bit and closing her eyes. She had lashes that swept clear to her cheekbones. Her shaggy mane of black hair was a soft as mink, and crackled with slight static as he let his fingers explore the texture. When he went to curl an errant strand behind the place her ears should be, Kent got another shock.
Oh, she had ears all right. But they weren’t human ears. Not even Mr. Spock ears. They were more like little cat ears. And they moved, together or independently, flickering back and forth to catch every sound, especially the startled breath Kent took. Both of those adorable blue ears tilted forward, aiming at him. Her eyes opened, her face a question: Did I do something wrong?
“You’re beautiful,” said Kent softly, and meant it. He wanted to know what those parts of her he couldn’t see looked like…If her species and his could…
Staring into those soft, open eyes of deep amethyst, damned if he couldn’t summon up all his hard-argued reasons for swearing off females. Not a single one.
Povre returned his exploration. Her fingers traced along his stubbled jaw. By the way her touch went from one area to the other, he could tell she was making mental comparisons. Between what? His species and hers? The diversity in texture between the short, rough facial hair and the soft head hair?
“What are you, Povre? Why are you here? Are there more like you?”
Worry flashed through him. Thoughts of UFOs and top-secret files, lurid pictures of mummified or dead aliens splashed on supermarket tabloids. Alien abductions…
If she wanted to abduct me she’d have done that already. And if she’s not alone, are they watching us? His gaze quickly skimmed the perimeter of the camp. No, he had the definite impression she was alone. So why was she alone? Was she abandoned as some punishment? Was she actually some sort of alien criminal?
Povre smiled. The gentle curve of her mouth washed away any such thoughts. No, she couldn’t be that.
If he wasn’t in danger from her, she was certainly in danger from his culture. He watched all those TV shows and movies. In fact, he was a closet fan of the X-files, as well as a more open follower of Star Trek and Stargate SG-1. And who could forget that they nearly killed E.T.?
“So what am I supposed to do with you?” wondered Kent softly. “I can’t take you with me. People will call the Feds. The military. Area 51 and all that. Cops will be all over us. You don’t understand. A lot of people are scared of things they don’t understand. And they absolutely won’t understand you. You’ll get taken away and go to a lab and be analyzed to death.” He shuddered, imagining her beautiful face still and cold in death. “Where do you live? Where do you come from? Why are you here? I wish you could tell me…”
K ’NT’S CONCERN AND DISTRESS worried Povre. Even without her abilities, she could see the change in his outward expression, as if a door had closed between them. She could see no sign of his previous eagerness to share verbal communication and information with her. Now that she was in tune with him, Povre could extend her empathic talents beyond his surface pains and emotions. She felt his fear—fear for her—and had to admit that she was terrified as well. She’d heard stories about the life forms of this planet and what they would do to people from other worlds. They even showed some of it as entertainment! Why, H’renzek had tried to scare her into obedience by showing her some of the more graphic of the intercepted broadcasts.
All Povre had asked then was “Do we know a species that looks like that? Where did they come from? Why haven’t we contacted them? Are they dangerous? Do we keep coming back here to prevent these others from causing harm to this planet? Is this another one of their entertainment videos?” She didn’t give him time to answer one question before going to the next.
“It’s not the species that matters.” H’renzek groaned in frustration.
Oh, she had ears all right. But they weren’t human ears. Not even Mr. Spock ears. They were more like little cat ears. And they moved, together or independently, flickering back and forth to catch every sound, especially the startled breath Kent took. Both of those adorable blue ears tilted forward, aiming at him. Her eyes opened, her face a question: Did I do something wrong?
“You’re beautiful,” said Kent softly, and meant it. He wanted to know what those parts of her he couldn’t see looked like…If her species and his could…
Staring into those soft, open eyes of deep amethyst, damned if he couldn’t summon up all his hard-argued reasons for swearing off females. Not a single one.
Povre returned his exploration. Her fingers traced along his stubbled jaw. By the way her touch went from one area to the other, he could tell she was making mental comparisons. Between what? His species and hers? The diversity in texture between the short, rough facial hair and the soft head hair?
“What are you, Povre? Why are you here? Are there more like you?”
Worry flashed through him. Thoughts of UFOs and top-secret files, lurid pictures of mummified or dead aliens splashed on supermarket tabloids. Alien abductions…
If she wanted to abduct me she’d have done that already. And if she’s not alone, are they watching us? His gaze quickly skimmed the perimeter of the camp. No, he had the definite impression she was alone. So why was she alone? Was she abandoned as some punishment? Was she actually some sort of alien criminal?
Povre smiled. The gentle curve of her mouth washed away any such thoughts. No, she couldn’t be that.
If he wasn’t in danger from her, she was certainly in danger from his culture. He watched all those TV shows and movies. In fact, he was a closet fan of the X-files, as well as a more open follower of Star Trek and Stargate SG-1. And who could forget that they nearly killed E.T.?
“So what am I supposed to do with you?” wondered Kent softly. “I can’t take you with me. People will call the Feds. The military. Area 51 and all that. Cops will be all over us. You don’t understand. A lot of people are scared of things they don’t understand. And they absolutely won’t understand you. You’ll get taken away and go to a lab and be analyzed to death.” He shuddered, imagining her beautiful face still and cold in death. “Where do you live? Where do you come from? Why are you here? I wish you could tell me…”
K ’NT’S CONCERN AND DISTRESS worried Povre. Even without her abilities, she could see the change in his outward expression, as if a door had closed between them. She could see no sign of his previous eagerness to share verbal communication and information with her. Now that she was in tune with him, Povre could extend her empathic talents beyond his surface pains and emotions. She felt his fear—fear for her—and had to admit that she was terrified as well. She’d heard stories about the life forms of this planet and what they would do to people from other worlds. They even showed some of it as entertainment! Why, H’renzek had tried to scare her into obedience by showing her some of the more graphic of the intercepted broadcasts.
All Povre had asked then was “Do we know a species that looks like that? Where did they come from? Why haven’t we contacted them? Are they dangerous? Do we keep coming back here to prevent these others from causing harm to this planet? Is this another one of their entertainment videos?” She didn’t give him time to answer one question before going to the next.
“It’s not the species that matters.” H’renzek groaned in frustration.
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