Mortification made Cecelia’s throat feel tight, but the burn, like she’d swallowed acid, came from the sick feeling of jealousy.She had no right to feel it, she knew that.But it was there nonetheless and it didn’t make any goddamn sense.
It was official.This planet was making her crazy.Completely and utterly batshit crazy.
Even when she squeezed her eyes closed, she could see Rixavox and that other…female.Her, completely naked.Him, stripping off that fur blanket while her hand reached for his…
Damn.
Kate had been right.The Luxirian Ambassador got around.He could’ve at least had the decency to shut the bedroom door if he wanted to get it on with someone else in the living room.
Now, she was curled up in the smaller fire pit lounge in his bedroom.All that was in the room was his pallet covered in furs on the floor and the fire pit, which was almost identical to the room in the ‘living room,’ except it was a little smaller, more intimate.In the back of her mind, she wondered how many Luxirian females had spent the cold nights sitting there with him.How many of them had he warmed by the fire?
Cecelia took a deep, shuddering breath.
This was so unlike her, getting this jealous over someone she didn’t even know.Hell, she’d hardly ever had someone to get jealousoverback on Earth.
She stiffened when she saw him enter the room out of the corner of her eye.There was a window, made out of a glass-like material with a navy blue tint, just beyond the fire pit.She was looking out it but couldn’t really see anything given how dark it was.She focused on it as he approached her slowly.
“Luxiva…” he murmured, crouching down next to her before hopping into the lounge area.He kneeled in front of her, his palms flat on the area just above his knees.His muscular thighs made his leather pants bulge and she vowed not to be distracted by them.
Luxiva? she wondered silently.Was that Luxirian for ‘I’m sorry?’
But he didn’t have anything to be sorry for, she realized, sighing.It was irrational for her to act like a jealous housewife.Yes, her feelings and emotions might be all over the place, she might not understand what was even happening, but he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“She was pretty,” she murmured instead, swallowing the lump in her throat.She managed to throw him a small smile even though it was probably the most fake one she’d ever given.“Is she your…girlfriend?Partner?”
“Girl…friend,” Rixavox repeated slowly and Cecelia could practically see the confusion growing behind his eyes, before they widened slightly.“Mate, you mean?Nix!”
He seemed upset by her question and she wondered if she’d just committed some Luxirian faux-pas.“I’m sorry,” she murmured.“I just didn’t know if…you know…”
But even she didn’t know what she was trying to say.Her cheeks burned slightly before she cast her gaze downwards.Damn, she thought to herself, shaking her head a little.Just a little earlier, she’d felt comfortable with him.When they’d been on the hovercraft, she liked talking with him, liked hearing his roughened voice.She liked that he’d held her between his thighs to keep her warm.She even, embarrassingly enough, liked him wanting to feed her.She found it sexy, actually.
Now, she realized she’d liked those things a little too much.
“Um,” she started, curling a strand of hair behind her right ear.“I’m sorry for walking in on you like that.I didn’t know you had company.I just heard raised voices so I came out to see what was going on.”
“Luxiva,” he said again, his eyes a dark blue in the low light, “it was not what you are thinking.I did not expect her to come.”
Cecelia looked a little to the left and said softly, “It’s okay.You don’t have to explain.It’s none of my business.”
His body tensed at her words and he leaned forward slightly, his large, rough hands coming to land on either side of her thighs.Cecelia took in a sharp breath and darted her gaze up.
“Itisyour business,” he rasped, his eyes intense and almost pleading.“It is.Everything about me is yours alone.”
A jumble of emotions rose up in her, swelling more and more.Emotions like panic and confusion excitement and lust and even slight fear.It overwhelmed her.It frightened her with its intensity.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered, eyes widened.What in the world was he talking about?
He studied her, his breathing nothing more than rough exhales.His brow furrowed and he closed his eyes for a brief moment, like he was trying to pull himself back together, piece by piece.
Hesitantly, she reached out to touch his shoulder.“Rixavox?Are you okay?”
He flinched at her touch even as a strange surge of energy passed between them.Immediately, she withdrew her fingers, staring down at her hand, before looking back up at him.
“Tev,” he finally murmured.“I am well.”
“What did you mean just now?” she asked slowly, not quite sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
“It is nothing,” he said in response, glancing away.“I just wanted to explain that what happened in the central hub was a misunderstanding.I did not invite Levrix here.I would never invite another female into our…into my dwelling.”
