Page 37 of Master
“Necessary?” I sputtered, rolling my eyes. “Necessary for what?” The appearance of his smirk was all it took. And to think I'd begun to like him. "Listen, buddy... if you think I'm going to have sex with you again…."
“Will you calm down,” Tarook groaned and flopped back on the bed rather dramatically. Raising up on his elbows, he gave me a look so reminiscent of the expression Curtis adopted when he thought me silly that it made my heart squeeze with a mixture of longing and grief, not to mention aggravation.
“It’s hard to protect you if I’m in a different room,” Tarook explained, rubbing absently over his sternum. Perhaps the neita fruit gave him heartburn, too.
“Do you think Elv... Buck and Lula are a threat?” It was going to be hard not calling him Elvis.
“No,” Tarook groaned. He shifted in the bed to lie back. “Buck and Lula are harmless, but there are others in the settlement that might not be. Tau Ceti may be predominately human, but there are different species here. You’re safer if everyone believes we’re mated… at least until the Bardaga arrives.”
“Then I can pretend to dump your ass?” I teased with a saucy smirk, although the idea of him leaving on the Bardaga, never to be seen again, added an aching quality to the faint burn in my chest.
"You may have fallen under my charm by then." One golden eye drifted shut in a broad wink.
“Don’t hold your breath,” I quipped. Although, truthfully, I liked him. What wasn't to like? He cared for me, protected me, and made me laugh, not to mention the mix of physical features that made him the hottest, sexiest.... Oh, hell no, not going there.
“Again, with the breath holding. Is it something you do that increases your pleasure?” Tarook asked with a straight face.
Erotic asphyxiation came to mind, and I certainly wasn’t getting into that!
Instead, I stretched, feeling my vertebra pop.
"I'm going to take a shower," I told him and, at the waggle of his brows, added, "alone."
“I’ll be waiting,” he promised, punctuating the statement with a wicked grin.
“Pervert.” I rolled my eyes at him before sliding across the hall to the bathroom.
Despite the 1950s décor, the facilities had everything a girl could want after stomping through a forest for hours. One of those large claw-foot tubs occupied the center of the room, the other furniture being a small dresser, toilet, wooden chair, and table. There was a massive tub in my quarters on the Hartouk Lenaii, although one built more for play than cleaning. I turned the water on as hot as I could stand without boiling myself, dropped my clothes, and stepped inside. The shower curtain hung from an oval rod extending from behind the spigot. It gave a faint squeal when I closed the fabric, as though no one had used it for a while. The small table next to the tub held a selection of shampoo, conditioner, soap, and lotion. I chose the ones imparting the fragrance of honeysuckle, appropriate for the rural area, I thought.
The water thudding against my scalp made it hard for the myriad of thoughts to hold purchase in my brain. I would have to think about Tarook at some point, but not now. Now, it could be dangerous, especially since we were sharing a room. As Scarlett O'Hara said at the end ofGone with the Wind—I'll think about him tomorrow.
I emerged twenty minutes later, floral smelling and squeaky clean, to notice a small pile of clothes on the chair by the door. A pair of jeans, a T-shirt and a flannel shirt. Clean, but well-worn and soft as a cotton puff. The size wasn't far enough to make wearing the garments uncomfortable. It'snowhere near the gowns I wore on the Hartouk Lenaii. The duds were even a step down from the jumpsuit I'd escaped in, but these clothes were more me. Would Tarook find me as appealing and attractive in these simple clothes as he did in more opulent attire?
Where the hell did that come from?
It shouldn’t matter what Tarook thought about my clothing. It shouldn't matter what Tarook felt about anything other than keeping me safe. And it shouldn’t matter that he’d disappeared. Yet, I couldn’t deny the hollowness I felt in my chest when I found him gone from our room.
Our room?
Seriously Clara?
It was just about my safety. That's the only reason I wondered after him. What had Tarook said? He can't protect me if we're separated.
Yeah, I didn’t believe it either.
A breeze wafted through the open windows, curtains fluttering as if to bid me welcome. Tarook's voice floated in the air, along with Buck's, enough of the conversation discernable to understand that Tarook had gone to help our host with farm chores. I considered heading downstairs to offer my aid to Lula, but had a feeling she was the type of gal who didn't appreciate other women in her kitchen.
I never did.
Instead, I laid down on the bed, still warm from Tarook's body and holding the faintest hue of his spicy scent. It felt like home. A sense of refuge settled across me as comforting as any blanket, and I drifted off to sleep.
**********
Sunday dinner at my grandmother’s house.
Scents of pork, apples, potatoes, and something sweet that I couldn't name but knew would be delicious.
My eyes fluttered open, the deliciousness of the dream following me into the real world.
