Page 30 of Guardian's Soul (Space Guardian's Mate #2)

THARAAX

I wasn't sure where she was going with this, but I trusted her and listened.

"I don't know why I'm feeling this way, but there's something inside me that's urging me on, like… we're running out of time," she said, looking embarrassed.

"Strange." Now that she mentioned it, I felt it, too. It had been there since we stepped into Possedion's cell, but my desire to terminate him had been the stronger emotion, and it had taken all my willpower to keep it under control. "I feel it, too."

Relief crossed her features. "Well, I'm glad you do, too, although I'm not sure if that's not creeping me out even more. This… what did he call them, Soulweb Glyphs ?" She waited for my nod. "I'm still having a hard time accepting it. I mean, I love you and want to be with you, but…" She looked down.

"It's a bit off-putting," I agreed, fully understanding her feelings. By the nebulas, it had taken me a long time to accept that there seemed to be a higher power out there, choosing our paths. It still didn't sit perfectly right with me, but if I got Hannah out of this arrangement, I was willing to accept it .

Her eyes met mine, and a small grin spread over her face. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

"What were you going to suggest about Possedion?" I brought her mind back to our original conversation.

"Oh, yes." She scrunched up her face, disliking whatever she was going to suggest. "There are two techniques. Well, there're probably more, but these are the two I've heard of being used by the CIA and the military."

I didn't interrupt, even though most of what she said didn't make much sense to me, but she seemed to need to talk herself into whatever she was about to suggest.

"One is sleep deprivation." She held up a finger.

"Sleep deprivation?" I rubbed my chin, feeling the stubble that needed to be shaved.

"We could take turns, or you could program a computer or something that would wake Possedion up anytime he was about to fall asleep. It makes people talk."

"Okay." I nodded, liking the idea. It was less violent than what I had in mind, but still, it would take time.

"The other we could use in combination with it is waterboarding." She bit her lower lip uncomfortably. "Basically, we'd have Possedion lie down and put a towel over his head, then we pour water over his face. It makes the person feel like they're drowning. I heard it's very effective."

I stared at her open-mouthed. "One of these days, we're going to have to visit your home planet. Sounds like you humans are on to some serious frygging shit when it comes to interrogations."

Her facial expression was hilarious. She looked so torn between guilt and having been complimented. I grabbed her face and kissed her.

We agreed that we would give Possedion until morning. I liked the idea of sleep deprivation. It would also set him on edge when we didn't return for several hours .

It was easy to program one of the cleaning drones and the screen in Possedion's cell in case he managed to destroy the drone.

The lights were already dimming when we went to our quarters after a quick meal at the nutrition station, where Hannah lamented about the food quality.

"When this is over, I'll take you out for real food," I promised.

"You have real food?" Skeptically, she arched an eyebrow. "After eating this for weeks, I need a bit more description than just real food ."

I chuckled, understanding her hesitancy. "As in food being prepared by a person, not a machine. As in food that was harvested from plants and animals. Does that count?"

"It might," she allowed, swallowing.

"We have very tender meats and delicious vegetables," I lured.

"What else?" Her eyes were getting as big as saucers.

"You strike me as someone who might like sweets."

"God, I love sweets," she groaned, leaning back in her chair.

"We have breads and puddings," I continued, enjoying how her tongue darted out to lick her lips. "The Aarodoluupas make a fantastic, creamy treat. It's a sweet bread filled with?—"

Her groan went straight into my loins and reminded me of what we had done in this room previously.

"Filled with?" she prodded, reminding me that I had stopped midsentence to stare at her.

"Never mind." I got up and pulled her out of her chair, unable to resist the urge to kiss her.

Being able to do that, to touch her, kiss her whenever I wanted to, was still new to me and didn't cease to amaze me. I swore I would never do anything to make her revoke that privilege from me.