I tossed and turned most of the night, wondering how my quiet life had taken such a sharp turn. When I woke in the early morning hours, it was only to stop myself from having yet another wild dream about Zaruv. I sighed and gazed absentmindedly at the ceiling. I would need to make a decision but it wasn’t going to be an easy one. Leaving the clinic would be a challenge, it was spending, even more, time alone with the alien that scared me senseless. I didn’t fear for my life but I did fear for my heart and every other part of my body.

It had been so long since I had been touched by a man. That realization was not lost on me as I tugged on a form-fitting top and my favorite pair of bottoms. Taking a little more care than usual with my hair, I took one final glance in the mirror and sighed.

“What the hell am I thinking?” I whispered to myself.

A soft knock on the door made me jump. “Is everything all right, Jennifer?”

I cleared my throat, “Of course.”

Pulling open the door I looked up at the dangerously handsome Dragselian. He looked a little worried as he gazed past me and into my bedroom. I stepped in front of him and quickly shut the door. His gazing eyes were just a bit too intimate for me to handle so early in the morning.

“I need coffee,” I muttered as I wiggled past him.

“I thought I heard voices, did you have company last night that I wasn’t aware of?” he asked as he followed me.

I grinned but didn’t let him see. I could hear the faint tone of jealousy in his voice and it gave me a thrill. It was good to know that the attraction wasn’t just coming from me. He was unlike any man that I had ever met.

“If you are going to be staying here, you’ll need to act and look as human as possible. I will need a few hours to get help for the clinic and supplies for us to leave. You sauntering around like some kind of god won’t help things. People in this area aren’t really friendly to…” I said carefully, “Outsiders.”

“You mean aliens?” he asked.

“I mean a race that dangerously resembles the same one that is guilty of slaughtering hundreds of settlers here during the early days. A lot of the men and woman had parents who were murdered by outsiders.”

He placed his large, warm hand on mine and my heart started to race. I gazed up into his eyes, struggling to catch my breath.

“Those monsters are not who we are. They were cast out for their crimes against your world and others,” he whispered softly.

It took me a moment, but I pulled my hand away, pouring myself a coffee with an unsteady grip.

“So, does this mean that you are going to help me find my brothers?”

I nodded, “I guess it does. You understand that I can’t leave for long, right? I have commitments here and people that count on me to take care of their children, elders, and family.”

“Yes,” he said, his tone a promise. “We will only be gone a few days. One of the pods landed not far from here. I do not know this terrain and as you pointed out, I don’t blend in very well on my own.”

“Well, that’s why you have me, I guess,” I muttered.

“And I am so thankful that I do. Now, how can I help you accomplish this list of yours? The sooner we can leave, the better. My brother, Ragal, is not the warrior type. I have no doubt that if he crashed as I did, he will look for civilization. He doesn’t understand caution, as well as one in his position should.”

“Then we should get going as soon as I have my morning coffee,” I promised him.

Zaruv sighed dramatically and watched me as I sipped the steaming hot drink. I could conquer the world, but I needed a shot of paqmov first. True coffee beans had long ago gone extinct. They were replaced by paqmov that was stronger and far healthier for you. I felt the energy as it slowly started to build inside of me. The day was looming over my head like a curse. On a normal day, I would have drunk it quickly and dashed out the door.

Today though, I was taking my time because of Zaruv. The incessant tapping of his long fingers was enough for me to dig my heels into the metaphorical ground. My conscience quickly won out though, as I thought of his brothers’ lives hanging in the balance. I could deal with Zaruv’s impatient tapping later. Setting my cup in the sink I quickly grabbed my bag. I had carefully packed enough medical and personal supplies to last several days.

Looking back at him, I asked, “Well? We need to get out to the Joneses' farm and talk to Mike and his mother. She should be able to watch the clinic while we are gone.”

He frowned, “Can’t you leave a notice for your clients to seek alternate treatment?”

I glared back at him, “The nearest clinic after mine is two days by foot. Most of the settlement doesn’t have any sorts of transportation. Life out here is hard, people don’t wait on a poor farmer hand and foot.”

Zaruv looked stunned, “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Yeah, well you did. I told you I would help you find your brothers and I will, but my people count on me and I won’t let them down. I’m heading to the Joneses’, are you coming or not?”

“Yes,” he muttered, looking properly chagrined.

I headed out into the hallway and quietly made my way to the steps. When Zaruv slammed the door forcefully, I cringed and glared back at him. He looked shocked.

“I apologize; your craftsmanship isn’t what it should be.”

I sighed and started to walk down the steps when I heard the sound of another door opening. Instantly, I was on red alert. The last thing I wanted to happen had just occurred. Courtney was awake and no doubt about to make my life a living hell.

“Oh! Well hello, Jennifer. I didn’t hear you come in last night,” she said, not even trying to conceal the fact that she had no interest in me.

Her eyes were firmly glued on Zaruv. To my surprise, his cheeks started to blush faintly as he shot her a sideways grin.

“No, and that is my fault. I kept Jennifer out late last night. I didn’t realize she had a curfew,” he said in a smooth, Vaxivia accent.

My mouth dropped open. I looked back to Courtney who appeared even more shocked than I was. It took her a few seconds to recover, but when she did, I saw the nosy smile come back. Great, now she had some juicy gossip to spread around town. I would never hear the end of this. Before I could diffuse the situation, Courtney stepped forward. Her hands placed firmly on her hips.

“Of course, she doesn’t have a curfew. In a small community though, we keep watch on our own,” she said proudly.

“Well, I assure you that I will personally be keeping a close watch on her,” said Zaruv in a sultry voice. His eyes flicked back to me, “Every part of her. So, you can now focus your efforts on someone else.”

To end the conversation, he turned to me and started following me down the steps. I rushed the last few in an effort to flee from Courtney, though I was still reeling from the entire encounter. When we were safely heading to Mike’s home on the outskirts of the settlement, I sat back and studied Zaruv. There was more to him than met the eye, and my eyes were perfectly content looking at him.

“You’re staring at me,” he said in a casual tone.

“I just can’t believe what just happened! Why didn’t you tell me you could talk like us?”

He shrugged, “I guess I didn’t think about it. All princes of Dragselian are taught to speak in different languages and dialects in case we are ever left in hostile territory.”

“I guess that training came in handy today, but did you have to make it sound like we were, doing that?” I asked, my cheeks flushing.

“Doing what?” he asked, his gaze meeting mine.

I rolled my eyes, “Don’t play dumb. You know what I mean.”

Zaruv inched closer to me, our arms brushing against each other. Our lips were just inches apart. I could almost taste his sweet skin, feel his firm lips as they pressed against mine.

“Would you prefer if I’d told the truth?” he asked.

I shoved him away from me, cursing myself for falling under his spell again. “No, I guess not. You definitely gave her enough to gossip for a while.”

“Then it will be fun when we get back,” he said playfully.

I groaned. Thankfully the Jones’ farm came into view and I saw Mike and his mother, plus his two small sisters coming to the gate to meet us. The three women looked concerned, but Mike looked thrilled to see Zaruv again.

“Everything okay, Jennifer?” Margaret asked, not taking her eyes off Zaruv.

I smiled and climbed down, “It's fine, I was hoping you could watch the clinic for me for a few days. I will pay you of course.”

“Sure, things are slow at work right now. Where are you headed? Is someone hurt?”

I sighed, looking back at Zaruv. “We don’t know yet, but I hope not. Maybe for now you could just keep this visit between us though. I don’t want to get people stirred up for nothing.”

“Sure, be safe out there, okay?” she said, finally looking at me.

I smiled at my old friend, “I will. I promise to fill you in when we get back, okay?”

Margaret nodded her head and watched us as we pulled away. That was only the first stop that we had to make before safely getting out of the enclosed settlement. It wouldn’t be so easy to get Zaruv past the guards. I could only hope that Courtney and her gossip hadn’t reached them on the radio yet. I was hoping to make it out without having to lie to anyone, but I knew that was impossible. I needed to think of something fast as the outpost wall approached.

“Let me do all the talking, okay?” I whispered as we pulled to a stop.

Zaruv nodded as two men approached us. Thankfully, I wasn’t familiar with either of them as they were both new to the position. I couldn’t imagine trying to sneak past the sergeant two days in a row. I smiled at the man who approached me, obviously, the higher ranking of the two. He seemed to soften at once.

“Hi there, I don’t believe we’ve met. I run the clinic in town,” I said.

“What’s your business leaving town?” he paused.

“Jennifer,” I offered. “There was a salvage accident last night. I’m taking the driver back to meet with the recovered crew.”

“Why don’t you have someone else do it? Seems silly for the only medical professional to be skipping town.”

I raised an eyebrow and set my jaw, “Have you ever seen a wreck salvaged? Men have been known to die trying to get that material out of the ground. If I can save one life over patching a few cuts and bruises than I am going to. Do I need to talk to the sergeant? Are we going to have a problem here?”

The young man looked to the ground at once, turning to the gatekeeper, “Let ’em go! Now!”

“Thank you,” I hissed back.

As we rushed through the gates, I let out a sigh of relief. Now the only thing I had to worry about was the man sitting silently at my side, a dangerously handsome grin playing across my lips.