Page 26 of My Alien Jewel

With bated breath, I watch as Nikolai’s hands hover an inch away from my waist. I’m not afraid. Not one bit. I crave his hands on me, even if it makes no sense.

I look up into Nikolai’s spellbinding eyes and nod my consent. He’s grabbing me before I’ve even finished the motion, as if he too is struggling to keep his hands away.

I squeal as he easily lifts me off the ground and sets me down in the hammock. The fabric immediately swallows me up and wraps around me like a true cocoon. Every time I try to sit up, the hammock sways, threatening to spill me out onto the floor. I should probably be scared, but I’m laughing so hard I can barely catch my breath. There’s no space for fear in my mind at the moment.

Nikolai’s laughing, too. He expertly steadies the fabric and helps me to sit up. “Sorry,” he apologizes between bursts of laughter. “I guess you’re a little too short and light for this thing.”

I cock my head, giving Nikolai the “you think?” look before erupting into another round of giggles. He watches my face with an expression I can’t really decipher. There’s glee and giddiness, but also something…more. Desire maybe? Something that should scare me but is only fueling my own desire for him.

It looks like I’m not just a nutjob anymore. I’m a horny nutjob.

“Scoot over,” is my only warning before Nikolai sits down beside me. The hammock rocks again, the fabric below me dipping, sending me sprawling sideways and against his body. Nikolai wraps his arm around my shoulders to help me hold still then hesitates. “Is this alright?”

I nod, even though “alright” is an understatement. It feels amazing. I can’t remember the last time I was this close to someone without being hurt. It’s nice just being held and comforted by a friendly soul. Scratch that, it’s alluring.

Nikolai pushes his foot off the floor, causing the hammock to rock softly. He keeps holding me, not saying anything. Words feel unnecessary.

I have to admit, I get the appeal of the rocking bed now as we sway back and forth a little. It’s comforting. Or perhaps the comforting part comes from the person beside me rather than the gentle rocking of the hammock. My crystals hum along to their strange new frequency. I really have to find out what it means and what it does to the people around me. Some frequencies can have unpleasant side effects and I don’t want to be walking around hurting anyone.

Nikolai isn’t hurting, though. He pulls me closer, resting his chin on the filthy scarf covering my hair. Now more than ever I regret pasting all of this filth on myself. Fuck, I must stink to the deepest caverns. It’s a wonder Nikolai can bear to be in the same room as me, let alone hold me like this.

He stretches his other arm out, his body tensing up slightly as he does. I think he even winced in pain.

Is he hurt? I shift to look at him, the question clearly written on my face.

“I’m fine,” Nikolai says, waving his hand dismissively. “I banged my elbow earlier and it hurts a bit. I…” He trails off. I wait for him to continue, to find different words for whatever he was about to say, but he doesn’t. He just shakes his head. “It’s nothing.”

I frown at Nikolai. When he looks away I gather my courage, then reach out and touch his chin, encouraging him to turn back to face me. I don’t have the datapad at hand to type my question, but I don’t need it. I give his chin a gentle squeeze, telling him I’m not letting him go until he tells me what’s going on.

Honestly, I have no idea where this bravery came from. Just yesterday, I wouldn’t have dared to touch him without permission, let alone demand anything from him. Now, it feels like the right thing to do.

Nikolai huffs, grabbing my chin in response. His touch sends sparks through my skin. “I don’t want to impose on you. It’s not really important but I’m a little curious. When we were locked in here together earlier, did you do something to ease my pain? Not that I want you to do it again if you did,” Nikolai corrects immediately. “It doesn’t really hurt that much and I can survive just fine,” he says with a smile, “but I’m really curious about what, if anything, you did do. You don’t have to tell me, of course. I absolutely respect that. I don’t want you to think I’ll use you for entertainment or experiments or anything terrible like that. You’ve been through enough already. Actually, forget it. I’m not—”

I place a finger over his mouth to silence him.

He’s right. Back when we were locked up here, I had been singing to myself, mostly to self sooth and alleviate the headache from the translator update. At the time, I didn’t even realize he could sense it, but of course he could.

By now, he probably knows exactly what I am. His request that I come to the main ship area with him could be a trick to capture me. Except…I know that it’s not. That’s just the frightened slave part of me talking. The rest of me trusts Nikolai implicitly.

I usually close my eyes to tune my crystals to the right frequency but here with Nikolai, I don’t need to cut myself off from the distraction of seeing terrible things happening around me. I start humming, feeling the vibrations increase until they resonate through my body. The other tune is still there, low and content, and it feels as if Nikolai’s body is returning it, even though that’s impossible. Silithrae are the only race that can sing like this.

His body relaxes as a contented smile slowly takes over his beautiful face. I’m still holding my finger over his lips, one of the few fingers that aren’t bandaged. The plump softness of his lips is alluring. I yearn to explore Nikolai more.

He surprises me by opening his mouth and nipping at the tip of my finger, holding it between his teeth briefly before letting go. There’s mischief in his eyes but also that dark, carnal desire from before, the same one I’m sure must be visible in my eyes too.

My breath hitches at the unexpected warmth of Nikolai’s hands as he cups my face, his eyes hypnotizing me.

“I shouldn’t,” he whispers, more to himself than to me. “I don’t want to take advantage of you. You’re traumatized and vulnerable…”

I am. I’m also desperate to kiss him.

Nikolai swallows roughly, my eyes tracking the movement of his throat before returning to his lips. The pull to him is irresistible.

I inch closer, looking into those rich umber eyes, stunned by the raw desire I find staring back at me. Desire for me. Z’Ree, a real life person. Not the gluttonous craving to own a Silithrae so he can make money from my abilities. His apparent desire tokiss me, touch me and do so much more than that is a heady feeling. I’m shocked to see Nikolai as desperate for me as I am for him.

“I shouldn’t,” he repeats, clearly not believing his own words as he tips my head back. “I really shouldn’t.”

“Ni…ko…lai,” I beg, my voice little more than a hoarse whisper, barely audible.