Lion Man's Captive, Kaitlyn O'Connor [top fiction books of all time .txt] 📗

did, but thankfullythings didn’t get out of hand.”

Anya shifted uncomfortably. “I thinkthe Grinderians really do regret what happened.” She shrugged.“Arrogance. It isn’t like we humans haven’t been guilty ofthat.”

“No,” Myra agreed. “Or thatwe haven’t acted aggressively toward people that weretechnologically challenged. I’m not passing judgment. I’m actuallyexcited that we’ve finally met people from another part of theuniverse and they didn’t come to wipe us out. Scared, but excited.”She paused. “You don’t want to tell me about Aidan?”

Anya smiled a little tremulously. “Ireally liked him.” She frowned thoughtfully. “I’ve been trying toconvince myself that I just got dependent because I needed rescuingand he was kind enough to keep me alive ….”

“Not having much luck withthat, though, huh?”

Anya sighed. “Not much. He was ….” Shebroke off and started laughing. “Not like anybody else Iknow.”

Myra laughed, too. “I can see that. Ican totally see that.”

“But … Well, heis different and he comesfrom a completely different culture and, when you get down to it,he’s not even the same species that we are. And yet ….”

When she didn’t say anything else, juststared at the floor, Myra prompted her. “And yet?”

“I don’t thinkthey’re that different from us in a lot of ways either. I mean, I supposeculturally it’s sort of like being with any foreigner from thisplanet—when you don’t really know their customs or the way theylook at things.”

“He’s definitely a foreigner,” Myraresponded wryly.

Anya sent her an irritated look. “Imean he … seemed to have a sense of humor I could completely relateto and ….” She released a deep sigh. “It was like fireworks!OMG!”

“Oooh!” Myra gaspedexcitedly. “Now, this is more like it! I want details!”

Anya felt her face redden. “Well, youaren’t getting them! Just saying he totally rocked myworld.”

“In several ways, Iimagine,” Myra said dryly.

Anya gave her a look. “Yeah. But Ireally like him and none of this was his doing. He’s the only one,apparently, who thought there was a good chance they were going torun across a planet inhabited by higher life forms, possiblyintelligent, but he couldn’t get anybody to listen so he came forproof.”

Myra frowned. “Yeah, I read that in oneof the interviews. You believe him?”

“I do.”

Myra set her glass down and moved tosettle on the couch next to her sister, cuddling hersympathetically. “But it didn’t work out?”

Anya shrugged. “I don’t guess it reallycould.”

“But you wish itwould?”

Anya considered it. “I’d love to havethe chance to find out if it could work out. You know it’s hard tomake a relationship work—even a typical one. It probably wouldn’t.But I really, really like him and I’d like to try it.”

“Then you need to tell himthe next time you get a chance,” Myra said decisively. “I want youto be happy. I think you’re taking on a huge burden here and thiswould be the absolute ultimate no-no as far as a mixed relationshipand the approval/disapproval of your peers, but you’re a free womanand you should get to make your own mistakes like everybodyelse.”

Anya felt a huge weight fall off hershoulders. She hadn’t realized that so much of her anxiety had todo with a fear that seeking a relationship with Aidan could meandestroying her relationship with the other people sheloved.

That thought brought her to a mentalhalt.

Loved?

Did she love him?

Or was it just … like that captivesyndrome thingy?

And, saying it wasn’t anything mentallike that but she really did care for him, was she going toactually get the chance to discover if Aidan wanted to try to havea relationship with an Earth woman?

* * * *

Anya was tempted to simply ignore thetap on her bedroom window. The feeding frenzy of the media had dieddown considerably in the past couple of weeks, though, andcuriosity got the best of her. She peered through the curtainswarily to see if she should start screaming her head off ornot.

Her heart jerked painfully when she sawwho was standing outside her bedroom window.

She broke two nails unlocking thewindow and shoving it open. “Aidan!” she gasped in a thrilledwhisper. “What are you doing here?”

He glanced around the darkened backyard. “Can I come in before your neighbors call thecops?”

Anya glanced around at that. “I’ll meetyou at the back door,” she said, pointing. Rushing to the backdoor, she snatched it open, and flung herself into Aidan’s armswithout waiting to see if she was welcome or not, hugging himtightly. He hugged her back with gratifying force, nearly squeezingthe breath out of her and finally pulled away just enough to seekher mouth.

She met his quest eagerly, alreadywarm, willing, excited from his presence, from the warmth andstrength of the hard, unyielding form he’d held her against. He wasjust unfamiliar enough to her to add an edge of nerves to herexcitement and just familiar enough to make the blood pump fasterfrom memory alone. The scent of his skin—so alien, so uniquely hisown—was an intoxicant. The taste of his mouth as he covered hersand breached the barrier of her lips was heavenly. She felt as ifshe was melting, felt warm and wet and pliant … and oh soready!

Objections were the last thing thatcrossed her mind as he swept her up into his arms and began asearch for a nest to mate in—beyond objecting that he broke thekiss to look around. “That way,” she murmured, nuzzling her faceagainst his throat as soon as she’d pointed him in the rightdirection.

They crashed onto the top of her bedwith a bounce, stroking one another, kissing any patch of skinuncovered as they wrestled with removing their clothing andcaressing one another at the same time. They tangled—with eachother, the binding clothes—fought their way free of sleeves andzippers and other closures and clutched at one anotheragain.

A heated steam of their combined scentsenveloped them as they explored one another thoroughly, returnedrepeatedly to share mating lips in kisses that wound the tensiontighter and tighter. Their breaths mingled, intoxicating both ofthem.

Anya was in a rush to feel Aidan as apart of herself again and, at the same time, she wanted to explorehim with her lips and hands and feel his touch on her. They seemedto reach a surfeit of what they could endure without becoming onewith one