I kept remembering being in the vehicle with Lochie’s arm around me. It felt so good being close to him. I yearned for that now. I wanted to be in his arms, or at least in his company. The darkness was threatening to swallow me up.
There was only one thing I could do. I felt around in the dark until I found the door and headed for the boys’ room.
CHAPTER 17
My memory was a bit fuzzy on the layout of the boys’ room. I remembered Lochie’s bed was on the side of the room, but which side? If I got it wrong in the darkness, I would wake Kyle. And I really didn’t want Kyle to know I was creeping around in his room in the middle of the night.
It was the right side, I was sure it was the right side. Okay, maybe kind of sure. I felt around the wall and found feet at the end of a bed. There was no way to know who they belonged to. It wasn’t like I felt people’s feet all the time or anything.
The legs attached to the feet jerked as if they just realized someone was touching them. It was now or never. “Lochie?” I whispered in the quietest voice I could manage while still being audible.
I didn’t get a verbal response but the bed frame creaked as someone moved. The feet disappeared under my touch. I headed toward the door and waited just outside, praying it was Lochie that was following me.
“Downstairs,” I whispered again. I wasn’t sure if I was speaking to an empty corridor or not. The light took a moment to flicker on but I was gone before it did.
I felt around for the staircase and started down the narrow walk as the light followed me. Footsteps padded behind me softly. If it wasn’t Lochie when I turned around, I was going to have to do some fast talking to cover the real reason I was creeping around in the dark.
I finally reached the bottom and waited for the living room light to come on. Turning around, I could breathe a sigh of relief when I saw it was Lochie.
“Is something wrong?” He asked, concern etched right across his sleepy face.
“I couldn’t sleep.” He looked at me expectantly, like there had to be more to it. I guessed I probably did need a better reason for waking him up. He was wearing nothing more than white boxer shorts and a white tee, looking just as hot as ever. “We never got that walk.”
He face relaxed into a grin. “You want to go for a walk now?” I nodded because it sounded ridiculous to say it out loud. He held out his elbow for me to take, like a Lord might do for a Lady at a ball, and my heart leapt. “Let’s walk then.”
We left the box and stepped outside, finally able to speak in more than a whisper again. The three moons lit our way with no clouds in sight, making it quite light to see by.
One good thing about living in a deserted city was that you could walk around at night in your pajamas. My little white shorts and white singlet were perfectly acceptable when nobody was around. I doubted any of the remaining Truconians would be around this part of the city in the middle of the night.
We walked to the end of the yard and stopped. I don’t think either of us really wanted to go for a walk.
“So… where to?” Lochie asked.
“How about there?” I nodded toward the house next door. We could have some privacy there to talk and it wouldn’t be locked. Lochie agreed and we ended our ruse.
The inside was exactly the same as our temporary home, right down to the white rug on the floor. I bit my lip nervously as we stared at each other.
“Stuff it,” Lochie whispered, I think to himself, before he closed the gap between us. He had his arms wrapped around me before I could even react. His lips crushed onto mine with so much passion that I forgot what we were going to be doing there.
I kissed him back, meeting his need with my own. His kisses were so deep and wanting that I melted into his embrace. When he finally let me go, we both had to gasp for breath.
He whispered in my ear. “What do you think is upstairs?”
“We should find out,” I replied. Lochie’s beautiful soft lips curled into a smile as he took my hand. I followed after him, a little awkwardly in the narrow staircase. The lights came and went as we walked.
Upstairs was exactly like our place next door too. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Lola or Garrick met us at the top, it was that similar. Yet, thankfully, the bedrooms were empty save for the furniture. Lochie picked the room with the double bed and switched on the lamp with a tap.
“Now, where were we?” He pulled me close again, letting my fingers go so he could slide both his hands around my waist. One hand slid up my back and tangled in my hair, tilting my head back so he could kiss me again.
His lips moved along my jaw before going downwards along my neck. Each kiss set me on fire, my stomach fluttered with a million loose butterflies. My hands rested on his chest, feeling the strong muscles underneath his thin shirt.
The fabric was too much. My hands slid down his chest and tugged at the bottom of the hem, trying to pull it upwards. Lochie caught on and let me go so I could slide it up and over his head. His face was alive as he looked at me.
“That’s not fair,” he said. I knew exactly what he was talking about, I had known him too long not to. I lifted my arms above my head, he didn’t waste a second liberating me from my singlet top. I didn’t have a bra on, considering it was the middle of the night and I should have been in bed. If it was anyone else I would have been mortally embarrassed to stand there topless, but Lochie made me feel beautiful, no matter what I was or wasn’t wearing.
His eyes swept over my naked skin, smoldering with fire so intense I could catch alight, before he crashed back into me and resumed his position. We melted into each other like we were one and the same. We fit together so perfectly I’m sure we were made for each other.
We walked backwards until my knees hit the bed. Lochie broke our kiss to he could lift me with one hand at my back and the other under my knees. He gently lowered me onto the mattress, the entire time our eyes were locked together.
He lay on top of me, careful not to crush my body under his. He started kissing my stomach, slowly moving up to my chest where he lingered a little longer. I slid my hands around the back of his neck and guided him back to my lips. My body was buzzing with every one of his touches, it was almost sensory overload.
He pulled away from my skin for a moment to study me. “Do you want to do this?”
I laughed, it probably wasn’t appropriate, but I couldn’t help it. “Do you think I’d be lying here if I didn’t want to?”
Uncertainty crossed his face for only a second before he hid it again behind a smile. “I have no idea what goes on inside your head. I probably don’t want to know half the time.”
“You want to know what I’m thinking right now?” He raised his eyebrows. It was good enough to answer my question. “Nothing. All I’m doing is feeling every one of your touches and it’s making me exceedingly happy.”
“Exceedingly happy?”
“Yep.”
“Well, there’s plenty more of that still to come. Can you handle it, Jones?”
“I think I can handle anything you’ve got,” I replied skeptically. He was such a show off, he just couldn’t help himself. It was a part of what I loved about him. Although, I would never admit that to him.
He kissed my neck, slow and long before he looked at me again. “Are you sure?” My stomach was too busy doing back flips to reply. Goosebumps covered my skin. He chuckled at the reaction he was causing. “Last chance to back out.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just shut up already and kiss me.” His lips fell on mine as his hands tangled in my hair. The talking portion of the evening was over as we were lost to each other for the remainder of the night.
I wasn’t sure if it was because it was our second time together or if it was because our circumstances were different on this occasion, but the night was magical. I felt closer to Lochie than any other person in the universe. It was like we moved as one person and just knew what the other was thinking and feeling. The rest of the world just didn’t seem to exist.
&nbs
p; He meant everything to me, our souls connected on a dimension I couldn’t even begin to understand. Our bodies intertwining was one thing, but the link uniting us was something intangible. Something that could only be felt and not seen. Something too beautiful for mere mortals to ever comprehend.
When I woke up the next morning, I wasn’t sure what time it was but it felt like a few hours had passed. The lamp was still on and was our only source of light. I really missed windows, I had always taken them for granted before. Never again.
Lochie’s arm was draped across me, unmoving. I carefully turned around to face him. He looked peaceful as he slept, far more innocent than he was when awake.
I couldn’t help but remember the last time I had woken up naked with him. I had snuck out and left him a note with two words on it: I’m sorry. I left him there without a spoken word as I went to face my ultimate doom with the Department. I had always regretted doing that. I still regretted doing it. But I got a second chance. At least now I could prove to Lochie I wasn’t that kind of a girl. I wouldn’t leave him again, not even if someone tried to forcibly remove me.
Thinking back to that time, I still wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do to sleep with him. It felt right at the time because I thought my life was ending and I wanted him to know how much I loved him. I had acted on instinct and hadn’t really thought it through. But there were so many times afterwards that I thought he hated me for it.
This time was different, completely and unequivocally different. We did it because we loved each other, because we were ready for it, because it felt like the right thing to do for us. I loved Lochie with all my heart and I wanted him to be in my life forever. I just hoped he felt the same way. He said he did, but there was still that nagging voice in the back of my head saying nothing lasts forever.
Lochie’s eyes opened and caught me watching him sleep. Like that wasn’t embarrassing. “Good morning,” he muttered lazily. His hair was all messed up and he had a crease on his cheek from the pillow. It was beyond adorable.
“Good morning to you too.”
“Were you watching me sleep?”
“Maybe.” He smiled, which made me smile. “I like waking up with you.”
He rolled over to face the ceiling. “I half expected you to be gone.”
My heart contracted. Apparently he was thinking about our first time too. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise. This is where I’m meant to be.”
“In a stranger’s bed?”
I swatted at his arm. “No. Next to you.”
He finally looked at me again and rolled back over so we were facing each other again. He kissed me on the forehead. “Good. Because my place is next to you.”
My stomach did the whole back flips thing again. “Do you ever think about the whole alien thing? I mean, I know you’re okay with it, but do you ever think about me being one? Is it weird being with an alien, you know, like last night?”
“Is it weird for you being with a human?”
He wasn’t taking me seriously. I playfully pushed his arm. “Come on, just answer the question.”
He instantly changed his tune. “Where’d the question come from, Jones?”
I shrugged. I didn’t really want to confess that I always wondered about it but was never game enough to ask. So I lied instead. “I don’t know, I’m just curious, I guess. We are on another planet right now.”
Lochie pursed his lips together as he studied me. I hoped he wasn’t putting together a lie too. By the time he replied, I was feeling decidedly naked under the covers. “I think of you as Amery, you’re just you. It’s only when we fly in a spaceship or visit the settlers or talk to Krom that I’m reminded you’ve got other things going on. You’ve never been an alien to me, dressed or naked.”
“Do you honestly think other people will ever forget about where we came from?”
“No,” he replied simply. He continued on to explain himself further. “But that doesn’t mean we stop trying. I promise you I will do everything I can to convince them to forget about it.”
I wriggled across to get closer to him so our bodies were touching. He put his arm around me again so we could cuddle.
“I love you,” I whispered, kissing his chest because that was all I could reach at that moment.
He kissed my hair. “I love you too. I’m so glad you aren’t one of those little green aliens they talk about on television.”
“Me too.” I had to agree.
“So, is it weird being with a human?” I thought he might be joking for a moment, but his tone of voice said he was completely serious.
I hadn’t really thought about it before. I had always focused on my differences, not the fact that everyone was different from me too. “I guess I’m used to being around humans, I don’t even think about it. I feel human so being with you is just normal.” He seemed satisfied with that answer as we fell into silence.
As we held each other and enjoyed the blissful moments of privacy, a noise suddenly sounded downstairs. “What was that?” I asked. My ears strained to hear for anything else.
“It sounded like a door,” Lochie replied.
In the next instant, we were moving. We both flew out of bed and tried to find our clothes. I found my shorts and slid them on before fishing around for my singlet top. Lochie had his shirt on before he found mine, throwing it across to me. My fingers clasped the fabric as I caught it.
“Make the bed,” I whispered urgently. If someone found us I was going to die of embarrassment. Lochie hurried to smooth the sheets while I shimmied into my top. I ran a hand through my long hair, trying to get it smooth enough to pass as normal.
There were more noises outside, closer this time. My heart raced as I tried to calm down and not look so guilty. I was certain what we had done would be written all over my face.
Lochie’s hair was still a mess but we didn’t have any time to do something about it before the door opened. Lola and Garrick stood there, fully dressed in their regular Earth clothes. That was different, we had all been wearing the white Trucon clothes for the past two weeks.
“Oh, hey,” I said, trying to pull off casual and failing miserably.
“Hey,” Lola replied, looking us up and down. She wasn’t casual, she was suspicious. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you two.”
“We woke up early and went exploring,” I lied, sort of. The truth was we were just very early and we were exploring each other. “As it turns out, this place is just like ours.”
“Riiight.” She rolled her eyes. Somehow I don’t think she believed me.
“Is something wrong?” Lochie cleared his throat and interrupted our little reunion.
Garrick was the one who replied, seemingly not impressed by our current situation. “Krom has something.”
All my embarrassment left me instantly. “What does he have?”
“I don’t know, Kyle and I are going to speak with him.”
“Should I come? I can change and be ready in a few minutes,” I offered. I would have gone in my pajamas if it meant we got answers faster.
He cast a scathing look toward Lochie. I could practically feel the hostility coming from him. But Garrick had no right being snotty about Lochie and I spending the night together. It wasn’t like he was having lonely nights back home.
“No, stay here. We’ll tell you what Krom says. Kyle just wanted us to find you in case you were missing or something. I told him you would be fine.” Garrick didn’t wait for any argument before heading off down the stairs again.
The three of us exchanged a worried glance before hurrying after him. We left the house and met up with Kyle at the end of the yard, standing in front of the vehicle. “Oh, you found them. Good. So you’re not lost then?”
“We went exploring,” I repeated my lie again. “What do you think Krom has?”
Kyle shrugged. “Don’t know. The message just said he was calling. We need to get going. Stay here and don’t… go exploring again.” He gave
Lochie and I a look of disapproval. Great, so even Kyle thought we were off getting it on. My embarrassment levels were through the roof.
We watched the vehicle until it turned a corner. That was about how long my patience lasted. “Lola, did they say anything else?”
She shook her head. “It’s just like Kyle said. We were having breakfast when the message arrived. Everyone started moving then.”
“I’m going for a shower,” Lochie declared, stretching. “I’ll see you inside.” He winked at me, subtly so Lola couldn’t see. Images of him naked and under the glorious shower flashed into my head and made me blush. I pushed them away just as quickly before I could get too distracted.
The second we were alone, Lola stood in front of me to block my path. “Exploring, huh?”
“Something like that.” My traitorous mouth curled into a smile before I could stop it. “Oh, God, I’m so embarrassed.”
Much to my horror, she started giggling like a little kid. “You should have seen the looks on your faces. It was classic. I so wished I had a camera.”
“I’m so glad you didn’t. It’s mortifying.”
“It’s funny.”
I couldn’t help it, her laughter was infectious. I started giggling along with her. It probably was funny and we probably should have left the house as soon as we woke up. It was our own fault for getting caught like we had.
“I’m never going to be able to look Garrick in the eyes again,” I moaned.
Lola patted me on the back. “He’ll get over it. Look at it this way, it could have been much worse. You could have been naked. Or in the middle of-” I cut her off, I desperately did not want to hear the end of her sentence.
“Enough, please. Let’s never speak of this again.”
She relented and we went inside the box, Lola still smiling with amusement. I took a shower after Lochie was done with it and changed into my Earth clothes like the others. After that, all we could do was wait.
Time seemed to slow down and it was driving me crazy not knowing what was happening at the leaders’ building. I needed to know what Krom had to say and why he needed to speak with Garrick. I tried to pray for the best, but things tended to not work out for us lately so I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Disappointment was a pain.
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