Zoey moaned. It sounded different to her ears than it had in her dreams; this wasn’t a sound of ecstasy, it was one of agony. But then, her dreams usually weren’t accompanied by an intense throbbing in her skull, either.

“Zoey?” Ren’s voice, though soft, rolled through her head like a peal of thunder.

The mattress dipped, and her body slid toward the newly opened valley to stop against Ren. His hand settled on her side. Strange, but it felt as though his palm was touching her bare skin. Her nightshirt must have ridden up in her sleep. Right now, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

She brought her hands to her head and clenched her temples. It would be less painful if her head were cracked open — at least that would stand a chance of releasing some of the pressure.

“I’m dying, Ren,” she rasped. Each word was a unique pain in her throat, scraping like sandpaper on the way out, and her mouth was so dry that she wouldn’t have been surprised to see dust billowing from her lips as she spoke.

He sat up abruptly, making the mattress bounce. Zoey’s stomach lurched.

“What can I do to help?” he asked hurriedly.

Zoey cringed. “You can lower your voice, for starters.”

“I do not see how the volume of my voice has any effect on your condition,” he whispered.

“Because my head is going to explode if you don’t.” She moaned again, rolling onto her back.

His silence told her he’d taken her words literally.

Zoey cracked open her eyes and winced, shutting them again. Part of her brain understood that the room wasn’t brightly lit by any standards, but the glow from outside pierced her brain like a shard of glass.

“I need water,” she said. “And aspirin. An entire bottle of aspirin.”

“I will get you water,” he said gently, “but I do not know aspirin.”

The bed creaked and wobbled again as he got up.

“Hold up,” she said, opening her eyes and scrambling off the bed. She clamped a hand over her mouth to contain the bile climbing her throat and stumbled across the floor until her vision adjusted to the light enough to identify the nearby bathroom. She was vaguely aware of Ren calling her name as she raced through the doorway and dropped to her knees in front of the toilet.

This was a new kind of hell. She gripped the edges of the bowl and retched, emptying her stomach of everything she’d eaten the night before. Agony clawed through her with each gag. Stars burst across her vision, blinding her with flashes of light that were blurred by the tears in her eyes, and her head really felt as though it would explode.

She became suddenly aware of Ren’s presence. Somehow, he folded himself into the small space without crowding her, pulled back her hair, and placed a comforting hand on her back. At that moment, it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her. She was utterly embarrassed to be in such a state around him.

“I want to die,” Zoey cried.

“You are not allowed to,” he said firmly.

“You can’t stop me.”

“Watch me.”

Zoey heaved. It strained every muscle in her chest, neck, and face, and burned, and suffocated, and she hated it and really did want to die.

“Don’t argue with me when I’m sick,” she muttered weakly after it passed.

“Don’t argue with me when you’re sick,” he replied. He turned on the sink and handed her a little paper cup of water a moment later.

She used it to rinse her mouth. She was thirsty enough that she considered swallowing, but the thought made her shudder and threatened another bout of puking. Her mouth absorbed some moisture from it, at least.

Ren took the cup back and refilled it. “You need to drink, Zoey.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“You need to try.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He held the water under her face. “Just drink.”

Pouting, she accepted the cup. She took a tiny sip.

Ugh.

“Good. Now drink some more, human.”

“You’re extra bossy this morning.” She took another drink. A shiver ran through her. The water was foul, tainted by the taste in her mouth.

“I told you, you’re not allowed to die.” Rendash placed a finger beneath the cup and tipped it to her lips. “Keep going. A little at a time.”

She drank small sips until the cup was empty. When she was done, she rested her head on her arm and closed her eyes.

Ren remained in place beside her, slowly stroking her back.

Which was still bare.

Zoey’s brows furrowed. She lowered her other arm and touched her chest. Her bare chest. Shifting her arm aside, she looked down at herself.

Had she been embarrassed before? She was fucking mortified now! Here she was draped over the toilet, puking her guts out, dressed in nothing but a pair of purple panties with her boobs and every roll on display!

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ren, why am I naked?”

At the corner of her vision, he tilted his head in apparent confusion. “You removed your shirt and harness before I brought you to bed.”

“My shirt and my what?” She winced as a bolt of pain split through her skull.

“Your…harness,” he said, holding up two of his hands and cupping them in front of his chest as though cradling a pair of objects in his palms.

“My…bra? Are you saying I took off my shirt and bra? No, no way. I wouldn’t…”

He frowned. The hurt in his eyes was strong enough to clear her head a little. “You don’t remember what happened last night?”

“Y-you mean… That we… Oh God, it wasn’t a dream was it?” she asked, staring at him. Her gaze dipped briefly, and sure enough, his junk was just there, dangling between his legs. “Did we…?”

“We kissed. I touched you. And then you fell asleep.”

Please let me be struck with lightning now. Like right now.

All at once, she remembered kissing him, running her hands over his chest, feeling his hands on her…

It wasn’t a dream. It had really happened.

And she’d fallen asleep!

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It wasn’t… I didn’t…”

Ren moved a hand to her cheek and guided her eyes to his. “It was good, Zoey. More than good. I cannot blame you for having been exhausted.”

Her cheeks flamed; despite the combined effects of her hangover and her embarrassment, warmth spread through her at his words. Had he really liked it? Liked her? Kissing her, touching her, and…seeing her?

“It wasn’t exhaustion, Ren,” she said quietly. Damn her headache. Damn the fucking hangover. If she didn’t feel like keeling over, and if her mouth didn’t taste like vomit and ass, she would have kissed him. “It was the wine. I drank too much.”

“It was the drink?” he asked, blinking his outside and inside eyes slightly out of sync. “Is…is that also why you are sick today?”

“Yeah. Wine is an alcoholic beverage. It’s basically a drug that helps humans forget their inhibitions. Helps us relax and loosen up. Sometimes, a little too much. It’s been a long time since I drank, and I guess I forgot to limit myself.”

“You drank nearly the entire bottle.”

She winced. “Uh, yeah… Like I said, I forgot to limit myself.”

“There is a substance on my planet called tsirisk,” he said as he took the cup from her hand, refilled it, and passed it back to her. “It is something that has been known to my people for thousands of generations, made from a plant that grows deep in the jungle. The lesser of the Khorzar, those who do not have nyros, sometimes consume tsirisk before battle. It imbues them with great strength and speed.

“But when it has run its course, their bodies are left in weakened states, and the more they use it, the more dependent they grow upon it. Tsirisk is not the same as your alcohol, but what you said reminds me of it. And because of that, I will allow you no further alcohol while you are in my company.”

Zoey groaned and laid her head back down, keeping one arm across her breasts for modesty’s sake — though she was sure all her modesty had been murdered and buried in the back yard by now. “Not even a little?”

“No.”

“A smidge?”

“Human…”

Zoey smiled despite her discomfort. “At this point, I don’t want any more either.” Just the thought of more alcohol made her nauseous.

Rendash looked her over and released a sigh. “I dislike seeing you suffer like this.”

“Believe me, I don’t like it either.”

“Do you feel well enough to move back to the bed?”

“Just…give me a little while longer.”

Ren continued to rub her back, trailing his hand up and down along the line of her spine, then back and forth across her shoulders. The fingers still holding her hair up lightly massaged her scalp. Before long, Zoey’s eyes drifted closed.

“I think I can go back to bed now,” she mumbled.

Slowly, and with impossible gentleness, Rendash gathered Zoey into his arms. Her eyes flashed open and she tensed, trying to sit up. Big mistake. She groaned with pain and sagged into his hold.

“I’m too heavy for this,” she complained, crossing her arms over her chest. “I can walk.”

“You are a fool,” he replied affectionately. He stood up, all four of his arms supporting her weight evenly so there wasn’t painful pressure concentrated on any single spot. Moving with care, he turned and carried her through the doorway — somehow managing not to bump any part of her on the doorframe — and to the bed.

For the first time in her adult life, Zoey felt dainty. She couldn’t articulate the thought, not in a way he’d understand, so she simply curled against him until he sat her down on the bed.

Once she was in place, he stepped away to retrieve her shirt from atop the nearby dresser. She took it from him and pulled it on over her head.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Do you want your pants? The soft ones?”

Zoey stared at her bare legs for a moment before shaking her head. She lay down, reached for the covers, and pulled them up to her chin.

“I’m going to find a more suitable container for water,” he said.

Zoey reached out and caught one of his wrists before he could step away. “Stay.”

“I won’t be gone long.”

She frowned. “Promise?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Zoey watched him leave the room, unable to help but stare at his ass and the way it flexed as he walked.

Why do I keep telling him to cover up?

She distantly heard him rummaging through the kitchen. Her body eased, and her eyelids slid shut. Sleep had nearly overtaken her when a soft sound nearby caught her attention.

Ren had returned. He stood beside the bed, one hand lingering on the cup he’d placed on the nearby nightstand. The cup itself seemed surreal, something from a distant memory — it was one of those oversized plastic mugs with a lid and a fat bendy straw. The kind the nurses had given her father while he was in the hospital.

Her eyes stung with a sudden welling of tears, making her headache all the fiercer, and she squeezed them shut.

A gust of cool air flowed beneath the blanket. The bed creaked, and the mattress dipped. Two of Ren’s arms slipped beneath Zoey, drawing her against his hard, warm body.

Zoey turned to face him. She met his gaze as she snuggled close, one of her legs draped over his thighs and her body tucked against his side. Reaching up, she cupped his jaw, brushing her thumb over his lower lip.

“I remember last night,” she said, and kissed his shoulder before resting her head upon it, lowering her hand to his chest.

“I will remember it forever,” he replied softly as she drifted to sleep.