Read Online Gray Card by Cassandra Chandler - Free Book Online

ship.”
    When Evelyn made the request, Adam was hardly in a state to refuse her anything. A shiver flowed over his skin as he thought of the warmth of her body. There was nothing like the incredible feeling of belonging and connection when he was inside of her, arms around each other, holding each other as close as they possibly could.
    He felt like he was melting into her sometimes, a union beyond anything he’d experienced. Remembering that and enjoying the forest around him, he could almost forget about the challenges they faced.
    In the full bloom of summer, the trees overhead were thick with rich green foliage. Insects that couldn’t bite off his head chirred pleasantly around them and birds called out to each other. The entirely wholesome sound of dirt and rocks crunching beneath their boots blended in with the woodland melody. The only thing that would have improved the hike was if they could hold hands, but the trail was too narrow for that.
    “Earth to Adam.” She laughed. “I guess I should say, ‘Sadr-4 to Adam.’”
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He smiled anyway, delighting in learning a new game. She was the most playful being he had ever encountered.
    “It’s an expression we Earth-humans use for when the person we’re with seems to be zoning out. I guess that idiom was overlooked when you learned English.”
    “A few were. I’m just a little distracted. Bringing you to my ship is a big deal.”
    “Why do it, then?”
    “Because you asked.”
    “So, if I asked you to throw me down on the ground and have sex with me right here and now, you’d do that too?”
    He stopped so suddenly that she ran into his back. Making love to her in the forest? Could they really do that? His body grew hard at the thought of Evelyn in a green field, the wind playing over their naked bodies as…
    “Do not get your hopes up! I shouldn’t have used that as an example.” She slipped past him, hands held up as if to fend him off, but she was smiling. “It is amazing enough that you’ve been getting me out in the wilderness so much that this hike isn’t making me wheeze. I am not ready to throw down with you in a field full of bugs and dirt.”
    “Not ready yet .” Adam grinned at her as she gave him a fake look of disapproval over her shoulder.
    His body slowly got the message that now was the time to walk, as disappointing as that was. She wasn’t too far ahead as he resumed his trek toward her.
    “It is awesome to know the actual location of another inhabited planet,” she said. “And so close.”
    “The Milky Way is much more populated than you think. There are protocols in place to keep Earth from figuring that out.”
    “What kind of protocols?”
    “There are teams assigned to all the planets with preservation status. They do what’s necessary to allow any sentient inhabitants—even ones that originated from a lost colony—to develop along their own natural progression without gaining too much knowledge too quickly.”
    “Wait, so you guys are stopping us from realizing that aliens are real?”
    “We’re stopping you from getting hard evidence. Can you imagine the panic that would ensue if everyone suddenly discovered that not only were they not alone in the universe, but they’re right next to a galactic highway?”
    She stopped to stare at him, wide-eyed. “Are we?”
    “It’s close.”
    “I’m glad you guys decided to go around the planet instead of through it when you set that up.”
    She grinned in the particular way that let him know she was referencing a sci-fi story that he hadn’t experienced yet. They had a lifetime for her to share everything with him. He couldn’t wait to get started.
    Evelyn turned back around and resumed picking her way along the barely discernible trail that led to his Skimmer . When she started to get off course, he corrected her with a gentle touch.
    “It’s still pretty shitty of you guys to decide that for us. Somebody should