Page 13 of Two Aliens Are Better Than One (Bodyguards in Space #1)

Chapter 12

Vaelu

L ucky’s sister was outside my apartment, waiting for me the next time I left, and I wondered how she knew I’d be leaving — or how long she’d been standing there, staring at my door.

“So, did he tell you?” she asked, falling into step beside me. I suddenly wished Relzo hadn’t left to go get food. He was much better at fending off the sister.

“Tell me what?”

“That Lucky is his life-mate. I’m sworn to secrecy.”

“Um…”

“You don’t count. Lucky said you’re bonded and know everything about each other now.”

“Yes. He told me. And I can feel it, anyway.”

“So, what are we going to do about it?”

I frowned at her and sped up my walking pace, but Nela jogged to keep up. I could outrun her, probably, but I couldn’t very well sprint, could I? “Do about it?”

“Yes. You’ll all be happier as a triad, don’t you think?”

I frowned down at her. “I’m not sure. He’ll be happier with her, but do you think your sister will be happier with me?”

Nela shook her head. “She’ll be happier with Relzo, who she loves, and with you by extension of that. If that’s how this ankra bond thing works.”

“It is.”

“Okay, well, she’s home. Stop being an idiot and go talk to her. I’m gonna go get me some sex,” Nala said, waving to the door.

“What if I have somewhere to be?”

“You don’t,” she said in a smug, sing-song voice. “I faked it. This girl has some hacking skills. Now get your ass in there and tell my sister what she needs to hear. Which you will know, because you’re a telepath.”

“That’s not precisely how it works,” I muttered. She narrowed her eyes at me, and I sighed and turned, ringing Lucky’s doorbell. Lucky answered, looking bedraggled and like she needed a shower. Her eyes widened when she saw me. She frowned and tilted her head out into the hall.

“Was that Nela?” Lucky asked.

“Your sister thinks we’re being idiots, and I need to talk to you. Also, she said she was going to go have sex. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, I didn’t need to know that,” she said, blinking. “Why are we being idiots?”

“You’re hurting Relzo, Relzo is hurting you, and I’m caught in between. Apparently, he told you about everything.” I didn’t want to mention the bond out here, where anyone might hear.

“Hurting Relzo? He’s the one who’s avoiding me!” she exclaimed, stalking back into her apartment. I followed her.

“No, it’s been going both ways ever since we got back. He must know you’re a hugger, because you didn’t hug him and it just about destroyed him.” It was a joke but the words seemed to hit her strangely, making her gasp and clutch her hands together. She cared for him, too. Which meant that she would be forced to care for both of us. My mind strayed back to the things Relzo had imagined the night before, to her small, curvy body pinned between us as we both moved inside her. I did everything I could not to telegraph that thought into her mind, because it would probably frighten her.

“Oh yeah, we’ve been best friends since childhood. Yay for me.” She was clearly unaware of the turn my mind had taken, because her voice was sarcastic. I sensed her underlying hurt even without touch.

“Is he not a good friend?” I asked.

Not when you’re in love with him. Her voice was so clear in my head that I almost thought she’d spoken those words until she piped up with actual verbal communication. “No, he’s a great friend.”

“The words that come out of your mouth and the words in your brain don’t match.”

“Fuck, you can hear my thoughts?” Her cheeks turned a pretty pink, and she avoided eye contact. “Don’t tell him. Okay?” And what the hell would make her think he didn’t feel the same? His emotions and my attraction to her mixed in my mind, and I was pretty sure I was calling him to us. My grandfather had done that with his partner — to sense his location, even when they were miles apart.

“I can. I usually shut people out as much as possible but I’m a telepath, and you’re projecting pretty strongly. Plus, I have a bond with you through him. But why wouldn’t I tell him?”

She studied me for a moment, her gaze scanning my face, and I wondered what she could read there. “Because he doesn’t feel the same way.”

“I want to touch you,” I said. “I think I can. I could show you something.”

Her eyes darted down to my lips. “Can you kiss me?”

And I wasn’t entirely sure what happened but I lunged for her, pressing my lips to hers. I’d rarely kissed — it was too risky, too emotionally loaded for me — but I could feel him inside my mind, coaching me. He was coming, and it wasn’t long before he was bursting in through her door.

“You used my birthday as your passcode?” he asked, grinning, and we broke apart, both looking at him. “No, don’t stop kissing her. Never stop kissing her.”

I leaned back in, pressing my lips to hers. He knew exactly how to kiss her, knew the little moan she’d make as our lips met. And I didn’t lose myself in her, because I’d already lost myself in him. I loved that damn kiss, loved the chance to taste her, to connect more fully with her thoughts, which were wild and confused, but aroused. After a beat, she wrapped her hands around my neck and pulled me closer, pressing her soft body against mine.

Okay, I really enjoyed kissing. I buried my fingers in her hair, letting my mind wander into the swirl of her emotions, and set out on a mission to explore every inch of her mouth. She made the sweetest little sounds, and her body was perfect under my fingers, soft and warm and delightfully shivery. And with my mind, I told her how we felt.