Page 44 of Xara and the Xenobeast

“For us?” she asked softly.

He nodded once, definitively.

Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away, but not before he caught the smile playing at the corners of her mouth. She continued her exploration, the Graxlin pups scampering ahead to investigate each new feature.

When she reached the shower area, her face lit with delight. “Is this?—”

She reached for the simple activation lever he’d installed, then hesitated, looking to him for permission.

He nodded again.

She pulled the lever, and water flowed from the redirected spring, splashing into the stone basin. Steam rose in delicate curls.

“Oh!” she gasped. “It’s warm!”

Pride swelled in his chest at her reaction. This was why he’d done it—to see that look on her face. To provide for her in ways that mattered.

She turned back to him, her expression soft with wonder. For the first time, he allowed himself to truly look at her—not with the clinical assessment of a protector, but with the hunger of a male.

Her hair had grown since her arrival, the dark curls now brushing her shoulders. The planet’s sun had deepened her skin to a rich bronze that glowed in the cave’s light. The simple garment she wore, fashioned from salvaged cloth, clung to those curves in ways that made his blood heat.

She was beautiful. And she was his.

As their eyes met across the chamber, something electric passed between them. Her gaze dropped to his bare chest, lingering on the play of muscles beneath his skin as he shifted position. Her lips parted slightly, her breath quickening.

He recognized that look now. Desire. For him.

The realization sent heat pulsing through his body, settling low in his abdomen. His sensory tendrils stirred, reaching toward her instinctively, seeking her scent, her warmth.

She took a step toward him, her eyes never leaving his. The air between them thickened with unspoken want.

And then Dot sneezed violently, startling them both. The pup shook her head, blinking in confusion at her own outburst, then chirped questioningly.

The tension broke. She laughed, the sound bright and unexpected in the cave’s confines. Even his lips twitch in response—not quite a smile, but close.

He turned away, returning to his work on the final wall panel, but remained acutely aware of her presence and her eyes on him. Of the heat that still simmered between them, momentarily interrupted but far from extinguished.

As he worked, he heard her moving around the cave, settling the pups, arranging their gathered fruit. Domesticity. Another concept he’d never considered until her arrival.

“Thank you,” she said quietly from behind him.

He turned, finding her closer than he expected. She stood just an arm’s length away, her expression earnest.

“For all of this,” she continued, gesturing around the cave. “For making it...home.”

Home.The word resonated strangely in his chest. He’d had habitats. Shelters. Strategic positions. Never a home.

He inclined his head in acknowledgment, not trusting himself to speak. Words had never been his strength, and now, with her so close, with the scent of her skin teasing his senses, they failed him entirely.

Instead, he reached out slowly, giving her time to retreat, and brushed a tendril against her cheek. The contact sent a shock through his system—pleasure and connection intertwined.

She leaned into the touch, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment. When they opened again, the heat there nearly undid him.

“I should help you finish,” she said, though her tone suggested other activities entirely.

He gave her that almost-smile again and returned to his work, hyperaware of her presence beside him as she picked up a piece of metal plating. They worked in companionable silence, fitting pieces together, their hands occasionally brushing in ways that sent sparks across his skin.

The air remained thick with unspoken want, with possibilities hovering just beyond reach. But for now, this was enough—building something together, creating a space that was theirs. The rest would come in time.

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