“Ladies and gentlemen,” called Ambassador Urkiza. “If I may have your attention.”
As the crowd drew in, Mikolaus let go of Hannah’s hand. His intense look at that moment of release gave her goose bumps. With a subtle bow in her direction, he stepped behind her, opening up her view of the ambassador. Something about the gesture seemed both natural and practiced, almost courtly.
Ambassador Urkiza announced, “Tonight, we have a State dinner for our guests, followed by special entertainment.”
A murmur passed through the crowd, and Hannah noticed many Lurrans looking at Mikolaus. She was completely aware of his partial nudity behind her. Having so much accessible flesh in public proximity kept fueling her erotic thoughts. Visions of flesh sliding against flesh, her breasts filling his hands as her thighs parted for his entry—
Hannah shivered. Get a grip, she chided.
Fortunately, Ambassador Urkiza was speaking, drawing Hannah’s mind from the rampant sexual visions she couldn’t seem to suppress on her own.
“Each E2 member has an assigned companion as liaison,” Urkiza said. “At this time, I’d like all Lurran liaisons to show your guests to their accommodations.”
Hannah turned slowly to look at Mikolaus, bracing herself for the impact of his hyper-masculinity. The top of her head came to his chin, giving her a view of his well-muscled neck. She couldn’t look away.
She cleared her throat. “So, it looks like you are my liaison.” She dragged her gaze to his face.
His smile surprised her.
“Do I amuse you?” she asked. His smile lightened the serious set of his face, taking him from gorgeous, but stern and forbidding, to warm and intriguing.
What is it about me that makes him smile?
“You do far more than amuse me.” He turned, and she followed as he led her out of the reception area. “We’ve never seen women like you.”
She gave him a quick glance. “Well, we’ve never seen men like you.”
He returned her look. “What do your men look like?”
Hannah thought of Ronald, and shook her head. How do I explain that?
“For one thing, we don’t have the history of battle that Lurra has,” she said. “Our men don’t carry weapons openly—or often.”
They took a staircase that wound gracefully up to a second floor. An intricately carved balustrade was smooth beneath Hannah’s hand, reminding her of the hard muscle of his chest. “Our men aren’t trained to use combat weapons like those. Mostly, they don’t have the physique you have, either.” She shot him a quick glance, trying not to gawk.
He stopped to look at her. His browed wrinkled, and his voice was incredulous. “What, then, do your men look like?”
“You saw the men in Ambassador Gray’s entourage.” Not that he was a great example—he was taller and more muscular than many of the men Hannah knew. Come to think of it, Gray’s secretary Matthew clearly spent a significant amount of time in the gym, as well.
Mikolaus’s wave dismissed her example. “He is old. And his assistants are men of words, not action.”
Oh, dear. What would he think if Hannah told him the men on the ambassador’s team were some of the better specimens of E2 masculinity?
Hannah squashed a snicker. “What would you look like if you spent all your time inside with machines?”
His frown deepened as he stared intently into her face. Abruptly, he pulled back and smiled before continuing down the hall. “We must be quite a surprise to you, then.”
He stopped before a red door in a long hallway. Several doors dotted the hall, each a different color. “This is level 2, and your room is L2 Carmine.”
“Where can I find you if I need you?” Hannah asked. She looked up and down the hallway, wondering how long it would take her to get lost.
“I have a home in Galicia with my triad brothers, but for the length of your stay, I am in the next room.”
Hannah checked his face and saw this announcement came with a twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Would you prefer to be at home with your triad brothers? I would hate to keep you from something you’d rather be doing.”
He turned the full force of his gaze on her. He seemed to tower over her, a new experience for her—one she discovered she liked. His face came closer, and she thought, or wished, he would kiss her. His sensual, full bottom lip seemed to speak to her of kisses to remember…
When he was so close that his clean, spicy scent was all she could smell, he whispered softly.
“There is only one thing I’d rather be doing.”
As his mouth passed by her ear, his lips teased her with the barest touch. Hannah’s knees went weak and she sagged against the door jamb.
She’d never felt such connection in such a small touch. She swallowed, and licked her lips.
Mikolaus pulled back and stepped away. “For now, I must prepare for this evening.” He opened her door. Forcing herself to stand upright again, she entered.
“You have two hours to refresh yourself and dress for this evening,” he said. He looked her up and down as though she might need help with the last task.
“This is all I have,” she said, looking at her suit. Her bag had been brought up and placed on the bed during the reception. In it was another suit, a duplicate of the one she wore, but in gray.
Mikolaus briefly looked away, his hand passing once over his mouth. “Please,” he said. “Look in the closet. We hope, as a cultural attaché, you will consent to wear our clothing. Consider it a gift, and part of your leaning experience.” He bowed deeply and stepped away. “I will come for you in two hours.”
She stared at the closed door for a long time after he left.
Two hours.
Two hours to consider her reaction to this strange, alluring man.
Hannah finally glanced around her room. There was a bed, larger than she expected for a single person. Long enough for her whole body, and wide enough for three—or four—people.
No, she reminded herself. Not orgies. Three separate marriages.
She shook off the thought, returning to her original observations. Obviously, space wasn’t a problem here.
With a happy sigh, she threw herself back and considered what she’d seen so far.
In this enormous suite she had all to herself for the length of her stay, atop the luxurious bedcovers, she couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened had she asked Mikolaus to stay.
Stop it, Hannah. You can’t fall into bed with the first Lurran man you meet.
She needed a distraction.
Time to explore.
In one corner of the room was an old-fashioned clothes chest with drawers. Inside the drawers she found delicate garments, mostly in a fine, see-through fabric. “I hope these are underclothes,” she mused as she held up one of the gossamer-thin articles.
In the closets, she found leather boots in three different heights: short, calf, and knee-length. She opened another door and gasped.
“They can’t expect me to wear this in public—all that color.” She couldn’t help but speak aloud.
She pulled out a peach-colored tunic with a gold thread accent that caught the light. Gold trim lined the cutout shoulders and flowed into the deep, open back. On the same hanger was a purple leather girdle with a small knife in an ornately embossed sheath.
She stepped back and put a finger to her lips.
Of course, the costume would go well with my hair color.
Further in the closet she found other outfits, each as bright and beautiful as the first. A black tunic with long purple sleeves cut open, and a soft, black leather belt. A deep russet-brown overcoat came with a yellow tunic with black trim.
Hannah turned from the clothes and passed into the next room. Cool blue tiles bordered a brilliant floor mosaic in rainbow colors.
She walked to a large receptacle in the corner, large enough for her to stretch out in. Uncertain, she got in and lay down. Her head fit nicely at the rounded edge at one end. A cluster of mysterious fixtures protruded at the other end, where there was a curious hole. Sitting up again, she pulled at the levers and handles.
“What?” she squealed when a stream of water came pouring out. She jumped up and scrambled to get out of the deep receptacle.
Huh. The water was filling the receptacle. She looked around and listened, waiting for an alarm to sound and boots to come running down the hall to arrest her.
Nothing.
“Is this really possible?” she whispered aloud. She saw small containers on a nearby shelf and opened one. “Oh,” she breathed out after inhaling the pure scent. On impulse, she poured a small amount of the scent into the receptacle. The delightful smell filled the room.
She continued to play with the fixtures. “Oh, my. Hot water.” She kept her voice low, as if even speaking too loudly would cause someone to stop her.
A real, honest-to-god bath. Just like in the stories of old Earth.
Biting one corner of her bottom lip, she grinned, imagining the reactions of her friends back home.
And Cheryl thought Lurrans’ marriages were decadent.
When the tub was half full, she turned off the water and removed her suit and undergarments, folding them carefully and placing them to one side. Standing naked, she inhaled and thanked her lucky stars as she stepped into the water.
Before she sat, she removed the elastic holding her braid and shook out her hair. With a smile, she sank down to sit in the small pool, luxuriating in the feel of the tiny waves she’d created lapping at her waist.
Never have I seen so much water.
“Never,” she whispered.
She leaned back and slid into the warm, scented water.
And people wonder why I want to go off-planet.