* * * *
Danika didn't realize that she hadn't actually consideredallof the ramifications until Seth escorted her to the facilities. She was so thrilled to discover they actually had hot water to bathe with and an actual bathing room complete with spraying showerheads that it took a while for 'other' things to set in. The moment Seth introduced her to cleanser and showed her how to work the alien hardware to produce a spray, which almost immediately began to dispense hot water, she skimmed out of her briefs and T-top, tossed them aside, and stepped under the water.
Pleasure flooded her as soon as the hot water began to cascade over her. Next to the hot chicken-type soup, it was the most heavenly thing she'd felt in forever! Maybe even better than the soup!
The cleanser had a strange smell unlike anything she was familiar with, but it wasn't a bad smell. It was actually rather pleasing--particularly compared to the odors she'd been dealing with for weeks!
Thiswas the lovely smell she'd noticed when Seth had settled next to her!
Theotherlovely smell, she amended with a chuckle of sheer delight, remembering how heavenly the soup had smelled--and tasted.
Those thoughts brought Seth to mind forcefully, though, and she flicked a glance toward the door. A jolt went through her when she discovered that Seth hadn't left as she'd thought. He'd gone no further than the door to the facilities.
It flickered through her mind that he'd stayed to guard her back. He wasn't standing 'guard' with his back to her, however.
She couldn't tell what was going through his mind--if anything at all was--but he was studying her without any pretense of disinterest.
Actually, she couldn't tell that he was particularly interested either.
And she couldn't decide whether to ignore him or say something--not that she could think of a damned thing to say.
Especially when he finally seemed to realize that she was staring back at him and lifted his head to meet her gaze. It almost felt like a hot concussion wave washed over her, too stunning to fully assimilate let alone understand.
She didn't know how long they both stood frozen in time, cut off from the rest of the world as if everything had ceased to exist except the two of them and even time was suspended, but Seth broke it with all the finesse of an old fashioned dirty 'A' bomb.
"You have grown thin."
Danika gaped at him blankly for several moments while that slowly sank in and then looked down at herself to verify and frowned in dismay. She'd been at her physical peak when she'd shipped out. She hadn't realized just how much the food shortage had affected her--beyond being so hungry she felt like she'd pass out.
So much for thinking he was straining to hold himself back from ravishing her, she thought wryly, feeling embarrassment creep in! Resentment followed swiftly on its heels.
He noticed so he justhadto point it out?
She turned away from him, facing the shower spray. "Unfortunately, I'm human," she said tightly. "I had to rely on 'luck of the draw' with my genetics."
Seth frowned in consternation, realizing that he had offended, although he was not certain how. Confusing as that was, he was only more baffled when he replayed what he had said in his mind. He had said nothing about genetics! He had merely voiced his dismay that she had grown so dangerously thin from the lack of sufficient food!
"I was only thinking that it was a good thing that we left when we did. You would have starved to death before much longer."
"Alright already!" Danika snapped, shutting the water off and sloughing as much of the water from her body as she could with her hands, resisting the urge to cover herself with an effort. "I got it! I look like hell! Thanks!" She looked around a little desperately for some way to dry herself, unwilling to put her clothes back on while she was still wet. She was already beginning to feel the loss of heat. The enemy base might be an amazingly comfortable temperature while she was dry, but it certainly wasn't warm enough to be comfortable wet.
"I did not say you looked like hell."
"Right. Uh ... I didn't think to ask for something to dry off with," she said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering together.
Seth's lips tightened with frustration. "The dryer is there. It works much the same as those on the ship."
Nodding, Danika looked around a little vaguely for her discarded clothing and finally bent down to snatch it up and headed to the drying unit.
It was a crying damned shame that she didn't have clean clothes to put on, she thought distractedly as she stood and turned beneath the blower to allow the circulating air to dry her. But she didn't allow that to dull her pleasure in being really clean for the first time since they'd landed on Xeno-12.
She wasn't even going to let Seth's comments dull her pleasure, by damn!
"I do not think you look like hell," Seth persisted. "I only said ...."
Danika cut him off. "Yeah, I know what you said. Just forget it, alright?"
Seth frowned darkly. "I do not know what I said that has made you angry ...."
