“All fueled up now, are we, tiger?” she joked. “The reserve sounds wonderful, but could we make a detour at the Temple first? I need some clothes.”
Her skin heated when he ran his gaze over her body. “I think you look wonderful.”
Standing, she began to gather their empty plates.
Brows drawn, he stopped her with a hand on her wrist. “What are you doing?”
Looking from the plates to him, she shrugged. “Cleaning up.”
He tugged her forward, dragging her across his lap. “I can do that. Why don’t you go take a bath?”
Alice wanted to argue, she really did. He was being so sweet to her and she should help, since he’d cooked, but the lure of hot water on her sore body sounded like heaven. She’d make him dinner tonight, she decided.
“Thank you.” Pressing a swift kiss to his lips, she tried to rise.
A small yelp escaped her when he suddenly lifted her, one hand under her knees, the other under her shoulders. “Allow me.”
***
The last few days had been some of the best Alice could remember. Luka was revealing himself to be the perfect guy, and with every passing hour she grew more and more sure she’d fallen in love with him.
Every day they’d come to the reserve; sometimes they’d stay for hours and sometimes they’d only stay for as long as it took to feed and medicate the guarsil. The small red creature was becoming stronger each day, and soon they’d have to venture further into the woods and reunite it with its brothers and sisters. Although Alice wanted to make sure they didn’t move him before he was ready, she was becoming more and more leery of its ever-elongating teeth and increasingly aggressive swipes of its claws at her mate.
Yesterday, they’d roamed around the reserve for hours. Alice had taken notes on every animal she’d seen, and Luka had patiently described what he knew about the creatures in great detail, then surprised her with a picnic near the still-entwined manta she’d seen her first time there.
To thank him, she’d asked to give him a blow job. A chuckle still ran through her when she recalled his dumbstruck expression. Learning that the women of this planet didn’t often go down on their men made Alice even more excited to provide him with that pleasure.
She’d done her best to work his large shaft into her mouth, feeling herself grow wet from his muttered curses and the shudders that had run through his powerful body. After she was done, he’d returned the favor, using that vibrating tongue on her repeatedly until she’d had to beg him to stop.
The rest of the day had passed in a daze. They’d reclined in the dappled sunlight of the forest, eating sweet fruits and talking. She’d told him more about her life on Earth and the troubles that’d come with it. When she’d told him about her past relationships, he’d had trouble calming.
In turn, he’d told her the heartbreaking story of his mother and his brother Theo. Apparently, what she’d assumed were tattoos running all over Theo’s body were actually scars. As he’d spoken, she’d offered comfort where she could.
The once-pale markings that ran along Luka’s wrists and forearms were still black. It turned out they’d been permanently scarred like his brother’s were after Gishen had electrocuted him so violently through his shackles. Tracing the dark markings near his wrists, she now saw them in a new light. She wondered if others found them ugly the way they did Theo’s. Running her tongue along one dark marking and smiling at his answering curse, she’d decided to work hard to make sure he knew she loved them.
Whenever they went outside, Luka had angrily painted his hands, curling his lip as he hid the blue marks under a layer of rubbery, flesh-colored liquid. Anytime they were alone, ridding his hands of the covering was the first thing he did. When his marks were visible, he always let out a sigh, and she wondered if seeing them calmed him in some way.
The idea that Luka loved his marks that much made her wonder if he loved her too. Sure, he called her “love,” but that was just a pet name. She knew how she felt about him now, and was sure she wanted to be with him, but she didn’t want to be the one to say the words out loud first. She’d be mortified if he didn’t say them back. She didn’t even know if Clecanians said “I love you” to one another.
The happiness she felt with Luka was only interrupted by her building anxiety over seeing Helas and Sal again and the worry she harbored for Vanessa.
She’d seen her friend both yesterday and today. Vanessa’s once-bright smile and sarcastic attitude had dulled, and Alice was starting to worry about what she might do if she became desperate enough.
Ignoring Luka’s scowl at the idea, she’d decided to spend a few hours alone with Vanessa today. He’d dropped her off at the edge of the lake, and despite her urging for him to leave and pick her up later, he’d grumbled and muttered so much that she’d finally just left him sitting on the grass, looking sullen. She’d arrived at Vanessa’s house to find her alone and worn down.
At present, she was mixing two alien gin and tonics for her and Vanessa to sip while they talked.
“So where are Daisy and Rita?” Alice asked as she handed Vanessa a tall glass.
The dark bags under her eyes sagged as she peered at the front door. “I’m not sure. The dome maybe? They like to go socialize.” Vanessa sighed and took a long sip of her drink, squinting at Alice’s heavy-handed
