Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
I bring her to my home, which is, I suppose, quite obviously my home. It is among the largest of the accommodations on our little rock and it contains the general trappings of nobility even here on this far-flung corner.
Evie, perceptive little thing that she is, immediately notices that we are not in the employee dormitories.
“This is your place,” she says. “I thought the contract came with accommodation?”
“I need you to stay with me. We will be working long hours, and I will need you close if your expertise is required.”
“Oh, so there are other employees staying here?”
“No.”
She smirks, sassy little thing, but she does not ask any more questions or argue with me.
“Do I have to wear this uniform all the time?” she asks.
“You’re free to wear nothing at all, if you’d prefer that,” I say.
“Where am I sleeping? Where should I put my stuff?”
“There is only one bed,” I inform her.
“Of course,” she sighs. “Rustle was right.”
“Who, or what, is Rustle?”
“He’s a guy I worked with at Alpha Core. He said I was going to be trafficked and turned into an alien sex toy and I’d never get to see Earth again. He was jealous I got the posting and not him.”
“He did not get the posting because he has a mediocre mind,” I tell her. “I reviewed all applicants. I chose you for a reason.”
She looks surprised to hear that.
“I think the best thing to do would be to get you to the bedroom and into something more comfortable. You’ve been through more than I intended for you to have to suffer through.”
I pick her up and carry her off, which makes her squeal with excitement. She grips her bag possessively, which makes sense. All she has left in the universe is contained in that little canvas sack.
“You were very brave,” I tell her as I set her down beside the bed that could easily sleep at least six of her, maybe more.
“When?”
“At every turn. When you accepted this posting, when we were in that little scuffle, when you woke up to discover that your consciousness had been temporarily severed from your body…”
As I speak, I am removing my clothing. I wish to clean up, and wearing the same robes and such that have been in an interstellar port in my home feels like an act of complete barbarism.
She is staring at me, I realize, as my bare torso comes into view.
“So that’s how they attach,” she says. She’s referring to my lower upper limbs, the second set of arms that humans somehow lost in their evolution, if they ever had them at all. “Wow.”
“Indeed,” I smile. “Would you like to touch?”
She blushes, but again I can sense her desire. She wants to do more than touch. She wants to explore my body with her hands and possibly more.
“Let me shower,” I say to her. “Would you like to clean yourself with me?”
“I need to clean up so bad,” she says. “I’ve been kept in a box for days. But, please, can I go alone?”
“Of course,” I say, demurring to her desire. I am sure she wants to attend to herself in private, and as much as I would like to have her in the shower with me, there is still time to develop intimacy. “Let me get you a clean towel.”
“I brought my own,” she says. “You never travel in space without your towel, that’s just basic stuff.”
“Why don’t you keep your towel for emergencies,” I tell her. “Use one of mine.”
The bathroom leads off the bedroom, and she pads off with her bag, clinging to the last shreds of independence she has, treating my place like an Earth motel. I wonder if she intends to use her own soap, too.
* * *
Evie
I am starting to get nervous that I won’t find anything to steal to take back to Earth. I thought the bathroom might have something thievable in it, but all it has is a tub the size of a small pool and a shower that threatens to drench me when I turn it on.
I’m almost afraid I’m going to get in trouble because of how loud it all is, but nobody comes storming in yelling at me about using too much hot water, and I realize that there are advantages to being in an alien world.
As I let the water stream over me, I think about everything that got me to this point. He called me brave. I guess I am, maybe. I think I’m just someone who takes advantage of opportunities. I’m getting paid more for this posting than I’d earn on Earth in more than a hundred years. Even if I do get alien abducted and trafficked for a bit, it would be worth it to come back so rich I won’t actually need to work for the Alpha Core. And that’s before I sneaky steal some tech that’ll get me even more compensation.