Touched by an Alien

was already barely tolerating me, so I didn’t worry about him. “Why won’t you believe me?”
    “Because I can’t feel it,” he said sadly. He opened the door and walked out.
    The tears came without my wanting them to. I was scared, and now I was alone. The one person I’d sort of thought I could rely on had bagged on me, and there was nothing I could do to bring him back. I still didn’t know if I was in love with him or not, but I knew I didn’t hate him.
    I buried my face in my hands and sobbed quietly. I couldn’t go to my parents because it would put them in danger. I couldn’t tell anyone else—if they locked me up for study we were all going to be dead.
    Someone’s arms went around me, and I was up against a body. A rock hard, well-proportioned body. “It’s okay,” Martini said softly. “I’m sorry.”
    I couldn’t keep from putting my arms around him. “What, I have to be hysterical for you to believe me?” He was going to have another wet shirt at the rate I was going.
    He stroked my back. “In a way. You’re right, there’s an external emotional layer blocking yours. And what we’ve gone through this morning is grueling from an empathic standpoint. But I could feel it when you started to cry—it was just like last night at the airport and then after your nightmare.” He kissed my head. “I’m sorry, baby. Please stop crying.”
    “You won’t believe me if I stop!” I was losing it, and I couldn’t get under control.
    Martini shifted and slid his hands to the sides of my head. He moved me so I was looking into his eyes. “I’ll believe you. This is going to be really hard. My empathic synapses are burned out, and all my normal blocks are shot. I need to regenerate, and the only way to do that is in an isolation chamber, and I need at least twelve hours of sleep in there, too. I know we don’t have the time. I can feel the entity, but it’s not connected to you like a parasite would be. It’s got to be the implanted memories from Mephistopheles trying to take over. It seems like they’re growing stronger over time.”
    “He wants me to kill you and Christopher. I know it. I know that’s why I saw that in the dream. Everyone else will be taken care of—killed or turned into superbeings. But not you two. He wants the two of you dead.”
    “Do you know why?”
    “No.” I really didn’t. I was sure I should be afraid of the answer, though. “I just know he’s coming. And soon. You’re right, we don’t have time for you to regenerate.”
    A small smile crept across his mouth. “There are a couple of things that help.” He bent and kissed me.
    I could have cried with relief. Still felt great, still wiped out most of whatever was worrying me. One hand slid behind my head and the other down my back. My arms were already around him, and I tightened my hold, clutching at him.
    It was a long kiss, but he finally pulled away a bit. “Is this room soundproof?” I asked as soon as I could form words again.
    “It’s a library, so, yeah, we followed Earth standards.” He looked confused.
    “Does the door lock?”
    “Yeah. Why?”
    “Well, I’ve always had this fantasy about being ravaged on a conference table.” Odd but true. I hadn’t shared this with anyone before, however.
    His eyes were smoldering again, but he also looked a little frustrated. “I can’t believe I have to say this, but that great idea’s going to have to wait. This is one of those need-to-conserve energy times. And a good ravaging takes time and energy.”
    “I can wait.” If I had to. Damned psychotic superbeings always messing up a great ravaging opportunity.
    “Good. It’ll give me something to live for.” He kissed me again, then pulled me close. “I’m probably only going to pick up extreme emotions from you now, and they’re likely to be really faint. So screaming for help out loud might be a good idea.”
    “I’ll keep it in mind.”
    “Do. Now, you should do whatever ritual you have to say good-bye in case you’re not coming back.”
    My arms tightened around him. “Can’t we just pretend it’s a given?”
    “I wish. No, you need to see your parents. I’ll take you there. Now.” Martini lifted me off the table and stood me up.
    “I thought I was in charge of this particular operation.”
    He grinned. “Only when everyone else is around.”

CHAPTER 34
    MARTINI KEPT HIS ARM AROUND MY SHOULDERS , and I kept mine around his waist as we left the library to head