Free Alien's Bride: Lisette by Yamila Abraham Page B

with the twit so
adroitly. She had to settle for a heated kiss on the
landing.
    “ You must sleep in your own
bed tonight, my dearest.”
    She puffed out a breath of
disappointment.
    “ It won’t be for long.”
Prax-Denay swept his fingers through her hair. “Once he’s caught up
he’ll take another extended vacation. He can’t bear to have me
trouncing him.”
    Lisette smiled and nuzzled her cheek
against his hand.
    “ I love you,” Prax-Denay
said.
    She lifted her face to look him
squarely in the eyes. “I love you, too.”
    He closed his eyes to shudder with
euphoria. “That’s the first time you’ve said it.” He kissed her
gently and parted from her.
    She fell asleep on what felt like the
blissful cloud of their love. Floating turned to rocking in her
dreams. She was on a cruise ship with Prax-Denay back on Earth. The
waters were turbulent. She clung to him while high swells wreaked
havoc on her equilibrium. In the dream she broke from Prax-Denay’s
side to vomit over the bow.
    She woke just in time to lean over the
side of her bed. The contents of stomach poured onto the floor.
Before she could fathom why another involuntary heave wrung her,
shooting out still more vomit. By the forth such heave her stomach
was empty and only clear liquid escaped. Finally, the onslaught
within her ceased. Her temples throbbed and her torso felt cramped.
She balled herself against the headboard.
    What had she eaten? There was nothing
unusual she could recall. She and Prax-Denay dined on a set menu
that varied little from week to week. She’d had bean curd and fish
for lunch, the mollusk in brown sauce for dinner. It tasted no
differently than normal.
    She climbed from the bed on tremulous
legs and went to her bathroom. After rinsing her mouth she
swallowed a few gulps of water. A robot was at her bedside cleaning
up the vomit. She huddled back beneath her sheets once it rolled
away. Something she’d eaten had been bad, or she’d caught some
Dak-Hiliah flu from Jorenkis. She’d wait until morning to tell
Prax-Denay.
    Just when her thoughts were turning
into the nonsense that came before sleep she leaned off the side of
the bed again for another puke session. The water came up, then
bile and spit. Her middle tightened with shocking pain. She balled
up once again until it abated enough for her to move. This time she
forced her unsteady legs to the door. Maybe Prax-Denay knew of some
medicine that would relieve her suffering. She no longer felt
capable of waiting until morning.
    Her door led out to a lobby which
separated her apartment from Prax-Denay’s. In the middle was a
seating area beneath a skylight with several blue and green plants.
She could see a figure lying on the long couch between two ferns.
It appeared Prax-Denay couldn’t bear to sleep in his bed without
her. She knelt beside him and nudged his side.
    “ Prax…I don’t feel
good.”
    Jorenkis rolled over and looked at her.
“Huh?” He sat up and tapped on the lamp beside him.
    Lisette wanted to retreat at the sight
of her enemy, but her legs could only go so far as an armchair
beside the couch. She hunched over with renewed agony.
    “ What? You’re
sick?”
    She began to nod, but stopped herself.
“I threw up.”
    “ Why? Is this
normal?”
    “ No. I’m sick.”
    Jorenkis picked up his pants from the
floor. Lisette averted her eyes as he donned them.
    “ Shit. I don’t know what to
do. Do you have to go to the clinic or something? They don’t have
any human cures there. You’re not supposed to get sick.”
    Lisette’s annoyance got the better of
her. “Why are you here?”
    “ Why am I here? Puh.” He
leaned back in consideration. “Why am I here? Yeah. Exactly.
Why?”
    Prax-Denay would know how to help her.
It was only a few more steps to his quarters. She tried to stand
but her legs felt strained. She leaned back in the chair to
recuperate.
    “ It’s your fault I’m here,”
Jorenkis said at last. “You put the idea of