“It should not make you hurt,” he said, frowning.Already, he was calculating how long it would take to return toVelraxa, to summon Kirzalla, the outpost’s healer, if necessary.
She gave him a small smile, running her palm down his chest, as ifhewas the one needing comfort and not her.“It’s nothing, Rixavox.It’s passed now.”
Her words slightly lessened his concerns, but they did not diminish entirely.“We should send an additional scan to Privanax this night.To be sure that nothing is wrong,tev?”
“It’s fine, Rixavox.I don’t want to bother him this late.”
“If anything happened to you, female…” he exhaled a sharp breath, slashing where that thought led.“I want to be sure.”
“Okay,” she relented.“Okay.”
“Thank you,” he murmured, pressing another kiss to her lips.“We will do it quickly when we return,tev?”
She got that look in her eye, the same one she got whenever she was teasing him.And she’d once told him teasing was like flirting.
“And once we get the all clear from the good doctor, then we can play?” she asked, a sensual smile lifting the corners of her lips.
Despite his worry, he gave a small groan, understanding her meaning.
“Tev,” he rasped.“Then we can play all you want.”
“Deal.”
TWENTY
“And these scans revealed nothing?” Levrix asked the next morning, sitting down in the fire pit with Cecelia.
“No,” Cecelia said, but then winced slightly when she moved.Her stomach was cramping up and she felt the dull throbs of the pain she’d felt the night before in theRillirax.Not as intense, but it came and went.She figured since her stomach was acting up, that all the Luxirian food she’d been consuming was the culprit.Maybe it would just take her time to get used to it.“Privanax said the scans were all clear, so I think it’s just a stomach bug or something.”
“Did you tell Rixavox that you are unwell this span?He would want to know.”
“No,” Cecelia replied.Just the mention of his name made butterflies swarm in her stomach.She had it bad, so, so bad for her Luxirian warrior.“He was really worried last night so I didn’t want to distract him from his duties today.I’ll be fine.I just need to rest.This tea certainly helps,” Cecelia commented, shooting her newfound friend a small smile.
Outside, ugly weather raged.When she’d woken that morning, next to Rixavox, she knew that it would be a cold, cold day.The house had been freezing and Rixavox had stoked up large fires in every room to bring in some warmth.When she’d peeked out the paneled window, she saw mostly silver.The snow was silver on Luxiria and it had been coming down like crazy.So, all in all, it was a perfect day to spend by the fire, curled up with tea, and chatting with Levrix, who told her she’d closed down her stall at the Bazaar due to the weather.
“He is a caring male,” Levrix commented.Cecelia could never forget that the two Luxirians had been lovers.For a seemingly long time.Sometimes, she got the sense that Levrix wastryingto remind her, but she shook it off.
She tried to soften the blow of jealousy, of imagining Rixavox with anyone else, but she couldn’t.It stabbed her so hard that it felt like a physical blow.
Cecelia swallowed, taking another sip of tea as she composed herself.
Because in her mind…all she was thinking wasmine.Rixavox was hers.It was a strange, jarring feeling, but somehow, some way, she knew that he was.And she was his too.
Cecelia had never suspected she waseasyby any means.But just a couple nights with Rixavox in bed and her hormones were going haywire.
Because surely she was nuts if she was beginning to wonder if therewasa future for them after all?On this distant planet, where she knew next to nothing about the culture?About the people?
Was she completely nuts for falling head over heels in love with her tall, horned, ridged alien male?
Sometimes she felt like she was crazy.
But she’d never felt anything like this about any man in her life before.Not by a long shot.What she felt was the kind of thing she’d only ever seen in movies or read about in books.It was as consuming as a wildfire…and just as frightening.
It was a free fall.A complete free fall and she didn’t know if she had a parachute to save her.
“Yes, he is caring,” Cecelia replied softly when she trusted her voice.
But he was so much more than that.
