Page 30 of Owned By the Hvrok

Perhaps, if he learned what made her feelgood, she would break more beautifully.

But for now, he simply watched her.

Small. Soft. Slick with water and defiance.

And to his own surprise, he thought…

Magnificent.

CHAPTER 19

The water had beenwarm.

That was the first surprise.

Not scalding. Not freezing. Just...pleasant. The kind of warmth that soaked into her skin, melted her tension for a moment, and made her forget where she was. Made heralmostfeel human again.

And there were scents. Not harsh chemical stinks or antiseptic sting, but soft, sweet, oddly familiar notes—something like vanilla and citrus, like the boutique shampoo she'd once splurged on during a particularly bad week. Liquids had dispensed themselves into her hands—some kind of soap, rich and foaming—before being rinsed away in another cascade of heat.

She’d washed herself.

Underhisgaze.

She’d tried to pretend he wasn’t there. Closed her eyes. Focused on the sensation of the water, the scent, the slippery glide of clean against her skin. She imagined her apartment back in Cronulla. Her little blue-tiled bathroom. Her shampoo caddy rusting in the corner. The window cracked open to let the salt air in.

For a heartbeat, for the space of one breath, it had worked.

She wasn’t here. She wasn’t naked and collared on a spaceship in some distant, impossible part of the galaxy. She washome.

And then the water stopped.

And the moment shattered.

A rush of warm air struck her from all sides—some kind of drying system. Efficient. Thorough. It left her skin tingling, her hair already dry and faintly scented like warmth and spice. Her body felt clean, weightless, a little too light.

She opened her eyes.

He was still there.

Waiting.

Watching.

Still clad in that same unrelenting black armor, still faceless, stillhim. And now, in his hands—something new.

A garment.

Blue.

Cobalt, almost. Rich and deep, a few shades darker than her eyes. Herfavoritecolor.

Her heart skipped.

Coincidence. It had to be.

Her mouth tightened.He couldn’t possibly know that. He couldn’t. There was no way he could read her mind. Right?

She shivered.

---