Oh. That’s somewhat confusing but also kind of beautiful. I look around the cavern, the luminite dancing under the light of the sky.
It does look like it’s alive.
I can almost feel it.
I turn back to Varek just as he reaches down and pulls the tie to his leathers.
“Whoa,” I mumble, my cheeks burning. “No, no, no.”
He doesn’t seem to mind as he slides them down his thick thighs and kicks them onto a protruding rock.
I avert my gaze, looking at anything else but his now naked form.
“Come here, Mate.”
I shake my head. There’s no way I’m going up to him now. I mean I was already dreading this whole bathing idea but now I know exactly what’s about to happen.
He plans to get in with me.
“You wish to undress yourself, then?” Varek asks.
I stumble over my words. “Um, I would prefer to not do this in front of you.”
Varek clicks his tongue. “I must see to your cleanliness. I also wish to check for any other injuries.”
No, that’s totally okay. I’m fine, thank you very much!
Suddenly, he’s in front of me, his rough hands reaching out for the fabric of my travel suit. It’s lightweight and pretty comfortable and the idea of having it taken off me right now has my stomach in knots.
“No, no. That’s okay. I’ll just freshen up with my clothes on.”
“Paige,” Varek murmurs. He fingers a lock of my dark hair and leans slightly, enough to capture my gaze. “Let me do this, yes? It is my duty to care for my mate.”
The sincerity in his words and the question in his eyes have my body warming up. He’s asking, he’s not forcing. He doesn’t want me to see him as my captor, so he isn’t acting like one.
At least in his strange alien brain anyway.
I nod and reach for the zipper down the front of my suit. I drag it down slowly and slide the suit off my shoulders. Varek’s brows knit.
“What are those?”
I look down at my bra and panties. “My undergarments.”
“Undergarments?” He sounds out the word as if it’s completely foreign to him. “What is the purpose?”
I shrug. “Extra support. Protection.”
I clear my throat as he eyes my body from head to toe.
“Modesty,” I cough out the word. Oh, the irony.
He waits patiently and I know he wants me to completely undress, but I just can’t. I’m not ready for that. “I’ll go in like this,” I suggest.
Varek seems displeased, but he leads me to a shallow point in the spring anyway. He slides in first and then turns, grabbing my waist and pulling me in after him. I gasp as the warm water welcomes us in, shimmering and sparkling around our bodies. Varek wraps a strong arm around my waist to anchor me to him and I squirm in his hold.
This is entirely too close proximity for my liking.
“The water is too deep for you,” he says softly. He walks us across the spring to an area where form has built up beneath the trickle above. The salty, fresh scent tickles my nose as Varek gathers a bunch of the foam in his hand. “This cleanses our skin.”