35. Jess

"Lucky bitch. You did it."

Edna stood in my office, tugging at the collar of my shirt to see Gravod's mark and grinning like a madwoman. I grinned back. My face was frozen in a permanent smile.

"Yep."

The bond warmed as I thought of him, catching him thinking about me. I was surprised at how easily I'd gotten used to the connection. If he was happy, sad, worried, or lustful, I felt all of it. Mainly, I felt his love for me. It was deep and devoted. I knew I'd never doubt it.

And he could feel my emotions too. We didn't have secrets. Maybe that would be uncomfortable for some people, but after my experiences with men, it was perfect.

No lies.

Edna plopped into the guest chair and sighed. "What do you think of the new director?"

"She's great. Gloria is the best choice they could have made."

It was the first time I'd been in the office in a week.

After bonding with Gravod, I'd called in a vacation, and we'd stayed on the spaceship for days. Between drawn-out rounds of sex, in more positions than I had thought possible, I'd gotten to know the ship better. Gravod taught me how to get food from the mess hall synthesizer, and he'd taken time to show me how everything worked, from the interactive display panels to the toilets and showers. I felt more than ready for the big adventure ahead of me.

A lot had happened at the library while I was out.

Kevin had completely disappeared. Rumor had it, he'd moved to some cabin in the mountains, ranting about a monster invasion. I didn't have to worry about him anymore.

Gloria was his complete opposite, generous and easy to work with. She trusted me to get the Wilson collection indexed and out to the public.

It would be my legacy after I left.

I'd expected to feel bad about leaving my career behind, but I was strangely okay with it. I didn't regret all the education and effort that had gone into getting here, and I also didn't regret deciding to take a different path. It wasn't like I could've anticipated falling for an alien.

At the bar, matches were starting to happen now, but not everyone was paired up. Gravod wanted to make sure every human mate had the same choice I did, so we'd be here a while longer. And we were still working on my cover story for when I eventually disappeared from the face of the Earth. Only a few people would know the truth.

Finding Thylor was going to be a challenge, but once we did, we were offering him exactly what he wanted. A return trip to Vytaris, in exchange for his help with the ship. He'd have to come out of hiding sometime, right?

And then, pretty soon, I'd be saying goodbye. To Earth. There would be friends I'd miss, sights and experiences here I'd never have. I should have been scared, but I wasn't. I had a universe to explore.

Edna got up and gave me another smile.

"Take care out there."

"I will."