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I’d met him, Stadden wouldn’t associate Manik with Vrentis’ stolen research, and everything should be fine.
    “After. I met him after we were finished, and I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know if he’d ever come back,” I said.
    He stared at me for a long time before he said, “I don’t appreciate being made a fool of, Elmertia.” He turned on his heel and left. The door slid open as he stalked towards it, and I knew he would have slammed it if it had been an old-fashioned hinged door.
    “Oopsies,” Prixy said in front of me, a sheepish look on her face.
    “It’s alright, Prixy. I should have told him a long time ago.”
    Manik had been suspiciously silent through everything that had happened, I glanced behind myself and caught sight of his face. Anger burned hotly in his grey eyes, searing me with its intensity. My insides fluttered and my heart sped up. I didn’t like him being angry with me. He stared at me, his jaw working tightly until I couldn’t hold his gaze any longer and looked back at Prixy.
    “What are you doing here, Prixy?”
    “You haven’t been home, and I came to make sure you hadn’t passed out from exhaustion or something and to see if you wanted to come and get a meal with me, but I see you have better company.”
    Her face was alight with wonder and delight. She shook me slightly by the arms. “He came back, Merty!”
    “Yes, but he wants me to go away with him.”
    I knew Manik was standing right there and could hear every word of our conversation, but this was Prixy. She was my best friend, had been my best friend since we were children with tails that were too big for our bodies, and I needed her advice.
    “What?” she asked, her eyes wide, shock all over her face.
    “He wants me to go on his ship with him. They have a cyborg who needs my help and a woman from a life pod the same as the man I’ve been studying.”
    “You mean, leave the station? You’d be leaving all your research, all your progress on your device behind.”
    I nodded. Prixy understood me. She knew what drove me, the reasons I’d first pursued the field of nano technology and how much I’d lost in the time it had taken me to get where I was now. She’d been with me every step of the way and had supported my every decision. I could count on her to help me make a decision that would be best for me.
    She looked around me to where Manik was standing, her eyes widening even further before she looked back at me and leaned close.
    “You didn’t do him justice when you described him, Merty. He’s gorgeous.”
    Prixy’s voice was a whisper, but loud enough that I knew Manik must have heard.
    I looked behind me to see Manik looking at the floor, a small smile on his handsome face. She was right. Of course, he was gorgeous. His long hair grew in a strip along the top of his head and down his back. He’d braided it to keep the thick strands contained, but having his hair pulled back tight just accentuated the sharp angles of his cheekbones and the strength of his jaw. Dark eyebrows sat over his penetrating grey eyes and those thick black lashes that framed them. The points of his ears skimmed the sides of his head that was smooth and begged me to stroke my fingers along them to see if the skin was soft or if it was coarse like some species. I could almost guarantee it was soft.
    He was tall, or at least much taller than me, but that wasn’t hard. Most species were taller than mine. The muscles of his shoulders and arms stood out against the thin fabric of his top. From the way he stood, I could almost imagine him toting weapon holsters on his hips, which were lean and led to long legs encased in sturdy fabric pants. Military style boots completed his outfit and added to the dangerous aura that surrounded him. His deep bronze skin almost glowed in the bright lights of my lab. I wanted to stroke my hands down his body and feel the warmth of all that luscious skin. I wanted to feel him respond to my