Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
“Sex can’t be just for sex?”
“Maybe I’m a strange sort, but every time I’ve had sex just for sex, I didn’t like it. Left me uncomfortable.” He shrugs, still not looking me in the eye. “I need more. And when I saw you again, well, I guess I wanted something different from you.”
“I…don’t know if I should be offended or not. What do you mean?”
Brux rubs his hard mouth again. “Kef. I’m saying this all wrong. I just…” He turns and walks away, and my heart stops all over again. A moment later, he changes his mind and turns back to me. “Where was I born?”
Now I’m the one confused. “Huh?”
“Where was I born?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“Where did I lose my horns?” Brux waves an oversized hand at his large head and the two capped stumps. Then, he gestures at the side of his neck, which is covered in black symbols. “Or this tattoo?”
I shrug.
“What am I allergic to?”
I’m on the verge of being offended, because I feel as if I’m being set up to fail. “I don’t know. Is this a test?”
“No, this is me proving a point.” Brux surges toward me again, his hand out, his expression eager. He stops himself just before he touches me and takes a step back once more, lowering his hand. “When we have sex, I want it to be because we know each other—all the beautiful and all the ugly parts—and want to go further.”
“When?” I ask.
“When,” he agrees. “Because I can’t stop thinking about you, either. But right now, all I know about you is that your name is Melody and I saved you once. All you know about me is that I’m the one that saved you. Shit isn’t squared between us. It’s not even. It’s all fucked up. Do you understand?”
My heart squeezes. I nod. “Because if we just have sex then you feel no better than the ones that used me in the past.”
His shoulders sag. “Exactly. And maybe you can look past it, but I can’t.”
That stupid knot forms in my throat again. “So how do we fix this?”
Brux gives me a sincere look. “I’d like for us to become friends.”
I want to laugh because it’s the silliest, most obvious of solutions and one that didn’t occur to me in the slightest. “I’d like that, too. I’d love to get to know more about you. But…aren’t you leaving?” I gesture in the direction of the space port. “Your work is done, right?”
“For the majority of the crew, yes. Typically after a large job there’s at least one crew member that stays on to ensure everything is running smoothly. No issues with the elevators, or wiring, or any bad circuits. It’s mostly just maintenance. I volunteered for this job, and since I’m the crew lead, I get to pick who stays.”
I don’t know if I should smile or not. He says it all so seriously, his expression so severe.
“So you’re staying? So we can become friends?”
He nods.
“Well, can I invite you to hang out, then?”
“Hang…out?” He blinks at me.
Oh. “Spend time together. Have dinner maybe. I can show you my scrap projects I’m working on. We can make noodles.”
Brux hesitates again. “What kind of noodles?”
“I honestly have no idea. I can’t read the writing on the container. I just rip it open and hope it doesn’t taste like garbage.”
“Not chski,” he says, and then adds in a low voice. “Moden are allergic. My father’s father was part moden and it affects me.”
“How about you pick the noodles, then?” Happiness bubbles in my chest. “Maybe I’ll be in charge of entertainment.”
Brux smiles, flashing a hint of fang at me. “I would like that very much. Should I help you with your scrap first?”
There’s a warmth inside me that makes even the bright Risda sunlight feel dim in comparison. “I can manage on my own, but I wouldn’t turn down help from a friend.”
CHAPTER
NINE
BRUX
I follow Melody down the stairs to the workroom she has in the basement of the boarding house, and I sweat nervously the entire time. I’m flustered at the thought of being alone with her, of us becoming friends. She didn’t laugh at my suggestion, but took it seriously. Like it was something she hadn’t considered, either. I wish I could be more comfortable around her, but every time I relax, I start to think about how she’d kissed me and her smooth human tongue slid against mine.
Perhaps my thoughts aren’t as chaste as I’ve been claiming.
“Just set that stuff down anywhere,” Melody says as she gets to the basement and turns on the lights with a tap on the wall panel. “I’ll go through it this afternoon and see what gets immediate use. Please tell your crew I appreciate the donation.”
I grunt, because the crew had said some crude things about what Melody could do in exchange for the scrap, and I’d nearly lost my temper.