"Can I speak to them?" I couldn't check the excitement in my voice at the thought of having some connection back to my old life on the planet's surface.

Esayr looked wary, "I do not believe that would be for the best. Prince Roan is likely handling relations with the media as we speak."

"I didn't mean talk to the media. I meant to talk to my friends. How would you feel if you were separated from your...Riniere for the foreseeable future? Wouldn't that hurt you?" He's an emotion-based creature, literally, an Empath, appeal to his empathy.

"It would distress me greatly."

Esayr brought his hand up to touch my face but I dodged backward out of the embrace. I felt a very slight ache in my chest as sadness registered on his face before it faded back to a neutral.

"I will speak to Roan and Vailen and will petition them on your behalf to allow you to speak to your Riniere."

"Thank you."

He nodded.

It was a more formal reaction than before and I suspected my rejection of his touch had saddened him and the idea that he might act more coldly toward me smarted.

"My heart, anything you want I will try to provide it for you. Anything at all. Even if by the end of our time you wish to return to your planet I will endeavor to make my existence in proximity to you as insignificant as possible while still maintaining your health."

That warmed my insides in a strange way. All of this was unexplored territory, from the obvious aliens and their ship all the way down to having a relationship with a man --or male-- in general. "I'm sorry."

He tilted his head to the side while he considered my words. It softened his good looks into a more boyish charm which I found more manageable. "I don't want you to feel like you need to apologize. It's true that I want different things than you currently, but you are allowed to move slowly or not at all. For the time being, I will make you comfortable with me and this place. Do not feel sorry."

He led me back out into the living room where he rummaged through some recessed storage compartments, "Despite everything I am the happiest I have ever been just knowing that you exist. I would argue I am the happiest male on this ship. You are a dream, every bit of you. I wouldn't change you for the world." He pulled out a fluffy white cloth and held it out to me.

I gingerly picked it up and was surprised to see that it was soft and thick.

"For drying yourself. Today has been tiring even for me. Go bathe and then relax. I will not bother you."

I let the soft fabric slide over my hands. It was likely easily the most expensive piece of fabric I'd ever owned in my entire life. I had two towels, both of which were almost threadbare. I'd been intending to buy a new set when they went on sale but hadn't gotten around to it. "So you won't...?"

The question trailed off. Truthfully, I'd read my fair share of romance novels. That was my dirty secret. I was constantly expecting a little bit more of a push from Esayr, that's how these things always worked out, didn't it?

"I will retire in the living room. The ship will provide clothing for you. You do not need to fear me, Addison. I don't have any intention of breaking your trust."

"So you're not going to try and seduce me?" I said it like it was a dirty naughty thing.

Whip-fast his eyes were blazing and half-lidded as he stood there looking at me. I was wearing the same oversized t-shirt and old jeans I'd been in at my house, and yet he was looking at me as if I were the sexiest creature on the planet --or the ship I suppose. "I have every intention of seducing you, love. I just plan to do so slowly, at your leisure."

"Esayr."

His gaze slid down to my lips rivetted by his name on them, "Yes?"

"Don't look at me like that?"

"How am I looking at you?"

I squirmed at his perusal. I'd talked to plenty of men, but none that were interested in me. Everything he said and did had me anxious, but in a different way. I felt jumpy and oddly sensitive to any sensation. "Like you want to eat me. Like I'm the only thing worth looking at."

He met my stare again and I had to keep from looking away. My cheeks burned and I could feel that blush drifting down my neck and into my chest.

"You should always be looked at like that," but he kindly turned his gaze away, "Go and refresh yourself. Fairnights and Fondmornings, Addison."

I paused in my retreat toward the bathroom. His words were odd, but they flowed smoothly over his tongue, "Goodnight, Esayr."

He looked enchanted by the phrase, and quietly echoed it back to me as I shut the bathroom door between us.

Immediately, I flung the towel until the shelf and approached the large full-length mirror. I was red. I was completely red. I shucked off my shirt and then, sure enough, the blush had traveled all the way down to my breastbone. You bashful virgin, how in heavens name can he look at you like that when you look like this. I still wasn't entirely certain how he could look at me like that at all.

I was blonde. That was nice at least in the context of society. I'd cut my hair into a short pixie cut in an effort to be edgy a while back, but it was at that weird in-between stage. It wasn't quite short enough to be cute and not quite long enough to be beautiful. It was just hard to manage at the moment, save in a tiny ponytail. My figure was nice enough --patrons had gotten handsy on occasion at work-- but I still considered myself middling. I wasn't as fit as Alicia and I didn't have Charlotte's bombshell curves.

You're average, Addison. I pulled off the rest of my clothes and stepped into the pool. I'd learned a long time ago there was no sense in standing in front of the mirror if I were just going to be negative. My thoughts drifted to Esayr.

He was beautiful. With dark wavy hair that he seemed to comb back, but would curl in front of his forehead whenever he brushed his hands through it. His eyes were dark and ringed by dark lashes that no man had any right to have.

Until now you'd never met anyone who embodied the phrase tall dark and handsome. And he did, he really did. Now all he's lacking is the brooding, I mused, but the joke didn't sit right in my gut. He was quiet and gentle and sweet and the thought of him being melancholy or dark didn't sit right. It made him too unapproachable, too rigid, or maybe too dangerous feeling. You like him the way that he is because he was made for you, a thought whispered through the recesses of my mind. Conveniently, it was in a place that made it even easier to shove to the back and file away to deal with later.

The pool was the perfect temperature and it washed away not only the dirt and sweat of the day but also a lot of the aches and pains that came with the tension that I didn't even realize was there. Small soaps and bottles sat on the ledge and I took the liberty of opening them all and sniffing them. The writing on the side was illegible but I enjoyed snooping through the types of toiletries the ship assumed mated couples would need.

I opted to not use any of them and instead just rinsed my hair out under the water a few times and scrubbing myself as best as I could. No sense in using anything that I wasn't sure of. For all, I knew I could end up rubbing lube all over myself and honestly I could only take so many embarrassments today.

By the time I got out of the pool, my skin was silky and soft. A drawer in the wall rolled out and soft white sleep clothes were folded in a nice little square on it. I eyed the hole that they had come out of, but I couldn't see anything. I filed that away as a question to ask for later.

The clothes were a long soft dress that came halfway down my thighs, underwear, and a band for my chest. I almost left the bra behind because I wasn't inclined to sleep in it, but then I put it on. You can take it off when you get to the bed. It's a white shirt and might be see-through in the right lighting.

Just as I was about to try to sneak into the bedroom I realized that I'd never gotten an answer to my question about how Esary, or the Val'Dornn in general, knew that humans were compatible for children. I took a deep breath and pressed a hand to the bathroom door.

It swished open silently and I was met with darkness. My eyes adjusted slowly, but I navigated as best I could in the light drifting through the bathroom door. The room was silent, but if Esayr was where he said he was he would be off to my right.

"Esayr?" I half expected to hear silence, but he answered me quickly enough.

"Yes?"

I let out a breath, "I never got an answer to my question. How do you...how do you the Val'Dornn know that humans are compatible for bearing children?"

There was silence in the darkness for a moment, "...The Temani Bercari only chooses a race that's compatible, but we also screen DNA as you know. A full DNA match also includes a match for bearing children."

"And all females with a bond to a male share that full DNA match?"

"Yes. You and I are a full match if that is what you are asking. I apologize that we ran diagnostics on your DNA, but that has been how we search a populace for our soul bonds for the last few centuries." His voice still came from the same place over by the right wall. He never made a move to approach me or take advantage of me in the darkness.

"Oh. Ok. Thank you." I retreated toward the bedroom door, pressing my hands against the smooth metal until I happened to trigger the release mechanism. I darted inside, embarrassed by talk of children --our children-- and how compatible we were on a biological standpoint.

The large bed was soft and I sunk into it and the sheets. It was the most comfortable thing I had ever laid on in my life. And yet, try as I might to fall asleep I couldn't get comfortable alone in the big bed all to myself. I told myself it was because I was missing the five friends that slept in the same room as me, but even I didn't know if I believed that.