He’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
I’m blushing even as I think that. After years of alien captivity and being treated like less than a person, I’d come to terms with my fate. I knew no alien would ever look at a human as an equal, but I was hoping with a husband at my side, we’d come to an agreement and I’d happily trade my body for some security and to protect my farm. After all, it’s just a body. I’ve learned to mentally “go away” every time I’ve been touched in a way I didn’t want to be touched. It’s the only way to stay sane.
I didn’t expect Vordigar to be…kind, though. I thought he’d just climb on top of me, go to town, and then fall asleep. I didn’t expect him to caress me. To pleasure me. To ask what I liked. The idea was so foreign to me that I couldn’t even answer. I was too afraid of saying something wrong. I’ve learned that the best thing is to say nothing at all and hope for very little.
Instead, he gave me orgasms. One shattering orgasm after the next, and he made me feel…beautiful. Special. Like someone important. Someone who deserved just as much pleasure in bed as her partner.
It filled me with such joy that I’d woken up this morning, humming. I’d pictured our life together on the farm. I’d hoped for someone to talk to—nothing more, nothing less. A lifetime full of evenings like that one was…unbearably exciting. There’s no talk of love. I’m a realist. But if I have someone at my side to talk to, someone that looks at me like I’m a normal person, someone that smiles at me and touches me gently at night?
That changes everything.
It was too much to hope for, though. I fight back a knot in my throat. He’s not staying. He’s never said he would. Last night was just an aberration. In some ways, I wish it had never happened, because now I’m going to know what I’m missing.
Now I’m filled with yearning.
But there’s no place in my life for things like that. I swallow the knot, clear my throat, and dish up a big bowl of noodles for him. I set it down in front of Vordigar and keep my tone neutral. “So when are you leaving?”
“Two days,” he says, putting aside the drone.
Just as quickly, the knot is back in my throat. Two days. What answer had I expected? What was the right timeframe for me to get used to the idea? A week? A month? My heart doesn’t want to be reasonable. Last night filled it with hope. Hearing that he’ll only be with me for two more days makes all that hope spill out and drain away. “I see.”
Vordigar gives me an intense look. “You don’t want to know where I’m going?”
I make myself a bowl full of noodles, because it gives my hands something to do. “Would you tell me?”
“Bounty hunting,” he admits. There’s a rueful note in his voice. “I’m not a fan of it, but it’s big money and the crew’s been waiting on me to go after one particular target.”
“Ah.”
“After that, I’ll have all the money I need to get back on my feet again. Maybe buy myself a small pleasure cruiser, visit a few scenic planets, take in the sights.” He shrugs.
I say nothing, poking at my noodles.
“You could come with me,” he says after a long moment.
I look up, surprised.
There’s heat in Vordigar’s gaze. He reaches over and touches my hand, his thumb brushing over my palm. “I know we just met. I know I’m not every female’s dream, but…I like you, Piper. And I don’t like the thought of leaving you. I want you to come with me.”
I blink at him. If I was a younger, more foolish Piper, I’d be head over heels excited at this offer. Leave Risda and a life of farming behind? See the galaxies? Be at his side forever? But I’m not that girl—she died a long time ago. The Piper of today has seen a lot of the universe, and none of it’s safe for humans. I shake my head, slowly. “This is my home. I haven’t had one in forever, and now that I have one again, I don’t want to abandon it.”
“You said you never wanted to be a farmer,” he cajoles me, a twinkle in his eyes. Like this, he’s so handsome—even though he’s a big, blue, horned alien and covered with tattoos and scars and I should be terrified. But I know Vordigar, and I know he’s safe. I’ve given him every opportunity to use me and take advantage of me, just so I know who he really, truly is—and he’s been nothing but teasing and kind.