listened. “Okay. Thank you.”
Abandoning the phone, she rose. “It’ll be here in thirty to forty-five minutes. Why don’t you lie down and rest? I’m going to clean up a bit so you won’t have to make the delivery guy not see the blood.”
Barely able to remain on his feet, Taelon agreed and carefully lowered himself onto one of the chairs beside the table.
Chapter Six
Taelon swallowed the last bite of pizza and sighed. Several hours had passed and no soldiers had banged on the door or burst into the room wielding weapons.
He studied Lisa. Slumped in the chair across the small, wobbly table, she struggled to stay awake.
“You should rest,” he said softly, relieved when his voice emerged almost normal. His throat didn’t ache as much as it had when he’d spoken earlier, soothed by the cold tea drink Lisa had ordered, or perhaps by the warm cheese that coated the pizza he had devoured.
The cheese, Lisa had told him, was made from the milk of bovines. It reminded him of the soldalane his people sometimes dribbled on fruit back on Lasara.
She covered her mouth with a small hand to stifle another yawn. “I’m okay.”
He shook his head. “You can barely keep your eyes open.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I can barely keep my own open.”
She mustered a smile. “Let’s see if we can’t get a few hours of sleep then.”
He slid the bed a glance. There was only one in the room.
Her smile broadened. “Don’t worry. We’ll fit.”
His eyebrows rose. “Both of us? You would let me sleep beside you?”
She blinked. “Well, yeah. There’s only one bed.” She said it matter-of-factly, as though such was a foregone conclusion. “Although your feet will probably hang off the end. You’re really tall.”
He stared at her.
“What?”
“On my planet, unmarried females and males aren’t allowed to share a bed. It’s against the law.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? Even if they’re consenting adults?”
He nodded.
“Oh. Well, they can here.”
That might be a primary contributor to Earth’s overpopulation.
Concern about overpopulation on his planet and its network of terraformed moons was what had prompted the Lasaran people to enact that law.
Her cheeks pinkened. “I mean, it’s not like we’re going to do anything.” Anything sexual, her tone implied. “We’re just going to sleep.”
Still he frowned. “Your family will not object?”
Grief darkened her pretty features. “I don’t have family. They died.”
Reaching across the table, he took her hand. “I’m sorry.”
She squeezed his fingers, then winced and sucked in a sharp breath. She dropped her free hand to her belly.
His concern deepened. “You’re in pain. You need a medic.”
She didn’t speak for a moment while she breathed deeply in and out. “That wouldn’t be wise.”
“Why?”
“We’ll discuss that later. Let’s get some sleep first.” Releasing him, she rose, headed into the bathroom, and closed the door.
Taelon grabbed the long weapon she had confiscated from the soldier back in the lab and leaned it against the wall next to the bed. Lisa emerged a couple of minutes later.
Every move sparking agony, Taelon made his way into the bathroom to use the facilities. When he returned to the bedroom, Lisa was already in bed, curled up on her side under the blanket. He left the light on in the bathroom and turned off the overhead light in the main room, then limped over to the bed. As he drew the covers back on the unoccupied side, he expected her to change her mind and tell him to sleep on the floor or in a chair. But she didn’t. The mattress dipped beneath his weight as he sat on the edge.
Lisa stiffened to keep from rolling into him, then relaxed once he stretched out on his back.
He held his breath until the pain the simple movement inspired lessened, then let it out in a tired sigh. He turned his head and studied her in the dim light.
Her eyes glistened. When she blinked, moisture slipped past her lashes and slid toward the mattress.
His heart clenched. Rolling onto his side, he cupped her face in one hand and brushed away a tear. “Is it the pain?” he whispered, still uncertain what the doctors had done to her.
“No,” she replied softly, her voice thick with tears. “It’s just… everything catching up with me. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He had wanted to weep many times since he’d been captured and realized just what those butchers had probably done to his sister.
Her breath hitched in a sob. “Brad died trying to save me.”
He fought a frown. “Who is Brad?” She had said she