When they stopped in front of a stall with large brown cloaks, Lauren’s brows furrowed.
The merchant for the stall appeared a second later. He looked like an old slug hovering on a light blue ring.
Lauren stiffened, her eyes going wide, her entire being suddenly flooded with a singular thought: RUN!
She knew this type of alien.
It’d been his kind that had taken her from Earth.
18
His mood was sour.
The exchange.
The males.
Their attention.
It was all rubbing him the wrong way.
Stopping by a cloak merchant, he set to buy the female one of the garments when he realized that she’d suddenly stiffened.
Her eyes wide, she was taking small steps back into the throng, her gaze fastened on the merchant.
Riv frowned, his attention moving from her to the merchant and back.
She was looking at the Isclit as if it was a phantom.
Quickly transferring credits for the cloak, he moved to the human’s side and it seemed she didn’t even realize he was there.
Her chest was heaving, her forehead damp. Her eyes were wide, but it was clear she wasn’t seeing anything there and now. She was seeing something else in her mind.
Something far away.
Something gone a long time ago.
“Female,” he said, but that didn’t seem to break her from her trance.
“Female!”
Nothing.
An uneasy feeling began to grow within him and he grasped the female by her shoulders, bringing his face close to hers. “La-rehn?” He shook her lightly. “La-rehn!”
It took a few moments for her to focus on him.
“Riv?” she said.
Her eyes nictated like wild googloos as she searched his face.
“Riv,” she repeated before gripping his hands holding her shoulders.
Before he could move away, she moved into him, pressing her face against his neck as she inhaled deeply and her shoulders shook.
Riv stiffened, his eyes going wide, his heart ceasing to pump lifeblood.
Every principle he’d taught himself, every rule he’d followed were being broken right at this moment.
His life code told him to push her away, but every neuron in his brain said no.
She was obviously affected by something. Something was very wrong. And though he knew females were deceptive, this didn’t seem like an act of some kind.
This seemed real.
Swallowing hard, he found he couldn’t move.
Instead, he let her bury her face against him as the world slowed down around them.
He could feel moisture against his neck as her hot breath warmed his skin.
He could feel a lot of things—everything except anger and irritation.
Those weren’t there right now and that surprised him. It made him feel lost a little.
With the female so close, he’d thought that’d be the only thing he’d be feeling.
But those feelings were missing and for the first time in a long while, he felt…unladen.
He could feel La-rehn calming down against him. Her breathing was evening out as her body relaxed. Just a little, for there was still tension in her bones.
It took a while before her body stopped shaking and he wrapped the cloak around her shoulders, raising the hood so her face was mostly hidden.
Was it the males that were making her react like this?
He hadn’t known her for long but he’d never seen her so …vulnerable…and it tugged at something within him.
He could hardly find his voice as he spoke.
“Wear this. Then they won’t be able to see you easily.” He swallowed and continued. “You can choose who deserves your attention then. With the cloak, no one will know you’re a new species here.”
The female sniffed and wiped her eyes.
She eased off him but she didn’t meet his gaze.
“T-ank yoo butt izz not dat.”
For the first time, he really wished he could understand what she was saying.
She wiped her eyes again and finally met his gaze.
Her eyes looked slightly red and he opened his mouth to ask about it before closing it again.
Her shoulders were still stiffened and she seemed extremely wary, her eyes moving back to the merchant.
Riv turned to look at the merchant too but the old Isclit wasn’t paying them any attention.
“Let’s go,” he said and the human nodded, moving by his side.
Whatever had caused that reaction lingered, for as they walked, her shoulders remained stiffened and though he couldn’t see her face now because of the cloak, he could see her head move as she surveyed the crowd of shoppers.
Whatever had set her off was still in her mind and she hastened her steps beside his, as if she couldn’t wait to leave the exchange.
He couldn’t wait either, but her response was sending alarms bells ringing all throughout his mind.
It was not until they reached the tech center, where most of the stalls had gadgets and off-world technology, that the human stopped walking suddenly and grabbed his hand.
Her other arm shot out of the robe as she pointed across the street at something.
A specific stall.
As he allowed her to weave him through the throng toward the stall, Riv fastened on her hand holding on to his.
Her skin was pale against his blue, a contrast that kept him staring at their skin touching.
He should pull away. He should break this physical contact.
He just…couldn’t.
And he didn’t know the phek why.
La-rehn stopped in front of the stall and pulled the hood of her cloak back.
“Xid,” she said. “Mee talk too yoo.” She pointed to herself then back at him. “Hee kyann help.”
Riv’s brows furrowed a little before his gaze moved to the stall’s merchant, who was rising from beneath the stall.
The long, gray neck of the peeli merchant appeared. The alien blinked at them with large, dark eyes.
A flash of excitement crossed La-rehn’s features.
“Da lan-gwedge up-lohd. Kyann yoo gihv it too him?” She motioned to him and Riv narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what she was saying.
The merchant blinked at her.
“Da lan-gwedge up-lohd!” La-rehn made an exasperated sound before she began miming something, using her free hand to make an open and shut motion, which she mimicked with her mouth.
Riv glanced back at the merchant.
There were language disks in the back of the stall
