27. Jess

It wasn't that late, but I was dragging by the time we got to the hangar. Poor sleep, my busy day thwarting Kevin with the press release, then a brief kidnapping. Gravod had even carried me most of the way.

But the moment he led me onto the spaceship, I was wide awake.

I was on a fucking spaceship.

It was every sci-fi movie, series, and novel, all rolled into one. I practically danced through each part of the ship as Gravod played tour guide.

He'd shifted into his natural form as soon as we entered. Something relaxed in me when I saw his horns and real features. It felt right. He was in his element.

When I clapped and jumped at his demonstration of a food synthesizer, he raised a brow.

I waved my hands around at the communal dining room, with its utilitarian metal tables and signage on the walls that I couldn't read.

"This is blowing my mind! I can't believe this is all real."

"I'm trying to see it through your eyes. This is actually an older ship for extended travel, so it's out of date. The tech is better on the newer models."

"Wow." I nodded toward the food Gravod had generated. There were cubes of brown…something, covered in a pinkish sauce. "What's that?"

"Hualdat." He frowned at it. "One of my favorite meals. The meat is from an animal that... Well, Earth has nothing I could compare it to. The sauce is made from a kind of plant. Like a berry here."

He didn't move to put it down, just kept the bowl-shaped dish in his hand, looking at the food. His expression was mostly unreadable, but I could sense his sadness.

"Feeling homesick?"

His eyes went to mine, and his lips curved in a small smile.

"I shouldn't. I've found my mate. But it's a reminder of things I miss." He held out the bowl. "Would you like to try it?"

"Of course." My heart twisted. He'd given up so much to find…me. Was I worth it? I put the thought aside, but it nagged at the back of my mind.

We sat next to each other on metal stools at one of the long tables. Gravod reached for a utensil, basically a spoon, and I thought he was going to give it to me. Instead, he scooped up a bite and held it in front of my mouth, making a contented sound when I grinned and opened for it.

The first taste of his food was a revelation. Rich, meaty flavor and tender texture, paired with a bright, luscious sauce. He fed me, alternating with taking his own bites. It was so good, I couldn't help a quiet groan, and his eyes flared as he watched my mouth.

Sexual tension filled the space between us. I wanted to lean in, to touch him. But after talking to Thylor and Jake, I had a lot on my mind. I had questions.

When the dish was scraped clean, Gravod stood and put it through a rectangular opening in the wall.

"The dishes are sanitized here and go back into the synthesizer." He turned back to me and paused, gaze heated, skin rippling. Ta'laps circled my waist, and he tugged me to standing. "I have two more things to show you."

There was a dark promise in the way he said it, reinforced by the firm grip of his tentacles. I flushed, squeezing my thighs together at the sudden pulse between them.

He made sure to keep a ta'lap around me as we walked through the bright corridors of the ship. It was like a maze, but he pointed to symbols on the metallic walls and explained that they were section names. If I could recognize the characters, I wouldn't get lost.

We finally ended at a closed door. Gravod stood in front of a glossy black panel set into the metal and spoke a few words in his language. The panel flashed blue, and the door slid open.

In front of us was a large room with walls covered in those same shiny panels. Computer screens, I assumed. There were seats and desks. It seemed important.

"The control room," Gravod said.

He moved to a panel just inside and spoke again, and then an image took up the entire wall opposite the doorway where I stood. My breath caught, and I gaped.

Space. Stars. In startling, high definition. It was beautiful.

Gravod motioned to the screen. "As you've probably noticed, there are no windows in the ship. We have cameras on the outer hull that show us what's outside. This is a recording from a few days before we arrived."

At that moment, a huge blue ball came into view.

"Neptune," I whispered.

Never mind that I'd had sex with an alien and was walking around on a spaceship. Seeing the eighth planet from the sun in all its blue, giant swirly gassiness… It brought it all home.

This is real. I'm really on a spaceship. They traveled through space to get here.

My butt hit the floor with a thud, and Gravod rushed to my side.

"Are you alright?" His tentacles were all over me, feeling for injuries.

I took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Yeah. I guess I needed to sit down for that."

He nodded in understanding. "You have a beautiful solar system."

I laughed, still sitting on the floor, staring in awe at the image of Neptune filling the screen.

"Thanks." I swallowed as a thought occurred to me. With some effort, I tore my gaze away and turned to Gravod. "Can you show me Vytaris?"

That same look of homesickness crossed his features.

"I can." His voice was heavy, sad.

Was I ready for this? My stomach churned, and I didn't bother trying to stand up as he walked back to the control panel. After a few words from him, another image replaced the one of Neptune. It was difficult at first to understand what I was seeing.

A group of Lydaxians stood on a shiny, metal platform. They seemed to be a mix of males and females, young and old and in-between, wearing light-colored garments in shades of white, blue, and yellow. Sleeveless tunics and flowing skirts and pants. Clothing for hot weather.

The sky behind them was a light lavender color. Mountains rose up in the far distance.

Then the view lifted, the group sinking down, and I realized what I was watching. It was the ship's departure. Some of the figures raised their hands as though to wave goodbye. Others lowered their heads or turned to hide their faces in a loved one's shoulder.

As the Lydaxians on the platform got smaller and smaller, more of their immediate surroundings came into view. A city of tall white buildings. What looked like elevated trains, sparkling under bright sunshine as they sped through the metropolis. Flying vehicles, resembling smaller versions of the ship I was on, zipped around the sky.

Minutes later, it was all in miniature. The ship climbed quickly, and soon the entire planet came into view. Oceans and land. Clouds of pale purple spiraling through the atmosphere. Two suns.

I was glad I stayed on the floor. Tears flowed down my cheeks. I didn't think my legs would ever work again.

They had left that behind. No wonder Thylor was obsessed with getting back.

Gravod knelt to brush my tears away. I looked up at his face. He wasn't crying, but the furrow of his brows told me he wasn't unaffected by the sight of his planet and loved ones.

"It must have been so hard for you to leave."

He cupped my face in his hands and leaned his forehead against mine.

"Jess. My sweet mate. I would always choose you. It's not even a question."