I closed my eyes and enjoyed the hot water. It felt like years since I’d had a hot bath. When Ohem’s hands returned, I was languid and half asleep. He ran soapy hands over my body, washing and massaging and had me step onto the stone benches that lined the wall of the pool so he could get my lower half clean and then turned and sat down on the bench, pulling me to sit sideways across his thighs.
He poured more soap from the bottle into my hair and ran his claws along my scalp. I tilted my head back and groaned. He chuckled, the deep sound bouncing off the walls of the bathroom and poured water over my hair, rinsing it clean and then sat me aside on the bench to soak while he washed himself.
I had my head resting against the lip of the pool and fell asleep. When Ohem picked me up again; it startled me awake. He lifted me from the pool, only setting me down long enough to wrap me in a plush towel that covered me from neck to toes, and walked us back into the sitting area of his room.
There were covered trays on a table that hadn’t been there before. Two black lava chairs were pulled out and waiting. Ohem sat me down in one and stood next to the table. The smell of whatever food was under the black domed dishes woke me up out of my daze and my stomach rumbled loudly.
He lifted the lids, and I almost cried. Red and purple meats, seasoned and grilled with sides of steamed colorful vegetables, leafy green salads and three different soups were laid out before me on gold plates. There was a red glass bottle beside two wavy blue glasses filled with ice.
Ohem took my plate and served me a large portion of everything and filled three smaller bowls with the soups. He poured the drink; it bubbled, and fog rose from the glass. He placed everything in front of me and then served himself before taking his seat.
“Eat, Jack,” he said and picked up a two prong fork.
I lifted mine and Ohem didn’t take his first bite until after I’d speared a neatly cut piece of meat and put it into my mouth. Flavors exploded on my tongue and I groaned in appreciation. The meat was tender, spicy with a tang, and melted like butter. I fell on my food like the savage animal I was. Everything was delicious and flavorful, nothing much matched anything from home, but it was tasty all the same. The drink was like carbonated wine and very sweet. When I’d all but licked my plate clean, Ohem stood and served me more until we’d eaten all there was and I had an uncomfortably full belly.
I sat back with a sigh and smiled at him. “That was amazing, thank you.” I yawned, covering my mouth with my hand.
Ohem’s Izi glowed with pleasure and he pulled me into his arms again. “I’m glad you enjoyed your meal. It’s time for sleep. We will conquer our enemies tomorrow, after you have properly rested,” he said. That was rich coming from him. I don’t think he’d slept the whole time we’d been stranded on that planet.
Ohem walked into the bedroom, straight to his bed. Ohem pulled back the blankets and tucked me into them. The bed was a dream, soft and warm. His fur blanket was softer than velvet. I snuggled deeper, already half asleep. Ohem slid in behind me and pulled me into his body, warming me further, one of his tails wrapping around my leg.
“I love you,” he whispered to me before I drifted into one of the deepest sleeps I’d ever had in my life.
Chapter 14
We were gathered in the common room, drinking what was very,veryclose to coffee. They even had cream and sugar! I could die happy now.
We’d all slept almost twenty-four hours. Ohem had been gone when I’d woken up, I remember him murmuring to me about a meeting with Rema at some point, but I had been mostly asleep and couldn’t remember everything he’d said. I had followed the sound of laughter and found the girls seated at a round table that must have been brought in while we slept. It had been laden with breakfast food and a black carafe full of our almost coffee.
“I can’t believe they have coffee! It’s a miracle. I feel like I died in that crash, and this is just a post-death hallucination,” Patty said, taking a long sip from her mug, eyes closed in bliss.
The drink had a slight earthy aftertaste, making it not exactly the same, but it was close enough to keep me on this ship for eternity.
“The food is really close to Earth food, too. These are definitely eggs.” Callie pointed her fork at her plate, “And they have toast! Just needs butter and this would be an all-American breakfast,” She groaned after taking a bite out of the thick slice of toast she had in her hand.
“How’d everyone sleep?” I asked. There were enthusiastic responses from around the table and I smiled.
“They had toothpaste and brushes!” Patty said, her eyes misty.
I had the same overly emotional response when I’d found mine. It had been a surprise to see them on the stone sinks, they’d been shaped odd but I’d known immediately what they were. I’d brushed my teeth until my gums bled.
“I can’t wait to explore those labs some more. I was a little disappointed not to find any fancy medical healing pods, though,” Sam said between bites of her breakfast. “There were more of the pink healers down the hall. I saw them in different rooms when we went to get changed. They all look exactly the same. It was a little unnerving.”
Patty leaned forward. “How do they see? Or speak? Did you see the big bird alien working on one of the vehicles in the hangar? It had been straight up a bird. A gigantic bird working on a truck.”
I shook my head. “I was too busy trying to figure out how the damn floating platform we were on knew where we wanted to go. No one was driving it and I didn’t see any engines or anything. And the portals!” I made a face. “I was big mad about the sharks having such shitty technology and now I have extreme alien tech and it’s a little overwhelming.”
Sam smiled, her eyes excited. “I know! There is so much to learn.” She glanced around, suddenly serious. “I’m staying. For good, I mean.”
A bright flare of relief lit up inside my chest and I looked at Callie.
She nodded her head. “I’m still thinking about it, but I’m leaning more towards staying too. I still want to talk to my parents before I make my final decision, but I think I’ll stay even if they don’t come with me. I just want them to know I’m safe and that it was my decision to stay.”
“I was already planning on staying, but the coffee officially sold me,” Patty said.
I rolled my eyes at her. “Oh and the sexy winged orc-elf didn’t factor in at all. Don’t think I’ve forgotten you owe me a story.”
Patty grinned and gave me a look so full of mischief that I worried about whether Rema could handle her. “I kissed him. Right on the mouth, tongue and all.”
