Page 21 of Lorran
He was also younger than she expected. Then again, the last time she was this close to a genuine Mahdfel, she was barely four and a half feet tall. The aliens had all looked so old and huge, likegrab your mountain climbing gear, we’re going for a hikehuge. The roundness to Lorran’s cheeks gave him the appearance of youth.
Still handsome, though.
She gave him her best smile.
He reared back. “Who are you?”
The smile fell. “Wyn? Bronwyn?” He stared blankly at her. “Your mate?” Nothing. “We were matched three weeks ago?”
He blinked.
“There seems to have been a misunderstanding. We need to talk,” he said.
Well, shit. That never ended well.
Chapter 5
Wyn
“This is a complete surprise to you,” Wyn said. “This was going to happen. Well, not this. This is one of those we’ll-laugh-about-it-later moments. I mean, I volunteered for testing because I was nervous. We were always going to be matched.” She waved a hand and then tried to smooth back her curls.
Ugh. She fell asleep in her clothes, and now they were rumpled. Plus, no scarf for her hair and she felt greasy from the long-ass day and in need of a bath. How bad was her bedhead? Probably pretty horrific, judging from the way Lorran watched her hair spring back when she tried to tame it.
“Communications have been down,” he eventually said.
“For three weeks?”
His eyes narrowed, and he glanced toward the partition. “Yes. I have already spoken with management about my displeasure.”
Displeasure. Awesome. Great start.
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her head still ached, but not as badly as before.
“Your head,” he started to say.
“Is fine. I’m dehydrated. Can teleportation dehydrate you? Gross. Imagine just evaporating away while you’re in a million particles. Does teleportation work that way?”
“No. You are not deconstructed and reassembled,” he said and retrieved a container from the storage rack. He picked through a box, then a second.
Wyn admired the crisp line his uniform made as he turned his back to her, which was also gross because she didn’t need to be creeping on the guy. He did not seem thrilled about her arrival, and no amount of thirsting after the way his pants stretched over his buns would change that. Besides, now was not the time.Get a grip, woman.
Supplies in hand, Lorran returned. “A headache can be a symptom of several maladies. Teleportation sickness is one. Here. Drink. Eat.” He handed her a water cube and a silver foil packet.
“I haven’t seen one of these since I was a little kid,” she said. During the invasion, while her family sheltered in a refugee camp, all meals came in self-heating foil packets and water was contained in jiggly gelatin-like cubes. No packaging to worry about disposing of and easy to bite into, and the gelatin could even be eaten if you were hungry enough. Thankfully, Wyn had never been that hungry. The water cubes caught on and remained a staple, stocked in every convenience store, corner shop, and gas station.
She gripped the foil packet by the seal and crinkled the material. Instantly, the packet warmed. Steam erupted as she tore off the top, followed by a pungent chemical aroma. Wyn wrinkled her nose.
Yeah. That was why the foil packets never caught on. Everything sort of tasted the same and had a funky smell.
He waited as Wyn used the flimsy spoon to eat the…chili mac? Some ground meat with bits of pasta that looked like dime-sized grains of rice in an orange sauce that was definitely not cheese. She drained the water cube and stuffed the empty gelatin shell into the foil packet.
“Improved?” He scooped up the rubbish and fed it into a slot in the wall.
“Yes. I’m sorry for rambling. I’m nervous. Horribly nervous. I’ve been obsessing about this for weeks, wondering about you, and then I thought you planned a honey—” She nearly tripped over the word. “A get-to-know-you trip and here you didn’t even know I was coming.”
She looked around the shuttle. If he didn’t expect her, why were they going on a not-honeymoon? “Where are we going?”
“I am answering a distress call. You should not be here, but time is critical. I cannot return you.” His lip curled on mention of returning her, like he couldn’t wait to return her.
