Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
I was certain of that.
TWENTY-TWO
ELLI
Sir finished putting the bandages on my face and then stripped the clear raincoat thing over my head. Laying it to one side, he lifted me and took me into the bathroom.
“You don’t always have to carry me everywhere, you know,” I pointed out as he put me down in the tub, which immediately began to fill with pale blue not-water. “I have two legs—I can walk.”
“It pleases me to carry you,” Sir said, one corner of his mouth twitching up slightly. “And the more contact we have, the stronger our bond will grow.”
I sighed.
“So I’m going to be the human equivalent of one of those spoiled little dogs whose owners carry them everywhere?”
I thought of how Great Aunt Maizy refused to even go to the grocery store without one of her “babies” tucked under her arm. They mostly behaved, just lying limply under her arm—another accessory like an expensive handbag or a pair of designer shoes. I didn’t want to think of myself like that—I was better than Princess Prissy, damn it! Even though it seemed I had been reduced to her level.
“I will carry you in the ship to bond with you and on any alien worlds where there is danger,” Sir told me. “But if it is safe, you will be allowed to walk on your leash.” He gave me a stern look. “As long as you promise not to cut it again.”
“I promise,” I said indignantly. “I said I’d stay with you until we meet the Sovereign, didn’t I? Besides, my one attempt to get away ended in disaster.”
“I could have told you it would,” Sir remarked. “F’too’sh Beta is a dangerous place. It’s one reason I was trying to keep an eye on you before I foolishly let myself get distracted.”
“Oh, that’s right,” I said. “You never did get me a pet bed, did you? Does…” I swallowed hard. “Does that mean I have to sleep in the crate? Is that part of my, uh, punishment for trying to run away?”
“I am not going to punish you, little one,” Sir rumbled. “I understand your motivations for trying to go now, just as you understand my motivations in choosing to take you in the first place. We will start on a clean page and move forward from there.”
“Oh, good!” I felt a wave of relief wash over me as the not-water lapped at my sides. “So then…I don’t have to sleep in the crate?” I clarified, wanting to be sure.
“You’ll be sleeping with me, every night cycle,” Sir said firmly. “I will instruct my candalla not to penetrate you and come in you,” he added, casting a glance at his tail, which was waving beside him in an interested way, as it watched me get my bath.
“Um, thank you,” I said. I would have preferred to sleep in my own bed, but sharing the vast sleeping platform was so much better than being crammed into the crate, I felt both relieved and grateful.
“You’re more than welcome, little one.” He gave me another one-sided smile. “I’m only doing it to grow the bond between us, of course. I normally prefer to sleep alone. Well…” He rolled up the sleeves of his crisp white shirt and knelt beside the tub. “I think the cleansing liquid is high enough. Let’s get you bathed, shall we?”
“Okay,” I said, feeling a mixture of resignation and desire. I shouldn’t want to let him touch my naked body, but I couldn’t help the butterflies that were suddenly taking off in my stomach.
To distract myself from the sexual tension I was suddenly feeling, I leaned forward and tapped twice on the side of the tub to see if I could get the little golden faucet that dispensed soap to appear.
To my excitement and satisfaction, it did! The side of the tub parted and let it out, just as it did when Sir tapped for it.
“Oh, it worked!” I exclaimed, smiling at the little golden faucet. But when I looked up, Sir was frowning.
“How did you do that?” he asked.
“I just did what you always do,” I said, shrugging. “Tap twice, right? Isn’t that the code?”
He shook his head.
“There is no ‘code.’ This ship is tuned to my mind only—it shouldn’t respond to anyone else.”
“Oh, uh, sorry.” I shrugged again uneasily, wondering if he was going to blast me. “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do it.”
“It’s all right—I’m not angry with you, little one.” He sighed and ran a hand over his hair and horns. “Gods, I wish you hadn’t seen me using my Mental Abilities back at the spaceport. Now you’re frightened every minute that I’ll hurt you with my mind, when nothing could be further from the truth!”
“You know I’m scared of you? Are you reading my mind?” I asked suspiciously.