Page 35 of Xeda

She didn't answer right away, and he was about to rap on the door again. "Are you there? I said I am—"

The door opened, and whatever he was about to say as she appeared before him got choked in his throat.

"Please don't be upset," she said, putting her hands together.

He stood there staring down at her in stunned disbelief. A range of emotions swept through him, but the most shocking of all was the sudden stirring of heat in his lower belly. The heat rose into his chest, and he didn't know whether to be absolutely furious or resoundingly impressed.

She wore kelva like him. A female vrisha's garment. Only it had been altered for her body type with the top covering across her chest. She had a singular armguard across her shoulder and arm. The bottoms were tight-fitting kelva that hugged her ankles. At her feet, however, she wore human shoes, flats with leather straps that camouflaged with the rest. Her hair was braided back against her skull and hugged the back of her neck.

The only thing she was missing was a crown of horns. For a human to be in the fierce warrior clothing of his people, he should be outraged. If anyone else had, he would be. He would tear the clothing from their body, games be damned.

But for her, he found it exceedingly difficult to label what he was feeling because he knew it wasn't just anger but something far deeper. Something that couldn't be described.

"It wasn't my decision," she continued, looking at him desperately. "They want to have trainers and their fighters in matching outfits for the opener, as stupid as that is. We could do something different if you like. But I figured you'd be more comfortable in your own clothing and that maybe I could just..." She put a hand over her eyes as if embarrassed to look at him. "I shouldn't have done this. I'm sorry. I'll change." She went to close the door, and he stopped her.

It took him a moment to find the words. His eyes couldn't stop trailing over her, and he had to force himself to look away. "It's fine," he said, struggling. "Stay as you are."

"You're sure?" she said, uncertainly.

He turned back to his own room. "Yes, I don't care. Humans can never do the attire justice, and I should probably consider it insulting, but you've managed to make it look presentable at least." He tried to keep his tone as neutral as possible. The heat in his lower belly stirred again, and he was glad he wore the pants offered to him, feeling the ache between his thighs. He shook it off. It was nothing. He just missed home, and she wore a female vrisha's clothing, and that was just another reminder of home, that was all.

He heard her exhale. "All right." He heard her step into the room, and he glanced over to see her eyeing a cabinet set against the wall near the pool. She opened it and rummaged inside. "Before we go, let me help you with this." She brought out a dark green bottle of contents he didn't recognize.

"What is that?" he asked.

"A skin toner and shiner," she said.

He looked at her like she was mad. "Whatever for?"

She smiled at him teasingly. "To enhance those pretty scales and horns of yours of course."

He scoffed. "Unnecessary."

"Trust me?"

He glared back at her, his eyes taking her in yet again, unable to turn away. He scratched at his throat, trying to ignore the heat still lingering within. He hissed in annoyance. "Fine."

She smiled and pointed over to the lounge of seats. "Sit, please."

Hesitantly, he did. She came around to him, and he caught a whiff of her rich, strange scent, which frustratingly somehow made the ache between his legs worse. He was just confused. There was nothing to it other than that, and he would soon put it past him as a silly, insane, and extremely rare occurrence that only ever happened once.

She poured some of the golden gel onto her hands and then took his left arm first and rubbed it around, massaging the muscle. He let her work her hands along his forearm, realizing he hadn't bothered to stop her or demand he do it himself. He stayed quiet through the process, telling himself she could do a better job in applying it than he could anyway.

If he really wanted to get defensive, he could argue that it was good to have someone serve him for once. And he didn't mind it being a human, especially not Ophilia. After all, Queen Theda had said when she was alive that they could play with them or have them as temporary pets as long as they proved useful.

He thought of his warrior brethren, specifically the one who had betrayed them. That warrior had deceived the pack and fought against them because of a human. But Xeda didn't have to betray his kind like that broken warrior had. He could still hate the humans and see them as useful in some fashion.

This line of thinking helped him feel less guilty as he allowed Ophilia to move her hands across him. Yes, this was fine, wasn't it? She could be an exception, after all. He wasn't betraying the Blood Guard or anything if he allowed her to serve him. And only that.

Her hands went across his chest, and he had to clench his hands tightly into fists as he rested them against the seat. He watched her work, noting how he didn't feel repelled by her touch, perhaps because he had grown accustomed to her and so it was easier to handle. In fact, it was nice really. Nothing wrong with a gentle hand, even if it was softer than he was used to.

She applied some down his belly next, and this time, he watched her face, noting it seemed a little redder than usual, her eyes shining bright. Her gaze met his, and she stilled her hand, lifting it away.

"Sorry, this is probably too much. Have I made you uncomfortable?"

He could still feel the sensation of where she had touched him, heat still lingering below where her hand had been. He stared at her, curiously.

If uncomfortable meant how alarmed he was by his reaction to her touch, then… "Yes,” he said.

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