Page 54 of Avery

I step under the warm water and make a mental list of everything else we'll need. I smile to myself at the idea of getting to do this for Avery for the rest of my life.

"You left me," Avery pouts as she steps under the warm water with me.

"You were still sleeping." I wrap my arms around her, my cocks sore but still willing if my female needs us again so soon. "I thought it best to let you sleep since we haven't done much of that these past few days."

"How many days was it?" Avery asks, pushing away from me and starting to lather her body up with soap. I push her hands away and take over the job for her.

"Three."

"Oh, that's so much better than a week." Avery smiles, running her fingers through my wet feathers as I wash her legs and feet. "Thank you for helping me."

My chirp sounds a few times in my throat, and I smile up at her before moving to her other leg. "Thank me by letting me do it again next time."

"Oh, you're doing it again next time." Avery looks at me with a serious expression. "I'm never going through my heat on my own again. No, thank you."

"I think I can make sure that never happens." I shoot her my most charming smile, and her cheeks tint pink.

I finish washing her body and move on to her hair. She lets me lather it up and rinse out the shampoo before doing the same with the conditioner. For the most part, she keeps her eyes closed, her body still needing sleep even though she's forcing herself in here with me.

If I didn't need to clean three days worth of fluids from her, I would've run her a bath, but that would've been too gross by the end, so the shower is for the best.

When I finish cleaning her, I grab one of the plush towels in the cabinet and dry her off. She smiles every once in a while, a low moan or soft gasp coming out when I touch one of her sensitive areas. I'm not getting her worked up again so soon, though. One, my cocks need a moment to rest, and two, she's barely conscious.

"Let's go sit out in the living room so I can clean the nest," I tell her as I guide her into the living room.

Skia doesn't even look up from his book as I drop Avery off on the couch and throw a blanket over her towel-covered body. I could get her dressed, but she's not about to strip for Skia. If anything, she's going to annoy him with her soft snores. Averydoesn't argue with me. She falls to the couch and is back asleep in less than a few seconds.

"Would you mind just keeping an eye on her?" I ask Skia, who grunts in response. "Thank you. I need to clean her nest and make us something to eat." I clench my jaw together, trying to decide what to do with the nesting material if we're to stay in the safe house any longer.

"Her testimony is over," Skia states. "You're free to return to your ship so long as you alert the IA where you are. Avery will need to testify at the intergalactic hearing about what happened to her, but that'll be arranged through her IA contact."

"Wait, we're free to go?" I ask, my scales shimmering as I try to process my emotions.

"Since the day after she testified. You guys were in the thick of her heat, though, and I didn't want to interrupt." Skia's voice is devoid of emotions, just like normal. "As soon as you're ready to leave, I can transport you back to the shipyard."

"Oh!" My eyes widen, but then I get to work.

I want to be back in the dome, back in our nest, curled up watching terrible reality shows with Avery and eating food from the synthesizer, not the reheated stuff Skia kept giving us. I don't think I've ever worked faster. When I finally finish, Avery's still fast asleep on the couch, and Skia is drinking a fresh cup of tea.

I press my lips into a tight line because it's clear we aren't leaving just yet. I get the luggage in the transport and set Avery's clothes out on the coffee table. She's still fast asleep, so I nudge her over on the couch until she's pressed against the back of it. I curl my body around her, finding a nap as well if we're going to be here for a while.

Avery's hand in mine is wonderful, especially now that we're walking back up to our ship to rejoin our crew and get off this awful planet. No offense to those who choose to inhabit it. It's just that out of the many humans I have met, the only ones I care for are the ones who are part of my crew. The others seem awful, mainly because they hurt my Avery, but still.

"If you need anything, message," Skia says, stopping next to me and handing me a card with his comm information.

I give him a curious expression, unsure of why he feels the need to give it to us when he's barely interacted with us at all the entire time we've been with him. I mean, I'm grateful he kept us safe and was always looking out for Avery, but we aren't exactly friends.

"Take the card." Skia's lips turn into a flat line as his eyes flicker up to our ship, where the majority of the crew is standing at the entry point, smiling and waiting for us to join them. Essa and Alik are off a little way, closer to the port crowds, talking with one another.

Skia's shadows do another weird dance thing before he forces them back down to the ground, scowling at them as he does it. When I take the card, he goes stomping off, probably to wherever his ship is docked. A flurry of pale skin and blonde hair runs over to us, her nose working overtime as she sniffs around us.

"Are you okay?" Avery asks, grabbing Helna by the shoulders and giving her a skeptical look. Helna's pupils are dilated, and her nose is still sniffing the air. She gets close to both of us and inhales deep.

"I have my comm," Helna says before taking a final sniff and running through the shipyard in the same direction Skia just disappeared.

I narrow my eyes as I watch her run and then stop right behind the Sombran. He's rubbing the back of his neck, oblivious aboutthe female inches away from him, sniffing him. Or maybe he notices and is into it? He can see her thoughts, but he's definitely not turning around to acknowledge her at all. I frown, but Avery bumps my hip and gets my attention back on her.

"Think she'll be back?" Avery asks as she nudges me closer to the ship.

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