He stopped in front of me and crossed his thick arms. “You wish to speak to me?” Although he’d spoken Vandar earlier, he now spoke the universal tongue flawlessly.
My heart raced as the Vandar towered over me, looking every bit as menacing as the raiders who’d been rushing toward battle. He didn’t have an axe hanging by his side, but the knife in his hand looked equally deadly.
I drew in a breath and squared my shoulders. “I would like to use your kitchens.”
His dark eyes narrowed, but before he could speak, I added, “I wish to make something special for the Raas. As a gift.”
He slid his gaze to Baru and then back to me. “You are a cook?”
“I bake. Mostly breads and sweets.” I steadied my breath and slowed my words before I rambled on. “I would like to make a special dessert for the Raas as a thank you.”
The cook eyed me with suspicion. “Is this some sort of human mating ritual.”
I wanted to balk that I was not trying to mate with the Raas, but I stilled my tongue. Even a surly cook wouldn’t want to stand in the way of his Raas mating. “It is. I wish to prepare a special mating dish.”
Baru shifted next to me, either uncomfortable that I was lying or uncomfortable that I wasn’t.
The Vandar cook grunted. “You may have one stove, and you must stay out of my way. I still have hungry raiders to feed.”
I stifled a satisfied grin, nodding instead. “Thank you. I’m sure the Raas will be grateful, as well.”
He gave me a quick once-over but didn’t smile. Maybe he didn’t understand why the Raas would be interested in mating with a female like me. If so, he wasn’t the only one.
It’s only because you can break his curse, I reminded myself.
I doubted very much that a gorgeous, powerful Raas would willfully choose a shy human with too many curves and no experience.
I pushed those thoughts away. Despite what I’d told the cook, I wasn’t here to whip up an aphrodisiac as a part of a human mating ritual. As far as I knew, there weren’t human mating rituals, at least none that required special foods. Then again, mating wasn’t ever discussed on my home world so what did I know?
Mating ritual or not, I was going to fix something special for the Raas. Something that would let him know that I was grateful for his kindness. It wouldn’t make up for what I refused to give him, but it would be better than nothing, right?
I turned to Baru. “Where are the flour and sugar?”
Chapter Nineteen
Vassim
My shoulder twinged as I pressed the panel to open the door to my quarters. It had been a valiant raiding battle, but the frequency with which we were boarding imperial ships was giving me little time to recuperate between battles. I welcomed a soak in the mineral waters to heal my aches.
When the door slid open, I breathed in an unexpected scent. Instead of the faint perfume drifting in from the bathing chamber, the air was sweet and yeasty. I stepped inside and let the doors shut behind me, scanning the room and locking on Juliette sitting next to the table.
“You’re awake.” I’d been on back-to-back raiding missions, so I wasn’t sure how many watch cycles had passed, or if I should be sleeping or waking. The Gerwyn was curled up on one of the cushions, appearing almost like a round, furry pillow himself.
“I waited up for you.”
My heart rate, which had just recently slowed from its fighting pace, quickened at the sight of her, pale curls spilling over her shoulders, the gossamer blue dress clinging by thin straps. The last time I’d seen her, she’d made it clear that she couldn’t be what I wanted her to be. So what was this?
“I wanted to thank you,” she continued, the words spilling from her in a nervous rush. “For my gift.”
She stayed awake to thank me for the Gerwyn. My excitement faded as I shed my shoulder armor and belt, then hooked my battle axe on the stand and kicked off my boots. “You owe me no thanks.”
I took long steps to the bathing chamber, not glancing at her again. I should not have returned to my quarters. It was too painful to be around her and know that she had no desire to be with me. I would bathe and leave, keeping myself awake in the canteen, or perhaps the battle ring, instead of using the devices in my quarters. “Go to sleep, Juliette. You should not have stayed awake for me.”
When I reached the bathing pools, I dropped my kilt and stepped into the green water, the minerals tingling as I submerged myself to my chin. I leaned my head against the stone ledge and stretched my arms across it, letting my body float and my muscles uncoil. Soaking in the waters with my eyes closed, I could almost forget the human female in the other room who would not be mine.
When water splashed across my face, I spluttered and sat up, wiping my face and blinking. Juliette stood on the edge of the pool with her hands on her hips and one foot dripping wet.
“Are you always this unappreciative, or is being a jerk just a Vandar thing?” Her eyes blazed as she stared at me.
“What are you talking about?”
She waved an arm toward the other room. “I’m talking about the fact that I made you a gift to thank you for giving me Furb, and you didn’t even look at it. You just stomped into your bath and ignored me.”
I scraped a hand through my damp hair, trying to decipher her angry torrent of words. “You made me a gift?”
Pink mottled her cheeks, and she folded her arms tightly across her chest without responding.
I’d lived my
