The space between the bed and the walls was barely wide enough to walk through without bumping into either, so I’d not been particularly looking forward to having a kip on the floor. I did feel a mite guilty about poor Richard having to do so but he was thin and wiry unlike my own broad-shouldered self. I sure as hell wasn’t going to suggest he sleep next to Pilar instead; the very thought of someone else snuggling up against that lithe frame, tangling their feet with his…
No, no, no! What in the world was I even thinking? I was going to sleep next to him, not cuddle my lover. For one thing, he wasn’t my lover, and for another…well, I was not going to let my mind even go there because just the notion of him being a lover had my nether regions perking up and man, oh man, would that be embarrassing to have revealed as I got down to my skivvies before climbing beneath the covers.
“There are only two pillows,” Pilar was saying to Richard. “You can have mine if you like. I’ll manage.”
“Naw, you’re okay,” Richard replied. “I’ll be fine.” He cast his eyes towards me, no doubt taking in my expression which was promising him dire things if he accepted that pillow.
“If you are certain.”
“Oh, completely,” Richard said, tossing me a shit-eating grin. “I won’t take the bed or the pillow, just the blankets. Be just like when I used to go sleep over at Kelly’s house when we were kids.”
I rolled my eyes at him. If he started telling embarrassing stories about our childhood, I’d make sure he got to go inspect all the weights and measures at all the dry goods and food shops within human territory, but not the pubs. Ha!
Pilar didn’t say anything, opting instead to walk to the far side of the bed. He sat down with his back to us and bent down to begin unbuckling his boots.
“What are you doing?” I hissed at Richard.
“Just trying to be friendly,” he whispered.
“How about you zip it and let’s get some sleep?” I groused.
The smirk I got in reply made me decide I was going to call him Dick after this and just tell everyone it was because that it was easier to call him the diminutive of his name. He’d know better than that and so would I, which was all that mattered.
I took my own boots off without another word, then shimmied quickly out of my pants, leaving my shirt on. Hopefully, with it hanging loose, it’d at least hide the semi I was sporting long enough for me to get in bed without embarrassing myself.
Richard followed suit after arranging his blankets the way he wanted them, opting to place them at the foot of the bed under the window. I turned to climb into bed to find myself face to face with the object of my desire with his long, elegant fingers gripping the bedding, ready to tug them down for him to clamber up under.
He gave me a small, tight smile and my breath caught at the sight of him.
May the universe have mercy on my soul.
All conscious thought fled me after that as I stood there, coverlet in hand, drinking him in. He was shirtless; the sight of his musculature different enough only to let me know I was looking at a nonhuman, but similar enough that he wasn’t entirely alien.
But he is, my stupid brain reminded me.
No, I argued back to it. He’s the rightful species here. We’re the aliens.
I truly grasped the enormity of that only in that moment. We. Were. The. Aliens.
Boy, did that turn things even more topsy-turvy in my mind, enough to distract me from making a drooling mess of myself as I looked at the ridge lanes of his abdomen, and the sexy vee revealed by his underwear and lack of shirt. I gave a tight smile back before looking down at the bed.
“Good night. I mean, good day. No, ah…”
You sound like a bumbling idiot! I berated myself.
“Sleep well,” he offered in return.
Richard sniggered.
“Shut up, Dick!”
“Hey!”
I smirked. Score one for me. I got in bed, turning onto my side to face the door. Pilar got in as well, facing the other way. I swallowed. The bed was large enough for two, but just barely. Our butts were touching and all I could think of was how pert it was. Goddamn it.