Page 30 of Sheltered in the Storm

His tentacles held me upright as he meticulously dried me with another towel, even drying between my toes very carefully so he didn’t tickle me. Then he towel-dried my hair, worked out the snarls with his own comb, and braided it.

By the time he finished, I was drowsy and my stomach hurt from sitting up for so long. I tried not to show I was in pain, but he knew anyway. Maybe he saw it in my eyes, or he could smell it somehow. Or both. I’d probably never be able to hide much from him. Strangely, that was more comforting than I thought it would be.

Cooing, he carried me back to the bed, wrapped me in blankets, and settled me under the covers before taking my little collection of cooking pots back to the kitchen. I didn’t protest. Even I knew I wouldn’t be doing any more weight-lifting today.

What would it be like to be with someone with whom I could be authentically myself, and know they were themselves too? To know I would receive an honest answer to any questionI asked, and feel comfortable answering questions honestly too? The Calla of a week ago would have scoffed at the idea.

When Vos slipped under the covers beside me and his tentacles wrapped around my blanket nest, an overwhelming sense of peace swept over me. He sighed in unmistakable contentment. Even his tentacles relaxed.

I might be achy and tired, and nothing at all about our future was settled, but this moment was something close to bliss. The fact he so clearly felt the same warmed me as much as the hot water and blankets.

Before I closed my eyes, I leaned over and kissed his jaw. He smelled like the same soaps he’d just used on me. I liked that very much. “Thank you for the bath.”

He touched his forehead to mine. “It was my pleasure, my—Calla.”

Even though he’d stopped himself from calling memy mate, or maybemy Calla, my name sounded like a coo again. It almost made me forget how much my arms ached from lifting those damn pots.

Ugh.Almost.

CHAPTER 10

VOS

As Calla slept beside me,wrapped in my tentacles and smelling of my homemade soap and contentment, I found myself caught between happiness at having a second chance to win her trust and heart, and nagging worry that I might fail.

When she had proposed starting over, I had hesitated, but only for a moment. I had so longed for this chance that, despite my reservations, to decline it seemed nearly incomprehensible—especially given how hopefully and sincerely she had asked.

The wonder of it sent me careening into a storm of yearning and uncertainty. My tiny flame of hope grew once more. I had not succeeded in extinguishing it—not even close. I had merely hidden it, and not very well at that.

If I fanned the flame, I might cause myself great pain. Starting over did not mean she would stay, or that we would find happiness, much less love, with one another. Calla had not offered any promises and I had no right to ask for one. But shehadasked to start over, and that meant I could not dismiss what we had out of hand.

If I declined, I might feel less pain if she left me, but I would also deny myself a chance for joy.

The chance was slim—even lost in this euphoria, I knew that.

The Vos who had served the Guard would not have been put off by slim chances or long odds, or the prospect of pain. And even long after my retirement, I was still that man, as much as I preferred to think of him as a separate creature I had left light-years behind me. Vos Turek would not let anything come between him and his true mate—least of all his own fear.

Nothing about the future was certain except that if I did not allow myself this chance, I would regret it all my days.

I sensed a profound change in how Calla looked at me and my home. I was no longer a stranger to her, and my home was not merely shelter. My bed was not just a comfortable place to sleep, but a comfort, and she wanted to share it with me.

She had trusted me with the truth about her past and met my candor with her own. None of this meant she would stay once she had healed, but my instincts told me she now truly thought she might, and not just because she did not want to return to the Alliance Defense. I had becomeimportantto her.

Longing stirred when I recalled how she had trembled when I touched her during her bath. Today’s bath had been nothing like the first time I had washed her, when she lay unconscious and barely alive in my tentacles. Today, we had shared something beautiful and intimate that put a song in my hearts.

Fear had not caused her to shiver and I had not imagined her reaction to my touches. I had tasted and smelled her desire. I had yearned to join her in the tub, to caress her and hold her and perhaps kiss her, but resisted the urge. She had only just asked to begin again, to see where this might lead, and she was still healing. I must wait and focus all my energy on winning her heart.

One of my tentacles slipped into her blankets and wrappedaround her lower leg. I closed my eyes to drink in her taste and scent.

What could I do to make her want to stay? What could I offer besides myself?

I could offer her a home.

With that goal in mind, I studied my bedroom with different eyes. I had always considered my capsule house ideal for my simple needs, and Poe was certainly very content, but I must do better for Calla. I should make our surroundings more pleasant, especially while her mobility was limited.

She had expressed an interest in my garden, so she might love growing things. And if she had lived on an outpost for years and not even seen rain during that time, she had been starved for connection with nature. Iosa would offer Calla wondrous opportunities to immerse herself in natural beauty.

Several plants grew in pots in my kitchen and living area and in the bathroom. Perhaps she would like a few in this room. I could move my vinefruit tree from the front room in here. Its fruit and blooms smelled very nice. And I could collect some of the crimson moss from the trees in the swamp and put it in a basket. Its scent was mild, but the color might make this room less bland.

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