I pull her closer and I keep singing.
Chapter 4
Dagger
He’s not what I imagined he should be.
He’s not hurting me, hitting me, torturing me.
He’s doing the opposite, in fact. He’s gathered
me in his arms and he’s singing to me the way you would sing to a child who was scared. He’s singing to me and rubbing my back and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I feel safe.
I feel secure.
I feel like he’s not going to let anything hurt me, and I relax against his body.
I’ve never been this close to someone like him. I’ve been around plenty of aliens, but none who were such a brilliant shade of blue, none who were so obviously aware of their surroundings, none who were so big.
He’s big.
He must be seven feet tall or taller.
He makes me feel like a little pixie, like a fairy, like a tiny little woman. I should be uncomfortable sitting in this stranger’s lap, but something about him makes me feel like nothing bad can touch me.
As long as he keeps touching me, singing to me, protecting me, I know that everything is going to be okay.
Far too soon the song ends, but he doesn’t stop rubbing my back. He keeps touching me. The man doesn’t speak, but I feel like I should. I feel like I should say something, like introduce myself or tell him who I am. I don’t know why I feel this urge to fill the silence, but I do.
“My name is Dagger,” I say. The man doesn’t speak or react, so I keep going. “What’s your name? Do you have a name?”
Still, he’s silent.
Okay, so maybe aliens don’t have any manners. Is that what this is? He can tackle me and then protect me, but he can’t tell me his name.
“Do you understand me?” I ask, wondering if there’s a language barrier to overcome. “Can you hear me?” I look up at him, and I’m surprised to see him watching me carefully. His eyes are so blue, so brilliant. They’re the brightest things I’ve ever seen, like stars on a clear night.
He stops rubbing my back, but doesn’t move, and I don’t leave his lap. Instead, I reach up and touch his face, wondering what it is about him that has drawn me to him so. Perhaps it’s the fact that he’s so big, but gentle. He’s not what I expected. I thought a man this big would be violent or aggressive, but he’s not. He’s sweet. He’s a protector.
He’s my protector.
I try to banish that thought because this alien couldn’t be mine. I don’t know how the species of this planet feels about interplanetary relationships. Maybe he has to marry a girl who looks like him. Maybe he already has a mate. Maybe he doesn’t like women at all.
But I want him, suddenly, more than I’ve ever wanted anything else before.
“Thank you for comforting me,” I say. My words are a whisper, but they’re clear as day in the quiet jungle. Suddenly, all the other noise has faded away and it’s just him and me. It’s just the two of us in this moment.
It’s just the two of us and I kind of want it to stay this way.
“I was very scared.”
He reaches for my face and gently touches my cheek. I close my eyes and lean into the tender touch.
“I know,” he says, and my eyes pop open.
“You can understand me,” I accuse.
“Of course I can understand you. I’m no Mirroean.”