Page 23 of Alien's Challenge
He grabbed her hand, holding her by the wrist. “Leave them.”
“Sure. Sorry I’m all touchy. I’m not normally like this.” She tugged for him to release her, but he held firm.
She licked her lips. His eyes tracked her tongue, the vertical slits expanding. So strange. His features weren’t human, not even close, but he was good -looking with sharp cheekbones and a heavy jaw. He didn’t even have lips, not plump ones. What he had were thin and barely registered as lips. When he spoke, teeth flashed. Lots of teeth. How did his people kiss with mouths like that?
What would it be like to kiss him?
That idea seemed like the best idea in the world. She leaned in.
“Alice—”
She pressed her lips to his. She poured her desire into the kiss, moving her lips over his, and he…was unresponsive.
She jerked back, stumbling off his lap. She covered her mouth with her hands, like that could erase her unwanted advance. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Alice—”
The bed hit the back of her legs, and she tumbled down. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. Is this stress? It has to be.”
How long since she last slept? She couldn’t sleep on the train. Even locked in her crate, her mind wouldn’t quiet. Restless energy, plus fear, kept her wide awake. Fear was great at generating insomnia.
“Eat, then sleep.” Faris handed her a sandwich.
Food sounded good.
“My momma always said never make a big decision on an empty stomach,” she said, then frowned. Another fragment of her memory fell into place, but it did not make her feel better. She felt homesick.
Pleasantly thick slices of bread sandwiched a fried egg. It smelled divine. Eagerly, she bit into it. The fried egg had a rich, buttery flavor. It was simple but perfect.
“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to my mouth,” she decided.
Faris’ quills flexed. Judgy lizard.
“So, about my abduction—”
“Tomorrow,” he said, not allowing her to finish her question. He ate his sandwich in two bites and started on another.
“The one-word answers are losing their luster, to be honest,” she said between bites.
“I will answer any questions you have tomorrow. Does that satisfy you?”
“You know, if you’d just tell me, you’d be done already, but let’s continue to protest and tell me why you can’t spit it out now. It’s funny in that way that’s not really funny at all.”
“There is nothing to spit. Do all humans speak in such riddles?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” she said dryly.
His remaining quills went back. That probably wasn’t a good sign, but Alice wouldn’t apologize. She thought that was pretty damn witty.
“You need to sleep,” he grumbled.
“Trust me, if you don’t tell me, I’ll keep myself up worrying about it,” she said.
“You misunderstand. You were removed from a stasis pod less than three days ago. The drugs are still in your system, making you lethargic and dull-witted.”
“Watch it with the dull-witted comments,” she retorted.
He huffed. “To counteract this, you were injected with a stimulant. Do you recall an injection?”
