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)
I’m impressed at her cleverness. I’m even more impressed that she would rather collect scrap and make things for her people than live on one of the farms that Lord va’Rin has provided to the humans. I’ve seen some of the homesteads. The dwellings themselves are small, but compared to some of the housing in the slums, they’re a paradise. “You could charge a lot for these things.”
“I could, but I don’t,” she tells me cheerfully. “It’s more important that I make people a little bit happier with their situation, and make a few friends. When I’m not scrapping, I’m usually helping people with repairs. There’s a couple of custodians that are trained in a lot of the tech we’re given, but some of the women don’t like anything to do with aliens. If I come over and poke at their gadgets, they feel better. Sometimes I show up with the guy that’s going to fix it, just so I can reassure the human that the custodian is truly just there to tackle a problem, not hurt them.”
I nod, silent. Melody is smiling and talkative, but I know not all the humans are like her. Some are deeply traumatized.
“Besides,” Melody continues, “I don’t like being alone on a farm. It’s too quiet for me. I need noise around. I need others around.”
And she reaches across the table and brushes her fingers against mine.
I don’t know what to do with that small touch. I stare down at her hand rubbing against mine. Her fingers look so very slender against my larger, gray-blue ones. Her nails are shorn and inelegant, her fingertips callused from her work, but she couldn’t be more enchanting to me. I’m fascinated by the fact that she’s both cheerful and utterly blatant, both fragile and determined. She’s not letting her fate get the best of her.
She’s taking the scraps of it and making it into something new, just like she does with the discards around her. No wonder she’s so fiercely proud of her work.
Tentatively, I touch her pinky with my smallest finger.
Melody gives me a warm smile and grazes her pinky against mine again. The small touch sends a tingle up my spine and makes my balls tighten. “I’ve had a really nice time,” she says. “Thank you for letting me take you out. It’s been so lovely to see you again after five years. I hadn’t dared hope that we’d run into each other again.”
“What now?” I ask, highly, highly aware that her fingers are still touching mine.
“Wellllllll….” Melody’s gaze drops to our hands, barely touching. “Do you want to go fast or slow? Your choice.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Slow,” she says, then pauses. Her fingertips skim over the back of my hand, caressing lightly. “If we go slow, I kiss your cheek and we part right here. Then you can decide if you want to contact me again or not. I’ve made it clear how I feel. After tonight, I’ll leave it in your hands.”
My breath feels as if it’s escaping my body. “And fast?”
Her eyes are dark with promise. “We go back to my room and I let you make me come, and then I ride you until we’re both sweaty. We collapse after fucking like animals all night, take a quick shower, and then we do it all again.”
Kef me.
Even so, I hesitate. I want this woman…but the power dynamic between us is too flawed. I’ll never not think she’s climbing into bed with me simply out of gratitude. I’m an ugly male. I have no worth. I’m an ex-convict. I’m all the things she should be avoiding now that she’s free and happy.
“I can tell what you’re thinking,” Melody says, her voice relaxed. “And no, you’re not taking advantage of me. Just like last time, I wanted to touch you. Us getting together before was a celebration of my escaping my old master. Even if I didn’t make it back to Earth, I knew whatever was in my future had to be better than my past. So we fucked, and I’m not upset about it. And I would love to do it again. Would love to touch you again.”
The tip of her pinky strokes over mine.
“It’s that easy for you?” I ask her, still incredulous. “You just see me again after five years and decide you want me in your bed? You don’t have any doubts about who I am? Anything?”
This time, she takes my hand. “I’ve had five years to settle into my skin and get comfortable here on Risda. I’ve come to terms that I’m never going back to Earth. I’ve embraced my new life here. And I’ve thought about that night between us over and over again for the last five years.”
“I’ve tried not to think about it at all.” Because every time I do, I’m filled with shame and remorse. Like I touched something—someone—I had no right touching.