the bushes outside.
The agent known as Wilson stared back at me, his face poorly hidden by the leafless branches. He lifted a device to his face and pressed a button. A soft click sounded in the night, accompanied by a brilliant flash. I blinked to clear my eyes of the afterimage, but by the time my sight returned fully, he was gone.
For a moment, I was torn. Would it be better to stay with Amber and continue to keep her safe, or should I investigate this potential threat?
Curiosity won out over caution, and I opened the back door with as much stealth as I could muster. Listening intently, I crept around the house, peering into every bush and copse of trees in search of the government man. Sadly, the only traces I found were footprints in the snow leading to a set of tire tracks. Whatever Agent Wilson came for, he left without feeling the need to discuss it with Amber. Rude.
I returned to Amber’s side and wrapped the blanket around the both of us. She shivered in her sleep, and I realized that my scales were probably chilly from being outside.
With the threat gone for the moment and Amber safely sleeping, I managed some comfortable dozing myself before dawn broke. Amber stirred, waking me, and smiled up at me.
“Guess what?” she asked.
“How am I to guess?”
She giggled. “No, silly. You’re supposed to say ‘What?’ when I ask that.”
“Oh. What?”
She grinned and placed a hand on my thigh. “It’s Saturday. I don’t work today or tomorrow. You’ve got me all to yourself.”
I raised my brows. “Does that mean—?”
Amber nodded and pulled the belt of her robe loose. “Yep. We’ll fool around a bit, feed the prisoners, then have a nice, warm breakfast before I figure out something for us to do besides each other.”
“Excellent.”
Chapter 14
Amber
Ihad to think of something for Q’on and me to do to pass the time. Sex could only occupy us for so long, and if I wanted a real relationship with him, I needed to find something other than that for entertainment.
If the weather wasn’t so fucking cold, I’d take him on a secluded hiking trail.Hemight manage to tolerate that, butIwould freeze my pretty little ass off. Maybe in the spring, after the snow melts.
Most of the traditional date activities were out. A purple-scaled man at a fancy restaurant? Or even in a movie theater—people would freak!
I brainstormed all morning while Q’on graciously fed Ryan and Evan out in the shed. I was willing to take on that responsibility, but Q’on didn’t trust either of them not to try to attack me in the process. Since he was more than capable of defending himself if one of them escaped their bonds, I didn’t argue.
But how was I supposed to entertain a freaking alien warrior? He probably spent his time doing drills or practicing battle tactics back home.
