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smacked him in the ribs.
    He caught her hand and flattened it out against his chest. “Answer me, Quinn.”
    She didn’t bother struggling. “I did. I thought about that last moment of your mind touching mine every single day. The light dying in your eyes, your body crushed by the explosion, those are my memories.” Quinn put the pain of those memories front and centre on her face.
    Iskanu stroked her cheek. “I am sorry for the memories, but can we begin again? Now?”
    Quinn chuckled softly. “I suppose. How do the Selna begin a courtship?”
    Iskanu smiled, “We males are normally sold or traded to a woman of high family. Our responsibility is to mate as often and frequently as we can with her and members of her immediate family. Those children will be assessed and traded as necessary.”
    “What happened to you?”
    “A most extraordinary woman came to the Weeshkan settlement, and she negotiated for my sale to the Citadel. My sister parted with me, and I began my tenure with the Citadel as an assessment specialist. I grew up with Citadel personnel training me, and when it was time, I entered the Enforcers.”
    She blinked at the tale of his origin. For years, she had wondered how a Selna had ended up in the Alliance Enforcer department. “I always wondered about that. Who picked you up and took you away?”
    He smiled and stepped away from her. “That is a story for another time. For now, how do your folk come together?”
    Quinn blinked. “Well, we usually stumble around and try and become familiar with a person of interest. Once we have their attention, we go out on social outings. We gradually increase the intimacy between us and the person we wish to mate with, sometimes using intoxication as a medium to further the contact. After we decide that we cannot do without the other person, we choose to pair bond for life, or as long as it is convenient.”
    He extended his hand, “Now, for a more personal question. How would you like to pair bond?”
    She sighed and followed him into the living room, tugged by his grip on her hand. “I have never given it a thought.”
    “Never?” Iskanu chuckled. He sat on the couch and pulled her into his lap. His grin was contagious. “Never?”
    She leaned against his chest and settled in, ignoring the pressure under her thigh. “When I was a teenager, I dreamed of feeling love, but I was never quite sure what it actually was. My first sexual partner was nice enough, but I didn’t love him, and he didn’t love me. We parted soon after.” She leaned against him and breathed him in.
    “What do you dream of now?” His voice was low and warm.
    “I don’t dream, I wish. I wish for love, I wish for comfort, I wish for laughter.” She inhaled again, letting her body relax completely. “I wish to be safe for just a little while.”
    “That I can help you with. Just sit here and relax. I will watch over you while you sleep.”
    She nestled against him and sighed softly. “That would be nice, I haven’t felt this relaxed since Eckhari Common.”
    * * * *
    Iskanu fought a tear as she slept in his arms. Eckhari Common was a tense fight, plenty of wounded on both sides of the battle. They were pinned down by blasts overhead and a meteor shower that kept them behind shielding. She had curled next to him that night, and he had watched over her as she slept.
    If it had been three years since she was able to relax, there was no wonder that she was brittle when it came to keeping her emotions under wraps. Her cracking control had shown when he first came across her in the garden outside the medical facility. The Quinn that he knew from their previous lives together would never have confided weakness to a stranger.
    What happened to her after I was gone?

Chapter Five
    Quinn stirred restlessly, kicking herself awake. “Why am I flat?” She remembered falling asleep sitting up, and right now, she was definitely not sitting.
    “Because I was getting a cramp.” Iskanu