Alienated

Chapter Seventeen

Cara hugged herself and shivered against the cold. Pulling her fluffy bathrobe collar around her neck, she shuffled her bare feet along the rough ground of the forest, wincing when an acorn pricked her heel. She knew this place—the kidney-shaped boulder and the black­ened tree, split in half by lightning. Aelyx’s meeting point. What on earth was she doing there? In her bathrobe?

A loud buzzing vibrated the air above, and she lifted her face to the treetops expecting to see a mutant-sized hornets’ nest. Instead, Aelyx’s chrome shuttle morphed into view, drifting slowly to the ground like a fallen leaf. She backed away, fearing the heat from its thrusters, but nothing touched her skin aside from a light breeze. The shuttle doors melted open, and Aelyx smiled from inside, strapped into the pilot’s seat.

“Come away with me.” He extended his hand like Peter Pan, ready to fly her to Neverland.

Forever? The word didn’t leave her lips, but somehow Aelyx heard. Still grinning, he nodded and motioned for her to come closer.

But what about Mom and Dad? Before Aelyx could reply, the crunch of footsteps sounded from behind, and she whirled around to find Eric and Tori regarding her. They were younger versions of themselves: Eric, the string-bean boy with bad skin and an easy smile, and Tori, the tiny seventh-grade firecracker wearing her goalie uniform, brush­ing her lips with the end of her long braid. They both had tears in their eyes.

“Are you really gonna leave us here to die?” Tori asked.

To die? Cara didn’t understand.

Someone grabbed her arm and she gasped, jerking awake.

“You okay?” Aelyx leaned over his desk, tilting his head in concern.

“Yeah.” She sat up and rubbed her eyes while darting a glance at her math teacher, who had his back to her. She’d never fallen asleep in class before, and she hoped he hadn’t noticed.

When the bell rang, Cara thought about the dream while following Officer Blake to her locker. It didn’t take a shrink to figure out the symbolism. If she were honest with herself—and she usually tried to be—she had to admit her feelings for Aelyx had moved beyond friendship. She didn’t want him to leave without her. The only part of the dream that didn’t make sense was Tori and Eric. Why would they care if she left? They had each other now, the backstabbing bastards.

“You look a little pale,” Blake said, studying Cara as she entered her combination. “Well, paler than usual, anyway.”

“I’m just tired. Couldn’t sleep last night.” When she turned to check the clock at the other end of the hall, she noticed Tori—the new and “improved” version—staring at her from the entrance to the girls’ bathroom.

Tori’s red-stained lips pressed into an unforgiving line, her once-laughing eyes narrowed into slits. If looks could kill, Cara would be sporting a toe tag right about now. Tori jerked a thumb toward the bathroom in a rude summons, but Cara shook her head. She had no desire to be alone with her former best friend.

All traces of Tori had vanished, both inside and out, and Cara wondered what she was capable of these days. Delivering a threat for her Patriot friends? Cara didn’t want to believe it, but then again, she’d never expected Tori to hook up with Eric, either. Cara’s golden-haired ex strolled to Tori’s side, taking her hand and towing her in the other direction. As she catwalked out of sight in her high-heeled boots, Tori glanced over her shoulder and burned one more death glare into Cara’s forehead.

Just like that, Cara forgot her locker combination. She was vaguely aware of Aelyx speaking, but couldn’t interpret his words over the throbbing pulse in her ears. What was Tori’s problem? It wasn’t enough that she’d destroyed their friendship—she had to declare some lame girlie-war, too?

Aelyx turned her face, meeting her eyes. “Elire, she wants to hurt you. Don’t give her what she wants.”

His voice boomed painfully inside her head. “Why are you shouting? I’m right h—” Suddenly, it occurred to her that Aelyx wasn’t talking. She heard his voice, uncomfort­ably loud, but his lips remained sealed, just like in the dream. “What the hell was that?” She bolted back, slamming her head against the locker door.

“Whoa.” Blake’s jaw dropped. “What’s with you?”

“Uh . . .” Cara rubbed the back of her head and thought fast. “I saw a mouse.” She pointed across the hall and clarified, “Over there.”

As soon as Blake stalked forward, eyes fixed on the floor, Cara whispered to Aelyx, “I don’t know what you just did to me, but we’re gonna try it again!”

“Twenty-seven.”

“Good.” Aelyx rewarded Cara with a fist bump that didn’t quite connect. He sat facing Cara on the beige-carpeted floor of his room, which she’d decided was the best setting for their experiment. It’s empty and completely boring, she’d said, so we won’t get distracted. The house was quiet, with Bill working a forty-eight-hour shift at the fire station and Eileen volunteering at the library.

He touched his forehead to Cara’s, stared into her wide blue eyes, and thought of another number.

“One thousand, two hundred and nine,” she said. “But can you stop yelling?”

He sat back, wondering why Silent Speech seemed loud to her. Perhaps her human brain wasn’t equipped to handle it. That would explain why he wasn’t able to fully connect with her cognizant mind. “I’m not yelling. There’s no volume control for thoughts.”

“So it doesn’t seem loud when you talk to other L’eihrs?”

“No.”

“Oh.” She slouched against the bed frame and swirled her fingertips across the carpet. “What’s it like when you hear it?”

“I hear thoughts like they’re spoken. But I can feel emo­tions, too. It’s one of the ways we know if someone is telling the truth. And we can project images and sensations.” He didn’t realize until then how much he’d missed communi­cating silently with his own people. During these past few months on Earth, he’d been more vocal than in a lifetime on L’eihr.

“Can I try sending you a thought?” she asked.

“Sure, but don’t expect too much. Receiving information’s easier than projecting. It took thousands of years to refine it.”

Cara nodded, setting her long auburn hair in motion. She leaned forward and gazed into his eyes. Several moments ticked by, but he heard nothing.

He shook his head. “Sorry.”

“Can you send me a picture? I want to see something from L’eihr.”

“Sure.” Aelyx stretched out, considering which memory to use. A moment later, he’d found just the right one. “This’ll be harder than receiving words or numbers, so try to relax your mind.”

“Okay.”

Peering deep into her eyes, he recalled a memory from the Aegis—at the end-of-year games when his peers had cheered him on during the obstacle course competition—so Cara could see his home wasn’t as cold and inhospitable as she thought.

She sat still and focused. “Hey! I don’t see anything, but I feel you. You’re totally pumped! What’s so—” Suddenly, she grimaced and pulled away, holding her forehead between her hands.

“Are you okay?” Aelyx shot forward and steadied her shoulders.

“Yeah, just a headache. It’s not that bad.”

He sat back, inspecting her. “We’ve overworked your brain.”

“What?” Cara’s head snapped up while her brows lowered, forming a slash above her narrowed eyes. “We’ve overworked my feeble brain? Is that what you mean?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He pushed to his feet. “Put pressure on your temples. I’ll be right back.”

“Where’re you going?”

“To make some herbal tea for you,” he called while strid­ing into the hall. “It might ease your headache.”

When he returned a few minutes later, she seemed more relaxed, indicating the headache had passed. Still, they should stop for the day. He didn’t want to hurt her.

“Our brains are physically different.” He handed her the tea. “I didn’t say yours was feeble. I think you have a beautiful mind, Elire.”

“Thanks.” She took the steaming mug. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s all right.” He sat beside her on the carpet and inhaled his tea’s fruity scent. A hint of orange in the brew reminded him of Cara’s shampoo.

“Hey.” She paused to blow into her cup. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Do you have a girlfriend back home?”

“I’ve felt some attachments in the past, but no, I don’t have what you’d describe as a girlfriend.”

Cara cleared her throat and began chewing her thumbnail. “What about Syrine?”

“What about her?”

“Do you . . . um.” She stared down into her mug. “Have a special relationship with her?”

The bond he shared with Syrine had outlasted a dozen other friendships, something he’d qualify as special, but judging by Cara’s scarlet cheeks, she had another type of rela­tionship in mind. “Define special relationship.”

“Well, have you ever kissed her?”

The mental image of putting his tongue into Syrine’s mouth made him laugh. “No. I’ve never kissed Syrine or any­one else, for that matter.”

“What?” She glanced up from her tea, her eyes like sau­cers. “You’ve never kissed a girl?”

He shrugged. “That’s not how we show affection.”

“Really?”

“Truly.”

“Too bad,” she said over the top of her mug. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“Not much, I imagine. I researched it, and it sounds bizarre to me.”

Cara smiled to herself. “Not if you’re doing it right. Noth­ing’s hotter than a good kiss.”

“Nothing except sh’ellam. It always leads to more.”

“So does an amazing kiss.”

The challenge in her eyes prompted him to say something he probably shouldn’t have. “Care to put it to a test?”

Her pink lips parted in shock.

Was she revolted by the idea? Disappointment knotted his chest. “Don’t worry. If you’re uneasy—”

“I’m not uneasy.” She huffed and set her cup of tea on the floor. “Bring it!”

“You sure?”

“It’s on. You go first.”

Aelyx hesitated a moment, then stood and carried their mugs to the dresser. He offered his hand to Cara and pulled her to her feet.

“Are you wearing a shirt underneath that sweater?” he asked.

She cleared her throat again, blushing. “Yeah, why?”

“This’ll work better if more of your skin’s exposed.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she pulled the sweater over her head, tossed it onto the bed, and stood before him in a cream-colored tank top. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Nothing. Just stand still, close your eyes, and relax.”

She took a deep breath and nodded, then shut her eyes and let her arms hang loosely at her sides.

Aelyx’s palms had become clammy, and he wiped them on his jeans, grateful Cara couldn’t see how nervous she’d made him. A wave of doubt crested within him. What if she hated it? What if this confirmed that his attraction to her was one-sided?

“What’re you waiting for?” she asked.

“Nothing.” He stepped forward until their bodies barely touched.

Closing his eyes, he wrapped his hand around Cara’s frag­ile wrist, then smoothed it slowly up the length of her arm to her shoulder. He gulped a breath. Bleeding gods, no sub­stance in his world or hers had ever felt so soft. He skimmed two fingers across her collarbone and rested them at the base of her throat, feeling the pulse of her heart beating through the delicate skin. He’d touched her there a dozen times in his dreams, but it didn’t compare to reality.

“Your heart rate is eighty beats per minute,” he said qui­etly, trying not to let his voice tremble.

“Why does that matt—”

“Shh. Don’t talk.”

With his other hand, he swept Cara’s silken hair out of the way, lightly brushing her neck with his fingertips. Her breathing hitched, and he paused for a moment, stunned by her reaction. Had she actually liked that? Was it possible she wanted him? There was only one way to find out.

He nestled his cheek against hers, indulging in the feel of her bare skin. Keeping one hand at her throat, he flattened the other against her back, where heat radiated from beneath the thin fabric of her top. He stroked the length of her spine from top to bottom, his fingertips massaging, teasing, and trailing lightly, leaving her skin covered in goose bumps.

He whispered into her ear, “By monitoring our partner’s heart rate, we know how they’re reacting to our touch. The body doesn’t lie. This is the truest test of physical attraction. For example,” he said, stroking the base of her throat with his thumb, “your pulse is ninety beats per minute and increas­ing very quickly.” She did want him. He couldn’t believe it. The soft curves of her body rose and fell against him as the pace of her breathing accelerated, his own pulse quickening in response.

Aelyx brushed his lips back and forth against her ear and whispered, “One-ten now.” But he hoped they could do bet­ter than that. He continued to caress her back, pulling her body even closer to his and brushing his lips down her neck to the top of her shoulder. A quiet murmur escaped the back of her throat and fire pulsed through his veins.

More. He wanted more. He traced his fingertips along the outline of her hip, continued across the top of her thigh, and then back up to her waist. Slipping his thumb underneath the bottom of her shirt, he stroked the warm skin of her lower back, then flattened his palm and pulled her hard against him. Her quick, erratic breaths tickled the side of his neck.

“One-thirty now,” he said in the faintest whisper.

It was too much. The most deliciously animalistic thoughts filled his head, and he knew he’d lose all control if this con­tinued a second longer. He abruptly removed his hands and stepped back before he did something he’d regret later. He gazed at Cara—sunset hair framing her scarlet-flushed cheeks, lips parted, eyes closed, lost in the moment. By the gods, she was exquisite. His heart swelled inside his chest. This human had captivated him, and her body’s response gave him hope that she felt the same way.

“I’d better stop.” He tried to hide his elation, but his face probably glowed like a neutron star. “I don’t want to send you into cardiac arrest.”

Cara’s eyes shot open. Aelyx stood there wearing the smug­gest expression she’d ever seen. Cardiac arrest? Was this some kind of challenge to prove he could master her body the way he mastered every game in her collection? Like an idiot, she’d thought he was really into her. Suffocating desire transformed into embarrassment. Then anger. But two could play this game. She’d show him a heart attack.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad.” She cleared her throat and tried to steady her breathing. “I guess I should reciprocate, Earth-style. It’s only fair.”

“I’m ready,” he said with a cocky grin.

Prickles of anxiety spread through her core, but she couldn’t back out now. She couldn’t let him win again—damn it, she was sick to death of losing. “Let’s sit down.”

“Feeling weak in the knees?”

“Real funny.” But he didn’t know how right he was. “Just do it.”

Aelyx sat cross-legged on the carpet, and she knelt in front of him with her feet tucked beneath her.

“Okay, buddy.” She swallowed hard. “Prepare to have your world rocked.”

Oh God, what was she doing? She’d imagined kissing him a thousand times, but she never thought it would happen. Her heart sprinted, and she was glad he wasn’t taking her pulse anymore. A kiss could change their friendship. What if this made things weird between them? Or worse—what if he didn’t like it? The humiliation might actually kill her.

“I’m waiting . . .” he said.

“Close your eyes.”

He obeyed, and she took a deep, shaky breath. Summon­ing all her nerve, she inched forward, close enough to smell his warm, spicy scent. She hesitated, and then Aelyx opened his eyes and gave her a look that would set ice water aflame. This was no game to him. That realization gave her the cour­age to eliminate the tiny sliver of air between them.

She cupped Aelyx’s face, stroking the smooth skin with her fingers, and brushed her lips lightly back and forth against his. His mouth was every bit as soft as it looked, the sensa­tion hotter than her wildest dreams. She took his bottom lip between hers and sucked it gently, tasting the orangey tea, and then captured it with her teeth to pull his mouth closer.

When he slid the tip of his tongue between her lips, warm tingles danced across her chest. How did he know to do that? He tilted her face to the side to deepen the kiss, teasing and exploring her mouth, sending those warm tingles spreading out in every direction.

She broke away, gasping. “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”

“Yes.”

Without wasting another second, he curled his hand around the side of her neck and pulled her mouth right back to his with a little too much force.

She pulled away again. “Hold up.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Softer,” she said, “like this.” Then she showed him how lethal a gentle kiss could be.

He caught on quickly, which didn’t surprise her. Like most things in life, he was good at making out, too. The prickly heat intensified with every warm sweep of his tongue. She unclasped his hair, feeling the cool strands between her fin­gers, and then she slowed things down even further, moving her mouth deliberately, taking her time and focusing on every stolen breath and quiet sigh, cherishing each sensation before it was over.

It felt too good, almost unearthly, and even though his lips never left hers, she felt the kiss everywhere. Powerful hands moved to her shoulders, slid down the bare skin of her arms to her thighs, and then tugged her forward.

Heart pounding out of control, she climbed into his lap, straddling his thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and claimed his mouth again, feeling his hands on the small of her back pulling her impossibly close. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind she knew things were going too far, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

In a flash, he rolled her to the floor, knocking the air from her lungs. The weight of his body pressed her into the car­pet, and she felt his heart hammering against her chest while his hands roamed the length of her rib cage. No matter how tightly she wrapped herself around him, it wasn’t close enough. He murmured something in another language and reached a hand between them, tearing at the button of her jeans. Instead of pushing his hand away, she arched her lower back to help him with the zipper. But he suddenly bolted upright and knelt above her, panting.

It took a moment to adjust to the shock of their separation. She cleared her throat and propped up on one elbow, fighting for oxygen. “What’s wrong?”

“Listen.” He glanced toward the far end of the house. “I think Eileen’s home.”

The distant groan of the garage door opener proved him right.

“Damn,” she muttered. Of all the days for Mom to come home early.

Aelyx drew a deep, shuddering breath. “My sentiments exactly.”

Cara sat up and scrambled to button her pants. “Hey,” she said, “come here real quick.” She gave him a grin that made it clear what she wanted.

He matched her smile and didn’t hesitate to kiss her one more time while she pressed her fingers against his throat to count the beats. Fifteen seconds later, she multiplied the num­ber by four and had her answer.

“One-forty!” she said. “I beat your high score!”

Aelyx laughed. “How does it feel to defeat me?”

Cara licked her lips and tasted him again. “Pretty sweet. I’ve waited a long time to bring you down.” Instead of releas­ing his hand, she laced their fingers together and gave a squeeze. “Listen, I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

He returned the squeeze. “Me neither.”

“We’re okay, right?”

“Only okay?” he teased. “I think we just proved that we’re quite gifted.”

“Oh, totally.” She pointed back and forth between them. “The world’s not ready for our talent.” Also, I think I’m falling in love with you.

While her heart rushed, Cara reminded herself that Aelyx wasn’t here to stay, and she should probably try pulling back a little. But as she watched him smooth the wrinkles from his sweater and resecure his hair, she realized it was much, much too late for that.