Page 73 of Reluctantly Abducted
"Relaxing," I repeat, testing the word. "Yes, I suppose that is the common terminology."
"And how do you feel about this relaxing business?" he asks, his hands tracing patterns on my abdomen that match the bioluminescence flowing beneath my skin.
"I find it has certain merits I had not fully appreciated before," I admit.
"High praise," he teases gently, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. "Coming from you."
We fall into comfortable silence again, the only sounds the gentle lapping of water against the edges of the pool and our synchronized breathing. I find myself calculating how long we've been floating here—approximately 37 minutes of unstructured time that I would previously have considered wasteful.
Now, though, I find myself reluctant for it to end. There will be time later for assessments, for measurements, for the formal evaluation protocols that are ostensibly the purpose of these seventy-two hours. For now, I am content to float in Owen's arms, my skin glowing with a steady, peaceful light that reflects off the surface of the water around us.
"Owen?" I say after a while.
"Mm?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
I consider the question carefully. "For teaching me that efficiency is not always the optimal approach."
His arms tighten slightly around me, and I feel him smile against my hair. "You're welcome," he says simply. "Though for the record, I think you're pretty perfect exactly as you are—efficient tendencies and all."
The words create a sensation in my chest that I can't quite name, but that sends waves of bioluminescence pulsing outward from my heart. Not for the first time since meeting Owen Hayes, I find myself at a loss for precise scientific terminology.
And not for the first time, I find I don't particularly mind.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Owen
Eventually, we make our way out of the hydration pool, our skin wrinkled from the long soak. I grab a drying cloth and run it over my body, watching as Ry does the same, his movements precise and efficient even in this simple task. The bioluminescence beneath his skin has settled into a gentle, steady glow that I'm beginning to recognize as contentment.
"Do you want to get dressed?" I ask, realizing I don't particularly care about clothing at the moment. The ship's environmental controls keep the temperature perfect, and there's something freeing about the casual intimacy of nudity after last night.
Ry hesitates, his hand hovering over his discarded pants. "Is clothing necessary?"
"Not for me," I reply with a smile. "But whatever you're comfortable with."
He considers this for a moment, then picks up the pants. "I'm comfortable like this with you," he says with a slight smile, "but I'd prefer to wear something in the common areas."
I nod, watching as he pulls on the pants. They sit low on his hips, revealing the subtle differences in his anatomy—the slight indentation along his sternum, the faintly raised patterns along his ribs that glow more intensely than the surrounding skin. Without a shirt, he looks less like the formal researcher I first met and more like someone real, someone vulnerable.
"Common areas it is," I say, retrieving my own pants from where I'd left them by the pool. "I'm starving. Breakfast?"
"Yes," Ry agrees with a smile. "What did you have in mind?"
"Something special," I say, taking his hand as we leave the hydration chamber. "And I'm making it myself, not just having the synthesizer do all the work."
"Ah, another of your 'cooking is better than efficiency' demonstrations," he says, but his eyes are bright with anticipation. "I admit I've come to appreciate your approach."
"You're learning," I reply with a grin, leading him toward the nutrition center. "Just wait until you see what I have planned."
The nutrition center is familiar territory by now. I head straight to the synthesizer console and start inputting commands for the ingredients I need.
"What are you making?" Ry asks, leaning against the counter beside me.
"Waffles," I say, continuing to input commands for the ingredients. "I can't believe I haven't made these for you yet."
