“I know your favorite food.” The corner of his mouth turned up in an interested half smile. “Tell me something else.”
“I’m a cat person,” she managed, though the husky way she spoke made her wish she’d stuck with the silence thing a little longer. Her palms flattened against the surface of the wall. “Do you have cats on Xenith?”
“No,” he divulged, “but I’ve seen them on your planet.” His smile grew. “What else?”
“What else do you want to know?”
“Whatever you want to tell me.”
This was seriously weird. Yet it was working: He’d successfully gotten her mind off her worry for Mariana and her parents. She was grateful for the distraction, and found that it made her want to oblige him and his game of twenty questions. But only if she got something out of it as well.
“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” she teased, surprised that she was able to with him still so close, invading her senses. His scent reminded her again of sitting around bonfires—which was giving her a serious craving for marshmallows—and made her want to do the oddest things. Like rub her cheek against the muscled curve of his neck.
She’d always been a sucker for fall, it was her favorite season, and if she’d been home right then, she’d no doubt be at one of the end-of-the-school-year fire pit parties. It was still spring there, but a bonfire always took her back to brisk autumn air and bursts of colorful leaves. That must be one of the reasons she felt so comfortable around him. His smell was so familiar.
“All right,” he agreed, pulling away. “But we should return to Olena’s room first.”
Not being out in the open seemed like a good plan, so she silently agreed and fell into step at his side.
CHAPTER 11
“Tell me what your favorite thing to do is,” he persisted the moment they were back inside Olena’s bedroom. “It’s obviously not attending Tandem games.”
“No,” she said, and laughed, “definitely not. I like bowling.”
“Bowling?” He pursed his lips. “Is that the sport where you knock things down?”
“Pins.” She nodded. “You roll a ball down a lane and try to take out as many pins as you can. I’m fairly good, not to brag or anything. I spent a lot of time hiding out in the bowling alley in my town to avoid going home to an empty house. My parents both have strenuous jobs.”
“We don’t have anything like that here. But we do have movies. They’re played on a stage and broadcast in actual 3-D. Perhaps we can go to one soon. Do you like movies?”
“Love them.”
He was standing with his back to the window wall, hands tucked casually into the front pockets of his charcoal pants. Unlike in the hall, he maintained his distance, keeping a polite five feet between him and where she stood at the edge of the bed.
“Have you always wanted to be an Ander?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied, then glanced away. “Though it’s not what I expected.”
“How so?” She found she didn’t like the unsure look in his eyes. She wanted to make it go away.
“No one wants to be around Olena,” he offered, “and I am always around her. It makes … having other relations difficult. It doesn’t help that I spent the last five years circling Earth’s orbit. I needed to stay close in case there was an emergency and she needed me.”
Delaney scanned his features, taking in the way his shoulders had slumped and how tired he suddenly appeared. She’d been so focused on herself, she hadn’t noticed how much this situation had taken out of him as well.
“You’re lonely.” She felt bad the second she pointed it out, but he only chuckled.
“I have an important job,” he said, as if that should be enough explanation.
The sound of approaching footsteps cut off anything else they were about to say. A second later a heavy fist knocked against the door.
Ruckus glanced at her, and it was clear he hadn’t been expecting anyone. Another knock came, this one more impatient than the last, and he moved to answer. His spine stiffened as soon as he had it open.
Trystan was standing in the hall, head bowed down as he listened intently to the hushed whispers of a Kint soldier. A second after the door was opened, however, he held up three fingers, instantly hushing his companion and stared pointedly at the Ander.
Ruckus stiffly stepped to the side, allowing him entrance, but stopped the other Kint soldier at the doorway.
“Lissa Olena.” Trystan approached and came to an easy stop before her. “I was looking for you earlier. I wanted to know how you were doing after the attack. Clearly my worry was misplaced.” He glanced between her and Ruckus, staring a bit too intensely at her guard. “The Ander seems to have kept you in good health.”
“And I see you survived as well.” She ran her eyes from his toes upward, making sure to let her lips twist slightly, a small sign of her ire. She couldn’t come outright and say that she hated him—that was obvious—especially with his man standing in the hallway over his shoulder. Didn’t mean she had to be the epitome of polite, either.
Still, her reaction gave him pause.
“Don’t push him, Delaney.” Ruckus’s warning echoed through her mind as if he were speaking directly into the curve of her ear.
The sudden intrusion caused her to shiver, a move that of course the Zane picked up on, because his surprised expression immediately morphed into one of satisfaction.
“I’m curious, Lissa Olena, what it is exactly you did on Earth all these years.” He angled his head at her. “Surely it wasn’t merely extreme sports and risks with jungle animals.”
“Savanna, actually,” she corrected coolly. “They’re called the king of the jungle, but lions don’t actually live there. Tigers do, as well as some other large feline species.” At this point she didn’t know why she was still talking, but figured it had something to do with her not wanting to hear the sound of his voice any longer.
There was a smooth timber to it that always sent her entire body into alert mode, as if her brain didn’t know if it liked the way he spoke or not. She hated everything he said; that was a certainty at least. And the less time she spent in his presence, the better for everyone. Her hope from earlier that his hatred of Olena would keep him away dwindled. Obviously, his feelings were only going to make this harder.
“She’s developed a fondness for cats,” Ruckus divulged with a bored shrug, as if it were of very little importance.
“And here I thought you hated animals,” he replied. “We should get together, talk more about your travels.” He didn’t bother looking Ruckus’s way, but it was clear his next words indicated him: “In private.”
“I’m not sure that’s necessary…,” she began, but the rest of her sentence died in her throat when he took a single step closer, invading her personal space. Even knowing Ruckus was right there wasn’t a huge comfort.