her wrong. I want to protect her innocence and optimism always. "We should probably go to bed. It is late and you have training in the morning."
"Right." Kim looks thoughtful.
I reach over and pat her hand. "Do not worry. I am not asking to sleep with you. I will sleep in my workout room."
"Right. Of course." Kim offers me a halfhearted smile and gets to her feet. "Pleasant dreams, then. I'll see you in the morning."
"Until then."
Perhaps it is just my imagination, but it seemed as if Kim did not wish to sleep alone. I go to my hard, lonely bed, pleased. It will not be my lonely bed for long.
54
NASSAKTH
Things are falling into an easier pattern between myself and Kim, but there is still too much distance between us. She sleeps alone at night, she showers alone, and she works on her book in the afternoons. This is far too much time away from me, and I am a selfish sort of mate, so I look for ways to insert myself into her day.
I finish a brisk workout one afternoon and hunt for Kim, only to find her pursing her lips and glaring at the datapad's tiny screen. "What are you doing?"
She looks over at me and her face goes crimson. "Nothing."
Mmm. If it is nothing, it is an odd reason to turn so red. Curious. "You are writing in your story, yes?"
She relaxes a bit, her hand going over the screen. "Yes. I'm just trying to figure out this next scene."
"One that makes you unhappy? You were frowning."
Her face turns red again.
My ears prick. "You have never told me what this book is about."
"Haven't I?" she asks lightly, closing away the file and tossing the datapad aside oh-so casually. "I'm pretty sure I have. I told you, it's a romance."
"It is about a male and a female that mate, yes?"
"Marry," she says in a huffy voice. "They marry."
"Will you read it to me? What you are working on?" I move to pick up the datapad, intending to offer it to her.
To my surprise, Kim snatches it out of my hand. "No! It's private."
"But you said you post it for other human women to read—"
"That's different!"
She is acting very suspicious. "How is it different?"
"It just is!"
"You will not share it with me?" I narrow my eyes at her. She looks distinctly uncomfortable, the awkward expression on her face similar to the first time she fought with me in the war room, naked. Something about this is making her shy. "I can have the system read it aloud if you are uncomfortable—"
"No!" she yelps, clutching the pad to her chest. "Nassakth, NO." Her face is bright pink as she holds it away from me. "It's a love scene, all right? I'm writing a love scene."
"You write out…how they pleasure each other?"
"Maybe," she grumbles.
This is fascinating to me. "Do you…write of how I pleasure you with my tongue?"
My Kim hisses at me like an angry praxiian dam. "It's fiction. It's not about you."
"Do I inspire you?" I ask hopefully, and when she turns pink, I am pleased. "Do you need more inspiration?"
"Not right now, no." She glares at me ferociously. "You—"
My communicator chirps with an incoming call. I groan, wagging a finger at Kim. "We will continue this fascinating conversation momentarily." And I plan on using it as a way to get her to open up to me once more. I saunter over to the vid-panel in the wall and see Bethiah's name pop up.
Just like that, my happy mood dissolves.
There is a problem. There must be. The female has not yet returned for the rest of her bounty from Kim, which I thought was odd. If ever someone was driven by a love of credits, it is that female…and for her to leave them on the table is quite mysterious.
The communicator chirps again.
"Are you going to answer that?" Kim asks, glancing over at me.
"It is no one. An old friend in port I went drinking with," I lie, and then inwardly kick myself. Kim does not like lies. I cannot keep lying to her. I need to tell her the truth. I need—
"Hmph. Well, I'll leave you to it." She hugs her datapad to her chest and lifts her chin, leaving the room.
I breathe a sigh of relief and scramble for the communicator before Bethiah can hang up. I slap a hand on the connection panel, letting it read my fingerprints. "This had better be important, female," I growl at