Page 42 of Across The Stars
But then I felt his finger brush lightly over mine and that sent a shiver right through me. I really didn’t want him to move awayfrom me and judging by the way he just stood there staring, I assumed he was struggling just the same.
Or was that hopeful thinking?
Then his face changed and I could tell that he’d come to his senses.
We both pulled away from each other like something had startled us. He had a similarly stunned look on his face as he took his hands off the table and put a little space between us. He inhaled long and slow breaths as if meditating and then let out a low growl that should have scared me. Especially considering it didn’t sound entirely human. Except it didn’t. I felt that all the way in my marrow.
Vahko lifted his gaze and looked at me with a dreamy intensity that made his eyes glaze over. I glanced at his hands, which were balled into fists by his sides. Then he cleared his throat and stepped further from me before finally walking to a digital panel near the door. He pressed a finger to one of the commands on the screen and spoke.
“Salukh,” he said. Then he continued talking in a tongue I didn’t understand. Another voice came from the other end and I watched, wondering what was being said until Vahko turned to me again.
“The Nexus has been contacted,” he said.
“Ok,” I said.
“Get some rest for now. I’m needed on the bridge.”
He ended the conversation and turned his gaze completely toward me. I wanted to thank him, but my voice was caught in my throat. Instead, I expressed my gratitude with a soft smile that seemed to intrigue him. He tilted his head at me again like an inquisitive animal, his eyes focusing briefly on my lips. I didn’t understand why, but knowing he was staring at my lips made my core throb again. Hell, everything he did made me warm and tingly inside. Fuck.
He’s an alien. You’re bleeding all over the place. Sam is gagging on her own bile right next to you.
None of it was particularly romantic…
Finally, he blinked, inclined his head, and turned, tapping a command onto the control panel that made the door slide open. He slipped through it, letting it close behind him, and left me alone with Sam and a million-billion-thousand questions.
19: Vahko
I walked down the hall of the ship, trying to shake the wave of annoying sensations that were tickling my nerves. I headed straight for the bridge where I found Salukh a getting ready for a warp toward Sylos. I avoided eye contact with my too-observant first officer and I slumped into the copilot seat with a heavy sigh.
“That bad, huh?” Salukh said with a teasing smile. He raised a brow toward the hall where I had come from. “That’s her, isn’t it? The one you brushed hands with.”
I glared at him but couldn’t deny it. Even if I hadn't known what she looked like, I would be able to recognize what she was doing to my body. I let my head fall back against the chair and groaned.
“It is not a surge,” I said, more to convince myself than Salukh. “A surge is pleasurable. This is an annoyance. The female makes focusing cumbersome. I feel as if my legs will give out and my skin burns.”
“Come on. You’ve surged before. You know how this works.”
“It didn’t feel like this before.”
“Well, you’re supposed to mate with her,” Salukh said with a shrug, pushing a command on the control panel to make the ship jolt forward into a jump.
“It’s out of the question. She’s a human. And from what I’ve gathered, not a very smart one.”
“You sure she isn’t just a little mixed up after being thrown around in a space crash?”
“Perhaps. But it’s beside the point. Her friend doesn’t even seem to be acclimated to space travel. I’d expect more from Nexus employees.”
“You sure you’re not just making every excuse you can think of to deny what happened between you two?” Salukh chuckled, spinning his chair to face me. “You had time to exchange ten words with her since I left the infirmary. You can’t know her that quickly.”
“I don’t want to know her. You’re suggesting I should pursue something simply because of some biological mistake that has caused my body to react to hers. She is a human.”
“Human. Gek’tal. Valerian. Monrian. We’re all spun with the same fibers, just with different weaves. We’re not as different from them as you’re pretending we are and you know it.” He raised his hands in surrender when I tossed him a hardened look. “Look, you told me to go to Sylos instead of to the Nexus.”
“The Nexus security protocols would be tiresome right now. We’ll get things sorted over comms.”
“You think Sylos won’t have tight security right now? No human has ever been there. They’ll have questions.”
“We’ll deal with all of that once we land.”
