Chapter 13
The health and well-being of another person had never concerned Nahash before. When he’d realized Cass was suffering from dehydration, anger had filled him—at his own lack of attention. He couldn’t believe he’d failed to recognize that she was more fragile and needed more care for her body and spirit than he did.
He’d always scoffed at the training that males destined for the mated caste would undergo, considering it frivolous—much as he considered any male who volunteered to join the lower caste frivolous. Mated males were creatures of leisure and laziness. They only volunteered to expose themselves to imprinting to get out of working at any of the difficult or physically demanding jobs considered too important to trust to a mated male. Most of the volunteers Nahash had the misfortune of knowing had opted for the mate training to avoid mandatory military service—which even he admitted could be brutal.
Now Nahash had imprinted and he needed to care for his mate, but he felt lost. He couldn’t treat her like a fellow soldier. He also couldn’t judge her needs based on his own body, which could go for weeks without food if he wasn’t active—as he wouldn’t be while stuck on the ship.
At least he now had enough sense to recognize the signs that she’d gone too long without fluids. After seeing to it that she drank enough to brighten her cheeks and give boost her flagging energy, he answered what questions he could, impressed by the curiosity she showed about subjects he would’ve expected to bore her.
He couldn’t tell her much about how jumpstations worked, since Lusians kept all their technology a closely guarded secret, but he could tell her about the stations themselves. The Lusians had built them to simulate small cities, filled with things to see and do, making them the perfect tourist stop for a weary traveler.
A wistful expression crossed her face as he described the stations, then answered her follow-up questions about his own homeworld, Iridua—which made him wistful. It struck him that he’d never again see the towering cities with their spires and domes, or the small village enclaves that surrounded the domed monasteries, or the rolling farms that bordered the vast forests that covered most of the main continent where he’d lived.
By the time he’d answered those questions, he could see exhaustion creeping over her while she struggled to conceal a yawn, so he insisted she sleep. Her cheeks turned red in a way that alarmed him. In his concern, he surged towards her, forgetting how others found his speed unnerving until she recoiled so fast that she bumped her head on an exposed pipe.
He quickly retreated a safe distance from her, frustrated that he’d put a wary expression back in her beautiful eyes. His clumsiness and ineptitude when it came to wooing a female would make it difficult to convince her to forget how freakish his body looked in comparison to hers.
“Are you okay?” he asked, avoiding speaking her name because he found it difficult not to hiss when he said it, and he felt that only brought more attention to their differences.
She nodded, rubbing her head with one hand while her lips spread in a rueful smile. “It was just a light knock on my head. I’ll probably have a little bump, but my father always told me I had a hard head.” She chuckled, then her smile faded and her eyes grew distant.
Reassured about her head, he still had concerns. “You’re skin has turned very red on your cheeks. Do you need medical attention? There’s a medical pod on this ship, but I wouldn’t trust it if you aren’t in dire need. Still the medical bay might have something….”
The color on her cheeks grew even redder as she shook her head. “No, that’s just… it’s a very common thing for humans, especially those with pale skin like mine. It’s just a blush.”
He raised his brow ridges in question, wondering what purpose such a color change might have.
She appeared to recognize his confusion. “It’s… a sign of embarrassment in this case. I realized that I needed to use the restroom and had no idea where it was, and I didn’t want to ask.”
Her words caused even more confusion. “Why would that embarrass you?”
She bit her lip, then muttered in a low voice he didn’t think she intended him to hear. “Explaining this is even more embarrassing.” In a louder voice, she said, “can you tell me if there’s a bathroom on this ship?”
He decided to allow that line of questioning to drop, not wanting to agitate her even more. Instead of taking that risk, he kept his mouth shut and gestured with one hand towards the door out to the corridor.
He let her precede him, guiding her to the ship’s bathroom. Designed for a crew of about a half-dozen, the RimRunner possessed a fairly large bathroom with all the amenities, including a sonic chamber for cleaning, though Cass seemed confused by this, then disappointed when he explained that she wouldn’t be able to bathe in warm water.
He wondered if, like Iriduan females, she’d prefer a bath with a mated male to sponge every inch of her naked body clean, massaging her muscles as he went so she felt fully relaxed and comfortable.
Since that thought threatened his composure so much he feared his arousal would become obvious, he had to excuse himself from the bathroom, pointing everything out in a rush before quickly slithering from the room, which suddenly seemed way too cramped.
He settled back in the pilot’s chair, wrapping the end of his tail tight over his groin to keep his erections contained.
When he hadn’t ever planned to imprint, the realities of his new body’s sexual organs hadn’t concerned him. They’d been a concern for the scientists, since even stimulants hadn’t allowed him to provide enough of his seed for their experiments.
Now, he didn’t need stimulants to grow aroused, both of his shafts far too eager to spill their seed at the mere thought of washing and massaging Cass’s naked body. Even thinking about her being naked in the sonic cleanser made him ache with arousal. He feared what would happen if he became engorged.
He tried to concentrate on other things, but once he’d set course for the nearest recharging station he had very little to do. When they neared the station, he’d prepare for potential altercations with other criminals they might encounter, but until then, he had nothing but time to kill.
Unable to sleep while Cass did, he contemplated his future now that she’d thrown his life into chaos, inspiring him to choose a path he’d never even considered before. He didn’t know what to do next. His body wanted to mate, but getting Cass to accept his body would be difficult, if not impossible. Even among Iriduans, not all imprinted males had the opportunity to mate with their females.
Since he had no experience with females, he didn’t know if they all had a softer side, like Cass did, though he’d learned that Iriduan females often behaved in a cruel, selfish fashion that threatened not only their mates, but the very fabric of their society. Softness wasn’t a common trait among the males he’d known either—most of whom showed ruthlessness towards those considered weak in any way. Cass seemed to view weakness as something to protect. He should detest that, but he couldn’t help finding it appealing.
His thoughts led him around in circles that always came to the same conclusion. He couldn’t get enough of her. He’d never get enough of her. His body belonged to her, and his mind would probably soon follow. He wanted to resent her for that, as he had at the very beginning, but even that resistance grew weaker with each passing moment. He couldn’t hold onto his anger at being afflicted when a drug-like euphoria flooded his brain just by being in her company.
Nor could he continue to deny that she deserved such devotion, when she’d shown kindness and compassion, and had concerned herself about the well-being of others, including him, despite her initial fear of him.