by Magan Vernon
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Alex." His eyes couldn’t meet mine as he leaned from one side to the other.
“Just tell me the truth, Ace. What is your real interest in me? Why did you kill that alien who attacked me? Why did you save me from the aliens in the lunchroom? Why do you look at me the way that you do? Are you going to try and kill me, too?”
His eyes finally found mine. Instead of the harsh black, I saw something softer, almost human. He leaned closer. “Is that what you think, Alex, that I want to hurt you?”
“Well, no, I mean…" I let out a deep sigh as I looked down to the ground. “I don’t know. I’m just really confused.”
He took another step closer, sliding his body against mine, as the coldness of his skin gave me goose bumps. His fingers tiptoed around my waist. I held back a soft gasp as the warmth of his fingers pushed into the small of my back. He pressed his forehead to mine.
“I killed Magpie because I wasn’t going to let her hurt you. I would never try to harm you and I wouldn’t let anyone else harm you either.” His icy breath was like a cool breeze on my lips as he continued, "It took a lot of convincing for the board to let me stay here after that, but they knew it was the only way that she could be stopped. And you've got to admit—" He paused, brushing his lips against mine as he smiled. "—I do have some redeeming qualities that would convince them to let me stay."
I gulped, trying to catch my breath as my body trembled against his. “You don’t think I can take care of myself?”
His smile widened with every bit of his white teeth gleaming. “I’m pretty sure any girl that would walk into a Caltian’s room in the middle of the night, unarmed, can handle herself." He wrapped the blanket around both of us, pressing his body to mine. I felt an icy hot sensation race through me. “But it doesn’t mean that I can’t try and help her out.”
“So, what’s your real interest in me, then?" My lips almost vibrated right onto his as I spoke. I couldn’t help but wonder how they would feel against mine.
“The most dangerous thing of all."
“And what is that?" I questioned, hoping my knees wouldn't give out as I pressed my body tighter against his.
“I'm falling in love with you." As the words left his mouth, his lips pressed to mine, giving me the most intense and explosive kiss I had ever had. With the coldness of his lips and the warmth of his tongue beneath mine I saw fireworks and felt them through every part of my body.
Chapter 13
I opened my eyes only to be encased in more darkness. Was last night a dream or did Ace kill me in my sleep? I started clawing at the blackness before I realized that it was just a comforter wrapped around me. Ace’s warm touch caressed my wrist.
Ace’s warm touch? Crap.
I threw the blanket off me, only to realize that I was still in Ace’s room, in his bed no less, and it was freezing. I threw the blanket back over me and turned to see Ace trying to cover his mouth and laughter.
“Is that how you always wake up in the morning?”
I looked down at my body, fumbling my hands over the same clothes I had worn the night before. All of my clothes were still on and all my organs still felt intact, so nothing happened as far as I could tell.
“Um, what am I doing in your bed?" I looked over at Ace to see that he was still shirtless and hoped that he still had on the shorts from the night before.
“Well I’m glad that I’m that forgettable,” he teased and inched closer. “But, really, you just got tired and started drifting off, so I just let you sleep here. Nothing else happened, I promise." A Cheshire-like grin crossed his lips. “Well, except…”
I sat up, covering the ridiculous amount of cleavage that Jen’s shirt left me with. “Except what?”
This wasn't like me. I hadn't done anything more with a guy than make out and some touchy feelyness, but I'd never actually gone to bed with a guy. I wondered if Ace thought I was easy, or worse, what the other interns and my dad would do if they knew I spent the night in Ace's bed.
“You talk in your sleep, a lot,” he managed to get out before bursting into laughter.
I flicked his shoulder. “Shut up, I do not!”
“Oh Ace, I love your cold skin and your statuesque face. Will you take me away?" He mocked in the voice he used that sounded almost identical to mine.
I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks. I hid my face in the bed.
“I’m sorry. I won’t tease you anymore." He pressed his frosted lips to my cheek leaving a trail of ice. It was hard to ignore the tingle that lingered from my cheek down to my chest and made me want to stay in his bed even longer.
I turned my head toward Ace, leaning in for his lips when I got a view of the clock on his desk. “Crap! It’s nine!" I threw off the blanket and shot off the bed, knocking myself back into reality and realizing that Jen and Riley were probably wondering where I was, or worse they knew where I was and were talking about it. What if this ended up just like the first day and someone tried to kill me for this?
“Yeah." He stood up, stretching his arms above his head. “You want to go down and get breakfast?”
I found a mirror and stared at myself. My hair was thrown around my head like a rat’s nest and my makeup had somehow all ended up underneath my eyes. I looked like the poster child for the walk of shame. There was no way that anyone would believe that I had just fallen asleep in Ace's bed.
“You know I’ve never been with a human girl before, but do you always check yourself out in the mirror in the morning and make faces like that?" Ace slid behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing the top of my head.
I released myself from his arms and turned around to face him. “How can you be so calm about this? I fell asleep here and people could be looking for me! What if there is a search party or a rescue team or something?"
Ace furrowed his brow and stepped back, raising his hands in the air. “I promise you it’s fine, Alex. No one saw you come in and all you have to tell your roommates is that you fell asleep in the office or something." He put his hands down. “I promise it will be fine.”
"How is it that you can act so aloof, like you want nothing to do with me one day, and the next you're all touchy feely?"
He shrugged. "Maybe I just realized that it was finally time to give into my feelings toward you."
I shook my head. I wasn't sure if that was the answer I wanted. I actually wasn't even sure what the answer was that I was looking for. I didn’t even look at him as I headed for the door. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at work. Bye.”
I raced out of the room, not looking back or even up from the floor, and headed down the long stretch of hallways that lead back to my own room.
“Look who finally decided to come home!" Riley yelled as I walked through the door.
I ignored her and headed straight for the bathroom. I waited until the water sprayed a steady stream and fell over my body before I let the tears spring from my eyes. What had I done? I was falling in love with an alien and I was pretty sure that had to be against one of the rules. Though to be fair, I didn't really read the packet I was given on the first day so I wasn't even sure what the rules were. But if all my friends freaked out about me even talking to Ace, or thinking about him, what would they say if they knew I had spent the night with him? Or worse, if they knew that I might be falling in love with him?
“Alex?" Jen yelled. It was my fault for not locking the door. I wasn’t in any mood for a lecture; in fact I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone.
“Is everything okay?” I saw her silhouette walk toward the shower.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just really tired,” I yelled back, wiping away my water-soaked tears as if she could actually see them through the curtain.
“Do you want to talk about it?" Jen said softly as she leaned in closer to the curtain.
I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to lie to Jen, but I also wondered what her reaction would be if she knew the truth. “It’s fine
. I just fell asleep in the office, no big deal.”
I was hoping that would be enough and she would go back into the room, but she just stood there against the curtain.
“Did you see Ace while you were there?" Her question wasn't pointed, and I didn't think anyone had seen me leave his room, but for some reason Jen's words made me defensive. I turned off the water and ripped my towel off the rack. I threw open the shower curtain and wrapped the towel hastily around me.
“Why do you assume just because I didn’t come to the room last night that I was with Ace?”
Jen's eyes widened. “Whoa, Alex, I was just asking a question.”
“Well, don’t. I’m fine." I stormed past Jen and threw myself in bed, covering myself from head to toe in my comforter.
I heard Jen walk out of the bathroom and her and Riley whispering, but they didn’t bother me. In fact they didn’t bother me for the rest of the day.
The cluster of emotions running through me was exhausting. On one hand, my heart was still pounding in my chest from being so close to Ace. But on the other hand, I knew how the other interns felt about aliens and humans dating. Who knew what the other aliens would think?
My mom called sometime that afternoon. Even though I could hear the phone vibrating on my dresser it felt like it was a million miles away. I was lost in my own thoughts. Was this what Juliet felt like as she pined for Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Could it really be that easy? The way my whole body trembled at the very thought of Ace's lips on mine made me think that I could defy the stars for him, but the lingering feeling of Gavin's glare made me wonder if it was even possible.
By Monday morning I realized it was time that I call my mom back. If I didn't, I knew she would just call my dad panicking and I didn't want him coming to my room and asking where I had been.
"Alexandra! I feel like it's been forever since I've heard your voice," mom proclaimed. I could hear the sounds of opera music in the background and knew she was probably sitting in her office working on a new manuscript. Sometimes it was hard to tell if her overdramatic outbursts were directed at me or her characters.
"It really hasn't been that long." Greetings weren't a huge thing between mom and me. She said it was just a waste of breath to say hello when the other person knew who was calling anyway, so formalities didn't matter.
"It seems like forever." She let out a deep breath. "How is everything there in the desert? I assume the internship is going well?"
"Yep, everything is going great."
"Have you met any boys? Is that why you haven't been returning my calls and e-mails?" I could practically see her eyebrows wiggling on the other end of the phone.
"That's really not something a daughter discusses with her mom."
"I knew it!" I heard her clap her hands together "So tell me what is he like? Does your father know?"
I wasn't expecting mom's sudden mound of questions. I thought about what would happen if my father really did know, or what mom would say if I told her the boy was actually an alien and I spent the night with him.
"Well Mom, it looks like it's almost time for work to start. I'd better get going so I'm not late," I stammered, trying to get off the phone as quickly as possible to avoid the questions.
She sighed. "Oh fine. I guess I should be getting Elijah ready for his music class anyway. But don't think I've forgotten about this conversation."
"I won't, Mom. Talk to you soon."
"Ciao."
I hung up the phone and realized that I was still in my towel with my hair unbrushed, so I got up and quickly got ready to face the world. I sucked in my breath and made the walk down the hall to the cafeteria. I felt like all eyes were on me, but I knew of only one pair that was staring at me so intently that it took everything I had to look away.
Ace didn’t approach me like he usually did in the lunch line before we retreated to our separate spaces. He just sat there, staring from his table. When other people would catch his gaze he would look away, but part of me knew that he was still watching in his own way.
“So, Riley said that you had a late night in the office on Saturday?" Justin asked as I sat down at the table.
I glared in Riley’s direction, but she didn’t look up from her bowl. Everyone was watching for my reaction. I sat there in silence.
“Look who finally decided to come out of her room,” Gavin yelled and plopped down next to me. “I was afraid that Ace creep took advantage of you and you’d be missing your organs or something.”
Jen shot Gavin a warning glare, but he ignored her and inched closer to me. His breath was hot on my ear.
“Tell me, Alex, what is sex like with an alien? Does he even have a dick? Or does he just probe you with those nasty gloved fingers?”
“Gavin!" Jen screeched and stood up from the table.
I looked around to see if everyone in the room was staring at us. I saw the only person that I cared about was looking right at us. As soon as Ace saw me look in his direction he stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. He didn't even bother to say anything as he pushed his way past people until he made his way out of the cafeteria.
“Look, she’s even still watching him. I knew I was right about her." Riley shook her head. “That’s just disgusting, fawning over him like that.”
I didn’t look at anyone at the table as I stood up. “I’m not hungry anymore."
I tossed my tray into the trash and started running down the hall as fast as I could. I stopped when I saw Ace sitting in the office, staring blankly at the computer screen.
“Hey." I took my seat next to him. He didn’t move. He didn’t even look in my direction. “About what happened in the cafeteria…”
“I heard what they said Alex. I’m not deaf. I actually have a really sharp sense of hearing." He turned toward me; his eyes were so black that they looked darker than any storming sky. I gasped, hoping that he really wasn’t as dangerous as everyone said he was.
“What bothers me is that you didn’t say anything back. You just let them say all of those things about me and you. Like you actually believed them. And by the way you ran out of my room yesterday, I’m pretty sure that you do." He turned back toward the computer.
“Oh and by the way, yeah, I do have a dick, but I’m not just going to go parading it around and start acting like one. Like your little Boston friend.”
I couldn't put into words how I felt and I didn't know how to apologize. So I did the only other thing I knew would do what words couldn't. I pushed my chair back and grabbed his face with a strength I didn’t even know existed, turning him toward me to crush his lips against mine. It took him a little while before he even moved, but when he did the kiss was even fierier than our first. Every part of me ached to be near him and a cold flame surged through me. His lips molded to mine and he curved his arms around my body, his heart beating wildly against my own.
I pulled away, panting, as I pressed my forehead to his. Staring into his eyes, I could see they were no longer the color of my nightmares, but more like the color of my dreams. "I'm sorry," I murmured.
He grinned, wrapping his arms tighter around my body. Even though the temperature control suit, I could feel the warmth spread across my back. "Maybe we should fight more often if you're going to have this kind of reaction."
He kissed me again, not holding back as his fingers slid down my body, letting every part of me that wasn’t covered by the suit feel his warmth. I didn’t know where this was going to end up. By Gavin and Riley’s reactions I knew that a lot of people wouldn’t approve. But as Ace’s lips trailed down to my neck I tried to close my eyes and push back all the negative thoughts, no matter how much they seemed to be fighting against me.
Chapter 14
The rest of the afternoon went on as if the whole world had changed, but Ace and I were the only ones who were part of the new one. He held my hand as we went through our e-mails and would run his fingers through my hair when I thought too long on a problem. Ther
e was something in me that always had harbored feelings for Ace, but once it was out in the open it was hard to keep my thoughts from wandering to anything other than the feel of his hands on mine.
Behind closed doors I wasn’t so worried about what people thought about us, but when it was time for lunch, my nerves started to get the best of me.
“You ready to face our adoring fans?" Ace squeezed my hand when he noticed me staring blankly at an alien’s dating site profile.
When I didn’t answer he let out a deep breath. “I’ll go in ahead of you. You just do whatever you feel comfortable with. I'll try not to get angry this time."
He let his gloveless hand graze the side of my face. “We can just keep this between us as long as you’d like.”
I didn’t watch him as he stood up, slid his gloves back on, and walked out of the door. I sat another few minutes, counting the beats of my heart. I didn't know what to expect when I went back into the cafeteria. What people would people say about my running out of the room, or how would Ace really react if Gavin said anything again at all?
When I got through the lunch line, I scanned the tables. Ace wasn't looking in my direction when he sat down. Instead, he was busy talking to a group of his friends and acting like he was completely engrossed in the conversation. I looked over to the interns’ table and saw Jen waving wildly in my direction. Cautiously, I edged toward the table and set my tray down next to her.
“Hey Jen." I forced a smile, but just as I sat down I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Riley with her hands on her hips.
“What do you think you’re doing?" I didn’t answer her. She tapped her clogs on the floor. “Maybe you should go sit with your boyfriend.”
I looked from Riley, then back to Jen. “You know what? I think I will." I smirked in Riley’s direction and picked up my tray, heading toward Ace’s table.
Everyone’s eyes in the cafeteria's were on me and a hush fell over the room. I guess everyone else had heard Gavin's rant that morning, or no other human had dared to sit at a table full of Caltians. I only concentrated on Ace. I put my tray down and sat as close as I could to him, placing his hand in mine, before laying our intertwined hand on the table between us. Ace raised an eyebrow and looked down at our hands. His eyes rested back on me as if he was asking, are you sure?