Page 20 of Elias

“It’s good of you to look after your sister.”

Hayley’s gaze went around the room. “What else would I do? Listen, don’t say anything to anybody about Sally. It’s not easy for me to talk about her. It makes me feel sick when I think about having left her in the hospital. I would bring her here, but she can barely walk.”

“I won’t tell anybody if you don’t want me to.”

Hayley let out a sigh. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you.”

“Because you’ve found a friend?”

She smiled and nodded. “I think so. And if you’ve got any tips on how to make life in space easier, I’d appreciate them. Everyone I work with has it sorted. I’m always struggling to play catch-up.”

“Is there anything, in particular, you struggle with?”

“I’ll be honest with you. I wasn’t all that truthful to my new boss that I’d had the acclimatization training. I completed a couple of days of the induction and got myself signed off early. When I got here, it was a shock to realize how different everything was. Well, different and amazing. I mean, the food replicators for one thing. Food on tap whenever you want it. The main problem I have is sleeping.”

“That’s due to the constant motion,” Elias said. “The station rotates. It’s a cooling mechanism, you see. If that enormous circle wasn’t constantly moving, this place would overheat. It would be like living in a tropical jungle. It would be unbearably hot.”

“I didn’t realize I’d feel so weird and lightheaded.”

“What kind of bed do you have?”

“I sleep on the floor. There’s a weird hammock in my room, but it wasn’t comfortable because it kept moving.”

He smiled at her. “We all use those hammocks for the first couple of weeks. Getting used to the movement is important. It re-trains your brain to expect it. If you don’t endure a couple of weeks in your hammock, then you’ll constantly feel unsettled when you try to sleep.”

“I had no idea.” Hayley grimaced. “Lying in it feels so strange. I panicked and thought I was going to fall, so I’ve slept on the floor ever since.”

“You could try a normal bed. You might be used to the movement by now.”

Hayley shrugged and looked away. “I’m saving for one.”

“Stick with it. It will get better.”

She smiled at him. “That’s helpful.”

Hayley hopped down into the row of seats Elias was in and wrapped an arm around his neck.

He stared into her eyes, his heart pounding. “What are you doing?”

“Saying thank you properly.” She kissed him.

Chapter 9

Kissing a hot alien was not on her to-do list today! Hayley wasn’t sure why she’d kissed Elias. It could be that he was being so adorable, but she’d felt an urge to snog his face off and ignored every rational argument to stay away.

She’d wanted to kiss those lips, so she did.

Hayley wrapped her other arm around Elias’s neck and pulled him closer. This was madness. She shouldn’t allow herself to get distracted, but Elias was lovely and so sweet and sexy with it. One tiny kiss was all she wanted.

Hayley shifted in her seat to get a better angle as the kiss deepened, and she opened her mouth to him.

Elias pulled back and stared at her. “What was that?”

Hayley’s eyes widened. Had she just made a huge mistake? “You don’t like to be kissed?”

“Of course. You were opening your mouth.” His gaze was anxious as it went to her teeth.

She tapped her teeth. “Remember, I don’t bite. I have no interest in finding out what you taste like. This is sort of first base for humans if you like. It’s kissing. It won’t involve biting. I promise.”