Daughter of the Alien Warrior - Honey Phillips Page 0,21
rumbled as if in response and she laughed. “Now that you mention it, I am kind of hungry.”
“You hunger?” He looked as appalled as if she had said she was starving. “Captain Armad should have taken better care of you.”
“Calm down, big guy. He did offer us food, but I was too anxious to eat anything.”
He still looked upset, but he nodded abruptly.
“I will prepare a meal immediately.” He unbuckled his harness and stood up.
“You don’t need to, uh, steer the ship?”
He laughed for the first time, a low rumble that made her insides quiver. “No, my letari. The Flower will remain on autopilot until we approach Trevelor. You may remove your harness if you wish.”
She fumbled at the control but whatever he had done to tighten the straps had changed the settings.
“Can you help me?” Her voice sounded breathless again.
His eyes darkened as he leaned over, his scent surrounding her. His intriguingly textured cheek was only inches from her mouth, and she gave in to a foolish impulse. As he released the straps, she leaned forward and brushed her mouth against his cheek, his skin cool and dry beneath her lips.
He leapt back as if she had branded him with a hot poker, his hand reaching up to cover the place where her lips had touched. Had she offended him?
“Why did you do that?”
Her own cheeks were on fire, but she lifted her chin defiantly. “It was just a kiss. I just wanted to thank you for what you’re doing. I’m sorry if it offended—”
“Oh, no. You did not offend me. You would never offend me by touching me.”
His dark gaze was so intense that she dropped her eyes, catching a glimpse of his erection straining at his pants as she did so. Her lips curved even as the heat in her cheeks intensified. No, he was definitely not offended.
Chapter Eight
Inzen awoke long before his ship’s lights began to brighten to signify the coming day. He had not been on Driguera long enough for his system to acclimate so he suspected the cause of his wakefulness was the female lying in the bunk beneath him. The previous evening had filled him with a sense of satisfaction but also an immense longing.
Preparing a meal for her and watching her eat fulfilled his need to protect his female. Not my female, he reminded himself yet again. But it felt right to provide for her. Unfortunately, watching her eat and hearing her little moans of appreciation and watching her lick those strange, tempting lips had aroused more than his protective instincts. Since there was little he could do to control his unruly shaft, he resigned himself to making the trip with a permanent erection. He only hoped that Jade was not offended by his arousal.
After the meal, she converted the table to her sewing area, starting with the oversized bronze garment. He had tried to interest himself in a book—he read a great deal on space flights—but he kept finding himself watching her instead. She hummed happily as she cut and seamed the material with sure hands. At one point she looked up and smiled at him.
“The shopkeeper was right. This seaming tool is a vast improvement over needle and thread.”
“You seem very familiar with the process. Is that your profession on Earth? A seamstress?”
“Not exactly,” she said evasively, then sighed and shook her head. “I forget that no one up here cares who I am.”
“Is it confidential?”
“No. But my… business is—was—very successful and people tended to act differently once they knew who I was.” He could read the sorrow on her face and his tail flicked towards her, seeking to comfort her, but then she pushed away the melancholy. “My sobo—my grandmother—taught me to sew when I was so young I can barely remember learning. I intend to teach my daughter as well.”
She bent back over her sewing and he hoped she had missed his guilty start. Lily was already fascinated by Cassie’s dressmaking, but he usually attempted to distract her, only too aware of the dangers in the sharp scissors and heated seaming tool. Would Jade be as cognizant of the dangers they represented?
The words rang hollow. This female had followed her daughter into an unknown universe; she would never be careless with her wellbeing. If Lily is even her child, he reminded himself.
As the hour grew later, he saw her yawn several times and was about to suggest that they adjourn when she stood up and shook out the