Page 38 of Dark Awakening: New World

"Thank you," he called.

While she waited, Jasmine pulled a change of clothes and a toiletry bag out of her oversized bag.

As he had promised, Ell-rom took only a few minutes, and when the door opened and he stepped out, she could smell the fresh, minty scent of the toothpaste he had used.

"Let me help you get in bed." She put her bundle on the bedside table.

He didn't argue and let her help him, which was proof of how tired he was. Or maybe he'd just wanted to feel her arms around him as she helped hoist him up.

"Thank you," he said as he lifted his legs and sprawled on the bed. "It feels so good to lie down."

"I bet." She brushed a soft kiss against his temple. "I'll be right back."

24

ELL-ROM

Exhaustion weighed heavily on Ell-rom, but he refused to succumb and close his eyes. If he did, he would be asleep in seconds, and he would miss out on holding Jasmine in his arms.

He heard the shower go on, but thankfully, she didn't take long. A few minutes later, the door opened, and she walked out wearing clothing that left very little to the imagination. The pants clung to her curvy legs almost indecently, and the oversized shirt had such a broad neckline that one soft shoulder was exposed. But that wasn't the best part. Her breasts were perfectly outlined under the thin fabric, and he could even see the darker shade of her nipples through the light color of the shirt.

She was killing him.

Was his heart muscle recuperated enough to withstand the pressure of all of his blood pooling in his groin?

"You look..." He trailed off. "The clothes you are wearing. They are…they make you look so…desirable."

Jasmine laughed. "It's just comfy clothes. Nothing special." She climbed into the bed and lay on her side, looking at him. "You look beat."

He frowned. "Do I have bruises?"

A smile tugged on her lush lips. "It's an expression. It means that you look tired. We really need to start teaching you English." She lifted the translation device hanging from her neck. "This thing is great, but it has its limitations."

"How about these?" He reached with his finger to touch one of her earpieces. "Are they doing a good job?"

"They are programmed with the same input as the teardrop, so I guess that they are doing just as good a job. I find it curious that Kra-ell is such a straight-up language. You don't have idioms or phrases that say one thing and mean another."

"I wouldn't know," he admitted. "I'm thankful for having retained the memory of spoken language at all, but if there are intricacies of using it, I don't remember them." He wound a long lock of her hair around his finger. "So, tell me. Where do you usually sleep?"

Jasmine sighed, snuggling closer to him. "Usually is a transitory term for me lately. Before I went on that ill-fated vacation I told you about, I had an apartment and a job. I was lucky to have secured an apartment many years ago in an area that was rent-controlled, which means that my rent couldn't get significantly more costly and remained reasonable." She paused and looked at him to make sure that he understood everything she'd told him.

"It's okay. So far, I'm not confused."

"Good. So, then everything I told you about happened, and Kian offered me a job." She scrunched her pert nose. "Sort of. He said that I couldn't return to my place and my job because the bad guys could find me there, and he said that he would find me a better-paying position and offered me a room in a very luxurious apartment at the top of the building we are under. So, that's where I go when I'm not here."

"Does your room have a comfortable bed?"

She nodded. "It's heavenly. When you get stronger, I'm going to try to convince Bridget to let you come up there. That bed is definitely big enough for two."

Ell-rom stiffened and felt his ears getting warm. "I would like that."

Jasmine had just invited him to her bed, and even though he didn't know much about those kinds of things, he knew it was a significant development.

She chuckled throatily, which made his situation even more dire. "I mean actually sleep, Ell-rom. You are not ready for anything else."

"Oh." His ears were on fire.

Jasmine laughed. "You've got a dirty mind, my prince."