Cecelia sighed, letting her tense body relax.“Okay.”
He pulled back to look down at her, his expression serious.“Female…you do know I would rather spend the spans with you and only you,tev?”
Her heart beat a little faster at his words, at the soft tone in his voice.Even if she didn’t understand what it was, she knew that there was something more to his words, something more that she didn’t understand.
“Yes,” she murmured, slightly dazed, unaware that she’d even spoken until he jerked his head in a nod.
“Good.”
Cecelia walked with him quietly through the bedroom, down the hallway, and to the front door of his house.
When he turned to say goodbye, he stroked the center of her palm and said, “Levrix will arrive shortly.I will have her bring you your meal.”
And because it seemed important to him that she had company while he was gone, she nodded.Yesterdayhadbeen quite boring, she had to admit, broken up only by his visits throughout the late morning and afternoon.
“Okay,” she said.
He squeezed her hand and then he was gone, slipping through the door that shut heavily behind him.The howling wind that slipped past him was bitter and cold and she worried about him flying the hovercraft in conditions like that.But she knew he’d lived in this place for a long time and was used to it.
With a sigh, she turned back to the empty house.The fire in the sunken pit had been reduced to embers throughout the night, but she went to go sit there, regardless, while she waited.
And when she heard the familiar heavy thud of a hovercraft landing on the patio outside, she took a deep breath in, slightly nervous if she was being honest.She didn’t know what to expect out of Rixavox’s ex.
Levrix didn’t knock or alert Cecelia to her presence before she pushed open the heavy door and stepped inside.Cecelia stood from her position in the fire pit and then approached her.
The Luxirian female was wearing a heavy, rustic fur coat and she saw little silver snowflakes trapped between the hairs.
“Hello,” Cecelia said hesitantly, unsure of what else to say.Can I take your coat?Please, won’t you sit down in your ex-lover’s house?
Levrix studied her from the doorway, her gaze raking over her in a way that made Cecelia shift.But then the Luxirian gave her a smile and said slowly, “Forgive me if I jumble your language.I just got the language implant and it is always strange at first.”
Levrix was tall and imposing, but her features were more delicate than the Luxirian males she’d seen.Her hair was black, the darkest of shades, and her eyes were a light blue.When she removed her coat, Cecelia saw that she was curvy, the kind of curvy that would make human men salivate, the kind of generous curves that she herself would never possess, especially since she’d been losing so much weight.
Cecelia cleared her throat as Levrix approached.In her hands was a platter of food covered in a clear disk to keep it hot.Levrix set it down on the cushions in the fire pit and then took Cecelia’s hands in her own.They were cold from the outside but warmed quickly against her flesh.
“You can call me Levrix,” she said.“I do not know if Rixavox told you my name.”
“He did,” Cecelia said, having to crane back her neck to see her.She had to be at least a foot taller.“My name is Cecelia.”
Predictably, Levrix repeated, “Sessela,” and she knew that it might be hopeless for a correct pronunciation on Luxiria.
“Yes,” Cecelia said, smiling slightly.Then she said, “Tev,” figuring that if Levrix was speaking in English, the least Cecelia could do was try out a bit of Luxirian.
Levrix blinked at the word, but then smiled, revealing straight, but sharp teeth.“You have learned our language from Rixavox?”
“Only a few words,” Cecelia admitted.“I fear that I probably cannot pronounce most.”
Levrix grunted slightly and then released her hands.“Come,” she said.“Eat.Rixavox was very clear that you should eat.”
Cecelia relaxed slightly, glad that there didn’t seem to be any strange tension between them, considering that Cecelia had walked in on her naked as she’d tried to seduce Rixavox.If Levrix wanted to brushthatunder the rug, then Cecelia certainly could.
For once, she actually felt a little grumble in her stomach.Again, she wondered if it was theRillirax’sdoing, but she wouldn’t question it too much.She wanted to regain the weight she’d already lost, so she settled into the fire pit, Levrix settling next to her, and she lifted the disk off the food platter.
The food was familiar to her.It was the same meat she’d been eating since she arrived.It was tender and delicious and surprisingly still warm, despite the journey it had taken to get there.
“Thank you for bringing this,” Cecelia said after she swallowed a bite.
“It is my honor,” Levrix responded, studying her.Cecelia brushed off her perusal, figuring that if this was the first time she was seeing a Luxirian, she would be more than a little curious.
