“There’s something hidden on the ship,” Quinn starts to say, but I grab his head, pull him towards me, and kiss him. I kiss him, and I kiss him, and I kiss him. At first, he hesitates. I even think he might pull away, but then he relaxes into me and kisses me back.
And oh, I’ve never been kissed like this before.
I’ve never been with an alien before, either. I’ve never really even thought about it. Most of the people on Mirroean are from different planets, but somehow, I’ve always migrated toward the other humans.
Now I wonder what else I’ve been missing out on.
Quinn tastes like rich, dark chocolate. He runs his tongue over my lips before parting my mouth and taking his place there. He kisses me like I’m the only person in the world. He kisses me like he’s starving for me. He kisses me like he needs me.
And then he stops.
“Please,” I beg him, reaching for him. “Please don’t stop. I need this.”
“I can’t,” he protests, but I don’t think he’s as serious as he’s pretending to be. “I can’t do this. Not right now,” he says.
Only, I think this is the perfect time, and I think this is exactly what we both need. I need to forget. I need to cope. I need something to make me feel a little bit human, a little bit alive.
And something tells me he needs the same thing.
How long has he been a lonely traveler? How long has he been searching for something on his own? How long has he been by himself?
It’s not good to be by yourself.
Not for long.
Not forever.
Oh yes, Quinn needs this just as much as me. He needs to feel me, needs to touch me. He needs to explore me just as much as I need to explore him.
We could help each other.
"We shouldn't do this," he says again, breathing hard, but his eyes tell a different story. His eyes tell me he wants me, wants this. His eyes tell me that no matter what happens, he wants this thing between us. We both do.
And in this moment, I have a choice to make.
I can play it safe.
I always have.
Getting engaged to Darin was a safe, easy choice.
Going to college was a safe, easy choice.
My job? Another safe choice. An easy choice.
Easy.
That's my entire life up until this moment, but I'm ready for something different. The only question is whether or not I'm brave enough to go for it.
Am I brave enough to live in the moment?
Am I brave enough to take what I want from this giant warrior?
"We should do this," I say. My words hang in the air for just a second. Quinn seems to be deciding something. Is he going to go for it? Is he going to take advantage of the scared little human? Is he going to conquer the woman on his ship? Is he going to dominate her?
Because there's no question about it: he's going to dominate me.
He's going to hurt me.