Page 71 of Elas

I cringe when I realize I never washed the spare scrubs I wore home yesterday. “Chief’s going to murder me,” I grumble, then groan louder because my other scrubs are stashed in my locker. “I’ll have to wear these in and change once I get there.”

“Toss them into the laundry at the clinic. They’ll be done by the time you leave, and I doubt the chief will even remember.” I lift a brow at him and he grins. “Okay, fine. She’ll remember, but maybe she’ll be too busy to worry about something as trivial as scrubs.”

“Here’s hoping.”

Once we’re dressed and walking towards the door, Elas hooks me around the waist and crowds me, yanking my hips against his while my shoulders hit the wall. For a long moment, he only stares at me, but then he leansforward and kisses me with a gentleness that defies his towering size.

Emotions that I’ve never experienced before swirl in my stomach, fluttering up into my chest and flapping their delicate wings inside my throat. “El,” I breathe, the word catching as I struggle to articulate what I’m desperate to say.

“I know, baby,” he murmurs, then comes in for a patient, drawn out kiss. We separate and he pushes a stray lock of hair from my forehead, giving me another of those serene smiles—the special ones that are saved for the privacy of these walls, and only for me.

He stands tall and I have to crane my neck up to keep my eyes on his. Elas not only towers over me in height, but easily outweighs me by a hundred pounds. He’s enormous, but his size has never intimidated me.

He’s safety.

“What’s going on in that brain?” he asks, leaning forward to kiss my temple, and I swoon again.

“Just thinking that you’re my safe place.” His smile crinkles his eyes and lifts his cheeks.

“You’ll need a safe place if we’re late,” he teases, and I concede with a sigh. The chair is still wedged underneath the handle, and he grins to himself as he sits it back at the table.

Outside, the air is already sweltering, and fresh sweat beads on my forehead as we make the familiar trek to the clinic. Someone calls his name as we approach the front doors, and I turn to see another Nu’vak jogging over. He’s… well, he’scool, with the sides of his hair shaved anda gold hoop through one of his tusks. Elasgroansand doesn’t try to hide his disdain.

“Elas! My man! Guess who’s a lucky dog and gets to be my partner today?”

“Urul… fantastic,” Elas mutters, and the newcomer turns and puts on a blinding smile as he sweeps me with his eyes.

“Well,hello,nurse.” Urul rubs his chin as Elas emits a low growl, and Urul’s eyes gleam as he faces him again. “Oh, don’t tell me this is the one who’s tamed the mighty Elas. This is who you were talking about? Ahuman?”

“Watch yourself,” Elas warns, but Urul chuckles, ignoring the murder daggers being stared at him.

“What, uh… was he saying about me, exactly?” I ask, because really, when will this opportunity arise again?

“Said he was crushing something fierce on someone—”

“I didnotsay crushing.”

Urul rolls his eyes but doesn’t skip a beat. “—but that it wascomplicated.” He makes air quotes, and I notice his fingernails are bright orange. He pushes the boundaries of his uniform, because he’s the only soldier I’ve ever seen walking around with painted nails and piercings.

“Well, he wasn’t wrong,” I say with a teasing wink at Elas.

“Holy shit, man. Holy… shit.This is godsdamned adorable. You’reglowing!” A violent coughing fit wracks my body, and Elas rushes to my side to pat my back. My blurred vision swims with tears, and I catch his worried gaze.

We’re glowing, alright.

Once I’ve cleared my lungs, I ignore the sting of my bloodshot eyes and give Urul a polite smile. “It was nice to meet you, but I need to get to work,” I say, before turning my eyes to Elas. “Behave today.”

“Don’t I always?” he asks, fluttering his lashes, and Urul and I both chuckle as I give him another wave.

“Elas is in looooove,” Urul teases as they walk away, and I hear a pop and a yelp that means he just got smacked. “For real, though, he’s cute. Interested in sharing?” Another smack lands just as the door shuts, and I’m still chuckling as I enter the locker room.

The harsh fluorescent lights glare as I collect my scrubs from my locker and hurry into a shower stall. The plastic curtain sticks slightly as I close it behind me and shed yesterday’s uniform. I pull on my pants and grab my two shirts, scheming how to sneak a load into the laundry without the Chief noticing. I’m so stuck in my head that I don’t hear the rushed thud of footsteps getting closer.

The shower curtain rings scream a metallic protest as they’re whipped back, and Xeni almost knocks me over with his determined stride. A dark stain streaks across his shirt, emitting a foul smell potent enough to make me gag.

And then it hits me.

My fingers are clumsy as I fumble with my shirts, scrambling to cover my chest. His eyes widen and he takes a stumbling step back.

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