Page 23 of Retribution
He approached and handed her the box. “This is for you, Layla.”
She peered down at the plain white box, wondering what it might contain. Had he brought her a present of some sort? An odd sense of giddiness filled her. She gave him a curious look before she lifted the lid and peeked inside.
Clothing. He’d brought her clothing.
She ran her hands over the soft, luxurious silk, then walked to her bed and placed the box down upon it. Carefully, she withdrew a pretty light blue dress. Wow. She stifled a gasp. Upon further inspection, she found it was a gorgeous, long-sleeve gown with white embroidery around the neckline. The dress was in the Kall fashion, and the box also contained matching leggings, which Kall females typically wore under long dresses. There was also a thick white wrap that looked especially warm and a pair of shoes.
Was he truly giving this to her? She eyed him with suspicion. Was this some kind of trick? Or was it yet another way for him to apologize for that awful strapping they both avoided talking about?
“I’ve never seen a dress so beautiful,” she said, meaning it. She’d visited countless marketplaces on the Kall homeworld and hadn’t come across anything so lovely as this dress. She wondered where he’d gotten it. After all, they were in the middle of space. She sincerely hoped these garments hadn’t belonged to Shessema. That would be… awkward and problematic. Especially if he wanted to see her wearing this dress.
“I’m glad you like it.” He gave her a rare almost-smile, and for one quick moment his eyes dazzled like the stars. “My ship contains a materials replicator. It took the better part of the morning to create this dress and the other items, but I think everything turned out quite nicely, for replicated items.”
Surprise swept through her and she felt her eyes widen. Materials replicators were expensive, and the ones humans used could usually only produce smaller objects or machine parts. This dress looked like something out of a fairytale, and relief filled her knowing it hadn’t belonged to Shessema.
An awkward moment passed between them as she held the dress in front of her, wanting to try it on but not wishing to get naked in front of General Zamek.
He swallowed hard and nodded at the bathroom. “You could go in there and see if it fits, human. I-I would like to wait and make sure it fits.” There was a nervousness about his manner that she couldn’t help but find endearing, and a flush rose to her cheeks.
“Okay,” she replied. “I’ll be right back.” She scurried into the bathroom, holding the box close to her chest, and shut the door, thankful that therewasa door. From what she remembered of the other cells, they didn’t contain separate bathrooms or doors.
She removed her clothing, folding it neatly and placing it upon a chair. She reached for the leggings in the box first, then noticed several pairs of panties and a few bras underneath it that she’d missed the first time she inspected the contents of the box. Oh my. He’d not only replicated the dress, leggings, wrap, and shoes, but he’d thought to provide her with new undergarments as well, even though Kall females typically didn’t wear panties and bras.
The bra was more like a sports bra, but it fit surprisingly well. The panties were a perfect fit too. She donned the leggings and carefully put the dress on, shocked by how well it fit. Had the general been studying her dimensions? She blushed at the thought. Once she added the wrap and slipped into the shoes, she peered in the mirror and gasped.
The light blue dress contrasted nicely with her dark eyes and even darker hair. This outfit would be a lot warmer than the thin dress pants and borrowed shirt she’d been wearing. Not that the temperature in the brig was as cold as it had been when she’d first arrived here. She had a sneaking suspicion the general had upped the temperature recently just for her comfort.
“Does it fit?” he called out, his deep sexy voice rumbling through her, causing waves of heat to spread straight to her core.
Drawing in a deep breath, she smoothed her hair into place and then exited the bathroom. Pleasure lit in his eyes as he took her in, looking her up and down.
“It suits you well,” he said, sounding huskier than usual.
“Thank you, General. It-it fits perfectly.”
Still looking her up and down, he stalked closer, coming to stand directly before her, so close his masculine scent overpowered her senses. The atmosphere thickened with sexual tension. There was no mistaking the pull between them.
Take a step back, you fool. Guard your stupid heart.
But she couldn’t move, and she couldn’t breathe. She could only stand there frozen, staring up at General Zamek, as he reached out to cup her face. A shiver of awareness coursed through her and her skin tingled in all the places he touched her.
“I thought you might appreciate having an extra outfit, human, one that wasn’t mismatched.” He cleared his throat. “Now that I am certain of your size, I can replicate more dresses for you. I hope you like Kall fashions. Our materials replicators are only fitted to produce garments in the Kall style.”
He wanted to give her more dresses? Her pulse skittered.
She knew enough about Kall culture to know a master didn’t usually provide his slave, or his prisoner—whatever she was to him at this point—with such beautiful clothing.
She also knew that Kall males didn’t usually vocalize their apologies. Getting a Kall male to say ‘I’m sorry’ was like pulling teeth.
Instead of coming out and saying they were sorry about something, they tended to bestow gifts upon those they had wronged.
Was that what he was doing? Apologizing to her with more gifts?
“I-I do appreciate having an extra outfit, General Zamek. This was… kind of you.” Her face had to be bright red by now. She couldn’t stop flushing.
His fingers brushed over her cheek, his touch bordering on sensual. A growl rumbled up from deep in his chest. A growl of desire. She’d heard him make such noises around her before and there was no mistaking it now.
He shifted closer and the bulge of his hardness poked at her stomach. In response to his nearness and his touch, her core erupted in a blaze of pulsing heat. She pressed her legs close together. As a Kall male with heightened senses, he would likely be able to smell her arousal, a prospect that left her trembling with nervousness. Hiding her attraction to him wouldn’t be easy. Hell, it would be near impossible.
