Soul-Bonded to the Alien(54)

“Do you come here a lot?”

“Not really, both Selma and Victor like to cook and I find no reason to disappoint them by not showing up to eat their food.”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say you don’t like to cook.”

“Nope, sorry. But I do make a mean spaghetti as well as cereal. My cereal is the best you ever tasted. I use several different brands with just the right amount of milk. People come far and wide for a bowl of it.”

Paige choked as her ginger ale went down the wrong pipe.

“Do you need the Heimlich?”

She shook her head no vigorously as she continued to half choke, laugh and breathe at the same time.

“I’m good,” her breathing was coming in shallow breaths as her face turned beet red.

“I’d take a picture of you right now, but I have a feeling I’d be sleeping on the couch.”

Her lips jerked upward as she began to breathe normally. “I knew you were smart.”

He chuckled. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Chocolate chip cookies.”

“That’s a snack.”

“It’s a snack you can eat, so its food.” She jutted her chin and crossed her arms.

“Uh huh, what is your favorite meal?” he tried again.

The light in her eyes dimmed, “Turkey, stuffing, and gravy.”

“Did you have it for Thanksgiving?”

Her eyes lowered and she slid her gaze to the left as she shook her head no, hoping he wouldn’t pursue the topic. The memory of the pasta she ate came back to haunt her. It was the perfect representation of where she was in her life on Thanksgiving. You were pitiful. Not anymore she assured herself, now she was allowing her strong inner core to come out and she like her new self.

“Dinner’s coming.”

She looked up to see the waiter headed their way with bowls of salad and a basket of bread. Her stomach growled as the waiter set the food down.

“Just in time,” he gave her a half smile before walking away.

“He’s not a vicious, mean animal, is he?”

“Quite the contrary, he’s a nice male. I am happy to call him friend.”

“Snap judgements, they’re easy to make when you’re looking at someone so different from you.”

“Could this be related to how you judged me in the ally?” he asked her with a teasing voice.

“What should I have done for future reference?”

“First, don’t walk down alleys unsupervised.”

“Unsupervised?” a little heat crept into her voice.

“You have proven that when you’re alone you do unwise things like walk down alleys at night.”

“Have you ever done anything unwise, Cal?”

“Yeah,” shadows dimmed his brown eyes tearing the smile from his face as he lost himself in past memories.

“We all make mistakes, its called life.”

His eyebrow rose as he looked at her.

“Alright, I was going to say it’s human but only one of us is…”

He shook his head looking at her. “I think your right, it’s all about life.”

Paige gave him a smile enjoying the fluttering in her heart that only he could bring to life. She could lose herself in his brown eyes that warmed like the finest chocolate on the coldest day. Yeah, she was in deep trouble. She opened her mouth to say so when a frigid blast of cold air crossed her back.

She tensed, her eyes flying to Cal’s.

“I see him.”

The Sudir walked into the restaurant. Her flight response rose within her compelling her feet to flee. Not today, her stomach dropped, she couldn’t take another fight, what about all the humans in the room? The warmth from her ring vibrated through her, calming her.

Slowly she turned her head to look over her shoulder. He was being seated far enough away from them not to hear their conversation, but close enough to watch them. He was accompanied by a blonde, she was tall and willowy. What would he do to that human?

“Will he kill her? We can’t let that happen.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“How can you say that? What if he wants to suck her dry and her bleached bones show up several days later leaving her parents crying?” Her body shook at the thought. How could she let some poor unsuspecting soul get trapped in his evil clutches?

“Turn around, Paige.” Cal’s voice was soft.

Paige felt a stroke of his band through their bond as he eased her. Her body fought the turning, she shook with the desire to never lay eyes on the Sudir again.

The woman was staring at Paige, her eyes swiped up and down over Paige’s body as if caressing it. Paige lifted her chin staring her into her eyes. The woman’s eyes flicked briefly showing them to be solid red. Paige continued to stare refusing to break contact. The woman turned first acknowledging defeat even as she promised with her eyes they would meet again.