Page 20 of Resisting the Alien Commander

For far too long, I remain seated at the table with the queen’s words rolling around inside my head. But another voice creeps in and grows louder. It’s that of my mother, and her reminders of my many failures. I’m surprised she’s not here, actually. It would be so much like her to give her unasked for appraisal of the human females.

Originally Queen Veroneek wasn’t entirely in favor of Alik bringing them here. Not because they aren’t Bohnari. She is worried that, despite all indications the humans are compatible with our males, our people’s hopes for the future won’t come to fruition and we’re only going to wind up broken hearted and extinct.

Before I can help myself, my gaze wanders, but not for long. I home in on Quinn almost instantly, as though I sensed exactly where she’d be. That same unnamed feeling rears up again at the sight of her laughing with Bannik. He had been the first to approach her after the meal. In fact, he had been the first of any of the males to approach the females. The fact it was Quinn he went to isn’t lost on me.

Whatever this thing is I’m feeling, it’s powerful enough to make me stand and head in their direction. I shoulder my way past couples, while several automatically give me a wide berth, until I come to a stop in front of them. Quinn startles at my nearness. Bannik moves to put space between us, but somehow manages to refrain from taking a step back.

“Commander.” He dips his head in respect, but there’s a slight rise in his tone like he’s asking a question.

I ignore him and keep my focus on Quinn who meets my gaze with an arched brow. As if on cue, the music changes from fast-paced to a haunting melody that’s much slower.

“Would you like to dance?” The back of my neck suddenly itches. What am I doing?

She glances at Bannik before coming back to me and takes far too long to answer. “If you don’t mind bruised toes.”

“I doubt it will come to that.”

Quinn laughs and drops her gaze to my outstretched hand before placing hers in it. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

A sting of electricity sparks my skin the second we touch, but I refuse to acknowledge I felt it. She can’t stop her muscles from jerking though. Her eyes widen briefly, and she clears her throat. I guide her away from Bannik, and we join the other couples. Her skin is soft against mine and I can’t help but admire how different our coloring is. Whereas mine is a dark copper, Quinn’s is pale with only the barest hint of pink.

Together we move to the rhythm, our hands linked and our eyes locked on the other’s. Every other sound and person in the room fades away, leaving only the two of us. I have never been more aware of someone as I am of this female. I don’t care for the sensation and yet, at the same time, I sense myself yearning for it.

We dance in perfect sync. Almost like we’ve been doing it together forever.

“My toes appear to be surviving.”

Quinn’s lips curl and part to expose her white teeth with the tiniest gap between the top two. “The song’s not over.”

“Yet, I still believe they’ll continue to be safe.”

“I must be getting the hang of this dancing thing then.”

My head cocks. “Do you not have dancing on Earth?”

“Oh, no, we do, but it’s not really something us bottomers often have the opportunity to participate in. We’re too busy spending all our time working to try and pay our bills and make sure we have a large enough supply of protein bars to get by.”

Unless she is well-versed in hiding it, Quinn shares all of this without a hint of shame. Not that she has anything to be ashamed about, but I’m not sure I know of anyone who would share something as personal as casually as she.

“Does that bother you?”

She jolts. “Does what bother me?”

“Missing out on opportunities.” At first I’m not sure she’s going to answer. This is why I don’t talk to females. I can’t ever say the right thing. “Apologies. I should not have asked.”

To my surprise, Quinn’s smile is soft. “You have nothing to apologize for. The question just took me a little off-guard. I’m not sure if anyone has ever asked me that. Mostly, I think, because they want to forget I came from basically nothing. It can get a bit awkward for people when I mention being a bottomer. Like it’s contagious.”

“Bottomer? You’ve mentioned this twice now, but I’m not sure what that is.” Our translators are highly advanced and capable of learning, but that isn’t a word in any database we have access to.

“It’s slang, and not a really good kind some people would say.” Quinn lifts a single shoulder. “Bottomers is what some of the upper tier people call those of us from the bottom tier. I think they use it to remind us of our place.”

“Why do you use it, then?”

“Those from the upper tier say it to hurt us. To belittle us. Except it winds up meaning nothing when I say it. It’s lost the sting it’s meant to cause. Bottomers is nothing more than a single word instead of an insult or a weapon being lobbed.”

What Quinn says makes sense.

“And to answer your question,” she continues. “Before today, I would have said, no, it didn’t bother me to miss out on opportunities. You can’t really miss what you’ve never had, I suppose. But now, after spending an entire evening dancing and having fun? If I had to go back to the bottom tier for some reason, then, yeah…it would really bother me.”

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