I agreed and was glad for her discretion. “Thank you again. You didn’t have to do this.”
She smiled, her eyes getting glassy. “Yes, I did.”
Then she was gone, leaving me to wonder what she’d meant by that and why she’d looked on the verge of tears. But my hunger overrode my curiosity, and I hurried over to the bed and unpacked the contents of the bag.
True to her word, there were two steel canisters that were cold to the touch and, I assumed, filled with water. I handed one to Kolt as he sat on the bed.
We both unscrewed the caps of the bottles and drank without a word exchanged, and the only sound breaking the quiet of the room was our eager swallowing. After a few gulps, I stopped, but Kolt drained his entire bottle, leaning his head back to get the last drop.
“Thirsty, were you?” I muttered as I reached back into the bag and pulled out a pair of soft tubes wrapped in heavy brown paper.
They were warm to the touch, and even without unwrapping them, the savory aroma wafted up. I handed one to Kolt and reached into the bag again, retrieving the last items—two paper cups with lids on them and wooden spoons fastened to the sides.
I opened my paper cup first while Kolt unwrapped the roll. The spicy scent that hit my nose made my mouth water as I eyed the mixture of what appeared to be puffed rice with various brightly colored diced vegetables and a tangy sauce. I didn’t even bother to use the spoon, tipping the entire contents of the cup into my mouth.
“This is mmfucking mmamazing,” I mumbled through my mouthful of food as I closed my eyes to savor the cacophony of flavors that exploded on my tongue.
When I opened my eyes, Kolt was staring at me.
“What?” I swiped the back of my hand across my sticky mouth.
“I have never seen a female eat with such…abandon.”
“Maybe you’ve never seen one this hungry.”
I looked for the food he’d been unwrapping, spying only a remnant of what looked like flatbread filled with some kind of grilled meat and rolled. “How’s that?”
“Delicious. I could eat ten of them.”
I laughed, the food I’d devoured already easing the ache in my belly and improving my mood. “I don’t think she knew how much Vandar eat.”
I unwrapped my roll as he took the last bites of his and started on the crispy, spicy mixture in the paper container. “This is so much better than Zagrath soup.”
“I am uncertain, but I think this is better than Vandar food.”
“It’s definitely better than most food on Lexxona, although some of Jasmine’s freshly baked bread would make this meal a feast.”
We finished eating in relative silence, polishing off the food and then shoving the trash back into the bag. The small room now smelled of grilled meat and tangy spices, but it was better than the dankness of the prison or even the stale air that had first greeted us.
Kolt stood, staying partially bent as he retrieved his kilt from the floor. “Now that we’ve eaten…”
He started to peel off the costume that made him look like a nondescript soldier, and I realized he was going to, once again, disrobe fully in front of me. I turned my head as he pulled the top part of the jumpsuit past his waist, although it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen what he’d tucked down his pant leg. Even the memory made my mouth dry.
I studied the blank wall as I waited for him to finish, but when I didn’t hear the leather strips of his kilt rustling, I cleared my throat. “Everything okay?”
He grunted in response, but something in the tone of it made me turn—just in time to catch him as he collapsed to the floor.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Kolt
Now that I had food in my belly, my head didn’t pound with such intensity, although the throb in my leg had honed sharper. It was sweet relief to shed the constricting costume, and I rolled my shoulders after I tugged my arms free.
The uniform was slightly below my waist when Skye pivoted away from me, provoking a grin that showed that she was still shy around me. Then I remembered all humans were strange in their reluctance to be naked, knowledge that floated up from my subconscious. That made me grin wider. So, it wasn’t only her, and it wasn’t that she didn’t want to see me.
I thought back to how flustered she’d gotten when tying the leather strap around my thigh. Had that been becauseshe was unused to seeing males? Or was it seeing me that had rattled her?
