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Tears burned at the corner of her eyes again, but this time, it wasn’t from sorrow.

“It’s okay if you don’t—” He started to drop the offered card, but Aivey snatched it up like lightning, blinking away her emotions before they overcame her.

“Yes, Baxian.”

His gaze snapped back to hers, and she smiled at him.

“Thank you. I’d like to keep in touch, too.” She held the card to the thin silver band of her comms bracelet to download the data. “I don’t have a fancy card like you do, or cross-galactic comms…”

His lips turned up at the corners. “Just call my number, I’ll cover any fees if we’re not close. I’d like to see you again, Aivey. To talk, to spend time together, or more…” He glanced back toward the bed. “Whatever you’re up for.” The blue of his eyes positively sparkled.

The band around her wrist chimed, and Aivey held the card back out to him. Her arm nearly vibrated with barely contained joy. He wanted to see her again, and it didn’t feel like a hollow, insincere offer.

The look he’d had when she’d come out of the bathroom had been sorrow, she knew it now, the echo of misery that she felt at parting from him. He’d offered a way to get in touch that few could. No one would do that on a whim, not without serious interest.

Baxian reached for the card, but instead of taking it, he wrapped Aivey’s hand around it. “Keep it. Just in case the download failed or something.”

It didn’t. It wouldn’t. He had to know that, but he wanted her to have it anyway as backup. Her chest swelled with emotion.

“I…” He rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze cutting away. “I know we just met, and I can’t fully explain it, but I feel a connection between us. Some kind of pull that I can’t ignore.”

Aivey’s heart skipped a beat. Her breath lodged in her throat.

Baxian muttered some curse she didn’t understand. “Sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“No!” She reached up and took his face between her palms. “Don’t be.” Aivey pulled in one desperate breath then another. “I feel it, too.” Without another thought, she flung her arms around his neck and pulled him into a desperate kiss.

He tasted like passion, like dreams and hope. Baxian pulled her close, cupping her backside and tugging her up. She gave in to the invitation and wrapped her legs around his waist, locking them together. And then he was moving, pressing her back up against the wall as he all but consumed her. Aivey laughed amid the kiss, overcome, and she felt his lips stretch in a grin.

Whatever had sparked into being between them wasn’t something she could put into words exactly, but the feeling was undeniable. And she wasn’t alone in it, this crazy thought of so much more with a man she’d just met. Stars above, it wasn’t just her.

She’d read about some species and their mating bonds. Tethers that connected two individuals and bound them in this life and beyond. But she was human. Humans could create deep connections, but not quite at the level of, or as quickly as, other species. Even so, she imagined it had to feel something like this.

All too soon, he pulled back. But Baxian didn’t let go, just stared at her, their breaths mingling in the narrow space between their faces. His forehead leaned against hers. “You’re something special, Aivey. I never…I never expected to meet someone like you here, but I’m so glad I did.”

“Same. To think I nearly ran right back out the moment I stepped inside.”

He laughed, his chest rumbling against hers. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Me too.”

With one last peck on her lips, Baxian let her back down. “And now you really should go before I decide to keep you and piss off your friends before I ever get to meet them.”

“Well…” She stroked her fingers down his bare chest. “We wouldn’t want that.”

“I’ll talk to you soon, Aivey.”

She stared at his hooded gaze, memorizing the shape of his face, the hue of his eyes, and the striking form of his body. “Soon. It’s a promise.”

Glowing within from the connection she’d forged and comfortable in the knowledge that their goodbye would only be temporary, Aivey left to return to her friends. They’d planned for the trip of a lifetime, for a finale they’d remember for years to come, but in all Aivey’s imaginings she’d always thought it would be just one night. Somehow, she’d found so much more. Perhaps, she’d found forever.