Page 9 of Accidentally Abducted

"Because..." Jake runs a hand through his hair, and I notice that his hand is not entirely steady. "Because it makes me want to do things that might be moving too fast for a fake compatibility assessment."

"What kinds of things?"

Jake is quiet for a moment, and I can see him weighing his response. When he speaks, his voice is careful but honest. "Things like finding out if you glow everywhere when you're aroused, or if it's just your face and chest."

The bluntness of the statement sends heat racing through my entire nervous system, and I feel the luminescence flare brighter. "Jake..."

"And things like finding out if you make those little surprised sounds when someone touches you the way you do when you taste something you like."

I am quite certain that I have stopped breathing entirely. "That would be... highly irregular."

"Yeah, well, this whole situation is pretty irregular." Jake leans back in his chair, but his eyes never leave mine. "Question is, are you interested in finding out the answers to those questions, or would you prefer to stick to the structured compatibility assessment schedule?"

I consider this question seriously, though my capacity for rational thought is somewhat compromised by the way Jake is looking at me and the increasingly urgent signals my body is sending.

"The scheduled assessment parameters," I say slowly, "did not account for the possibility of genuine mutual attraction developing within the first twenty-four hours."

"No, I bet they didn't." Jake grins, and the expression is both amused and heated. "So what do you want to do about that?"

What do I want to do? I want to discover whether Jake's skin is as warm as it appears. I want to learn whether the sounds he makes when he is pleased with food are similar to the sounds he might make under other circumstances. I want to explore whether the careful way he touches things when he is being gentle extends to how he might touch me.

I want to abandon every protocol I have ever learned and follow the growing luminescence under my skin to whatever conclusion it might lead.

"I want," I say carefully, "to deviate from the established parameters."

"Deviate how?"

I meet his eyes directly, letting him see the full extent of the golden glow that I can no longer suppress. "I want to kiss you. I want to discover whether your skin tastes as good as it smells. I want to learn what makes you make those small sounds of pleasure, and I want to find out whether you truly find my... responses beautiful, or whether you were simply being kind."

Jake is very still for a moment, and I begin to worry that I have overstepped some crucial boundary. Then he stands up from his chair and walks around the table to where I am sitting.

"Stand up," he says quietly.

I comply, rising to my full height, which means I am looking down at Jake from several inches above. He tips his head back to maintain eye contact, and the movement exposes the line of his throat in a way that makes the glow under my skin pulse stronger.

"For the record," Jake says, reaching up to touch my face with careful fingers, "I wasn't being kind. You're absolutely gorgeous when you glow. Like having my own personal aurora."

His touch sends sparks of sensation across my skin, and I feel the luminescence respond, brightening where his fingers make contact. "Jake..."

"And for the record," he continues, his thumb tracing along my cheekbone, "I'm very interested in deviating from the established parameters. But I need you to understand something first."

"What?"

"This isn't just curiosity or physical attraction," Jake says, his voice serious despite the heat in his eyes. "I mean, it definitely is those things, but it's not only those things. I like you, Zeph. I like the way your brain works and the way you ask questions and the way you care about getting things right. I like that you tried to make me pancakes because you wanted me to be comfortable."

My chest feels tight in a way that has nothing to do with bioluminescence and everything to do with the careful sincerity in Jake's voice.

"So if we're going to do this," Jake continues, "if we're going to explore whatever this is between us, I need to know that you understand it's not just a compatibility test anymore. At least not for me."

I look down at this human who has somehow managed to turn my entire understanding of this assignment upside down in less than twenty-four hours. Who makes me want to abandon protocols not because they are inconvenient, but because they seem irrelevant in the face of what I am feeling.

"It is not a compatibility test for me either," I tell him honestly. "It has not been since you started laughing at our research failures and making observations that are more insightful than three cycles of scientific analysis."

"Good," Jake says, and his smile is soft and real and makes my entire nervous system light up like a star. "In that case, I think we should definitely find out if you glow everywhere."

"That," I manage to say, despite the fact that my higher brain functions appear to have temporarily shut down, "would be acceptable research methodology."

Jake laughs, the sound warm and delighted. "God, I love the way you talk. Come here."

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