Smiling to myself at the thought, I gather up my clothes and walk back into the suite. “Ahstahl, what am I supposed to do with my dirty clothes?”
Pausing, he stops fluffing pillows and regards me thoughtfully. “Hmmm. That’s a good question,” he starts. “We don’t wear garments in the same fashion that humans do, since our fur and scales protect us from the elements.” He waves to himself and Aercek as he speaks.
Striding over to me, he takes the clothes and enters the closet, calling out from inside. “There is a bin in here we can use.”
Emerging from the small room, he moves over to where Aercek is lounging and takes the seat next to him before continuing. “Is that sufficient? We do have a cleaning system for the bedding, which we can easily add your clothes to.”
“That works perfectly! Thank you kindly,” I reply with a grin. “What about your females, though? Do they wear anything to cover up…” My words trail off as I gesture to my chest.
Aercek chuckles and replies. “Some females choose to wear lightweight coverings across their chest, and some do not. It’s more of a personal fashion choice rather than a societal standard or obligation. Our culture is not as rigid as others regarding the concept of nudity. We’re beasts, after all—albeit intelligent ones.”
“That makes sense. Am I expected to be naked?”
Aercek must see the panic I feel stamped all over my face, because he hurries to assure me.
“Not at all, littleanima. We have other non-Dewlvrkgnari mates, and they dress however they want within their personal comfort level.”
“That makes me feel a lot better. I don’t think I could ever be okay strolling around in public completely naked.”
“Just for posterity's sake, neither of us would be opposed to you being without coverings in public or private,” Ahstahl says with a playful leer.
Rolling my eyes at the two of them, I walk over to the bed and climb up, mindful of the predatory attention focused on me. Settling onto the mattress, I sigh in relief at how comfortable it is.
Glancing to either side of me at the empty spots, I shoot my mates a quelling look. “Well? What are you two waiting for?”
I watch in amusement as they silently scramble into the bathroom, disappearing behind the closed door for roughly five minutes before they come back into the main room and partaround the bed, sliding in on their respective sides. Aercek is on the side closest to the door, and pulls me to him until my back is pressed firmly against his chest. Ahstahl scoots closer, tucking his nose in the crook between my neck and shoulder.
In unison, they inhale deeply, and all the tension seeps out of their big bodies. The claustrophobia I expected never sets in. Instead, a feeling of safety envelops me, and I slip into sleep less than a minute later.
Chapter 21
Keelie
Walking around my house feels nostalgic. It’s like I’m looking through a window into a former life. I’ve only been gone for two weeks, but it seems like I’ve been gone for months.
This isn’t a home anymore. It stopped being one when Wayne died. After that, it’s just been a house…and an empty one at that. Wayne’s loyal blue heeler, Trigger, didn’t make it more than a couple of months longer than my husband. To this day, I swear he died of a broken heart. That particular breed bonds to a single person, and Wayne was his person.
I didn’t have the heart to get another dog after that, and now I’m glad I didn’t. Aercek painstakingly explained to me how strict his government is about bringing in non-native species of flora and fauna. They never would’ve allowed me to bring a dog, and leaving something that holds a piece of my heart behind would have gutted me. Shaking off that thought, I start gathering up the things I can’t leave without and putting them in one of my extra-large black suitcases.
I’d asked the guys how much I was allowed to bring, and they told me whatever I wanted, excluding anything that could introduce pathogens to their planet. Keeping that in mind, I started pulling out various totes, suitcases, and duffel bags to begin the overwhelming process of packing up my life on Earth. I’m literally moving to another world, so I’m going to bring all of my shit with me.
Aercek and Ahstahl took care of unloading my Bronco, plus all my camping gear, and I have to admit I was thoroughly impressed when they stopped at my campsite this morning. They stowed an entire truck in the cargo bay of their ship. Thanks to the cloaking technology the ship has, Ketil landed in the field behind my house in broad daylight. However, we had to wait for night to fall before leaving the safety of the ship, since the stuff we needed to unload would have been more than a little conspicuous appearing out of nowhere. While we waited for darkness to fall, the guys showed me the rest of the ship and properly introduced me to their friends. Ofeig is the definition of a himbo, but he made a better second impression than his first.
Ahstahl took all my storage totes and is in the office/library, carefully packing my books, while Aercek is in my bedroom helping me pack my personal items. He’s pulling clothes out of my closet for me to say yes or no to, while I’m organizing my various pieces of turquoise jewelry into Crown Royal bags.
Aercek growls, and I lift my head. “What?”
He pulls a form-fitting black dress with silver sequins and a plunging neckline out of the closet. “This is a yes.” Then tosses it in the suitcase on the bed.
Sniggering, I go back to packing my jewelry, of which there is a lot. I was surprised when both my guys stared at my jewelry with something akin to awe as soon as I started gathering it up to pack. It’s kind of ironic that my favorite style of jewelry reflects the colors of their hides.
Ahstahl walks through the door with a spring in his step. “My Keelie, I’ve packed all your books, and I must say, the covers of several looked…interesting.”
Staring at him, I play innocent. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, honey.”
Willing to play along, he grins. “Of course you don’t.”
Aercek is completely oblivious to what we’re talking about, because he’s moved on to the dresser and discovered my lingerie drawer. Yanking the drawer out, he dumps the contents into another suitcase in a decisive motion before putting it back. Our eyes meet as he turns back towards the closet, muttering something about foot covering, and stops in his tracks.
