“What from then?”
He grunted.“Luxirians are warriors.We are trained from an early age.”
“Warriors?” she asked, her gaze sliding up to his.“Is there a war going on among you?On Luxiria?”
Lihvan frowned and pierced the thread through again.“Nix.Not among Luxirians.We aid our allies and lend our skill to the Uranian Federation if requested.We are compensated well for our efforts.”
“You’re…mercenaries then?” she questioned.
“Mercenaries?” he repeated, trying to understand the English word.His language implant translated it into his language and he said, “Yes, I suppose.”
“Great,” she murmured, but her brow was furrowed.“Now I have to worry about you fighting other aliens all the time and adding more scars to your vast collection.”
Lihvan stroked a section of her hair with his free hand before saying, “I am highly trained, female.I am a war general as well, so ItrainLuxirian warriors.It is my purpose.”
“One wrong move, Lihvan,” she murmured.“You’re only mortal, like me, right?Just because you’re highly trained, it doesn’t mean you can’t make mistakes.What would happen if you got hurt, even worse thanthis?”
“I have been hurt,” he told her, trying to understand her meaning.Luxirians were warriors, plain and simple.Getting injured was a part of being a warrior.Getting injured made him abetterwarrior because he learned from his mistakes.“As I said, we heal fast.It is harder to kill a Luxirian than other races.And we have advanced medical care.It is unlikely that we would die from anything less than a very mortal wound.”
His words didn’t make her feel any better.Even Lihvan could sense that.He’d been learning her body language, what it meant, just as she’d been learning his.And her body language right then signaled her displeasure.
“It is my reality, female,” he said.“If I was not a warrior, I would have never encountered you.”
She didn’t respond and Lihvan went silent as well, sensing she needed time to process his words.
They went on like this, neither making a sound, until Beks had stitched up the wound cleanly.She cut the thread and tied it closed before gently blotting away the blood that seeped through.
Next, she boiled more moss and then used it to make a gauze, tying it around his forearm with more thread until the actual wound was no longer visible.
“Thank you, female,” he murmured, fastening his gaze on her, wanting to comfort her.
Beks looked at him, her hands bloodied.Despite everything, his body hummed at the sight of her.It was common for Luxirian females to tend to their males after a particularly brutal training session or after they returned from battle.Seeing her like this spoke to him on a primal level and he felt proud that the Fates had blessed him with such a strong, fine mate.
She went to her knees and approached him.Lihvan purred when she leaned forward to give him a slow, but desperate, kiss.When she pulled away, her eyes were glistening and Lihvan frowned.
“Why this?” he asked, watching liquid fall from her eyes.He’d never seen anything like it before and he caught a drop with his claw.
“Don’t do that again,” she whispered.“You scared me.”
“Are you hurt?” he asked, watching more fall, feeling panic build in his chest.
“No,” she whispered, wiping away the liquid from her cheek.In the process, she’d smeared some of his blood on her skin.“They are tears.Humans cry for all kinds of reasons.”
Tears?Crying?
“And what is your reason, luxiva?”
“I told you,” she said.“Youscaredme.I thought…the wound looked really bad.If something happened to you…” she trailed off and turned her head away.
“I am here, female,” he murmured softly, his chest clenching at her wobbly voice.“I will not leave you.”
Beks closed her eyes at his words and then leaned into him, burying her face into his chest.She stayed there, soaking in his warmth and inhaling the musk of his skin.
“Good,” she finally whispered.“I don’t want you to.”
FOURTEEN
Beks woke up many times throughout the night.Even though Lihvan was warm and his steady, heavy breaths caressed her neck, she would still check on him, running her hands down his chest, inspecting his gauze to make sure it hadn’t seeped too much.
