Ajos: The Restitution - A Sci-fi Alien Romance, Book 1, стр. 22

He was being incredibly nice, but she could stay in the hospital for as long as necessary. She wasn’t fussy.

“I don’t want to put you out,” she said.

Ajos grunted. “I don’t intend to be put out. I will be staying there with you.”

Kerena opened her mouth again, and it closed on its own accord.

Was it safe to go off with him? And did he mean that she’d be sharing a room with him?

“You will be safe there,” Ajos said, and it felt as if he read her mind. “I will not harm you.”

His words felt true, but he hadn’t needed to utter them, she realized.

The entire time she’d known him, granted it hadn’t been for that long, she hadn’t once felt unsafe around him.

“Rest, Keh-reh-nah,” he said. “It is a bit of a walk from here.”

Another protest died on her lips as she looked up at the alien holding her close.

Her gaze traveled over minty-teal skin, up his collarbone to his firm chin. He had full lips that were pressed together and the look on his face didn’t change as the door slid open and they stepped out of the medical center.

Ajos didn’t pause but kept on walking.

It was dark, but the night air was only slightly chilly. Still, he walked with haste, weaving through alleys and streets she didn’t know.

Now and then, she could hear the brush of feet around them as they passed other aliens going about their night business, but not once did Ajos stop.

He just kept moving forward, his forehead set in a frown, his lips pressed into a thin line, and those golden eyes of his piercing forward.

It took him a while before he looked down and caught her staring at him, and Kerena noticed that his features softened a little when he realized that she wasn’t asleep.

“We will be there soon,” he said.

“Okay.”

She couldn’t help herself or pull her eyes away from him, and even when Ajos tore his gaze away, she still stared.

This had been a helluva few days.

In such a short time, she felt as if she’d experienced more than most humans ever would in their entire lives.

It was no wonder she was so exhausted, and maybe that exhaustion was clouding her judgment.

Despite what her instincts were telling her, she still needed to keep her eyes open in case anything questionable was happening on this base.

There were a lot of questions she still needed answered.

Ajos stopped walking in front of what looked like a bunker.

It was literally a door set into the rock face, like a hobbit hole but larger.

“We’re here.” As he said this, he pressed his hand on a panel by the door and it slid open.

Kerena turned her head to see where they were going and as Ajos stepped inside, she realized the place was already lit.

It was white. Everything was.

It looked like a room decorated with modern, minimalistic furnishings and there was a lot of space.

The sleek furniture, the walls, the floor…it was such a contrast from the brown of the outside.

“Wow.”

“This is our dwelling.”

As she scanned the interior, V’Alen turned a corner and stopped. His gaze landed on her immediately before moving to Ajos.

“Ajos?”

Ajos didn’t pause. “She is staying here.”

V’Alen blinked as Ajos walked forward and passed him, but he said nothing more.

He was looking at her though and she wasn’t sure if it was because he was a robot or not, but she couldn’t read his gaze.

Was there a problem with her being there?

Ajos walked into another room and the door slid closed behind him. Before long, she was being placed on top of something hard.

Kerena began looking around, and it didn’t take her long to realize that this must be Ajos’ bedroom.

There were two spears against the wall in the corner, another piece of armor like the one he wore hung on the wall, and there was a pair of male boots against the wall by the door.

Apart from the hard thing she was on, there was a singular table in the corner.

This was his personal space, and she was in it.

She wasn’t a virgin, but she suddenly felt like one—not that she thought they were about to have sex…or anything.

She cleared her throat at that thought, and when she finally looked at the alien in front of her, she saw him fidget a little.

He too was looking around his space, his frown growing even deeper by the second as if he didn’t like what he was seeing.

“Nice place.” She smiled. “It’s great.” And spotless!

Sheesh, her apartment didn’t look like this even after she cleaned for an entire day.

Ajos’ gaze slid to hers and she glanced around the room again. “It’s certainly better than sleeping on the hospital floor.”

That hard thing that he’d put her on was the only flat surface in the room and she assumed it was the bed, though, it was so hard she couldn’t imagine anyone having a good night’s sleep on such a thing.

Ajos made a sound in his throat and when she looked back at him, he was frowning at the bed too.

It was cold as well, she realized, and she wrapped her arms around herself. It seemed to grow colder as the seconds went by.

“Computer, turn off sleep cycle and adjust,” Ajos said.

“Noted, Commander Ajos,” a female voice suddenly said. It was hardly robotic. It sounded natural. “Settings, please.”

Ajos studied her for a second. “Adjust for the female life-form in my quarters.”

There was a pause before, “Adjusting for the female life-form. Species: human.”

Kerena’s eyebrows lifted. The temperature in the room began rising almost immediately.

“Wow, that’s…” She didn’t have the words.

“I apologize for the cold. It should be perfect for your rest now.”

“Thank you,” she said. “You don’t like it warm?”

Ajos set down his spear and removed the armor that sat across his shoulders. The shirt he wore underneath had no sleeves and his biceps bunched as he moved.

“I am Shum’ai,” he said. “We can only rest if the temperature is