Starport: Zeta Prime (Alt) Read Online Free PDF Page A

onto
her lap and followed the alien’s actions by scooping a little of
the mixture onto her fingers and nibbling a small piece. It tasted
similar to baby carrots that had been mashed, with an unknown herby
aftertaste. It wasn’t disgusting by any means, but she worried as
to whether it would be safe for her to eat, thinking that if they
looked quite different externally, they might be different
internally.
    Faron eyed her as he
ate, knowing that she must be ravenous. He was interested in her
reaction to the dish, assessing how she took to it. Her tiny bites
seemed delicate to him and he struggled to take his focus from
her–this beautiful creature from another world.
    After a few mouthfuls, Jillian felt she had done enough to maintain some strength,
unsure if she would be required to fight or run at some point. She
placed the unfinished meal down and stifled a yawn, avoiding the
gaze of the man whom she had started to feel very conscious of,
like it contained a sort of…heat.
    “ Eat,” he said in his native tongue after noticing how
little she had consumed. She maintained her ignorance to the
language by simply giving him a polite smile and a
shrug.
    Faron thought that
she couldn’t keep this pretence up much longer. He needed her
honesty to release her–to be sure that she wasn’t going to be a
risk to his village by attracting the more destructive of her race
here. Deep down, he believed that she wouldn’t do such a thing, but
he had a duty and had to be sure. There was a chance she hadn’t
been taught their tongue, of course, but his instinct was strong
and rarely incorrect.
    He reached across and shook her bowl in front of her,
encouraging. This was the closest they’d been to each other, face-to-face and both locked
eyes—neither able to look away as they absorbed each other up
close.
    Jillian was
transfixed by him in that moment, taking in the rippling flashes of
dark green and warm amber of his huge irises–the caramel of his
skin.
    He too, remained still as he searched her face, fascinated
by the pink petal color of her cheeks, which for some reason was darkening by the second.
Faron wanted to touch her curious, shade-changing flesh but held
back, thinking correctly that the move would startle
her.
    Placing the bowl back on the floor, he sat back. Jillian exhaled from the intensity of
the past minute. She felt like she had just experienced something
truly unique. Being careful not to get carried away, she reminded
herself that she had been taken prisoner of these cat-people, and
did not yet know what it was that they intended to do with her. To
relax and trust this early on could prove a fatal mistake she
wasn’t prepared to make. Just because she had felt a connection did
not mean that he had felt the same thing–they were from different
planets. She placed her guard back up.
    He got up and moved a
pile of the fur, positioning it just in front of the doorway. To
her disbelief, he curled on top of it and closed his eyes, clearly
with the intention of sleeping and preventing her from dashing
through the door, should she break from the chains.
    This made Jillian
more acutely aware of her own fatigue, which had dissipated for a
time in his presence. She yawned again, openly this time and bit
her lip as she pondered her safety.
    With his large eyes now closed, she indulged in examining
his body. Despite how she
felt about her capture, she could not deny the marvel she felt at
the rippling of his muscles underneath that skin. Skin that looked
as smooth as any she had ever seen, but somehow, soft too–as if it
were covered in a fine chestnut down. His frame was not bulky,
rather athletic and slender, but underneath was iron strength. He
had, after all, carried her weight through miles and miles of
forest without appearing to tire once.
    He was
almost quite … attractive. She tried to shake the thought from her
head the instant it appeared, but now it was out she realized she
had thought that as soon as she