Chapter 19
Alanna
Survii would not, and had never, lied to her.
So, did that mean he did want her as a mate? Or did she believe what he said to Navine? Because he hadn’t said those hurtful words to Alanna, and he had admitted that he would lie to himself.
The question was driving her mad as she stared out the window of the private jet that was descending into the private Chinese tarmac they had been granted permission to use.
It was the same tarmac that the president himself used.
The president would be there to greet them when they touched down so he could show them around.
They would be getting to see the forbidden city and the imperial palace and some other cultural sites.
They were all written down on the itinerary that she, Survii, and Atem had created together.
They would only be in China for a short time.
Then, they would go from there to London, to Cairo, to Athens, and many more.
They were going to explore the eastern hemisphere and when they were done, they’d explore the western hemisphere.
She had tried to keep things in some semblance of order, but most of this was being decided on the fly.
They were still negotiating, of course. Right now, Atem and Survii were debating over the first of the terms that the human leaders had sent over.
Since it was all trade allowances, she wasn’t able to contribute anything.
What could or could not be shared with Earth was something that Atem would have to decide as the official representative of the Coalition.
Tuvo and Romival were using Holly as a translator to speak to the head of their security.
Jumping countries this way was at once protective and risky.
Protective because no one knew where they were going next or when.
Risky because that meant their own security detail needed to constantly be on their toes.
If they really needed to, Atem or Tuvo could use one of the two communicators to summon the shuttle from the Jutiron Stor, and if they didn’t check in for long enough, then the team on the ship would send down a search team that would be armed and readied with advanced equipment.
But, of course, prevention was the best rescue technique and so the two were working together with security to make sure that, no matter where they went, they were safe.
There was apparently some grumbling from some humans about the alien visitors – because, of course, there was – but whenever Alanna asked, she was assured that they were a very small minority and not a problem.
Havali, meanwhile, was seeing to their accommodations at the hotel they would be staying at in China along with Hattie and Peony. They were communicating with someone from the Chinese government who could speak English to get everything settled.
Which left Scarlet to take a nap and Alanna to fight with herself over what those looks Survii occasionally sent her way could possibly mean.
And what she even wanted them to mean.
It had only been a couple days since their conversation, and while he hadn’t done anything overt, she would sometimes catch him staring at her.
Hear him growling softly. He would randomly touch her – on the arm, the back, brushing against her fingers.
Never anything explicit. Just a quick, completely innocent caress that only served to make her more aware of him.
She didn’t want him to do it.
She didn’t want him to stop.
The conflicted feelings were giving her a headache. How could she ask him to respect her choice when she didn’t even know what it was?
She was so lost in thought, she didn’t even realize they had reached the ground until the jet shuddered from the landing.
She looked around, surprised to see that everyone had taken their seats and buckled in some time ago.
The males found planes adorably retro. A top-of-the-line private jet was basically a hayride for them – cute and fun and not a legitimate mode of transportation any longer so not something to take seriously.
They were even laughing as the plane was taxiing to the small, but beautiful, terminal. A private airport – she hadn’t even known those were things.
She was now part of a level of celebrity that few would ever be able to know. The sheer presence of media and political power that greeted them when they emerged from the plane was intimidating. Or, it would have been, had Survii not been a consummate charmer.
Though there were two levels of language barrier, and two culture barriers, between him and most people here, he still managed to exude such charisma and excitement using the few non-verbal cues he knew to make people gravitate towards him.
He soon had high ranking Chinese officials laughing at his carefully cultivated ineptitude as he went through the airport – legitimately baffled by human things, playing it up just enough that it was funny but not awkward.
The president himself was giving him a brief history of their country, talking about the things they would see while there.
Alanna very quickly found herself fading into the background. She was a translator – no different from a program on a computer. She didn’t matter and she didn’t need to think, just speak, so it was easy to dissociate once she got into the swing of things.
The city they drove through on the way to their hotel, in the large car with fancy seats that faced backwards as though designed to hold meetings just like this, was pretty enough to distract her.
It hadn’t even been a week since they’d stepped foot back on Earth, but she was already falling into a rhythm.
There was still a lot she had yet to experience, but she fought to keep her mind on the present moment.
They were only going to be in China for four days before they moved on.
There wasn’t a lot of time to do everything she would have liked while being a tourist in China.
She wondered what they’d have for dinner.
She wondered what the Forbidden City was like.
She wondered what people thought of their alien visitors. She wondered-
A firm touch on the back of her neck startled her from her thoughts.
Survii was listening in on a conversation between Atem, Peony, and the Chinese president. Since Peony was translating, there was no need for her to even pay that minimal attention.
The focus he put on the speaker, acting like they had his rapt attention even when he couldn’t understand their words, was part of the joy of talking to him. It made the language barrier seem like it wasn’t even there sometimes.
Even now, all three of his eyes were on the conversation. Even his upper eye, the domini eye of truth that was hard to force to look at something they didn’t want to see, was on the others. Either he was interested in the conversation, or his control was amazing.
She didn’t know, because despite all three of his eyes being on them, he was touching her. Massaging the back of her neck, grounding her back in reality. Like he realized she had drifted away, and he wanted to leash her back to the present.
How could she get lost in her thoughts when he was there, touching her so firmly?
Sweetly. The warmth of his hand on the sensitive skin of her neck heating her body from deep in her belly.
His fingers trailing along her neck, her jaw, down to her shoulder.
Caressing her without losing track of the conversation she had completely zoned out from.
His touch still didn’t let her focus on their words, but she didn’t lose track of time as they reached their hotel and were led in through a private entrance – just like in Geneva.
Survii released her before they climbed from the car, but she could still feel the heat of his skin long after she closed herself in her private room.