Page 48 of Made For The Alien Warrior

Sim-pony gasped. “Are you sure?”

Adhi nodded. “The fact that you hear my voice is weird enough. I need to know why I was calling you. Why that light called us. And why I’m the only one out of the two of you with no Plutonian illness or missing limbs. If I can find the answers and help you two or any other humans that might go through this, I’ll do it.”

“You’re so amazing,” Sim-pony said, looping her arm around Adhi and giving her a squeeze.

Tiegan watched jealously.Oh? So you can pour your affections on this female but you only have knives to offer me?

He reached for another piece oftumariand Symphony did too. Their fingers brushed.

Suddenly, Sim-pony jolted.

Tiegan lurched forward, ready to scoop her up and rush her to the Healer. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” She gave her arm a funny look.

Tiegan frowned. Was the nano-tech misbehaving?

Adhi picked at a slice oftumariand popped it into her mouth. “Interesting texture.”

“It’s made with a kind of alien cornmeal that’s harvested by a special machine,” Emma explained, her eyes glittering. “Sometimes, I bake mine withpith—”

“Pith?” Adhi asked.

“Oh, that’s what the Plutonians call ‘fruit’,” Kia explained.

“Ah.”

As the females chatted about food, Tiegan observed Sim-pony again. She was massaging her arm, a crease between her brows. He leaned down to ask what the matter was, but she turned her head toward him at the same time. It resulted in his lips brushing the top of her ear.

Heat pulsed in his body, traveling downward and making every nerve tighten and salute. Sim-pony reached out and grabbed his leg, groping his muscles and stroking his thigh.

Surprise collided with his desire. Tiegan froze in confusion, stunned by Sim-pony’s boldness.

“I,” her jaw dropped, “I’m so sorry.” She pulled her hand back and massaged each finger as if a spasm had caused her to touch him. “I didn’t mean that.”

Tiegan wished she had.

Adhi slanted him and Sim-pony a curious look. “What’s going on with you two?”

“Nothing.” Sim-pony trembled.

Tiegan reached for morepithand set it in her plate. “Eat. You need to keep up your strength.”

“I’m fine,” she murmured.

His eyes narrowed on her. “You have barely touched your food.”

“That’s because you keep staring at me like you want to eat me next,” she hissed.

Tiegan scowled.

Sim-pony looked up into his eyes. “Tiegan.”

“You have been avoiding me,” he said, leaning closer to her. “Something is wrong.”

“Are we expected to be joined at the hip?” she hissed. Once again, her arm darted out. This time, it gripped his bicep. His gaze flicked up and he noticed Sim-pony’s look of horror.

“If you insist on grabbing me, we must take this to a more private quarters so I can grab back.”