“Come on then.” She turned around and led the way into her house. I had to duck under the doorframe but was pleased to discover I could stand within without danger of banging my head as long as I stayed away from the fan moving in slow circles on the ceiling.
Quinn closed and locked the door, then pushed some buttons on a small panel on the wall, which I assumed was part of her locking process. I noted this with approval. She was not careless about her safety.
Her home had white walls with striking paintings of nature scenes. I didn’t know what part of Earth they depicted, but they were colorful and bold, just like their owner. There was no clutter, which I appreciated since my large frame could easily break anything extraneous. Her quarters were large for one person, so different from life on The Colony, but even more so on a battleship. Along the entire back wall of her sitting room was an array of windows, each shielded with white coverings. She could not see out. I had no idea if her house was unusual in any way for a human, so I held my tongue.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Follow me.”
I walked behind her as she led me to a small bathing room. She bent down, her curved ass before me a nearly irresistible temptation, and pulled two towels from one of the shelves. She tossed one at my chest and lifted the other to wipe gently at her hair. “Here. You’re soaked, and I do not have anything in this house that would fit you.”
“I will dry.”
That made her laugh, and I delighted at the sparkle that came to her eyes. “Not here, you won’t. It’s one hundred percent humidity right now. You’ll be soaked all night.”
“I will endure.”
She rolled her eyes. “Enough with this tough-guy act, okay? Just take off your shirt at least. I’ll get you a blanket.”
Was my mate asking me to disrobe because she was concerned that my clothing was wet? Or was this a female plot to inspect her potential mate before making a decision about whether or not to accept him? I did not know, but my body was covered in scars. If she could not accept me, perhaps it would be best to discover it now.
She lifted her hand and waved her slender fingers at me. “Come on. I’ll throw your shirt in the dryer. Off.”
Reaching behind the back of my neck, I tugged the shirt over my head. She grabbed for it without looking, her gaze locked on the worst of my scars, a jagged diagonal one that reached from shoulder to mid-abdomen.
She stared and stared some more. Frozen. “Did the Hive do that?” she asked, her voice nothing more than a whisper. “I mean, is that why you were sent from The Colony?”
“No. I am scarred from the shrapnel from a cargo ship that crashed,” I explained. “I was transported from The Colony, but that was not my home. I was never captured by the Hive like Wulf or Braun. Integrated, yes, but not by our enemy.”
“I thought you alien guys had magic healing pods or something.” She was shaking now, so I took the towel she had given me and leaned closer, raised the soft rectangle of fabric to her cheek. Stroked her skin with the drying cloth and wished I were touching her with my fingertips. She wasn’t pushing me away, so I began to dry her pale skin. An excellent start.
“We do. The ship I was on was shot down, and I was injured on impact. I was on the asteroid for too long after I was injured without medical intervention, even a fully functioning ReGen wand. The scars became permanent. The doctors offered to surgically reopen my wounds and strip me of my scars, but I did not feel the need. A decision I now regret.”
“Why” She looked truly confused. “That sounds terrible. Having them cut you up all over.”
“Had I agreed to the procedure, I would not be so scarred. I have a beast within me, but to you, I must look like a monster as well.” When she still did not stop me, I dried her opposite cheek, her forehead. Her lips. My beast was pleased I could take care of our mate with the simplest of actions. “I have scars all over my body. Do they frighten you? Do I scare you?”
“What?” She blinked, slowly, as if coming out of a daze, and I was shocked to find the small bathing room flooded with the scent of feminine arousal. “No. God no. I have known guys who are total assholes, Bahre. You are not one of them.”
“You are safe with me. I am a warlord and honorable. I would die before I hurt you in any way. I would die before I let anyone else harm you as well. As I said, you are mine to protect.”
Quinn blushed once again and wouldn’t meet my eyes. She took my wet shirt and ducked away from the towel I’d been using to touch her, taking a step back, putting too much distance between us. “I’ll… I’ll get this in the dryer. Go ahead and sit on the couch. I’ll grab a blanket out of the closet.”
I obeyed her order, turning to walk back the way I had come. The scent of her wet heat was a balm to my warlord’s soul. Proof that her words were not a lie. She was not disgusted by my scars, but she had not accepted my claim either. I was a fighter and very familiar with a mission. This was one I would win, but I had much work ahead of me in seducing my beautiful mate.
5
Quinn
If I didn’t move, like right now, I was going to run after him and jump on his broad back.
He was scarred. Everywhere. Or at least everywhere I
