"And how do you know she's there?" Price's questioning tone was as sharp as ever.

Tugging the phone wire, Amanda smiled in a self-assured manner as she looked at her computer monitor that displayed the file she found. "While I did some research on Admiral Harrigan, I found out he has a granddaughter, a Naomi Harrigan." Pulling up a separate page, Amanda read off a list she had made note of, "She graduated last year with honors, looks to have postponed college, and now she is working at a local café."

Price was very quiet on the other end, as was per usual, untelling of his true sentiment to her intel. But when he did speak, she was always quick to respond.

"And explain to me the significance of this fascinating find," he drawled out exceedingly, signaling that his patience was running dangerously thin.

Withholding her usual briskness, she hinted complacently, "I found yearbook photos of Naomi with a certain someone."

"Rae."

She smiled, "Yes, but she apparently goes by Rachel now."

"And you are sure she is still there," he emphasized.

Amanda shrugged nonchalantly, adjusting the phone in her hand, "There's only one way to find out, but my guess is, you find Naomi and you'll find Rae."

"Well done. Put a team together and observe Ms. Harrigan. If our asset is there, I want to know how she moves, who she trusts. I want to know everything. Do you understand?"

She could hear the avid tone he suddenly held, but that did not mean he would be any more forgiving if not responded to correctly. Checking herself, she did not savor and dwell on her self-achievement for long, replying respectively, "Yes, sir."

Putting the phone down, Amanda whirled in her chair, turning for the door. She fully intended to inform her colleagues of Price's final decision, but first decided to pay a quick visit with their labs.

Slipping out of her room, she walked briskly towards the hangar, before taking a left down one of the corridors, she came to stop at a heavily surveillanced door. Slipping out her badge she quickly swiped it over the sensor adjacent to the steel doors. The lights above the sensor flashed green, opening a panel that then required a numerical code. Fluidly typing the password in, she stepped back and waited as it registered her. As expected, the doors hissed open, sliding into a pocket in the wall and admitting her entry.

As she passed through the closing doors going deeper inside, someone from the outside watched with rapt interest.

Trekking down the shaded trail on the outskirts of her home, Rae searched for the hidden generator. It was well past its due. It had become routine for her to open it up now and then to check that it was working well enough to hold up the invisibility field that concealed their location.

The little, dare she say large, piece of tech originated from Price's labs. She was fortunate the truck she escaped in was filled with it. And with all the free time she had, watching the scientists and engineers outside her cell, she was familiar with its construction and how it was put together.

Understanding the science behind it was another thing, but she was aware it mimicked very closely to the cloak Tomak used for himself and his ship. It held up well in the rain, but it was only convincing when displayed on objects that didn't move, unlike the advanced toys Tomak played with. But it still did the trick. It was the only thing that hid her home from the outside world. From what she had overheard, even if satellite images were taken, with this field on, it would detect nothing. Apparently it was a desired invention the government yearned to get their hands on to hide their facilities from the prying eyes of other countries.

She smiled in thought, happy she had gotten ahold of probably the only ones that ever made it out of the labs.

Swiping away some of the overgrowing brush, she located the generator and pried its door wide open. Holding up her hand, she allowed it to glow until there was just enough light to see what she was doing. The one upside to her powers.

Sighing deeply as she checked for areas of possible rust or corrosion, finding that it was still in pretty good shape.

The downside to the piece of work was actually its easy consumption of power. Apparently it took a lot of juice to keep it running, the one thing Price's lab rats struggled with. Rae didn't have that problem.

Touching the cold surface, she breathed deeply, tapping into her own deposit. The transfer of energy was quick and painless, though once she cut off that channel, it always made her hand tingle, like she had briefly cut off the blood supply.

Hearing the generator hum a more revitalized sound, Rae closed the panel with satisfaction, and turned back down the path leading to her dirt drive. As she walked, she listened to the forest's comforting natural white noise as the leaves rustled with the soft spring breeze. Taking a deep breath full of the fresh air, she let her thoughts wander.

She had been dealing with the news of Jake's engagement much better. When Naomi had sprung the news she felt an onslaught of emotions: shock, pain, disgust, and weirdly, she felt unworthy. She could have understood if he got engaged a year or two after their breakup, but it had barely been four months. Four months since he dumped her.

Which, if she added it up, made no sense to her. She had to assume a person would need at least a month to get over a break-up. In her case, she needed much longer than that, but had he taken a month that left him with what? Three months to meet someone, date them, and propose? She had been with him for almost seven months and she got no indication that he was considering to drop that special question on her. Although she was glad that she was no longer with him, it hurt that he considered her unworthy to even be proposed to. Hadn't she been a good girlfriend? Was sex all that he had hoped to get from her?

Reaching the stairs leading up to the deck, she took another deep breath feeling the bitter anger begin to return. Skipping every other step, she raced up the stairs and opened the front door.

Stepping inside, her eyes landed on the sight Tomak made and instantly any thoughts of Jake were forced out of her mind. She grinned big and silently came around the couch to watch. She didn't dare speak up for fear she would ruin the precious moment.

Chase was currently prancing around the room, intent on capturing a familiar set of lasers that were moving teasingly across the living room floor.

Sitting there hunched over, leaning on his knees, Tomak let out an amused trill as he continuously aimed his targeting system just outside of the cat's reach.

Unable to help it, Rae giggled softly and moved to sit next to him, enjoying the show.

Oblivious to her presence, Chase lunged towards the wall, missing the red fast-moving prey as it skittered up the flat surface. His little head turned up, his eyes darting back and forth following the laser's enticing movements. When it was in range, he leapt up, batting the wall.

Rae laughed as her little hunter landed on his paws, swiftly turning his head about, trying to figure out where the light had disappeared to.

Turned from watching Chase, Rae peered up at Tomak. She wished he didn't have to wear the mask to control the lasers, because she desperately wanted to see his face as he played with Chase. The feline was without a doubt growing on him. Rae had actually caught him showing affection to the cat on more than one occasion. The most recent had been absolutely adorable.

Chase had been stretched out on the couch while Tomak was sitting there and instead of growling at him when he softly pawed at his leg, Tomak had elicited a purr, which only encouraged Chase to do the same, getting up to rub his body against the yautja's arm.

How she wished she had recorded it!

Smirking at the yautja she commented, "I'm glad I'm not the only one you like to mess with."

The lasers shut off as he turned his masked face to look down at her.

She held his gaze a moment before shifting back to Chase who was in disbelief that his prey had vanished, her smile softened, "I'm glad you two are finally getting along," she refrained from calling them friends, knowing the surly yautja would not appreciate that.

"Your walk was short," he noted, cocking his head to the side.

Her smile grew, noting his unwillingness to comment on her earlier observation. "Yes, it was," she agreed, avoiding his gaze. "I think I'm still a little sore from yesterday."

Removing the mask, he chuffed, looking at her with one eye, "Training will not be lessened if that is your intent."

Recognizing that he was preparing to go outside, she let out a heavy over exaggerated sigh. "Does it have to be right now?" she cringed, not at all looking forward to it. She wasn't even sure she would be in the right frame of mind.

He stood, causing her to look up at him. "You will enjoy it," his eyes glowed rather playfully. "Fun," he added from over his shoulder as he disappeared going down into the basement.

Rae laughed doubtfully. "I think you and I have very different views around what's quote unquote fun," she called after him.

It took a moment, but eventually he reappeared with his spear and the barbell. He then approached Rae, silently demanding she get up.

Liking where this was going she stood and happily took the proffered spear from him. She looked at it for a moment, familiarizing herself with its heft. Turning it over in her hands, she ran her thumb along the alien symbols lining its body. As her thumb hit a small raised piece, the whole thing condensed into the center column with a metallic ring! She almost dropped it in reaction. Tomak chortled, turning for the door.

"What!" Rae frowned at him defensively. Knowing she had to reactivate it, she hesitantly held the collapsed device away from her body, and cringed as she went to hit the hidden button again. Instantly both sides shot out with a loud snap returning it to its original length. Grumbling, she turned on her heel and marched out the door, falling in step behind him. She swore she could hear him still chuckling. "I didn't know it did that!" she tried to justify further.

He had no comment.

The jerk, she thought silently.

They came to stand a couple yards from the large stone arch. Curiously, Rae watched as Tomak drew a rather large circle around them in the sand using the tip of the barbell.

"Are these like the boundaries?" she looked back up at him.

"Yes, to step out means to forfeit."

Watching him lift the barbell in an offensive stance, she readied herself with a small smile, "I might be doing that quite often." He looked so menacing with a blunt metal bar, she could only imagine if he was wielding a sharp-edged sword.

He chuffed before advancing.

Taking a deep breath she prepared herself for what would most likely be a tiresome and pain-filled afternoon.

Her theory was partially true. He was mostly quiet, other than the occasional chuckle and a few comments on her form. Thankfully, for her sake, Tomak was kind enough to not hit her with the staff during their spars. The bar always stopped a hair's width away from where an intended kill shot would have been. However, that didn't make him a saint. His tight control did not prevent him from sweeping her legs out from under her on multiple accounts.

Sometimes she wondered if he enjoyed it, the lenses of his mask almost seemed to illuminate after the fact. She was almost certain his eyes were filled in dark amusement under that thing.

Clenching her teeth, she glared at him as she rose, dusting the sand from her shorts. Before he had the chance to return to his side of the circle, she swung at him, hoping to catch him off guard. The speed at which he turned and deflected her attack was absurd. It was as if Tomak had been expecting it, like he knew she would do this.

Fighting over supremacy with their weapons connected, she tried to hold her ground as he marched forward, pushing her back with alien strength. It only took his one arm to make her stumble!

She was too stunned to catch herself in time before she landed hard on her butt. Shocked that he had actually done that, she let out a defeated groan and angrily shot back to her feet, not missing the almost goading look he gave her from over his broad shoulder as he confidently went back to his side.

Not even once. That was how many times she had successfully hit him, not even once. Her failure to even graze him was like a stabbing pain in her side. She felt helpless against him. No matter how hard she tried or how determined she was, there was no point. Feeling the anger she had suppressed from her walk began to return. Overwhelmed by it, she let out a harsh breath and forcefully discarded her staff, letting it lay in the sand as a barrier between them. "Alright, I'm pathetic! Thank you for making it so clear!"

Before he could respond, she spun around, stepping out of the circle. She had every intent on going back inside and continuing her pout in the shower. The word failure was like a blaring alarm echoing through her skull.

She was a failure.

She had failed to follow her father's instructions all those years ago. She had failed to protect them both from Price. She had apparently failed to be the girlfriend Jake had expected her to be. And now she was failing again. Her self-doubt was creeping up within her. What's the point of this? I'm nothing compared to him, she thought bitterly. What was I hoping to achieve from training?

She suddenly heard Tomak's dark growl from behind.

"We are not finished," he spoke deeply in an ominous tone.

The last thing she wanted was for him to see this side of her, to see the weakness she knew would show in her eyes. Wanting to just be alone, Rae barely even looked over her shoulder, "Yeah well, I am. I quit."

She wasn't even able to make it another step before he barked, "Female!" The harsh sound of his voice was like the sharp crack of a whip. It startled her just the same.

Rae came to a stop, her back still facing him. The fact that he didn't use her name, made her uncertain. She didn't hear his approach until he was directly behind her. Startled by his proximity, she turned quickly and looked up at him, his size alone reminding her of his capabilities. She swallowed, feeling a tremor go through her as he glowered down at her. His mask gave her nothing but a cold heartless stare.

"Did I give you permission to leave?" It was more of a statement than a question and it hung heavily between them.

She sighed, lowering her head. It bothered her how easily he could evoke her guilt. "Tomak—"

He snarled, taking a swift and menacing step forward, successfully cutting her off. "Did I?!"

Her facial features hardened as she met his mask's lenses. It took everything in her to bite her tongue and resist giving him a nasty reply. "No."

"Is this what you do when you lose? You give up?"

Her mouth parted, her eyes widening at his hurtful remark, but he wasn't finished.

"That is the path of a coward!" his mandibles flared as if the word were distasteful to him.

Coward. She unfolded her arms, her scowl transforming from stunned hurtful betrayal, to a glare. Coward. The word instinctively made her eyes sting. How dare he! He had no idea!

Unable to remain silent any longer, she stepped forward and raised her voice, "Coward?! You have no IDEA what I've been through!" her hands boldly connected with his abs, shoving at him. She only managed to get him to take a step back. "I'm NOT a COWARD!" she pushed at him again, hoping to get a reaction, but he was like an immovable mountain of muscle that was growing bigger. This infuriated her more.

Without properly thinking it through, she let her anger take control. The urge to punch him square in the chest went from an unwise thought to a perverse action. Before she was even aware of it, her fist was swiftly enclosed in a hand much larger than her own. The solid wall that was his palm and his firm grip halted her strike all together, jarring her from her daze.

She blinked rapidly, her breathing uncontrolled. She stared at her captured hand, how the dark green mottled skin of his large hand encased it, the muscle beneath the skin, taut and unyielding.

Now cognizant of what she had tried to do, she hesitantly peered up at the large beast. With one hand immobilized, she watched nervously as his free hand reached for his mask. His large digits deftly pulled on the hoses at the edge, before freeing it fully from his face.

She held her breath as the faceplate was tossed to the side.

It hardly even made a sound as it landed in the sand.

Her breaths quickened then as her eyes finally rose to meet his intensely glowing eyes. A sense of dread came over her. Tensing pathetically in his midst, she waited for the roar or any form of physical punishment to follow.

She winced as he lifted his free hand. Turning her face away and squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for the inevitable. But as the pads of his fingers made contact, instead of immediate pain, all she felt was immense warmth.

Her heart stuttered in her chest as he cupped her chin and turned her head back to look at him. Finally opening her eyes, she looked at him with confusion while her brain fought to register his words.

"I know this."

The calming bass of his voice and the gentle feeling of both of his hands were puzzling to her. It was so uncharacteristic of him.

This must have been a mistake, she had to be dreaming this.

Purring softly, Tomak dropped his hand from her face to grasp her other fist as well.

She didn't know what he was doing until he lifted both of her hands between them. Shaking them firmly he made his point. "You are a warrior, not a coward."

Swallowing down the emotion that suddenly came over her, Rae quickly shook her head, dropping her gaze from his. "A pretty pathetic warrior," she admitted lowly.

He cocked his head, considering her words.

She watched his dreads as they spilled off his shoulder, dangling at the side, all while those golden eyes continually analyzed her. She almost found it endearing, but immediately forced that thought aside.

His rumbling chuckle met her ears. "Pretty, yes. Pathetic?" his eyes glowed intensely as he looked at her seriously. "No."

If she wasn't already flushed with exertion, she had no doubt her blush was evident now. Brushing his comment aside, she looked at him with skepticism. "I can't even land a hit on you with that stupid thing, Tomak. Now what does that say?" She was trying to make a point, but immediately his mandibles pulled into that yautja equivalent of a smirk.

"I have trained from the time I could walk," he clarified for her, amusement laced in his tone, "and you have only begun."

She deflated hearing this. He was right. Knowing that he was not only perfectly designed for the hunt, but that he had years of experience and vigorous training backing him too, eased her injured pride. That would certainly explain her struggles against him, for sure.

Allowing a small smile she looked at his eyes again. "I must be a terrible sparring partner for you then," she mused.

He trilled softly, "No," he paused as if remembering something. "I have fought worse."

Rae arched her brow before turning her face to the crashing waves, "I seriously doubt that."

"I have never lied to you," his voice pulled her to look back at him.

Looking deeply in those bright eyes of his, her smile crept up on her. "You haven't, have you?"

He grunted before closing the gap further between them. He was so close she could feel the immense heat radiating off him.

"Trust me," he purred, it almost sounded like a request.

Trust.

Throughout her entire life the only person she ever could fully trust was her father. Not even Naomi knew of her darkest secrets, yet this fearsome warrior before her did. But as that crucial word echoed further in her mind, she craned her head and took in Tomak's unique facial features. At one point in time he had tried to kill her, but now her once enemy felt even closer than a friend. The answer to his question was simple really, "Always."

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, he released her and moved back in the direction of their "official" sparring circle.

She stood there for a moment staring, in complete disbelief of him. "Ugh, really?! All that and no break?" she whined after him.

He just looked at her from over his shoulder. He wasn't going to answer and she knew it. She actually wondered if he learned that silence on his part forced her to listen to him.

Yep, he's a jerk, she confirmed. On the other hand, she was fine getting payback. Spurred on with this new thought, she turned her attention back to him. "Fine don't talk, but after this you're going to make it up to me," she warned with a promising smirk.

His whole frame stilled as he stopped and stared at her. His gaze followed her as she walked past him. "Is that so?"

Turning to look back at him with a provoking smile, she met his eyes. God how she loved his eyes. There was almost a thrill to having him look at her with such challenging intensity. Returning his stare, she nodded. "Yes."

He trilled then, the sound conveying his amusement. "And what does this 'making up' involve?"

The corner of her mouth curled ever more. Picking up the weapon she had discarded, she held it up defensively between them and stood at his starting spot. "That all depends on how hard you hit me."

She watched as a shudder passed through him, releasing the tension that had wound tight in his upper body.

"You play with a fire you cannot control, little one."

She lowered her defense looking at him with fake incense, "I'm fine with using nicknames, but you're going to have to do better than, 'little one,'" she mocked his deeper tone.

He chuckled darkly, raising his staff, "Show improvement and I will consider it."

The slightest upward quirk of her lips was the only sign she outwardly gave him before lunging forward with a quick strike.

—

Tomak released a deep heavy sound that Rae correlated with just pure yautja annoyance, but she could care less. She felt like she was in heaven right now.

After their spar, they silently walked back to the house, which was the perfect opportunity for Rae to happily announce what she wanted from him as payback. And the best part was his inability to refute it, though he did not hide his displeasure in the least.

"Do you not have a mate to do this for you?" he growled, further expressing his irritants all while he continued to knead the tense muscles in her neck.

Almost lying down in his lap, she had to tilt her head all the way back to look up at him, and even then she was robbed of a clear sight to his eyes by the protuberance of his mandibles.

The mention of a mate sent a slight pang to her heart. The last thing she wanted to be thinking about right now was Jake.

She sighed, "No, not anymore," and she probably never would, though she didn't voice that. "How about you?"

He paused in his ministrations and looked at her.

"I'm sure you're popular amongst the ladies," she teased. Especially with such magic hands, she withheld a moan as he continued.

"I was highly sought out, yes," he so arrogantly put it, which had Rae biting her lip, trying not to smirk.

"So?" she drew it out.

He looked back down at her.

"I'm assuming you have a mate then?" she met his gold, beautiful eyes. Weirdly, it kind of hurt to think of him being involved with someone romantically.

Quickly she averted her gaze to somewhere else in the room, scolding herself for the intrusive thought. That's dangerous thinking Rae, she bit her lip harder almost to the point of drawing blood. What is wrong with you? Stop thinking about him like that!

Tomak remained very quiet before his deep rumbling sigh met her ears. "I did."

'Did' is past tense, she silently reminded herself, unsure of why it bothered her so. "So, she's waiting for you to return," she guessed.

Carefully she slid her eyes back up to him seeing a rare flash of emotion in his eyes, before they slid to another part of the room, "No."

She frowned, despite the relief she felt humming in her chest. "I'm sorry."

Silently he continued massaging the tight muscles lining her spine and Rae kept her questions to herself. She knew it was none of her business, but she wanted to know what happened.

Closing her eyes to the influx of questions, her breathing suddenly hitched as he reached a tender area. She couldn't help the small moan that escaped her as he worked at it.

Tomak stopped and stared at her, shaking his head in disbelief. "Does this not bother you? I have ripped out countless spines and yet here you submit willingly to my touch without a care."

She blinked, surprised by his remark. "Well… that never really occurred to me until now, but not really, no." She wondered if that was his secret to giving excellent massages, his knowledge of humans. "I meant what I said, Tomak. I trust you." Sure, he could easily snap her neck or crush her windpipe, but he had given her no reason to be wary of those things.

How did that work, extracting a spine? Was he that well versed in the human body or was it that simple for him to do?

She peered up at him curiously, waiting until he met her gaze. "How do you even do that anyway?"

He chuckled, his eyes glittering darkly above her. "Would you like a demonstration?"

She couldn't stop her laugh. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

He surprised her by his rather quiet response. "No, I would not."

Of all the things she thought Tomak would have said, that was not it. She felt her pulse quicken.

As if amending his own words, he added, "Who else would I terrorize with you gone?"

She rolled her eyes. And there it was. She knew there was no way he could make a reply that was that sweet and considerate. "Terrorize," she scoffed. "Oh yeah, I'm so scared."

Those probably weren't the wisest words.

In fact, that was the last thing she said before she quickly found herself flat on the floor with Tomak crouching over her, his weight bearing down just enough to disable her without using excessive force.

Her cheek was pressed flat to the hardwood, which skewed her words as she tried to talk. "Geez, Tomak! Is this really necessary?!"

"It would seem I need to instill some humility in you, female."

"What would you know about humility?! OW!" she sucked in her breath, the painful twinge of her shoulder was her only warning from Tomak. "Well it's true!" she grunted. There was no point in denying it, Tomak was far from humble, so she hardly found it fair that he teach her a lesson in it.

She could feel him shift his weight, which made her squirm. Freeing herself was impossible, unless she could somehow free her hands.

"You are in no place to speak," he rattled, his face very close to her own. "Now you will either submit and take back your offense or," his voice turned, sounding far too eager for her liking, "you will admire your new view for the next few hours."

"That's not much of a choice," she huffed.

"Then there should be no issue in deciding," he pressed down just a fraction more.

"Okay! Okay!" she gave. He stopped, waiting.

"I take it back. Now let me up!" she wiggled, but Tomak didn't budge.

"Submit," he purred.

She scowled. Well what the heck does he think I'm doing?! "Haven't I already submitted? You've made it so I can't move!"

"Your body yes, but your spirit has not."

She looked up at him from her uncomfortable position. "And how would I go about doing that?"

He chuckled, "Say it."

That's it? That's what he wants? It couldn't have been that easy. He never made anything easy. "Okay, I submit."

He shook his head, "You must mean it."

She growled, beginning to feel an impression of the floorboards being bruised into her cheek. That was when she saw Chase enter the room.

Walking confidently into the space with his tail held high, he went to sit in the corner of the room looking at her with his big eyes.

"Really? Not even a little help?" she directed to the cat both seriously and lightheartedly.

Chase did a slow blink then proceeded to clean himself, completely uninterested in the skirmish.

Thought not. "Fine," she exhaled heavily, "I submit."

Satisfied, Tomak released her and stood.

Rolling onto her back, Rae hissed, rolling her shoulder. "I don't suppose you'll be teaching me how to do that?"

Tomak chortled, "Restraining?"

Sitting up, she shrugged, "Well at the very least you could show me how to get out of one."

He chuffed, doing a quick appraisal. "You would have no success against me."

"Hey, size isn't everything. I carried your sorry butt for well over two hours," she dutifully reminded him. And oh how he loved it when she did, if she had the irritated stare to go by. She smirked. "It may make it more of a challenge for you," she pressed, hoping to sweeten the deal.

Even if he could show her how to get out of a simple one, that would greatly boost the little confidence she had in herself. She had always considered taking a self-defense class, but who better to learn from than a yautja? The apex of apex predators.

It honestly amazed her that he even agreed to train her in the first place. There was nothing for him to gain by doing so. The longer she considered it, the more she realized how selfless it was of him.

Plopping herself back on the couch, she sat beside him. "Thank you."

He tilted his head and she smiled.

"Thanks for being so patient with me earlier. I mean, you could have totally knocked my lights out if you wanted to, but you didn't," she admitted softly. "So thank you for going easy on me. It's no excuse, but I've had a lot on my mind lately." Well, she mostly had Jake on her mind.

She should have never let what Naomi said bother her, but she did. And with Jake back in town with his fiancé, the likelihood of her seeing him was right up there next to inevitable. It wasn't as if she could avoid him forever. She was bound to see him at some point, it was just a matter of when. The only good news that somewhat cheered her up was her support. For a while, it had just been Naomi, but now, she let her eyes roam Tomak's strangely alluring face, now she had him.

"Tomak?"

His eyes flicked to hers. Those amber-like eyes reminded her of the sunrise. The only exception was their color and intensity remained, never changing or being masked by clouds or objects, they were constant, and she almost found herself being entrapped by them.

"Umm," she dropped her gaze, "nevermind, it was a stupid thought anyway," she mumbled. It was odd, because she was never shy when it came to talking to guys, but one look from Tomak and she was melting on the spot.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"N-Nothing, I-I-I just," was she really stuttering?! The embarrassment was killing her! She cleared her throat, determined to not make a fool of herself. She restarted, "I just had the urge to give you a physical show of gratitude, but you probably wouldn't appreciate it."

"A physical show of gratitude?"

"A hug, I dunno, it's a human thing," she explained. "We hug for different reasons, in greeting, to show gratitude, to comfort."

"Humans are plagued with the incessant need for constant physical contact," he grumbled.

She giggled, "Yautja aren't so big on physical contact, huh?"

He growled. "Touch is for," he searched for the right words, "it serves its purpose."

Rae frowned. "You mean for special occasions?" she offered, struggling to understand his customs.

"Yes, touch can mean permission to mate, it can challenge an opponent to fight, but rarely is it used for anything beyond that."

Staring at him wide-eyed, Rae thought back to all the times she had touched him, just as a friendly gesture. Now, as she absorbed this new information, she worried if she came across wrong. Sitting straighter she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut short by Tomak's gruff voice.

"I am aware your culture is different. I do not hold you to the same standard as my people."

Stunned into silence, she nodded awkwardly and dropped her eyes to her lap. What he had said was incredibly kind, but she had a hard time trying to think of a proper response. Tomak relieved her of that.

"As such, you may express your gratitude, but," he growled, making sure to get his point across, "only this once."

Her mouth parted, unbelieving at first. "Wait, wait," she chuckled softly. She tilted her head as if looking at him from a new angle would help her comprehend better. "Did you just give me permission to hug you?"

"Only this once," he repeated with narrowed eyes.

"Uh-huh," she watched him carefully, her smile widening. "So are you allowing me to hug you? Or are you asking me to?"

The slow turn of his head as he looked at her fully gave her chills that should have warned her, but only seemed to excite. "I know what game you are playing, and you will not win."

Oh did she want to push just a little further, but then she reconsidered, knowing very well that the chance of her still giving him that hug after-the-fact would likely not happen. Plus, she really didn't want to be reintroduced to the wood floors. It didn't matter if she cleaned them often, it was not sanitary enough for her face to be pressed against.

Her smirk softened, which he noticed, as the spark in his expressive eyes dimmed as well.

"In all seriousness, would it make you uncomfortable if I hugged you?" she looked directly in his eyes, knowing that's where she would find the truth.

He was slow in response, considering. "If I were a lesser male, yes, but I am not a lesser male."

"No you're not," she agreed. Inhaling preparedly, she sat taller and stretched her arms, leaning in his direction with a widening grin, "You asked for it."

Enraged, he tensed, snarling, "I did not-!" But for the first time Tomak's words were cut short as she laughed, stretching her arms out and pressing her body tightly against his right arm.

She tried her best to wrap her arms around him, but he was just too big for her. Pressing one hand against his back and the other against his tightening abs, she tucked her face to his shoulder and sneaked a peak at his face.

Her smile grew as she could feel him stiffen beneath her touch, his amber eyes never left hers for a second. "Thanks for teaching me how to better protect myself, Tomak."

She wasn't entirely sure, she swore his eyes softened a touch, before nodding.

Although he wasn't participating, his presence in the hug relieved her of the fears she constantly held regarding Price. It made her realize that although the threat of being found was very real, she had him to help her.

Still, a new fear began to take root in her heart. Everyone that was ever close to her always suffered, she couldn't let that happen to him. She just couldn't.

Author's Note

Been very busy these past couple weeks, but I have been wanting to finish this chapter and get it out there, so here it finally is! Yes, sorry, not as long as the last two, but I had fun writing this one. What are your thoughts about the new turn of events? Lots of questions on Rae's scar-like tattoo. More on that will be coming in future chapters! Thanks for reading!