Page 20 of Master (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #3)

“I know who he used to be.”

“What?” I blinked, the saucer I held growing slippery in my fingers.

“Buck.” The grin she gave me held sadness. “I know who he used to be... on Earth. My mama Denise was a huge Elvis fan.”

I reached over and grabbed her soapy fingers with mine, giving a comforting squeeze.

"He doesn't remember… any of it," she gazed out the window toward somewhere farther back in time, somewhere on Earth where the man she loved lived a much different life. "Sometimes he'll sing the old songs, but he can’t remember how he knows the music.”

"No one's ever mentioned Elvis to him?" I asked. Somehow, I'd overcome that desire, calling him Buck without mishap.

"Over the years, some of the new arrivals—like you—have asked if he's Elvis, but he always tells them no." Lula shrugged, sighed, and fished a plate from beneath the soapy water. “He doesn’t have a spark of memory from that life.”

"Tarook said the Alliance used to erase the memories of the abducted... to make it easier for them," I told her in order to ease any worries about Buck's memory suddenly returning one day.

She didn't seem surprised. "I still got my memories, not that they’re anything great. Just a sorry ass ex-husband and working at my uncle's diner since I was sixteen. Buck's life on Earth was more complicated. He’s happy now.”

"Then it's good he doesn't remember." Lula was right.

While the idea of people taking my memories struck me with sickening dread, in Elvis's case, I had to wonder if it wasn't a mercy.

His legacy on Earth reeked of heartache and rumor.

He seemed truly happy here with Lula, which might not be the case if he recalled the past.

Our conversation veered into more pleasant subjects as we finished in the kitchen.

Lula told of how she and Buck met her first day on Tau Ceti when she'd answered his advertisement for a housekeeper.

As for how I met Tarook, I told the truth, letting her fill in the blanks of what happened after my rescue with romantic imagination.

I'd just settled into bed, wearing the old-fashioned white ruffled nightgown Lula lent me when Tarook strode into the room. He’d showered, his chestnut hair laid in damp waves across his shoulders.

He wore a pair of tan drawstring pants that had to be borrowed from Buck, since they appeared at least six inches too short.

Despite the ridiculousness of his outfit, he looked sexy as hell.

The scent of soap and spice wafted into the room, affecting my hormones like an aphrodisiac.

Good lord, I don’t remember being this lustful going through my twenties the first time. Of course, there wasn’t a muscular, sexy, alien warrior wandering around back then. Who knows what might have happened?

Tarook strode toward the bed, grinning wickedly. Just when I opened my mouth to ask what the hell he was thinking, he snatched the blanket from the edge of the mattress and settled onto the floor.

"I'll sleep on the floor." The smirk was gone and, in its place, a sweet smile.

I glanced at the flooring where he sat. The planks were roughhewn and completely inappropriate for a human... or alien to lie upon.

"While I appreciate the offer, the only thing worse than sharing a bed with you would be digging a two-inch splinter out of your ass." My turn to smirk.

Tarook pulled his knees against his chest and cocked a brow at me.

"Here." I leaned over and snagged the blanket from his grasp, rolling it longways into a bolster, which I placed in the center of the bed. With the mattress divided, I crawled over the bolster to the right-hand side, gesturing for Tarook to follow.

He gazed at me curiously for a moment before sighing tiredly and climbing onto the bed.

He shifted only twice, settling to lie on his back with an arm folded under his head.

I tossed and turned much more than twice.

It was impossible to get comfortable because of the day's excitement.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I shared a bed with Tarook.

Yeah, I didn’t believe it either.

After I laid wide awake for over half an hour, it became awkward. Especially since I didn’t think Tarook slept either. Did we talk about being unable to sleep? It would be better than lying here doing nothing.

“I didn’t expect this.” The words came out before I meant them, too, sounding wistful.

Tarook gave an amused snort. “What? Us in bed together?”

“I didn’t expect that either, but it's not what I meant,” I said and chuckled. “I meant the farm. Buck and Lula, it's like Earth when I was a child. I expected something different.

"Different, how?"

I felt the mattress shift and knew Tarook looked at me. He'd proven Vaktaire could see far better than humans in the dark, so I turned to face him.

"I don't know... Being in space, I expected everything to be technical and modern… like the Jetsons."

“Jetsons?”

“It’s a children’s television show about a family in space.” I forwent telling him how old a show. I’d aged myself enough in one day.

“Do humans have television shows about everything?”

“Pretty much,” I laughed.

Tarook was silent for a long few minutes. When he spoke, he carefully measured his words. “Is Tau Ceti not like your Earth?”

"It is,” I sighed, flipping onto my back. “Like an older Earth. It’s nice, just different.”

Tarook gave a faint grunt and followed my lead in changing position. Only his movement put him nearer to my side of the bed. On instinct, I poked at the bolster, shoring up its fluffiness.

“You didn’t have to construct your little barrier. I gave you my word. I won’t touch you unless you ask for it." Tarook's voice dripped with amusement.

“You already broke that promise,” I told him sternly.

“I did not!” Tarook huffed, glaring at me.

"You did, too." I didn’t mask my amusement. “When we crashed and when that rat-snake thing attacked me, you ran your hands all over me. Not to mention all the touches when we walked through the forest, and you put your arm around me when you fibbed we were a couple.”

As the last word left my mouth, I froze in realization. Did I catalog every time he touched me?

Yes.

Yes, I did.

Even in the darkness, I could see Tarook's indigitation: "Those times were meant to ascertain simply that you were unharmed and protected.”

"Well, if that's the case. I think we need to reword your promise.” I suggested and grinned, hoping he could see my face. Not for one moment did I want him to think I didn’t appreciate all he’d done for me.

Tarook made a low humming sound as he considered. “Alright. I revoke my promise of not touching you until you ask and give a vow that I will not…." He trailed off, and I felt his gaze move down my body. “Touch your breasts or cunt unless you ask.”

Laughter gushed forth from me, a loud, raucous sound that had Tarook chuckling along in seconds.

“Buck and Lula think we're being loud and wonder if they'll get any sleep tonight," Tarook said after a few moments, trying in vain to control his chuckling.

“How do you know?" I squinted in the darkness, trying to see his expression.

“I hear very well, remember?”

Moonlight filtered through the lacy curtains, highlighting the shape of his head as he tapped the tip of an ear, where the cartilage curved upward to form a point. In the moonlight, he looked like one of those sexy elves from Lord of the Rings.

“Well, you told them we were a couple. We should keep up the ruse, I guess.” I sighed.

“Clara?” Tarook lifted his head off the pillow, moonlight highlighting his smirk and the waggle of his brows. “Are you asking me to touch your….”

Laughter barked out of me, a deep rolling sound that shook my stomach and left me breathless. Tarook joined in, and for the next bit, the sound of our amusement filled the room like a happy symphony. I wondered what Buck and Lula must think, and my cheeks flushed.

"Go to sleep, you pervert," I giggled, feeling the mattress shift as he moved.

"Goodnight, Clara." His voice was soft, a spoken lullaby.

I curled on my side, facing Tarook, his warm nearness more comforting than any blanket. The smile remained as I drifted off to the soothing sound of his deep, steady breathing.