There’s no way to mime the conflict I feel about the sweet alien right now. This conversation is going to have to wait.
I shuffle to the other side of the cave, sitting next to the shallow pool that Kitaico normally sleeps in. I trace my fingers through the teal water, my mating mark tingling as I do.
For as good as he makes me feel, and as well as he treats me, maybe we’re just too different.
There’s a part of me holding onto the idea that one day I might be able to go home—which feels like a delusion after hearing about the few girls who escaped the Deenz. Earth is off-limits for everyone but the alien hivemind that trafficked me here.
I glance over my shoulder to see Kitaico staring at me before he quickly looks away.
Maybe if I had any control over my life and how I ended up here, it would be different. I could give him what he wants, and I could give in to these feelings that are rooting deep inside of me.
Maybe.
13
splish splash, it’s an alien bath
I need to get to the capital, Great Proving or not. I don’t know if I can let Leeenuh go after what happened between us last night. Even if I’m not her mate, my venom flows through her…it must mean something. This can’t just be a coincidence that this perfect goddess fell into my lap. There’s no way the Great Mother didn’t have a hand in the situation.
It’s not Leeenuh’s fault that she’s unsure of me. I haven’t proven myself yet. She might not know the Andjin traditions, but what have I shown her except my own debauchery?
What kind of male accidentally stings an unwitting female?
If we get back to the capital, I’ll have the chance to prove myself to her and my people.
I can show Leeenuh that there is no one on the Korlyan Moon that will treasure her more than I will.
I push my hurt aside, focusing on the task at hand—caring for the female bearing my mating mark.
“If you still want that bath, I can make preparations,” I say nonchalantly, glancing at Leeenuh.
She smiles a slow smile before nodding.
“Excellent, we’ll eat, and I’ll show you the hot springs.”
Leeenuh gnaws at the dried dredlin with her blunt little teeth. I wish I had more variety for her and kick myself for not thinking that my future mate might like something else. I should have thought to acquire sustenance beyond the most hardy of stored food.
She struggles as she chews but doesn’t complain. I wonder what her life might have been like before she literally sank into mine. That’s one thing I can’t wait to talk to her about when my translator chip is restored. Right now, I’m enjoying spending time with the strange little alien who is my mate.
She seems to have perked up at my mention of a bath, though. I think getting out to the nest and to the hot springs would do us both good. As much as I don’t mind this newfound closeness the two of us have fostered, I don’t want to smother her with my attentions.
If Leeenuh had her way, she would never let me fuss over her. There’s something so bizarre about a mate wanting to do things for herself. I guess the Andjin culture expects males to dote, but I can’t imagine a human not wanting to do the same for the vision sitting in front of me.
“Yur stairing et mi,” she says with a raised brow.
I just tilt my head and appraise her more intently, unsure of what she said.
“Whenever you’re full, we can head out—the cave’s entrance isn’t too far from the surface, and the hot springs aren’t much farther than that.”
With a finger pointed at the cave ceiling, Leeenuh holds her breath and directs her gaze toward me. She flaps her hands as if she’s swimming and then places them at her throat in a mock drowning.
“Oh, how long you’d need to hold your breath? I can breathe for you, don’t worry,” I reassure her.
“Eef eets naught far, maybi eye shuud prakteetce? Eye allwaze won et olding meye breauth et da layke.” She frowns.
The more comfortable Leeenuh has gotten here, the more I see her stubborn side. She doesn’t like anyone to do something for her that she thinks she can do herself.
It’s so incredibly endearing that I want to wrap her up in my limbs and never let her go, my headstrong human.
“Why don’t I check how long it takes, then?” I ask, pointing to the nest’s door.
Leeenuh nods, looking relieved to have gotten her message across.
“I’ll be right back. Never fear, my Leeenuh!”
Rushing to the opening, I dive through and start counting.
One, two, three, four…
I kick my legs as my ascent starts.
Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen…
Dredlin scales flick past me like starlight, and I push my arms up and out.
Twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven…
