Chapter Seventeen
Kane stared into the mirror, prepared to start his nightly mantra. Instead of staring at a man he barely recognized, he saw himself. Not only did he recognize the man in the mirror, but his heart didn’t burn from unrelenting pain anymore. What had that water done to him? He ran a hand over his hair and down his face.
He shook his head and pushed away from the sink. He grabbed the bath towel from its hook and wrapped it low around his hips. The eerie waters had revived him but the shower had also felt good. He sauntered from the bathroom to his closet, aware that Sa’Mya watched his every move.
She sat cross-legged in the middle of his bed. The handmade deck of cards JB had given her was laid out in neat rows. While JB guarded the females, he had taught them how to play. Kane often found her and her aides in a game of poker or, as now, solitaire.
Sa’Mya’s hair flowed around her. The locks were a sharp contrast against the black nightgown she wore. She looked more beautiful than ever, which was exactly why she had to get off his vessel and as far away from him as possible.
She was nothing but a distraction. He lost sleep night after night because of her. During the night, he listened to her shift in his bed while he tossed and turned on the hard, cold floor.
More than once, he’d wanted to get up and join her. What harm could it do? Unless he got used to her warm body snuggled up next to his, he would be fine.
Right?
No, as soon as this week was up, he would drop her off and hightail it to another galaxy. He doubted he would even see the princess again.
She flipped the cards into neat piles in front of her. “Tell me about your childhood.”
He pulled a T-shirt over his head. He grabbed a pair of shorts and unhooked his towel, letting it fall to the floor. The slapping of the cards stopped.
He pulled on his shorts. “What is there to tell?” He shut the door and leaned on it, facing her.
She picked up the stacks of cards and moved them to the side. “I want to know about your childhood. I am curious about young Kane.”
Young Kane.
That had been a lifetime ago. But… Without knowing the reason, he went to his trunk. He opened the lid and stared at a worn and battered knapsack with the printed initials of A.L.E embroidered on the front.
Anna Lisa Epps.
When the invasion happened they’d both grabbed their backpacks, he’d filled his with supplies for survival—knives, lighter fluid, matches, a screwdriver, wrench and hammer. Anna had filled hers with mementos and pictures.
He’d called her irrational at the time. As alien bombs rained down on New York, she’d systematically gathered every picture she could find. Now three-and-a-half years later, the light knapsack was his lifeline, the only thing that kept him sane. He’d guarded it with his life, keeping it with him at all times, even gladly taking the Galontaers whip for not putting it down.
Kane sat next to Sa’Mya and emptied the contents of Anna’s bag on the bed between them. He didn’t really know why he wanted her to see them. The only other person who had seen the pictures was JB.
Sifting through Anna’s knapsack and drowning his sorrows with a bottle of Kyle’s hooch had always been a solo activity. Since Sa’Mya had been in his cabin around-the-clock, he hadn’t been able to go through it in over two weeks. This had to be why he shared them with her.
Kane suddenly decided he needed a drink. He craved something that would burn the same as gasoline going down. In his closet, he found his bottle. There was only a quarter of Kyle’s hooch left.
Sa’Mya hadn’t seen the glass bottle hidden behind old boots and clothes. He was sure it was the only reason she hadn’t smashed it against the wall in her hissy fit. It was also one of the reasons she was still alive. He would have killed her if she had destroyed his last bottle of Kyle’s Famous Hooch. Especially since the next batch wasn’t due to be done for another week.
Kane took a deep swig. As promised, fire burned his throat and settled in a nice heap at the pit of his stomach. He coughed and sputtered, half expecting sparks to fly out of his mouth.
“What is that?” Sa’Mya asked warily as he took another swig.
“Hooch, alcohol, liquor, moonshine, Montana’s finest.” He took another swig and coughed violently.
“Well, I would suggest you stop. It doesn’t appear to be very good for your health.”
He laughed. The deep sound filled the room. “Honey, this is the best drink on this vessel.” He waved the bottle in the air.
He used his forearm to wipe his mouth and sat down. She was too high and mighty. Her precious princess lips had probably never been wrapped around a bottle of liquor before. He smiled. But they had been wrapped around his dick and man had it been good.
“Are you all right?” Sa’Mya asked.
Of course he was all right. He picked out a picture and handed it to her. She held it gingerly and rotated it from front to back.
“These are called pictures or photographs. We have…we had…a device on Earth called a camera. It could take snapshots of whatever you were doing and capture it on film for you to keep and remember the event.”
“Oh.” She ran a finger lightly over the dull print. “We have something similar but they are not printed on anything like this. The snapshot is stored in a device and can be projected in the air for the user to view.”
“Well, I’m sure, as you already explained, your world is much more advanced than Earth.” Of course any alien would have sci-fi technology humans could only dream about.
She smiled up to him…his heart dropped to his stomach. “We had an advantage over Earth. We have neighbors we can steal or borrow ideas from.” She laughed—musical…angels…heaven.
He relaxed. The hooch must’ve finally began working because he smiled back.
He pointed to the picture she held. “This was taken when I was younger. This is my mom and dad. My older sister Mia and the boy with a snarky smile on his face and finger in his nose is Myles, my little brother.”
She studied the picture and smiled again. “I don’t have any siblings.”
Because you’re one of a kind.
He opened his eyes wide.
Wow. Slow down on the hooch.
“Mia was the smart one of the family. Myles, well, he was the practical joker.” It seemed more than a lifetime ago. “We were at an amusement park celebrating my parents’ wedding anniversary.”
“Amusement park?”
“It’s a place you go to ride roller coasters and play games.”
“What’s a roller coaster?”
He chuckled. “I think I could travel the galaxy and not find one of those. Those are specific to Earth.”
“Now you must tell me.”
“First, you get into a little car…a contraption with a metal bar holding you down in your seat.” He used his hands to mimic a steel bar holding him in a seat. “The contraption sits on a track supported by beams of wood and metal. You ride really fast. Everybody is screaming as it goes up a hill and, zoom, back down, then you hit a corner really hard and fast and if you’re lucky you get to loop around in one or two circles going upside down.”
She stared at him with her mouth open before she finally replied. “That sounds absolutely horrifying.”
“Yeah, I know. It is.”
He gave her two more pictures. In one, his father and Mia danced together at her wedding. In another, Myles held up the Super Bowl trophy. His brother had the same snarky smile on his face. His blond hair was matted to his head with sweat. His football uniform was dirty and wet but it had been the greatest moment he had shared with his brother.
He showed her almost every picture, taking the time to explain every nuance of the American culture shown. She picked up another photo.
She looked from the picture to him, smirking. “I would have liked to assume that your fashion sense had improved, but unfortunately I’ve seen the contents of your closet.”
The photo was him at junior prom with his then girlfriend, who had sported a frizzy-permed hairdo.
“This was the ‘in’ thing back then. You could never go wrong with a powder-blue suit and matching shoes. I was hot.”
“Great Ancients! What is that on your teeth?”
“Braces.” He flashed his now straight pearly whites at her. “It’s metal dental wear that humans, mainly teenagers, wear on their teeth to straighten them.”
“Look at you. How could you talk? Was it painful?”
“Hey! The lisp wasn’t that bad. It was the eating and kissing I had problems with.”
“You mean to tell me this female let you kiss her?”
“I was a good kisser. Plus, she had braces too.”
Sa’Mya inhaled sharply. “No.” She studied the picture harder.
“Yep, but you can’t tell because she wouldn’t smile wide enough to expose them.”
That sent her over the edge. Sa’Mya fell back in a fit of laughter. “I can’t imagine the two of you bumping metal against metal. How absolutely hilarious.”
Kane scooped up the pictures and set them on the dinette table. “About twenty years ago, your laughter would have hurt my feelings.”
“I’m sorry.” She put a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter. “But I can’t get the image out of my head.”
He stood in front of her. “This is how I talked. ‘Hi, Printhess Tha’Mya, my nameth’s Kane and I think you’re totally hot.’”
Sa’Mya giggled. “I’m sorry, young Kane, but the metal on your teeth scares me.”
Kane straddled her and crawled up her body. “I inthist. I promith you’ll like my kithes, metal and all.”
“Ew…” She swung her head back and forth, trying to avoid his mouth as he leaned to kiss her.
He finally landed a wet kiss on her lips.
She stopped, closing her mouth. Her eyes, as large as saucers, focused on his. He hadn’t expected to kiss her. And by her reaction, she hadn’t expected him to either.
“Thee? I told you it wathn’t tho bad.”
He’d been an ass. He’d been an ass for taking her virginity and an ass for distancing himself afterward. He took her bottom lip between his and sucked gently.
“Not bad, young Kane. What else can you do?” she asked after he released her lip.
“I can do this,” he lisped. He leaned forward and nibbled on her earlobe. “And this.” He kissed her neck.
“Young Kane is very good at that.” She let her head roll to the side as he peppered her with feathered kisses.
“Do you wanna know what young Kane is really good at?” he whispered into her ear.
She stilled. “Show me.”
He planted light kisses, one after the other, down her neck and across her collarbone. He led a path to her breast and finally kissed her hardened nipple through the silky material. Sa’Mya arched her back. A light moan brushed past her lips.
His finger outlined the neckline of the negligee, brushing her breasts. He’d missed them. Her chest rose and fell with each labored breath. He hooked the material and pulled it down her breasts. Her chest stilled. Her breathing ceased.
They were perfect, round, plump and firm. He palmed one and kneaded it before the rough pad of his thumb crossed over her nipple. A shiver ran down her body. “Young Kane was really good at playing with breasts. Young Kane couldn’t get enough of them.”
She inhaled sharply as he brought his mouth over her nipple and flicked the erect bud with his tongue. Hissing, she ran her hand through his hair. He took his cue and devoured her nipple, licking and teasing. Satisfied, he pulled the other between his lips. She arched again, meeting his mouth.
His engorged cock strained painfully against the material of his pants. He positioned himself between her legs. She opened them, letting him settle there. His cock twitched against her heat as if it had a mind of its own. He rotated his hips slowly. Her heat seemed to beckon to him, penetrating the thin fabric.