Page 156 of Alien Burn

“If you want to know something, ask.”

“And you may tell me it isn't mine to know.”

She nodded.

“I don't know which name I want,” she admitted. “Naliese is mine. But she's also fifteen in that house. Sereya has lived six years since then. Some of what she did was worth keeping.”

“A great deal of it.”

“Sereya for now. Even here. I want to hear it without feeling as if I'm lying.”

She turned her hand palm up on the blanket. He waited until she reached for him, then lifted it.

“Sereya.”

Her shoulders eased.

“Yes. Like that.”

His armor had begun to settle. As she watched, a ridge rose again along his shoulder.

She touched it with one finger. He drew a slow breath.

“Does that hurt?”

“No.”

She traced the warm edge a little farther.

“That may make concentration difficult,” he said.

Her hand stopped. “Oh.”

There was a moment in which they simply looked at each other. Then, to her astonishment, she laughed.

“I've been crying all over you.”

“I noticed.”

“I have blood in my hair.”

“A little.”

“And your body thinks this is the moment?”

“It has been suggesting moments for some time.”

She laughed again. He smiled, and the sight of it made her want things that had nothing to do with being safe.

She leaned toward him. He brushed his mouth over her forehead, beside the dressing, and rested there.

“When you've slept,” he murmured, “we'll talk about physical mating. What to expect before we try it.”

“You intend to give me a briefing?”

“A very good one.”

“I'll bring questions.”