Page 44 of Alien's Heart
Maybe that was at the heart of her smittenness. Years of struggling to have her work as a researcher taken seriously, being called every name under the sun, and having the integrity of her work questioned had diminished Ruth. Nox saw her. Saw her value. Saw value in her work.
Totally smitten.
Ruth followed Nox into their home. She didn’t know where things were headed with him but she couldn't wait to find out.
* * *
The followingmonth went by in a happy blur.
Ruth discovered Nox in the kitchen. He discovered a surprising aptitude for cooking, which shouldn’t have been a surprise considering how much he liked playing with knives. Today flour decorated the floor, and the aroma of sugar and hot oil filled the kitchen. His pet, Little Hunter, snoozed on a chair.
Nox hummed out of tune to the music playing over the speakers and his tail swaying, which was quite the sight as he only wore an apron. No pants. No briefs. Just an apron.
“That smells good,” she said, stopping to pat the wuap. She blinked her sleepy eyes, chirped, and tucked her head back down.
Nox turned around, a slotted spoon in one hand and flour on the front of his shirt. “It is jalum.”
“What is it?” Ruth tried to get a peek at the deliciousness going on in the pan, but Nox blocked her view.
“It is a surprise. Wait.”
Well, that was garbage. She tried to reach around him for a bowl holding fresh goodies, but he batted her hand away.
“No. Your behavior will cause an accident,” he scolded.
“Says the man not wearing pants.”
“Iamwearing an apron.”
“Just a bite. Please,” she said in her sweetest voice.
His demeanor softened. With a finger, he lifted her chin until they looked each other in the eyes. “If you are good and wait patiently, kitten, you will be rewarded.”
“It’s not fair when you do that,” she grumbled, sitting down because she wanted to, not because Nox used his sexy voice and promised rewards.
At least the view was nice. Occasionally Nox looked over his shoulder, tail doing that thing, and winked.
It was a very nice view.
“These are cool enough to consume. Now close your eyes.”
Her heart did something when he got bossy. She shouldn’t like it and definitely shouldn’t let him know how much she liked it. His ego was large enough. No stroking required. Well, not that kind of stroking.
Ruth smirked, not being above a dick joke. She was only human. Who would have thought, her, making a crass joke? A month ago, she never would have dared.
A month ago, she didn’t have Nox.
“Keep them closed,” he warned. “Open.”
She opened her mouth to have a warm, syrup-drenched ball of dough pressed to her lips. She took a bite.
“Good kitten,” he said, making that rumbly noise that sounded like a purr.
She licked her lips. “It’s a doughnut.”
“Jalum,” he repeated. “Someone once told me that every cuisine had some form of fried dough ball. This is the Tal version.”
Ruth took the fork from Nox and grabbed another morsel from the bowl.
