She nodded, concealing a smirk.
“I’m going to go make sure she’s alright,” he said while continuing to back away. “I’ll meet you back here at twenty-eight b.h.”
Ziri waved him away, gaze already scanning the room, assessing his choices.
When Verakko reached Lily’s room, he heard a barrage of angry whispering. He slid the door open, and she spun. Before he had a chance to tell her how beautiful she looked in her spa gown, she was hissing at him. “How could you not tell me she was coming!”
“I—”
“Why is she even here?”
“Last—”
“Oh my God, she saw me in your shirt, and I feel so bad and—”
“Lily!”
“What?” she yelled, advancing on him.
“I was going to tell you this morning, but she got here earlier than expected.”
Lily huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away from him.
He stepped closer to her, but she refused to meet his eyes. “I knew I’d never be able to convince you she feels nothing for me. I also thought you might doubt whatever I tell you because I’m biased. The only person you’d trust is her.”
Lily’s lips pursed, a sign she was coming around. He gripped her chin and angled her head to face him.
“Ziri’s the only person in this city, besides my mother, who knows about you and knows that we’re closer than is allowed.”
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to be wandering around. Isn’t that why we snuck up here in the first place?”
Verakko didn’t want to explain, knowing it would once again remind her he wasn’t technically single in the eyes of the law, but he did anyway. “We shouldn’t be seen together. You and I alone, entering my home. But if you’re with Ziri, no one will think twice. We get many visitors from different cities. And no one knows about humans. They’ll assume you’re an off-worlder being shown around by our future queen.”
Lily yanked her head out of his grasp and stepped back. Her eyes remained fiery. “How much can I ask her? What does she know?”
“I assume she suspects we’ve been intimate, but she doesn’t know for sure. And she doesn’t know about my marks. Ask her anything you wish, but be careful not to reveal that we’re mated. I don’t know her well enough to say how she’d react to that news.”
“Fine,” Lily grumbled. “I don’t know how to put the—” she motioned to her neck with aggravated swipes of her hand, “—on.”
“The mokti?” Verakko made quick work of attaching the mokti to her hair again. “This dress is a traditional spa gown.” He caught her eye and saw a glimmer of interest spark to life. Tentatively, he ran his hands down her tense shoulders. “I’ve arranged a full trip to my favorite spa and basin.”
Her gaze flicked to him again, and she bit the inside of her cheek.
Verakko recalled the similar spark of joy in her expression when he’d revealed he had a gift for her. Mentally, he filed away the information. His mate enjoyed gifts. “Remember when we were in the woods and I promised you a trip, on me?” She met his eyes, and he grinned down at her. “Maybe after, I could take you to a bed as you requested.”
Her mouth contorted as she tried to smother her smile. Verakko stepped toward her and pressed a kiss to her unresponsive lips.
“But what if someone calls about Alex? Maybe I should stay.”
“Ziri has a communicator. If I hear anything, I’ll contact you immediately.”
When he looked back down at her, she sighed. “Alright. Let’s get this over with.”
She’d already begun heading to the door when Verakko stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Oh, and Lily, when you’re at the spa, make sure to not book a full-body massage.”
Her brows drew together. “Why?”
Verakko smothered a growl. “Do you have full-body massages on Earth?”
She shrugged. “Yeah.”
He raised a brow and looked pointedly down her body, letting his gaze linger in certain areas. “Full body?”
“Wha—” she sputtered, her eyes growing wide.
Chapter 22
“First, I want to introduce you to some hairstylists on the upper level, and then I think we can go down to the basins. After a soak, we’ll work our way back up through the floors. I’ll stick close by since no one will have your language uploaded yet.”
Lily walked alongside Ziri, but every time she thought of something to say, Ziri started on a new topic. They’d left the building Verakko’s house was in and were now waiting under an oddly lush crop of plants. Lily craned her neck and guessed that the shade provided by the overlapping flat roofs of the buildings allowed for a sort of oasis to exist in the sand below.
The air outside the temperature-controlled building was hot and dry. Although she began to sweat, the moisture from her skin evaporated almost immediately.
“Do you know what services you want done?” Ziri asked.
A large silver ball floated toward them, drawing Lily’s undivided attention. When it didn’t seem like it would veer off course, she hastily stepped away.
“It’s alright, Lily. That cruiser is our ride.”
“Ride?” She cocked her head, legs still tensed.
“All the spas are in the old city.” Ziri pointed off into the distance to a grouping of small buildings. Lily had assumed they were storage facilities of some kind. How could it be a whole city?
The large silver sphere stopped in front of them, and a panel slid open, revealing seating. Once they were both in and seated, she felt a slight lurch. Ziri smiled at her from across the cruiser.
Lily’s gut churned at the kindness she saw seeping from the pretty alien’s gaze. “Ziritha, I need to
