Page 66 of Cosmic Castaway

“No, Flower. You’re perfect.”

My mate was fast asleep on top of me, his weight not near enough to bother me, which worried me. He was far too thin; he needed to gain more weight. A snort came from the other side of the tent, and I smiled. It wasn’t only Bartholomew anymore. Pookie, as he called her, would need food as well. My mate was attached to her, and I had to do the absolute best to care for her.

I dragged my hand over his back and smiled. This was so nice. “Flower, I will take care of you. I promise. I will find a way to provide, even here.”

He grunted, fisting my shirt.

The movement made my smile broaden. Bartholomew was slowly getting more and more comfortable with me. It was only a matter of time until he trusted me entirely. I was sure of it.

Chapter 27

Courting gifts.

I felt like an Old West housewife, or an Old West wife, I guessed. All of them were housewives, weren’t they? I wasn’t really sure. Whatever. It didn’t matter. I snapped the wet briefs and draped them over the strand of wire Serlotminden had strung between two makeshift poles.

The day felt warmer than usual; whether that was true or not was anyone’s guess, but we’d opened the door and decided to do laundry. Or rather, I’d decided to do laundry, and Serlotminden had insisted on hunting, alone. He’d made several good points about being faster and quieter by himself. In the end, I’d agreed. He was determined to provide, and nothing was going to stop him. With a kiss, he’d left.

Handwashing clothes sucked ass. I hated it. At one point, I’d simply stomped on the clothes in the sudsy water. Everything was dirty, though, and we didn’t know how long it would be before his brothers came for us. I wasn’t even sure how long we’d been gone. The days had blurred together, and we’d settled in, hence the laundry.

Pookie was sleeping in her nest, perfectly content. She drank the water we’d provided, and nibbled on the nutrition bar without any enthusiasm. I had no idea what she ate. Spiders ate bugs, rabbits ate vegetables, and pigs ate everything, so what did Pookie eat? Mindy hadn’t been sure either. We would have to try a variety until we found out what she liked.

Another reason why Mindy had gone hunting. The nutrition bars were running low, and we had to eat. Water wasn’t an issue, with the ice everywhere and Serlotminden’s ability to create fire. I even had warm water for washing the clothes.

Food was the problem.

The four-armed alien hadn’t returned, and we had no way of knowing if there were others like him out there, though I assumed so.

I didn’t want anything to happen to Serlotminden. I liked him. A lot. Since our slightly awkward date, he’d treated me even nicer than before. Always giving me water or food; always dragging his claws over my prickly scalp; always snuggling me close; always… taking care of me.

I shook a pair of pants out and stretched them over the line. I needed to hurry and wash some of the blankets. I wasn’t going to do them all. What if they didn’t dry in time? Did things dry in freezing weather? Mindy had said it would be fine. I wasn’t so sure. But no matter. I wasn’t washing all of the blankets, just in case. We’d freeze without something. I planned on doing them in stages.

I held the jumpsuit that Agk had made me wear. The water slid down my arm, dripping into the tub. I hated it. I hated even the sight of the worn brown cloth. With as much force as I could muster, I chucked it; the skinsuit hit the snow with a satisfying slap. I’d wasted energy washing it. I wasn’t going to wear it ever again. I’d keep wearing Serlotminden’s clothes. Besides, he liked me in his clothes, if the heated looks he gave me were evidence.

Finished, I went to our tent, gave Pookie a pat, and snagged some of the blankets and shoved them into the soapy water. Stomping on them, I tried to take all of my frustrations out on them. Sleeping next to Serlotminden was torture. Every night, I snuggled right beside him or on top of him. It was so warm and comfortable, but it was starting to not be enough. The urge to explore his body, taste him, kiss him, and never stop kept growing.

God, I wanted him to fuck me so bad that it was an ache. The thought of him on top of me, his hair dragging along me, his breath jagged with pleasure. My pulse picked up as a tantalizing curl of want gathered in my stomach.

Crunching reached my ears, and I jerked. Serlotminden came toward me, panting. He held a bird about the size of a turkey, but it was bright red and covered in fur, not feathers. Its beak was curved with a deadly point on the end, and its talons were easily as long as my middle finger.

“Did it hurt you?” I asked.

“No.”

“Good,” I grunted.

Serlotminden came to my side and took a deep inhale, which made me blush. I shoved my glasses up my nose, ignoring the steam on the cracked lenses.

“For you, my Flower,” he said, holding out the dead bird. “I can and will provide for you.”

My caveman.Be still my beating heart. “Thanks.”

That was enough for him. Serlotminden planted a kiss on my cheek and raced away. He cleaned the bird with the laser scalpel that was in the med kit. I had no idea how to do that, so I was happy to stand aside and keep washing the blankets while he dealt with the blood and guts.

Besides, I’d had enough blood and guts for a lifetime. I didn’t need any more. My mouth went dry as my pulse sped up. I shook my head, trying to focus on the warm water. I didn’t want to think about what had happened. Not again. But the memories surfaced without prompting. Blood pouring out of my nose as Agk hit me again with the baton. Vince screaming in the background. The sharp pain of the xoi hitting me in the ribs.

A squeal shattered the silence, and I jolted. Pookie scrambled out of the shuttle, one of her six legs lifted. Her snout wiggled as she took deep inhales. I patted her with wet fingers when she walked by, moving toward Serlotminden. Shaking off the past, I continued stomping on the blankets.

“Pookie,” he called. “My adorable daughter.”

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