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So, though he wished they could discuss it, Torus knew he couldn’t tell her about his dreams or what he had seen in them. He had the feeling that if Molly knew that he had seen what her ex-Mate had done, she would lose her trust in him and withdraw. She simply wasn’t ready to face it yet—and might never be. So he would have to be patient with her.
Not that it was difficult—the curvy little Elite already held his heart in the palm of her hand. He wondered if she knew how he felt about her, and how that feeling was deepening every minute they spent together…
24
MOLLY
The bungalow was big inside—built for huge alien warriors rather than humans—yet somehow it still managed to feel cozy. Molly noticed a lot of the same features she saw in the suites in the Mother Ship. There was a huge, overstuffed leather sofa and in front of it was a firewall that could be turned off and on with a switch—the clear glass filled with blue and gold flames when she flipped it on.
There was also a vast bathing pool in the bathroom—much bigger than the little one in her single suite aboard the Mother Ship. This one was big enough to do laps in and there was a temperature control as well, which was nice.
The bedroom held a simply enormous bed—which made sense, she supposed, since it was meant to hold two seven-foot-tall Twin Kindred warriors and their mate, whom they shared. She had seen Lana’s bedroom once before and she and her Twin Kindred husbands had the same sized bed.
Looking at the enormous bed, which was covered in a furry, dark blue spread, Molly wondered if she and Torus would be sharing it tonight. Were they really going to sleep together or should she offer to take the couch?
Honestly, it seems like we could share it, she thought. I’m not worried about him hurting me and there’s plenty of room—even considering how big he is. We could each take a side and have plenty of space left in the middle.
Though honestly, when she pictured the two of them in bed, she imagined herself curling up close to the big Kindred’s side and feeling his arm wrapped around her. Just the thought made her feel warm all over. Maybe too warm, because now she was picturing her dream again, of him stroking himself and calling her name.
Keep your mind out of the gutter, Molly! she lectured herself. Maybe it would be better to leave the bedroom and go see the rest of the bungalow.
In the kitchen—or food-prep area as the Kindred called it—there was a human style refrigerator and freezer. But there was also a Kindred-styled wave cooker as well as a rehydrator and a whole cabinet filled with tiny, sugar-cube-sized meal cubes, so they didn’t have to cook if they didn’t feel like it. Molly liked that—she didn’t mind cooking but it was nice to have the option not to do it.
On the counter were some special perks—a big bouquet of flowers in a crystal vase and a bottle of wine, chilling in a bucket of ice. There was a note from whoever kept up the guest bungalows wishing them a “Happy Honeymoon” and a book that had a list of local restaurants and different activities to do and how long it took to get to each one both driving and flying. The nice thing was that no place in the whole state was too far to get to since the Kindred shuttles were able to fly so fast.
Molly looked in the cabinet and found two wine glasses. She opened the chilled bottle of wine and poured two drinks, noticing as she did so, that the wine had a kind of pale peachy-pink color that was unusual.
It smelled amazing—fruity and sweet. She wanted to wait for Torus, but she decided just to take a sip and was surprised at the flavors. Fresh strawberries…ripe peaches…and something slightly salty and buttery at the end. What was that? Molly took another sip and then another, trying to identify the elusive flavor. Whatever it was, it was delicious, she decided.
“Well, I see you started celebrating without me.” Torus’s low, rumbling voice came from the kitchen doorway, which he only had to duck a little to get through.
“Oh!” Molly jumped and then hiccupped. “Sorry! I wanted to make a toast to the first night of our honeymoon but then I took a sip and I couldn’t figure out what the last flavor is so I kept drinking to see what it was,” she said.
Which was definitely a run-on sentence. Was she drunk? From only one glass of wine? Two was usually her limit.
“I see—it smells familiar somehow.” Torus inhaled deeply. “Smells really good, too,” he remarked.
“It is! Here, try some.” Molly poured herself another glass and handed him his. “A toast!” she exclaimed. “To finally having a vacation where I don’t have to worry that the man I’m with will pinch me or pull my hair or shout at me or throw things at my head!”
Then she put a hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide. She was definitely tipsy.
“Oh…did I say that out loud?”
“You did.” Torus put his glass on the counter and cupped her cheek. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, little bird,” he murmured. “What a bastard your ex-Mate was.”
“Let’s forget about him,” Molly said quickly and took another large sip of wine. “Come on—try it. It’s really good!”
He nodded and picked up his own glass again. He sniffed it, then took a sip.
“Hmm…I taste several fruits and at least one salty note. You know what this tastes like? It tastes like…” Then his silver-gray eyes went wide. “Gods, wait a minute…”
“What? What’s wrong?” Molly felt his anxiety through the TET link.
Torus didn’t answer. He had picked up the bottle of wine and was scanning it rapidly.
“Mother of All Life,” he muttered. “Molly, put that down—don’t drink another drop!”
“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” Her own anxiety suddenly soared and she nearly dropped the half-full glass in her haste to put it down and push it away from her. “Is it…is it some kind of poison?” she faltered.
