"Not thirsty at all," she says in a small voice.
She's still shaking more than I'd like, and I pull her into my lap. I expect her to fight me, but she only tucks her head into my neck and cuddles closer. Kef me, she feels good in my arms. "Why are you so scared?" I ask her. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you."
Alice just snorts.
"Still anxious?" I can't help but ask, and an idea pricks at the back of my mind. A very horny idea.
"Uh, yeah." She shivers again. "I'm going to have nightmares."
"If it'll make you feel better," I offer, choosing my words carefully. "I don't mind if you do some of that self-soothing." She's quiet but not tense in my arms, and it's clear she has no idea what I'm talking about. So I clarify. "You know, touching yourself to relax. I don't mind if you do it."
I also wouldn't mind watching.
Or helping.
16
ALICE
It takes a moment for things to sink in. Self-soothing? What's he talking about?
And then I remember.
"What?!" I push off his chest, staring at him. I'm both flustered and aghast. How dare he bring that up? How dare I get a little turned on by it? "I'm not going to diddle myself in front of you!"
"You need me to turn my back?" I can't tell if he's serious or not. He's got that intense look in his eyes, but he's also smiling down at me.
I sputter. "I'm not going to touch myself. Now is not the time!"
That floppy lock of hair falls over his brow as he leans in closer to me. "I'm just trying to help. You're anxious. I suggested a way for you to get better. A way that I wouldn't mind watching, of course." He gives me a heated look. "Or helping, since you've only got one good hand."
Hot arousal curls through my body. He's offering to touch me? To pleasure me? "I nearly died just now," I whisper.
"All the more reason to make yourself feel better." Kaspar lifts a hand, brushing a strand of hair off my face. His touch is surprisingly gentle, and so is the arm cradling me in his lap. It's unnerving, because I'm attracted to him despite everything. Yes, he's an alien with the big, broad plated brow and the horns and the blue skin. He doesn't look human. But he's also kind and gentle toward me, and I really, really like being held right now.
I never thought of myself as a cuddle-whore but it seems I am.
My gaze falls to his mouth. His lips are just the right amount of full and firm, and his jaw is proud. "I…we…we haven't even kissed."
"Human kissing?" Kaspar looks momentarily puzzled. "What does that have to do with anything?"
That breaks the bubble. So he just wants to watch me finger myself so he can, what, get off? Or is he teasing me again? It's impossible to tell. I shove at him with my good hand. "Well, I'm not going to touch myself in front of you for sure now. Just leave me alone."
"Are you calm?" he asks. "Because if you're calm now, doesn't matter one way or another." And he grins at me like this was his plan all along.
"Can we please focus on the fact that I almost just died?"
"But you didn't." He shrugs as if this answers everything. "No sense in dwelling on it. Tomorrow will bring new adventure. Save some of your outrage for then."
I stare at him in horror. So he thinks we might be in danger for our lives again tomorrow? What the fuck? "Can we just go back to the pod?" I ask. "Please?"
Kaspar shakes his head. I notice he hasn't put me down. He keeps cradling me in his lap, as if I'm a fragile thing that needs to be protected, despite his confident words about how my near-death was no big deal. "No, staying there is a bad call. We don't have water, and anything that can be lured by sound will have headed right for that pod. If this place is a pirate hub, I'd like for them to work a little harder to find us."
Since he doesn't seem to be letting me go any time soon, I get comfortable on his chest again. My cheek rests against his warm skin, and I think about what he said about self-soothing again. God. Clearly I'm insane because I didn't shut him down. Instead, I whined about how we haven't kissed. Maybe the crash rattled my brain more than I thought. "I thought this was a private club planet."
"It might be. Doesn't mean that pirates won't be all over it." He chuckles, and one of his hands goes to the outside of my thigh, holding me close and rubbing my skin through the trashed fabric of my clothing. "Basically what I'm saying is we need to play it safe until we know who's running the show around here."