Vaxa’s gaze was on her the entire time.His eyes never moved away from her face and she felt the intensity of his stare.It spread awareness to the tips of her fingers and the tips of her toes, tightening her nipples in the warm room, and prickling her spine.The room was filled with things that both of them wanted to say but that they couldn’t quite voice.Not yet at least.
Once she was satisfied that most of the blood was washed off, she wrung the cloth out one more time and then undressed herself.Kate was surprised that she felt a little self-conscious in doing so—she’d noticed this morning that her belly was larger and her breasts fuller than they’d been just last week—but then she told herself that this was Vaxa.He’d seen her naked more than he’d seen her clothed.
Ignoring his impressive erection, she took his hands and led him into their bath.
“Rissatorax,” he murmured under his breath.
Kate furrowed her brows as the water lapped as her thighs.She wasn’t familiar with the word.“What does that mean?”
Vaxa lurched forward into the water and then he righted himself.He’d seemed a little unsteady on his feet but Kate just figured it was due to his injuries.
“It is an old creature,” he said.“It lives in the red waters of theVrixtat’or.It is rumored to be impossibly beautiful and it lures males into the water…where it consumes their soul and pulls them down into the blackworld, where they live as equals.Until the creatures becomes hungry once more.”
Her lips twitched, unsure if she should be offended or flattered.“We have something like that as well.But we call them sirens.Or kelpies.”
“I would follow you into the blackworld with great happiness, female,” he told her.“I would let you gorge on my soul until you are sated.”
“You’re so romantic, Vaxa,” she teased softly, halting in the water once her shoulders were completely submerged.The little blood that remained on his body washed off, tinging the water a light blue, forming a ring around him.
“I do not believe I have ever been called a romantic,luxiva.As you can well imagine.”
Kate’s lip curled and some of the tension that had been accumulating since yesterday began to melt away.No, Vaxa was not a very romantic male.But he made up for it in other ways.
“I know not to expect flowers and chocolate from you,” she told him truthfully.
Steam from the hot spring rose between them as he frowned.“What are flowers?And chocolate?”
She hadn’t seen anything that resembled flowers on Luxiria and the sweetest thing she’d had on the planet was that odd fruit with the blue seeds.Kate racked her brain and then it hit her.“You know those vines that run along the side of the meal hall?”
He frowned.“These are…flowers?”
“Sort of.Flowers on Earth are a little prettier than those vines.They have colorful petals and certain flowers smell wonderful.”
“What is their purpose?For humans to scent them?”
“People gives flowers for all kinds of reasons.They give them to lovers, or friends, or family.They are a nice gesture.”She sighed.“Chocolate, on the other hand, I can’t explain.You just have to try it, but you don’t have it here.”
It felt nice to be talking about such small, little things.She’d missed her mate this past week.He’d been so busy with work that she felt like she’d hardly seen him.
A little hesitantly, she reached out her hand to smooth it over his chest.He answered her with a rumbling purr that made her breath hitch.
“Won’t you tell me what’s wrong, Vaxa?” she whispered.“Does it have something to do with me?Or—”
“Nix,” he interrupted, frowning.
“But…last night.I—you were…you pushed me away.And I didn’t like it.It hurt me.”
Vaxa burst out with a Luxirian curse and his expression morphed into one of such anguish that she was almost sorry she’d said anything.
No, it needed to be said, she reminded herself.
Vaxa clasped her cheeks between his palms, touching her once more and she melted into him.She felt starved for his touch.She’d become so addicted to it that she feared he could make her beg…and she would, without shame.
He said the words slowly, like he’d carefully measured them out.“I have not been a good mate to you,luxiva.”
“I don’t believe that,” she said softly, her heart aching at the sincerity she heard in his tone.He wasn’t one to show his emotions very often, but when he did…it was almost too much to handle.“You have protected me, given me anything that I’ve wanted, cared for me.You have tried to make my transition into your world as smooth as possible.How can you say that you haven’t been a good mate to me?”
“I hurt you yesterday,” he pointed out.“I physically harmed you.I was…amashamed that I can hardly face you now,luxiva.How can you say that I am a good mate?”
