Zoey stepped into the motel room, leaving the door open for Rendash, who was still cloaked, to enter behind her. He brushed a finger over her arm as he passed to signal that he’d come in. Her lips parted with a soft inhalation before she shut the door, locked it, and drew the curtains closed to block the window that looked out over the vehicle storage lot.

Rendash released his cloaking field gratefully. Despite his recent experiences, he hadn’t realized how difficult the field would be to maintain. His nyros were behaving like a muscle that had atrophied after a long period of disuse. It seemed to be improving with time, but at much too slow a rate. Without desperation to fuel him, his nyros was unreliable at best.

He lifted Zoey’s suitcase onto the bed and turned to face her.

“Thank you,” she murmured, stepping close and resting her hand atop it.

Rendash frowned; her behavior was strange, but his experience with humans was too narrow to tell whether this was normal or not. “I’m going to clean up, Zoey. I will be out shortly.”

She nodded without looking at him.

After lingering near her briefly, Rendash walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and leaned over the sink to scrub the makeup off his scales with one of the folded cloths hanging nearby. The substance hadn’t been comfortable from the beginning, but it had grown increasingly itchy and dry as the day wore on. He understood the necessity and would do his best to avoid complaint when she inevitably wanted to apply more makeup on him the next day, but he couldn’t get it off quickly enough now.

Once his face was clean, he divested himself of his human garb and entered the shower, making the water as hot as it would go. After washing, drying, and relieving himself, he wrapped a large cloth — a towel, as Zoey had called it — around his waist and exited the bathroom.

He frowned. Zoey was sitting on the inside edge of the farthest bed, staring blankly at the floor.

Rendash crossed the distance between them and sat across from her on the other bed. “You’ve barely said a word since we entered the truck, Zoey. Speak to me now.”

She looked up at him and attempted a smile. Her blue-gray eyes shimmered, standing out in sharp contrast to her dark brown hair. “Guess my mind has been preoccupied.”

“With what?”

Her jaw muscles ticked. “I’ve made a lot of stupid choices in life, but tonight… I think that was the dumbest yet. I should have just listened to you. We could have walked.”

“No one could have guessed what he was going to attempt.”

“I should have known. I did know!” Zoey hung her head, closed her eyes, and pressed the heels of her hands to her eyelids. “I just keep thinking about what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.”

Detachment.

But that wouldn’t work now, would it? He’d been unable to detach himself from the details of the situation, had been unable to focus on the simple task at hand: protect Zoey. All that should have entailed was the assessment and elimination of threats.

Killing the male human should’ve been quick and efficient, should’ve been clean.

The truck’s unexpected stop had confused Rendash. He’d guessed by the roughness of the ride that they’d left the main road, but there was so much unknown to him about humans and their planet that he couldn’t risk alerting the driver by moving. The human voices had been muffled by the enclosed cab of the vehicle, and the music had been just loud enough to distort their words.

Even now, Rendash cursed himself for taking so long to respond.

By the time he’d dragged the struggling male into the brush, rage had overpowered all the tenets of his training but one — instinct. Rendash’s instinct had been to tear the human apart for daring to lay hands on his Zoey. His nyros had responded to that rage by pouring excess strength into his limbs. Even after the kill had been made, Rendash had continued his assault with two thrumming vrahsks.

Though it had been far from painless, the human’s death had been too swift for Rendash’s liking. Zoey’s fearful scream had repeated in Rendash’s head over and over — it continued even now, when he stilled his mind and pushed aside his other thoughts.

He leaned forward and clasped her wrists in his lower hands, guiding her arms down before cupping her cheeks with his free hands.

“All that we have is what did happen, Zoey. Difficult as it may be, we must detach ourselves from what might have been and accept what is. Whatever dark thoughts you might have are a product only of your imaginings and not reality. You are safe.”

When she raised her arms, he released his hold. She covered his upper hands with her own, pressing them against her warm cheeks. Then she slid her palms slowly along his arms, over his shoulders, and up his neck to cradle his face. She locked her eyes with his. “Thank you, Ren.”

Rendash explored the depths of her alluring, alien eyes. He longed to feel her soft hands elsewhere on his body. Longed to touch her elsewhere, without the barrier of her clothing to separate them.

She lowered her hands and stood, stepping out of his reach. “I’m going to take a shower.”

After gathering clothes from the open suitcase on her bed, she walked to the TV, grabbed the remote, and tossed it to him. “I’ll order us some food when I get out. The lady at the front desk said there are a few pizza places nearby that deliver.”

“I do not know what that is, but I trust it will be adequate.”

Zoey shook her head, offering a fleeting glimpse of her smile in profile as she stepped into the bathroom. The door closed, and soon after, the shower came on.

Rendash picked up the remote. He pressed the red button at the top — the only one he knew, after his experience at the last place they’d slept — to turn the TV on, but that exhausted the full extent of his knowledge. All the symbols on the remote were alien to him. Stantz’s scientists had taught Rendash to speak their language, not to read it.

He was greeted by a blank blue screen. Where were the moving images? The TV at their prior shelter had operated like a primitive holographic projector, displaying moving images of humans, strange animals, and clusters of symbols.

He pressed a finger down on one of the buttons at random. A line divided up into little bars appeared at the bottom of the screen. When he pressed the button down again, several of the bars disappeared. He pushed another button, and the screen displayed four human symbols accompanied by a triangle pointing to the right.

Two humans appeared on the TV, a male and a female. The female was seated on a chair covered in a pale brown fabric. The male was standing nearby, facing away from her, dressed in some sort of uniform vaguely reminiscent of Stantz’s soldiers. Perhaps he was merely a differently specialized warrior?

“I am trying to investigate these crimes, Misses Haversnatch,” the male said with an oddly stilted cadence. “If you don’t cooperate, I’ll have to book you for obstruction.”

The female stood and approached the man with an exaggerated sway in her hips, grasping her shirt. “Does this look like obstruction to you, Officer Cumswell?”

Just as Rendash was looking for another button to press, the woman ripped open her shirt, and her large breasts sprang free. Rendash perked, back straightening and eyes widening. He’d never seen anything like them before. Was that what Zoey looked like beneath her shirt?

The male, Officer Cumswell, seemed to debate with himself. “I can’t have intimate relations with a person of interest in my investigation.”

The woman dropped to her knees in front of the male. “Maybe I can change your mind.” She tore open the male’s pants as easily as she had her shirt. His erection jutted toward her. “Looks like your interest is more than professional.”

Officer Cumswell moaned as the woman gripped his cock and took it into her mouth.

Rendash moved to the front edge of the bed and leaned forward to watch the bizarre mating ritual, resting his hands on his knees. The image zoomed in on the woman’s mouth as she slid her lips back and forth along the male’s shaft.

Their mating progressed rapidly through various positions and phases until they were both naked, slamming their bodies together with flesh slapping. Though the sounds they made seemed pained at times, neither of them slowed. They appeared to be enjoying themselves. Rendash was particularly interested in the male using his mouth on the female’s genitals, which were so open and welcoming compared to those of female aligarii. The man’s attentions seemed to drive her mad; her face contorted with overwhelming pleasure.

Immediately, Zoey’s face came to mind. What did her body look like without coverings? What sounds would she make if it was Rendash’s mouth between her thighs? What expression would she wear if she were filled with such passion and lust?

His cock stiffened with want at the mere thought of her in such positions. He dropped a hand to grasp his erection through the towel, hoping to alleviate some of the desirous ache. His own touch only strengthened his need.

He closed his eyes and stroked his shaft. Pleasure coursed through him, forcing him to grit his teeth and tighten his hold.

Control.

His gaze drifted toward the bathroom. If he couldn’t detach himself from his rapidly growing feelings for Zoey, how could he expect to control his want for her?

He looked at the screen again. The couple had changed positions; the woman was on her hands and knees with the male thrusting into her from behind.

Human fornication was simultaneously confusing and fascinating. He was unfamiliar with their reproductive process, but surely it didn’t take this long for them to complete their coupling. This mating… This looked as though it were purely for enjoyment.

The concept was foreign to Rendash. He was unsure about greater aligarii society, but amongst the Khorzar, sex served only two purposes — a quick means of release for those in the field or a fulfillment of reproductive duty for those who had been cleared to mate. Female aligarii could not reach their peak until the male had blossomed, meaning it was best for those involved to reach the point of mutual fulfillment as fast as possible.

What pleasure was involved was brief and never served as the primary focus. For those who were not mated, it was only a release of built-up desires to allow a clearer path to control.

And they certainly didn’t use their mouths — at least not in his experience.

The bathroom door opened, and Zoey stepped out.

“I hope you like pepperoni be…cause…” Her wide eyes fell upon him, shifted to the hand grasping his cock, and then swung to the TV. “What the hell!”

“What is wrong?” Rendash stood and turned to face her. The towel around his hips fell to the floor.

Zoey stared at him — or, more specifically, his groin — with lips parted and cheeks reddening.

Rendash imagined his cock slipping past those lips and groaned.

“Oh, my God.” Zoey’s pupils dilated, and her breath quickened. “You…you’re sitting here, doing this, while I was…” She looked at the TV again, silently watching. Finally, she snatched up the remote and turned off the screen.

“I only turned it on. I did not know how to change the image,” he said, dipping into a crouch only long enough to snatch up his fallen towel and replace it. Though he felt no shame, he’d clearly made her uncomfortable. “I am sorry if I have violated your human customs again.”

She walked to the TV and pressed a button on the small device beneath it. A tray slid out of its front with a faint mechanical whine. Zoey plucked out a round, thin disc from within. “Guess someone forgot to take their porn with them,” she muttered, dropping the disc into a plastic bin on the floor nearby.

As she moved past him to sit on the other bed, he couldn’t help but look at her differently; he couldn’t ignore the curves he’d felt beneath his palms when he’d touched her earlier, couldn’t forget how it had felt to hold her the night before. The hunger that had already been growing in him was intensified now; he wanted her.

“Are you all right, Zoey?”

“I’m fine.” Leaning over the small table between the beds, she picked up a device attached to a spiral cord and held it to her ear.

“Remember, you are a poor liar,” he said.

“I just really don’t want to talk about catching you jerking off to porn, okay?”

He turned his head to glance at the plastic bin in which she’d deposited the disc. “I…don’t understand what you mean.”

Zoey looked at him with her eyebrows low. “Porn! The people having sex on the TV!” She pressed her lips together and turned her face away, glaring at the device in her hand. “A lot of men like to get off on it.”

The displeasure in her voice was underscored by traces of anger, but he got the sense that there was more she wasn’t saying. “I was not…getting off on it.”

“I’m sorry, okay?” she said quickly. “I shouldn’t have acted that way, much less make you feel…ashamed about it.”

“I do not feel shame over it. Only confusion.” He moved to sit on the bed opposite her. “You seem to have taken personal issue over the matter.”

Anger flashed in her eyes when she looked at him, but it quickly died. She sighed. “I used to catch Joshua watching it. A lot.”

Rendash leaned forward, resting his lower elbows on his thighs. “Help me understand why that is a problem. I have encountered nothing like this in my time.”

Zoey lowered the device to its cradle and ran a hand through her hair. The action sent a burst of fragrance toward him, which he greedily inhaled.

“Humans…really enjoy sex. The gratification of it. That’s what porn thrives on, giving people something to get excited about to help them to that point of climax. It’s meant to arouse. And human men are very visual. Let’s just say…I discovered just how important that was.”

He frowned. “You seem hesitant to continue, but you’ve left me only with more questions.”

“It’s because I’m fat!” she snapped. “I’m not appealing. Josh watched porn because he was dissatisfied by my appearance. Those were the women he wanted. Not me. He turned it on every time we were…intimate. He said it was to set the mood. I was just too dumb, or too desperate, to acknowledge what he really meant.” Her bottom lip trembled.

Rendash reached forward, and, before she could react, gathered her in his arms and pulled her into his lap.

“W-what are you doing?” she asked, body stiffening.

He brushed some of her still-damp hair out of her face. “This Josh must be a blind fool to want other females over you.”

She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “What?”

“Josh is a blind fool.” He turned his hand and trailed his knuckles over the soft skin of her cheek. She shivered. “If he could not see your appeal, he does not deserve to have you as a mate.”

Zoey’s breath hitched as she stared up at him. There was another scent coming from her. He’d smelled it before on a couple other occasions, but holding her in his arms now, so close to him, it was strengthened, heightening his awareness of her. It engaged those instincts — the deep, primal ones — over which he had little control.

He was hyperaware of every spot where their bodies were touching — her shoulder pressed against his chest, his hands on her ribcage just beneath her full breast, on her waist, and on her upper thigh. Most of all, her rounded backside upon his hardened cock.

“I…should call the pizza place before it gets too late,” Zoey said. “A lot of, uh… A lot of places close early. In small towns…like this one.”

Despite her words, she was subtly leaning closer to him, her pink lips parted. Rendash’s heart pounded.

Control. Detachment.

He clenched his jaw and drew in a deep breath, filling his lungs until it hurt. He released the air slowly, closing his eyes. He’d never felt the need to possess anything like he longed to possess Zoey now.

“Warm food would be welcome,” he finally said, gently sliding her off his lap and depositing her on her feet. It took an extra surge of willpower to remove his hands from her. “The sooner we eat and rest, the sooner we can continue on our way.”

“Right.” Zoey remained in place, staring at him; he didn’t know if it was a trick of his mind, but she seemed to sway toward him infinitesimally before stepping back.

She picked up the corded handset again and pressed a series of buttons on its cradle. He distantly heard another voice coming through the device before Zoey responded.

Rendash tensed, barely stopping himself from snatching the device out of her hand.

Ordering food wouldn’t reveal to anyone that Rendash was with Zoey.

She replaced the device on the cradle after a brief conversation and smiled at him. “Food should be here soon. Let’s see if there’s anything decent to watch while we wait.” Retrieving the remote from where she’d dropped it, she jumped onto the bed and bunched up the pillows against the wall, sitting with her back against them. She looked at Rendash expectantly and patted the spot next to her.

The bed wobbled, creaked, and groaned as he joined her.

Zoey manipulated the remote, switching through various image feeds on the screen.

“Oh, I love this movie!” She grinned up at him. “You don’t know what funny is until you’ve watched Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.”

Intrigued by her excitement, Rendash shifted his attention to the TV. He couldn’t pretend to understand what was going on, couldn’t tell whether the humans on the screen were real or somehow exaggerated, and didn’t understand what Zoey was laughing at much of the time, but her laughter was infectious. After a short while, he realized that it couldn’t be real — the entertainment seemed to be in the absurdity of the characters and situations.

There was a knock on the door. Rendash sat up, fully alert, and prepared to summon an energy blade. He was swinging his legs out of bed when Zoey settled a hand on his shoulder, halting him.

“It’s the pizza. Just cloak yourself for a minute,” she said, slipping off the bed. “Just a sec!” she called to the person on the other side of the door as she dug some of her money out of her purse.

Rendash stood and pressed himself to the wall beside the window. His cloaking field sputtered into place, producing undulating waves of heat in his chest which rose to near-painful levels before dropping again. He gritted his teeth against the discomfort and turned his head to watch Zoey open the door.

“Hello,” she said, smiling. The person on the other side muttered something, and she nodded, offering the money in her hand. “Here you go. I don’t need change.”

The unseen human took the money, and Zoey accepted a wide, flat box in exchange. She stepped back and closed the door, clicking the locks into place. Placing the box on the bed, she leaned over it and opened the lid. Rendash released the cloaking field — experiencing no small degree of relief — and walked over to inspect the source of the strange smell that was fast spreading through the air.

Inside the box lay a circular food. It was brown around its outside, pale orange on top, and had reddish circles all over it.

Zoey lifted a wedge-shaped piece and held it up to him. “Here. Taste this.”

He accepted it skeptically. The orange part of the pizza was gooey and stringy, and he couldn’t understand why anyone would consider it appetizing.

“Don’t you curl your lip like that,” Zoey laughed. “Just try it!”

Frowning, he lifted the food to his mouth and took a small bite. The orange topping stretched as he pulled the piece away, and only broke when he extended his arm. He drew the dangling strings into his mouth with his tongue and dropped his gaze as he carefully chewed.

“What is this part called?” he asked, poking one of the orange tendrils with a finger.

“Cheese.” She tilted her head and continued to watch him. “Do you like it?”

He took another bite, much larger than his first. The red circles — some sort of meat, he guessed — added a kick of savory spice. “It’s good.” He bit off another piece before finishing his current mouthful.

Zoey chuckled and took a piece of her own from the box. “Mission complete. Now come sit down so we can finish the movie.”

Rendash settled down beside her, eating more pizza as they watched the movie. His laughter came more easily now; even when he didn’t understand the humor, her reactions provided him enjoyment.

As time passed, he found himself reflecting upon the strangeness of their time together. The bonds an aekhora formed with his Umen’rak were supposed to be the deepest an aligarii could form. Even the mating bond he’d earned the right to forge once his duty was complete couldn’t compare. The members of an Umen’rak were brothers and sisters, comrades, tied together on a level that superseded friendship and family.

But after only a few days, he felt a bond growing between himself and Zoey — similar in its strength, but quite different in its nature and boundless in its potential depth. Rendash had relied upon his Umen’rak to support him through moments of pain and weakness, though he’d always done his best to avoid such moments. To avoid burdening the individuals who relied upon him with his own inadequacy.

With Zoey, he didn’t feel the need to hide.

After the pizza was gone — Zoey had insisted she was done after two pieces, leaving the rest to Rendash — she scooted closer and laid her head on his shoulder. He slipped his arms around her and held her. It was a simple form of contact, but it was powerful; they were here, together. Two individuals united in a common purpose: escape. It didn’t matter what they were escaping from, only that they could rely on each other on the journey.

Rendash would never have guessed they’d grow so at ease with one another, so dependent upon one another, especially in so short a time. But they had, and he accepted it gladly.

When the movie was over, Zoey turned off the TV and pulled away from him. She closed the pizza box and placed it on the floor beside the plastic waste bin before walking to the bathroom, where she paused in the doorway and looked back at him.

“Come here, Ren.”

Unable to ignore the fluttering, foolish sense of anticipation that sparked in his chest, he stood up and went to join her inside the bathroom.

She opened a small bag on the sink and produced two small brushes with long handles from within. “I brought my spare toothbrush just in case. Guess it’ll come in handy. Hold this.”

After handing him one of the brushes, she withdrew a small tube from the bag, removed the cap, and held the opening over bristles of his brush. A white substance oozed out when she squeezed, and she left a bit of it on each brush.

He raised the brush and sniffed at the pasty goo. “What is this for?”

“For cleaning your teeth.”

“I see. We perform similar activities on my planet.”

“To clean teeth!” she said, raising her brush high before slipping it into her mouth. She grinned at him as she scrubbed.

Rendash couldn’t help but smile back at her as he cleaned his teeth.

Though it was unlike anything he’d ever encountered — or, perhaps, because it was unlike anything he’d ever encountered — he found her lively spirit endearing. He’d meant what he said; Josh was a blind fool. Zoey was more than any one man deserved.

But Rendash was no man. He was an aekhora who’d earned the right to choose a mate.

I want Zoey.

The thought was startling, despite how fast his feelings for her had been evolving. It didn’t seem like the sort of choice that could be made in so short a time, but it was the truth of his heart. He wanted her.

He told himself it was merely lust. His attraction to her was an attraction to the exotic, no more than an overextension of his curiosity. He’d seen only humans during his long captivity, and it was natural that he’d developed a fascination with them, regardless of how he’d been treated.

Perhaps I am not any better at lying than Zoey is.

When they finished brushing their teeth, they returned to the main room. Zoey moved to the bed farthest from the window, pulled back the covers, and climbed in. Rendash swallowed his desire and stopped at the empty bed. There was no excuse to sleep with her tonight, and he wasn’t sure if he could trust himself this time.

He eased down and covered himself with the bedding. Zoey reached for the light on the stand between the two beds and clicked it off, plunging the room into darkness.

“Goodnight, Ren,” she said.

“Goodnight, Zoey.”

Rendash shifted, causing the bed’s supports to creak as he sought a more comfortable position. Time passed, and he moved again and again; no matter how he lay, something seemed to be missing.

In the back of his mind, he knew Zoey was the missing piece. His dependence upon her had grown dangerous in their short time together. When he’d slept with her in his arms the night before, he’d rested more fully than he had since crashing on this planet. She provided peace. Comfort. Security. All without conscious effort on her part.

“Ren?” Zoey called quietly.

His heart skipped a beat. “Yes?”

“Could I…sleep with you?”

Ren opened his mouth to reply, but she continued before he found any words.

“I know there are two beds, but I just really don’t want to be alone. Not like we are alone and all, but I mean… What I want is… I want to…to…”

“Come, Zoey. Come lie with me.”

There was a rustle of covers, a squeak from her bed, and then she was there. She lifted the blankets and hesitated briefly before sliding in and laying on her side, facing him.

“Thank you,” She said, scooting close.

Her scent filled his nose, and warmth radiated from her body. Rendash tensed; the urge to draw her closer, to strip her of her clothing and feel her bare softness beneath him, was powerful. His cock throbbed. It was torture; it was divine.

Control.

“Goodnight, Zoey.”

“Goodnight, Ren.”