But Raas Vassim had no such qualms. Not that he should. His body looked like it had been sculpted out of stone. My fingertips hummed with the desire to touch the naked skin that was now submerged under the green water. I clasped my hands in front of me and jerked my gaze away, my cheeks burning at the forbidden thoughts flooding my mind. Thoughts I couldn’t have if I was going to get off his ship and back to my home.
I took a step back toward the arched doorway. “I’m going to go and let you bathe.”
“No need.” As swiftly as he’d lowered himself neck deep into the pool, he straightened and stepped out.
Water streamed off his body, pooling on the floor as he strode to the stone pillar covered in buttons. Before I could think to avert my eyes, I noticed that the cut on his back was significantly smaller.
“Your gash,” I said, pointing to the red slash that was already fading to pink. “It’s…”
“Our bathing pools are not only for pleasure.” He stood in front of the black pillar and pressed a button. Air rushed up from the floor, evaporating the remaining water on his body and warming the room a few degrees. He flicked off the air. “They can heal, increase stamina, and elicit the truth.”
I glanced at the vividly hued waters, wondering which color contained which power, aside from the green that could clearly hasten healing. “More magic?”
The Raas shook his head as he walked toward me. “No magic. Only herbs that grew on the home world of Vandar. They are one of the old-world traditions we maintain.”
As fascinated as I was by this knowledge, I was also very aware that he was now standing in front of me wearing nothing. I fought to keep my gaze high and my furious blush under control. “Like your kilts?”
He watched me, a smile teasing the corner of his mouth. “Like our battle kilts and our axes.” He cupped my face in one hand, brushing the pad of his thumb over my scalding cheek. “And our mating marks.”
My heart hammered wildly as he closed the small gap between us, and I bit my bottom lip to keep from gasping when something hard bumped against my stomach.
“Would you like to know how females get our mating marks?” he husked, the rumble of his voice a caress that skimmed across my flesh and made my knees go weak.
I was saved from answering or making a pathetic squeaking noise by the door to his quarters beeping.
Raas Vassim’s molten gaze shuttered, and he stepped back. “Vaes,” he commanded as he strode out of the bathroom. “I have something for you.”
I allowed myself to sag against the counter once he was in the adjoining room as it truly hit me how in over my head I was. Then the boom of the Raas’ voice made me jump.
“Vaes!”
Chapter Fifteen
Vassim
After retrieving a swath of clean fabric from a drawer, I strode to the door. My pulse raced from standing so close to Juliette and witnessing her reaction to me. Her fear was almost completely replaced by arousal, and it was clear she was battling her desire as much as I was. I pushed down my aching cock, trying to think of anything but the female in the next room.
“Vaes!” I called out as the door beeped again.
The metal seam of the arched door opened, and one of my warriors stepped inside holding a squirming ball of golden fluff out as far away from his body as possible. Still, there were abrasions on his chest from the spiky tail that was swinging wildly. “The Gerwyn has been decontaminated, Raas.”
What had seemed like a good idea when we’d found the shipment of exotic pets on the imperial freighter, I now questioned. “You may set it down.”
The warrior lowered it to the floor so quickly, he almost dropped it. The alien creature immediately scampered away from him and toward the sleeping pallets.
“It injured you?” I asked, eyeing the cuts on my raider’s chest.
The warrior didn’t spare them a glance. “Nothing that I noticed, Raas. The beast does use his tail for defense, though. At least his teeth are not sharp.”
I grunted as the puffy animal burrowed itself under a cushion.
“The Zagrath keep these as pets?” the raider who’d delivered him asked.
“Apparently.” The Gerwyn hadn’t been the only animal being shipped to the imperial outpost. From the large number of exotic animals in the hold, I suspected the empire did a bustling trade in unusual pets for its indulged population.
When I’d seen the little animal cowering in its cell, I’d immediately thought of Juliette. At the time, bringing her a gift from the raiding mission had seemed like a gesture worthy of Taan. Now that the alien pet was in my quarters, however, it seemed impulsive and foolish. I didn’t even know if the human liked animals.
Juliette emerged from the bathing chamber, her cheeks less pink than they had been. When she spotted me by the door with one of my raiders, her brow furrowed in curiosity.
My raider clicked his heels together when Juliette appeared. “If there is nothing else you require, Raas?”
I dismissed him and scanned the space for the Gerwyn.
“Is everything okay?” Juliette asked.
Folding the fabric around my waist down a few times so it wouldn’t slip, I beckoned her to the pallets. “I have something for you.”
She hesitated, her gaze dipping below my waist.
I quickly crossed my hands over my bulge. “That is not it.”
She didn’t look convinced, so I dug around
