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"It was only a holovid comm," Garth said.
"Holovid?" I repeated as his words slowly sank in and began to make some sense to me. Daryus had been so lifelike I would have sworn he had been right here in the room with us.
But now some things I had noticed made more sense, like why the armrest hadn't indented when the large man's hands had dug into the material or why I could see my reflection in the window but not his.
These aliens'technology was beyond anything we humans had been able to even think up yet.Duh, they're flying through space, my mind reminded me bitchily.
"He is not going to demote you, is he?" I asked Garth worriedly.
At that he laughed. "I would like to see him try." When he saw my stricken expression, he added, "Nocc, no worries, cinna. Daryus and I have been friends since we were children."
"I would hate for you to get into trouble because of me," I said, meaning it, even though I had not only been innocent in any of the events that had led up to me being here, but utterly helpless as well.
He placed his thumb underneath my chin to raise my head. "You don't need to worry about that. At all."
His pointer finger caressed the side of my face lightly. The gesture felt good, warming, relaxing, and for a moment I wished he would bend lower and kiss me.
I couldn't remember ever having been this attracted to a man, but Garth roused emotions in me that were hard to explain. Our eyes locked and I was sure he was going to kiss me, but then he abruptly let go of me and turned away. And I remembered my unappealing gray skin. I looked like a walking corpse.
"I need to contact Xandros and warn him of what to expect."
I took the hint to leave his office. Dejected, I made my way back into the sleeping quarters and adjoining bathroom, where I took a shower and donned a pair of tight-fitting brown pants and a black shirt with long sleeves to cover as much of my skin as possible.
The entire time I avoided looking in the mirror, but on the way out I caught a glimpse of my face and thought, yup, zombie color was as good of a description as any for my new skin tone.
I paced the bedroom for a while, then made the bed until I couldn't stall any longer and my stomach rumbled.
Garth sat behind his desk, talking to a computer screen or recording his report, I couldn't tell from where I stood. When he noticed me, he stopped and a smile spread over his lips. "Are you hungry?"
"Famished," I admitted.
He came around the desk and lightly took my elbow to guide me to the same low table we had used yesterday, which was filled again with dishes of different sizes.
Garth waited until I was seated before he lowered himself onto a pillow on the other side, and proceeded to retract the lids off the dishes. Just like yesterday, the aroma comingfrom the contents made my stomach growl even louder.
I held my plate out and he began to ladle a little bit of everything on it. "Tell me what you like the best and I will order those dishes for you in the future."
Grabbing the eating utensil that reminded me of a spork, I began to nibble on the different foods without being able to identify any, but my tastebuds didn't rebel against any of them.
"I like them all," I admitted.
"Good, that will make things easier." He gave me a devastating smile that made my heart gothump, thump, thumpin quick succession.
Why did he have to be so freaking good-looking? From his striking high cheekbones to his aquiline nose. His lips were full, and right now surrounded by the dark growth of a bit more than just a five o'clock shadow, making him sexy as hell.
His prominent eyebrows gave his eyes the appearance of being a bit sunken, lending his expression more severity and intensity.
Quickly I lowered my head so he wouldn't see how much his presence affected me. Had he offered to take me to bed right then I would have taken my clothes off immediately. I still wasn't sure if my desire forhim stemmed from any residue left from the aphrodisiac, or my natural reaction to a more than drop-dead gorgeous man, but I was more than simply attracted to him.
I 'didn't know if it was from my uncertainty of why I was attracted to him or from insecurity about my zombie skin, but I turned my head instead of trying to flirt with him.
"What happened to the other humans?" I asked after the silence between us stretched for too long.
"They're well taken care of. Meloch said he fixed a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious," Garth assured me.
"Can I talk to them?"
Garth looked up from his plate quizzically. "If you are up to it, I can take you later, after breakfast."
