Page 20 of Her Alien Matchmaker
Jet strode through and stopped, keeping himself to the shadows.
“What are you doing, lurking back there?”I smiled, making sure he knew I was joking.
He shifted on his feet, as if nervous.
Of all the things I’ve seen from him, nervousness has never been one of his traits.
I took Aaron’s hand, and we walked to where the alien stood, my eyes adjusting to the darker areas.
He licked his lips, his eyes darting away from mine.
I frowned.“What’s is it?What’s wro—” My gaze fell on his arms, which were no longer the color of human flesh, but a dusky lilac, the hue his skin had originally been before my experiments had mutated those genes.“Oh…”
“If you don’t like it, I can get them to change it back,” he said, a note of despair in his tone.
“Absolutely not.”I reached out and traced a finger along his bare arm.“You are beautiful just as your gods intended.XVU had no business doing that to you.I’m sorry.”
He stepped forward and cupped my cheek.
“Ew.Are you two going to kiss?”Aaron released my hand and backed away, his nose wrinkled.
“We absolutely are.”I slid my fingers on top of his then reached for the back of his neck, pulling his face to mine.“Maybe we can do more than kiss after he goes to bed,” I whispered, “because I really want your lovely skin on mine.”
Jet bit back a low growl, then placed his lips to my mouth, his forked tongue probing inside.
Aaron’s little voice brought me back to my senses as he made commentary to his stuffed animal about how gross the two adults in the room were.
Chuckling, I pulled back from Jet but kept hold of his hand, then outstretched my other arm for Aaron.He curled his little fingers into mine, and the three of us walked out of the bay, heading to the cafeteria for dinner.
After an hour at a secluded table, I learned Aaron had made five new friends in his class, one of them a Volderen youth two years older.His teacher had advanced his math level to college algebra, and a human named Professor Janeway, had introduced him to anthropology, which he loved.
“Next week, Xyra is going to teach a special class about cybernetics.Isn’t that cool?Maybe I can build a real-life Crockett that can talk to other crocodiles.”
Jet had been busy coordinating Volderen intel on XVU’s projects, which had dwindled over the past few weeks as more and more issues came to light, prompting both sides of Congress to drill down deeper into special funding into the DoD budget as they ferreted out the shadow government.
I hope they pull the plug on everything.Earth will be safer with them disbanded.All they’ve managed to do so far is cause pain and sow division.The country deserves the truth about our place in the universe, but not until XVU has been taken care of.
The new nanny, a Volderen named Orryxen with long, white hair, strode to the table and stopped, giving us a nod.“Aaron, are you ready to come over and play with Xelorith?He has been super excited about your first sleepover.”
I glanced at Jet, my confusion probably evident.
“I hope you do not mind.I thought, perhaps, we could have some alone time?”He tilted his head as he watched my face.“But if you do not wish it, I completely understand.”
Aaron clasped his hands together, his eyes pleading.“Please say yes.Xelorith said he has a stuffed animal collection of nearly all the animals on Voldera.I’ve never seen alien animals before.Well, maybe on the holo tablets and in the classroom, but that’s not the same.”
“Oh Lord.”I ruffled his hair.“It’s fine with me, but if you get scared or want to come home, don’t hesitate to call me and we’ll come get you, okay?”He’d slept over at Myra’s house a few times before, so I didn’t think he’d get chicken out, but I wanted him to know he could always come home no matter what.
“Yay!”He threw his napkin to the empty tray and stuffed his new toy into his backpack.“I’ll see you tomorrow.”A quick peck on my cheek, a big hug to Jet, and he was skipping beside Orryxen, his constant questions fading as they passed through the doors leading into the circular hallways forming most of Atlantis’ structure.
My bedroom, lit only with holographic candles and soft Volderen music pouring from the speakers in the ceiling above the round bed, had become my oasis.
Jet stood in the doorway, his brown eyes wide as he watched me deliberately peel off my pants and toss them into a corner.“Are you sure?”
“We’ve been dating for two months.I’m ready to move to the next level of this relationship, ifyou’reready.”I sat on the edge of the bed and lifted my shirt over my head and threw it on the floor.
“Gods, I have been ready since I first laid eyes on you.”
“Seriously?If I remember correctly, the first time we truly met is when I said I’d be performing procedures on you for the betterment of humankind.”The shame of that meeting, and the dozens before him, cooled my desire.
