Page 11 of Tomlin

“That was fast.”

“I simply needed to convey some information.”

She waited to see if he would elaborate, but instead he began on their meal. He quickly put together a simple but delicious salad accompanied by a toasted cheese sandwich. They ate silently and even though she enjoyed the food, she was more interested in the enigmatic man sitting across from her. Despite the tension she sensed beneath that calm facade, it seemed just as right to have him there.

“Now,” she said as soon as they finished. “Are you going to tell me what happened yesterday?”

“I should -”

“The dishes can wait,” she said firmly, anticipating his next move. “Talk to me.”

“What do you think happened?”

He was looking down at his hands, clearly playing for time, but then she hadn’t expected him to suddenly start revealing all his secrets.

“You were clearly affected by something in the lab - and I suspect it was the morchev since that was the reason you came here in the first place. Not only that, I felt… something when I touched you.”

That brought his head up and she was sure that the blue tint to his eyes had intensified.

“What did you feel?” he asked urgently.

“I’m not entirely sure. It was like a type of electricity.”

One that had sent a rush of arousal through her body, but he didn’t need to know that. She had the impression that her answer wasn’t what he expected but he didn’t comment.

“And your eyes changed,” she added. “They turned blue.”

“Perhaps it was a trick of the light.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Part of being a scientist is learning to observe. I know what I saw. You aren’t entirely human, are you?”

There was a very long silence before he slowly shook his head.

“No.”

Why did he seem so determined to hide it? There were plenty of other races on Cresca, although admittedly it was more unusual away from the city. Most of the settlements were predominantly human, but even Wainwright - a town founded by a remarkably old-fashioned man - had come to terms with both a nearby ranch and a farming community founded by former alien warriors.

Of course, acceptance didn’t mean liking but he didn’t seem like the type of man - of male - to be overly concerned with that.

“Why does it bother you so much that you revealed yourself to me? For that matter, why did you?”

“It is complicated.”

“I believe I’m capable of understanding complex situations,” she said dryly, and a hint of a smile crossed his lips for the first time.

“I am sure you are. As for why, I am… susceptible to the morchev.”

That certainly didn’t surprise her, but she still had the feeling he was concealing something.

“In what way?”

Another long silence before he sighed.

“The stones enhance certain psychic reactions in some people.”

“That’s fascinating. What kind of reactions? Does the size of the stones make a difference? Or is it simply proximity? Or…” Embarrassed at the barrage of questions when he was clearly uncomfortable, she made herself stop. “I’m sorry. My first reaction is always to ask more questions.”

“I’ve noticed,” he said, lips quirking again.

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