“I’m not sure what you mean,” Aphrodite choked. She couldn’t keep air in her lungs.
“The mating hunt is oftenonly the beginning of our hunts for each other.”
She swallowed, her voice tight. “Oh.”
Her heart skipped a beat as she was wrenched off her feet and up to his full height. Naked and incredibly vulnerable, yet she’d never felt safer at the same time. He wrapped her fully in all four of his arms before he walked them to the tub. Putting her into one of the small pockets surrounded by faucets, he did so with incredible tenderness. She shivered, unable to react as the water rushed out. Steaming water, thick with the scent of eucalyptus and mint, filled the air. He knelt beside the tub, staying at eye level with her. Aphrodite found herself talking before she could stop. “No one has to die on this one, right?”
“Not unless they interrupt.” He cupped her face once more before pulling away.Note to self, Xexis is touchy. Really touchy.Xexis continued as he climbed up to his full height once more at the ledge of the tub. “It is insulting for someone to stop me from claiming my mate. And when I am hunting, I do not suffer insults.”
Her gaze followed him, his shadow looming over her. “And when you’re hunting me, if I wanted you to stop?”
His face warmed with that twinkle in his eye. All arms crossed over his chest. “My mate merely needs to win or give in when she’s ready to be claimed or wants it to stop. At any time.”
Wish I’d known that before…you killed everyone.
She nodded, unable to speak more as he left the bath completely. The water cut off, leaving her neck deep in green-tinted water. Lilypad-looking plants glided out of slits on the side of the tub and floated around. Dusty particles bobbed in the water. After testing them by catching them with her fingers, they released more scent.Bath beads?Aphrodite relaxed. Thick moss drifted up out of the tub and she used it like a sponge. She glanced to the side and found a jar. Unlike the healing goop, she found this one clearly labeled in the thickest chicken scratch.Soap for hair and flesh of humans. She appreciated the honesty.
Chapter Nine:
Aphroditewascleananddrying off with one of the many towels left beside the tub when Xexis returned. She offered him a smile while clutching the massive rug around her body. Stepping away from the drained pool, she tentatively waited for him to pick her up or direct her what to do in the situation. Except he sat on the bench and motioned her closer. She took up the jar of soap and trotted toward him. Xexis took the offered jar, tucking it into a compartment under the bench. She caught sight of others within the drawers.Likely his personal drawer.The compartment shut alongside a handful of other ones with names written on the fronts.
She knew Xexis and Kiefgr, but she eyedGroougandReevar. Their language was more complicated than basic English, the way it was written seemed to have no connection to how it was pronounced. She couldn’t imagine how their names sounded spoken. But Aphrodite noticed other words labeled in the bathroom, while she scrubbed. She spent a lot of her bathing time studying the walls. There were signs like the ones in employee bathrooms near the bowls on the walls. She enjoyed the look of their written language. It was thin strokes and sharp, like someone designed everything with the tip of a knife.One day, he’ll have to show me how to write it.
Her thoughts stopped immediately as the confession filled her mind. One day. Meaning she was already imagining staying.Whynot? He’s yourmateafterall. Wait.When did that become something comfortable to say?It was terrifying. Staying with Xexis meant adapting, becoming his mate, and…what even copulation would look like for them. He was interested.And maybe I’m delirious but maybe I am too.Aphrodite saw the way he roamed her body. Not ogling, but there was sparkling appreciation.
Besides, realistically, can I even get away?Aphrodite was on a foreign ship in a far away galaxy without any means of getting home. Disregarding the mixed signals of her brain, completely throwing away her brain’s fascination with learning new stuff, she had to be practical. The best course of action was to go along with it.Oh darn. Shut the fuck up brain.
He brushed the back of his knuckles up her thigh and she sucked in a breath. His gaze darted up to her face. Xexis spoke with a deep rumble, “You are…blushing.”
“Oh?” she gasped, lifting a hand to her cheeks.Fucking busted. “Am I? That’s weird.”
“Come, dress, I’ve had some traders send me clothing they think will fit you. Of course, I couldn’t allow any of them to see you without your clothing.”Was that a fucking wink?He pulled a stack of fabric out from behind him.
“Because you’re jealous?” she teased without a moment of hesitation.Hello? Earth to Aphrodite! Are you flirting with him now?Her face burned hotter as he beamed at her.
“No, well, the context for your word means that I am envious of others. I am not envious. My mate is mine and she won against me in our hunt, clearly my mate is superior to any who would gaze upon her. However, another context would suggest I am possessive. And of that, I am. Possessive of my mate, for she is soft and fascinating and stunning.”
She snatched the fabric away from him and hugged it against the towel wrapped around her. “Yeah, that would be—could you, er…I’m just going to get dressed.”
Get! It! TOGETHER!
She tried to skirt around him, but two hands cupped her sides and brought her skittering back in front of him. Her body trembled as he climbed to his full height. Xexis towered over her like a dark shadow looming. She wasn’t sure how to conquer the queasy feeling in her belly. The stitching at her sides ached as she flinched backward.
“Are you uncomfortable?” His words were hardened by the stony expression on his face.
“Not for the reasons you think?” She grimaced. Her teeth ground together as she scrambled for words. For a woman of high intelligence, she felt like a flounder trout as sound spilled out of her mouth. “I don’t think I know what you think yet, but it’s not—it’s complicated.”
“Aphrodite, explain to me.” He scooped her up again and pulled her to his chest. She clutched the clothing tighter and stared down at the fabric. “Aphrodite,” he warned.
Why did her name sound so good coming from his mouth?Damn her romantic tendencies and the fluttering in her chest. Damn the tension in her thighs and the way his voice went straight to her core. Damn the strangely tender way he cared for her emotions while also breaking down every barrier she’d tried to build.
I should be closed off. It’s safer if I wear the mask where no one can touch me. Especially not him, a stranger with intentions I don’t know if I can trust.Yet, the words fell out of her mouth without permission.
“When you speak nicely of me, I get flustered and I don’t know what to do,” she confessed in one breath.
“That is a shame—that’s the phrase? Or is it damn shame, I’m not sure if damn is correct—”
Aphrodite put a hand to his mouth, trying not to bust a seam of her stitching with the giggles that brewed inside her. After a moment, she removed it with a squeak. She felt a damp object lick up her palm and she hoped it was his tongue. Still trembling, she chuckled, “It’s a damn shame is correct.”
