Chapter 4

Lorelai

A s soon as I said it, I knew I'd made a mistake.

Stop, Lorelai. Stop. You're going to get in trouble. He's an alien. He's not even human! He's more than that. He's—he's some sort of official. He's important. He's way above you. He could have you thrown in the dungeons for this.

Dungeons? Did they have dungeons on Drixus?

Probably whips and chains…for fun, I thought, and giggled.

Only then did I realize I was still staring at the alien's mouth, giggling.

How long I'd been leaning towards him, I had no idea. The slightest rational part of my brain warned me that I was making a fool of myself. The rest of me? Didn't care.

With a firm, abrupt movement, the Asterion twisted in his seat to place his glass firmly on the bar before swiveling back to me.

"Human female," he said, "I am going to offer you a kindness and advise you to return to your ship, lest you place yourself in a harmful situation. Drixus is nowhere an inebriated female, on her own, should be."

I heard what he was saying. A detached part of my brain even recognized the wisdom. But alcohol muted my better judgment.

"I'm not alone," I smirked, picking my glass back up and tipping it his direction. "You're here."

His dark brows rose. Likely at my stumbling attempts to flirt.

"Not for long," he answered cooly. "I am tired of this nonsense, and am going back to my ship."

"Why don't you take me with you, then?" I giggled. "You could escort me home, if you're so worried about it."

To my horror, I felt myself losing my balance. Swaying. Why was I swaying? Was the room tilting? We weren't on a space ship, so it shouldn't be tilting.

I suppose I must have been worse off than I realized. Apparently, I was so bad the alien either felt some measure of sympathy for me making a fool of myself, or found the sight so degrading on a woman my age that he couldn't bear it anymore.

"Let us go."

Rising, he tugged on my arm, pulling me up with him. I swayed, stumbling backwards against the stool. He reacted by catching me, removing my cup—again—and saying, "Here, here," with some irritation, I thought. I didn't mind. He was gorgeous, he had an arm around me, and he was leading me from the crowded, smoke-filled, noisy, bright room. I couldn't have cared less about why he was leading me or where we were going. Instead, I leaned against him, smiling, happy for the first time in forever.

Genuinely happy.

It's not happiness, that tiny, tiny small part of my brain warned . It's the blitza. That's all it is. Tomorrow you're going to wake up more depressed than ever and nursing a hangover.

Shut it . I drooped against the Overlord, resting more of my weight against him. He was neither incredibly tall nor impossibly broad, like many of the alien species. For all that, he took my weight like it was nothing.

"You're very strong," I breathed, smiling up at him. Stars, he was beautiful. How had I ever been satisfied with my human husband? Charlie hadn't even aged well. He may have had women all around the Citadel, but that had to be due to the general lack of human men. He'd been balding and growing a pot belly—which hadn't stopped his female admirers, apparently. However, he was a human man with some influence. Which had probably helped.

Memories of my ex helped lift the blitza-induced haze.

Damn him, I thought, my emotions spinning rapidly from admiration for the alien to disgust at my ex-husband.

The sad truth was, no matter how he'd looked, no matter what quiet dissatisfaction or loneliness I'd endured, I would never have cheated on Charlie or left him without good cause. I'd made my vows and I'd intended to stick to them until the day I died, never mind the love that faded each year with being ignored, being slighted, being jabbed with quick, stinging taunts. None of that, I'd told myself, was real cause for divorce. I'd meant to persevere.

Honestly, in some ways, painful as the truth was, finding out Charlie was cheating had come as a weird sort of relief. It meant I could get out of my cold, stale, uncomfortable marriage with a clean conscience. And I had.

But that didn't make me feel better that I'd given twenty years of my life to the unscrupulous idiot.

It wasn't a waste, though. He'd given me my sons, and I would take the trade of a sad, lonely marriage any day for the sake of my boys.

I suppose my shifting moods must have been obvious. By now, the Overlord and I were outside the crowded, noisy common areas and in the quieter corridors when he said to me, "Are you well, female?"

I glanced up. The sculpted lines of his face were slightly blurry. I blinked a few times until they righted themselves.

"I suppose," I sighed. "Just thinking about my husband. He cheated on me. Quite a few times. Probably more than I'll never know," I laughed harshly. "That's why I'm here, ultimately. I divorced his ass. An Official helped me get a job on a space ship. And that's how I'm—I'm here," I mumbled. When the alien didn't comment or react, I added, "Sorry. I really doubt you care about my life's story."

"No," he agreed, in straightforward alien fashion, "but it does explain why a human female of your age and temperament is visiting the pleasure houses of Drixus."

I stiffened, pulling away from him. A woman of my age and temperament? What the hell was that supposed to mean? That I was too old and too—what, cranky? —to be here?

"Excuse me!" I said, jerking my arm free of his.

"What?"

He halted, gazing down at me like he hadn't the slightest idea why I was offended.

Being an alien…no, being a guy, he probably didn't.

Men of all species seemed to be universally clueless about some things.

"That was incredibly rude," I snapped.

"What was incredibly rude?" He frowned at me, like I'd gone nuts.

"You…you…you said…" Without his support, I felt a little dizzy and had to catch myself with a hand against the wall. "You said…"

What had he said? Something about me being old? Too old to be here?

All of a sudden, it didn't seem such a terrible remark. He was right. I was way too old for this. Way too old, way past jaded. All of a sudden, I wanted to be back in my room. In the quiet. Where I could lie down.

"Never mind," I mumbled, turning, keeping a hand on the wall to support myself.

I don't know how far I'd gone when I heard the Asterion behind me say, cool amusement in his tones, "If you are seeking the ship bay, you are headed the wrong direction."

I stopped, gritting my teeth.

Damn it.

"Allow me, female." I felt him step up beside me, take my arm once more. "I will take you to your space ship—if you can recall which is yours—and then I will go to my room. I think I have had my fill of excesses this eve."

He offered me no quarter, gave me no option, as he turned me around and got us walking again. I could have protested, but I didn't think it would do me any good. He was a man on a mission as the old saying goes…except, he wasn't a man. Not a human one, anyway.

We were in the ship bay when the idea, the sensation, that had been growing since I first laid on eyes on this creature, this Asterion, bloomed into full force. He was so damned beautiful. And seemed as tired of all the craziness as I was. He also seemed lonely. I was lonely too. The kind of loneliness inspired by hurt and betrayal. The kind that that made words whisper in my mind, words like,

Invite him to stay. What's the harm? You'll never see him again.

What if he says no?

What if he does? Then you're alone and you drink wine till you fall asleep. You're never going to see him again.

I've never done anything like this before.

There's a first time for everything.

What if he stays and he hates it? What if you're not good enough?

Who cares? You get sex from a gorgeous alien and you're going to complain? You're never going to see him again.

That was it. The argument that kept repeating and leading me down a path I'd never dreamed, at the beginning of the night, that I'd go down. The path of a one-night stand. A one-night stand…with an alien.

We were in the bay now, where the space ships were docked. Rows upon rows of gleaming space ships. Big ones; small, personal ones; commercial ones; military ones. Explorer ones, mid-size, like mine.

"What is your ship's name?" the alien asked.

That was embarrassing. I screwed up my face, trying to think.

"I, uh…"

He frowned down at me. "You cannot remember?"

I shook my head to try and clear the vapors. Not to mention the lingering thoughts of him and what he must look like naked. That beautiful silver skin all bare for my hands to roam over…

Stop, Lorelai! Focus!

The alien must have noticed something was off. He tilted his head, staring down at me with a new light in his eyes.

"You are looking at me in a particular manner," he said, and his voice had deepened, gone a little rough.

"I…I am?"

Slowly, he nodded his head.

"You are looking at me in a fashion that says you are…attracted to me, perhaps."

"I…I am?"

I couldn't think of anything else to say. The longer our gazes meshed, his golden eyes and my pale blue ones, the longer I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. Like this had to be a dream, or I'd suddenly been transported into an old romance movie from before the Final War, when humans had the time and money to devote to making movies. We were too fixated on survival now for such luxuries, but some astute humans, adroit in older electronics, had been able to get some of the ancient equipment working again where we could watch those films.

At any rate, the alien—and it occurred to me I still didn't know his name—continued gazing down at me. Was it my imagination? Or were his sharp, golden eyes softening?

"I find you beautiful too," he said softly, reaching out to cup my cheek with his hand. "Older, perhaps, than most of the human females I've bedded, but lovely, nonetheless."

I should have been offended by that. If not for the blitza, I probably would have been offended. I was too mellow from the alcohol, too happy to hear a compliment, and too mesmerized by his touch to get mad over the ageist remark.

"Well, neither of us are married," I breathed, swaying towards him.

"Not that it matters…" he mumbled, his expression altering slightly.

I drew back, uncertain I'd heard him right. "What?"

"It was nothing," he assured me, shaking his head. He lowered his hand from my face, slid it down my shoulder, my arm, all the way to my fingertips which he took and lifted to his lips.

"You are correct, human female," he said. "Neither of us are married. We could indulge in…" His gaze roved up and down my body in a way that said he was clearly interested in what lay beneath my clothes, despite their primness and modesty. I could have been creeped out. Instead, my body flushed, heat spiraling through my waist, my stomach, my core. "Sensual pleasures," he finished, practically purring the words.

Then he touched my fingertips to his lips. Slowly, one by one, his mouth pressed soft, sweet kisses against them. His eyes glowed like molten gold, promising so much more. I shivered, unable to think of anything except those kisses being pressed elsewhere on my body…

"I still—still can't remember the name of my ship," I whispered, my voice shaky from anticipation, desire, fear. "But I bet—you've got a room, don't you? Or—or a ship?"

A wicked smile curved one corner of his mouth.

"Oh, I've both," he murmured. "And my ship is much closer. The room is rather small; the bed rather narrow. But…" He slid an arm around my waist, drawing me against his body. "That does not matter."

"No," I whispered, so arrested by him that I had turned into a mush-brained fool. "That doesn't matter at all."

Sweet merciful heavens, a narrow bed with him on top?

Or me on top?

All sorts of scenarios were racing through my mind. Sex acts and sex positions that Charlie and I hadn't tried in forever. Our sex life had progressively grown stale through the years—since, unbeknownst to me, he was doing half the women outside the walls of the Citadel—but that didn't mean I'd forgotten what it was like to be young and fiery and interested in trying new things.

In fact, the longer we stood there, pressed against each other, the fierier my thoughts grew. This Overlord was staring at me in a way that said he was ready to absolutely devour me. And I was more than prepared to let him. I was hoping he'd kiss me first, though. I was eager to feel those lips on mine, that tongue tangling with mine when—

A loud clanging, like a bell or an alarm. Instantly, my focus on sex snapped.

"What's that?" I asked, pulling away.

The Overlord let me go, but kept a hand on my back so that I didn't stray too far.

"The alarm for the shift change," he said. "Those left on duty here at their ships will be replaced so everyone can take a turn in the pleasure centers."

"Oh." I rolled my eyes a little. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Men are men universally."

The alien gave me a strange look, even as hatches lifted and doors opened on all the ships around us, humans and aliens of every sort scuttling down gangplanks and ladders, eager to be out of the ship bay and into the fun houses.

"Perhaps we are," he agreed. "However, unless I misread every signal, you were prepared to take your indulgence with me, were you not?"

"Yeah, but…"

Heat flooded my cheeks.

"It's not the same thing," I protested.

"Is it not, though?"

Irritated, I stepped backward several steps. "No," I said bluntly, "it's not. I'm not married. Neither are you. If you had been married, I wouldn't have messed with you at all, much less considered sleeping with you. How many of these guys—" I waved a hand to encompass the mostly male crew members zipping past, a few tossing us curious glances. "…do you think are married and have wives waiting for them on their home planets? I bet it's a high number."

The Asterion blinked a few times, face sober, then his firm features relaxed into a rueful smile.

"Perhaps you are right," he said. "But, I assure you, many females are unfaithful partners as well."

"Not as many as men," I said, folding my arms stubbornly across my chest.

"You say that because your husband was unfaithful to you," he suggested, his tone purposefully mild.

I opened my mouth to protest—to say, Yeah, that might have been true, but statistics prove…

I stopped. How many of the women back on Earth sleeping with my husband knew he was married? After all, he was a well-known figure in the community, and the fact that he had a wife and children was absolutely not a secret.

I closed my mouth, sighed.

"Okay, maybe women are just about as bad," I grumbled. "Still—"

I stopped. I'd been about to say, "I detest cheaters." What was the point? Why was I having this stupid discussion with him anyway? He was a complete stranger and it wasn't like I'd be seeing him again after today.

"You know what?" I said, changing topics, "it doesn't matter. It's nothing to argue about."

"I agree. We could be doing much better things than arguing."

My eyebrows lifted slightly at the bare invitation. Ten minutes ago, or less, I'd been hoping to fall into his arms. My buzz and mood were a little stunted after that mild argument, but, still…I didn't have anything better to do, did I?

"I guess we could at least hang out," I said cautiously. I eyed him up and down. "I'm betting you could offer a lady a drink."

The alien's smile blossomed into a genuine smile now.

"I have many special beverages in my room," he said. "And my ship is close."

A funny little thrill twisted my stomach.

"Alright," I said, forgetting my irritation. "Let's go. I think the blitza has worn off. I could definitely use another drink."

"Another drink is always an excellent idea," the alien agreed. He offered me his arm, surprising me. "My lady?"

I couldn't tell if he was teasing me, trying to be gallant, or if this was an actual custom on his home planet. I decided it didn't matter and slid my hand into the crook of his elbow.

"Lead the way," I said.