Chapter Six

Chapter 6

“I MADE THIS FOR YOU.”

Sofia’s heart raced as she presented the painting to Braax after he arrived home from work one day.

As the weeks had gone by, she’d gravitated less towards the vicious reds and blacks, the swirling voids that covered the canvases stacked on her studio table. Without really planning, her paintings had turned into some sort of series, one that started with harsh brutality and morphed into something peaceful.

This one was an abstract piece with swirling pinks and lavenders which perhaps could appear to represent her and her husband in some sort of way. She had let it come to her, as she always did with her personal art, and was pleasantly surprised at the result.

Now she trembled slightly, her nerves tingling as she held the canvas out to him. Why was she so embarrassed? It was just a painting, something she did to pass the time while he was away. If he interpreted the gift—the eddies of colors whirling to become one—as more than just kindness, that was on him.

“Sofia,” he murmured, glowing eyes scanning the curves and undulations of her brushstrokes. “It’s beautiful.”

Braax took it out of her hands, continuing to observe the painting as a smile curled his lips. “I love it.”

Her face burned, pink flushing her cheeks at the compliment. And why did her heart flutter ever so slightly at the word love ?

He held the painting against a wall, the smile not leaving his draconic face.

“What about putting it here?”

“Oh, you don’t have to put it up. I know it doesn’t really go with the style of your home,” Sofia replied shyly.

“Nonsense! It’s perfect. We’ll put it here.”

Braax was adamant, giving her a wink.

A few minutes later, the painting hung from the wall, actually looking quite nice against the light gray. As if it truly belonged in the home.

He had his arms wrapped around her, embracing her from behind as they both observed the painting.

A whisper in her ear prickled the sensitive skin of her neck.

“Will you make me more, my beautiful wife? I would love to fill this wall with your art.”

A knot caught in her throat, and she coughed to clear it.

“Oh, sure, yes, I can make more. I’m glad you like it.”

“Your paintings must have made many people happy on Earth.”

Sofia snorted a laugh.

“Everyone except my ex-husband. He hated my art.”

Shit. The words had slipped out so easily, and she felt an almost imperceptible tightening of Braax’s embrace. She had never mentioned Greyson before, had only talked about her life on Earth where it didn’t pertain to her ex.

She squirmed around to face him, needing to see his expression. He still gripped her waist, her palms pressing against his warm chest.

“Your ex-husband?”

His brows furrowed, eyes narrowing to slits as he gazed down at her.

She laughed nervously.

“Uh, yeah. Greyson. He was a real dick. Said I should focus on realism, something that required real talent .”

The words still caused a welling of emotion in her chest, and yes, this time she definitely felt him squeeze her tighter. A low growl rumbled through his body, vibrating Sofia as he held her.

“So, that is why you signed up for the agency,” he mused.

“I guess so…” she started, the words tumbling out easier than they should have. “He cheated on me. Claimed it was because I couldn’t give him a baby like he wanted, that it was my fault.”

Why the hell was she telling him all this? Things she’d told no one, not even the divorce lawyer. It had been too embarrassing, too raw, and now here she was spilling all to Braax.

A fanged scowl marred his face as another grumble in his chest made her body quiver.

“I think I would like to meet this Greyson some day.”

Sofia let out a nervous chuckle, surprised by his response.

“And why is that?”

“I would like to teach him the proper way to treat a wife,” he said, his scowl curling into a wicked grin. “ And I would like to bite his head off.”

Now she laughed in earnest, the image of her ex-husband headless pleasing her more than it should have. Hypothetically, of course.

Braax pressed a kiss to her lips, never releasing his grip as she sunk further into his embrace. Perhaps it was nice to have a small weight lifted from her, though Sofia still kept her cloud firmly in place, guarding her even as her husband held her.

“I have a surprise for you tonight,” Braax said, as they ate dinner at the kitchen table one evening.

Sofia quirked a brow, recalling the last surprise , the one where he tied her to their bed and pleasured her until she couldn’t remember her own name. Her expression must have told him all he needed to know, because he chuckled.

“Not that kind of surprise, naughty wife, though something along those lines can be arranged. But only after.”

They finished their meal quickly, her mind racing with the possibilities of what a surprise could entail. A sudden jolt of panic shot through her, wondering if he was taking her to meet his family today. But no, he wouldn’t spring something like that on her without telling her first.

With their dishes put away, he escorted her to the hovercar, a fanged grin alighting his face. It was contagious; her smile beaming through the window as the suns set in the distance.

They headed back into the city, amorphous sky scrapers swelling until they towered over the hovercars gliding between them. No matter how many times she asked, Braax refused to tell her where they were going, which was both frustrating and endearing.

Eventually, he found a place to park, and they set off down the elevated sidewalk.

The noises of the city surrounded them, ones that Sofia had once been so used to that now seemed like a strange cacophony. Hovercars honking, a siren ringing in the distance, the ambient buzz of the millions who called the city home. Orbed lights blinked on as darkness washed over the streets.

“Here we are,” Braax said as he came to a stop outside a sleek shop.

The sign above read Evelyn’s Odyssey Art Space .

A gallery. Sofia’s heart raced, memories of her life on Earth flooding her as she peered through the brightly lit windows. He gave her hand a squeeze, a gentle smile on his face.

“I thought you might enjoy the exhibit. I know you worked at a place like this, yes?”

She nodded, her mouth dry as he escorted her into the gallery. She had spent countless hours at Nexus Gallery on Earth, commissions from her own art not enough to survive the increasing rent prices. It wasn’t a job she’d disliked, but she much preferred working on her own projects than dealing with ritzy customers.

Instrumental music filled the small space, hums and buzzes which tingled Sofia’s skin like someone was whispering in her ear, but she couldn’t quite make out the words. The walls were blank, the current exhibit a series of sculptures set on white pillars that dotted the central area.

As they walked towards one of them, the green amorphous blob hovering atop it shifted, morphing into a solid ball with rippling rings surrounding it. There was a glint of shine to the piece, like it was made of some sort of liquid metal, and the way the blob coiled and morphed left her in awe.

They moved about the gallery silently, Sofia examining each piece, noting the colors and forms.

A voice echoed through the space, taking her attention away from the purple blob swirling in front of her.

“ Sculptures of Sentience . The material is a living metal which responds to the emotions of the viewers, shifting to reflect the collective mood of its audience.”

A woman made her way over to them, black heels clicking against the tiled floor. A human woman. It was the first she had seen on the planet, and her mouth gaped. The woman was lovely, with long, dark hair, a perfectly made-up face, and a sleek black dress.

She walked right up, hand outstretched, a manicured smile on her face.

“Evelyn Graham. I own the gallery. And you must be Sofia. It’s lovely to meet you.”

Sofia took her hand, eyeing Braax warily.

“Braax has told me all about you. You paint, yes? I’m always looking for new artists to exhibit, in both traditional and experimental mediums. I’d love to check out some of your work sometime, see if we can set up a future exhibition. The next few months are already booked, but I have an open schedule starting this spring.”

Sofia understood all the words this woman was saying, but comprehension still evaded her. What did Evelyn mean? Looking for new artists? Future exhibition?

“Oh, yes, I paint. Sometimes.”

Evelyn nodded, hooking an arm around hers and guiding her away from her husband. She shot him a glance, but focused back on the woman as she spoke.

“Braax sent me a holophoto of the one you made for him. I’d be interested in seeing more of your work if you’d like to send me what you’ve got.”

“Yes, um, I could send you more. But I wasn’t intending on showing them—”

“Nonsense!” Evelyn interrupted, patting Sofia’s elbow with her free hand. “It would be an honor to host your first exhibition on Olara 8. And it’s always great to meet another human. There aren’t many of us around here.”

First , as if there would be more than one.

Sofia let the words sink in as Evelyn took her around the gallery, telling her more about the Hileth who had created the sculptures.

“Is Evelyn one of the humans you bedded ?”

Braax smiled as they stood outside the gallery hand in hand, though his mouth twitched ever so slightly.

“She is… I am sorry, Sofia. I should have told you before I introduced you. We had a casual relationship for a few months many years back, but it never went anywhere. I did not think—”

Sofia shushed him, placing a hand on his scaled chest. “It’s alright, really. She seems nice.”

He gave her a relieved grin, pulling her into a tight hug. Evelyn had been more than nice, treating her like an old friend, even as she went over the fine print of a gallery exhibition.

“She is nice,” he agreed, though his voice was tentative.

“And pretty,” she added, unable to bite her tongue as her cheek pressed against warm scales.

“Pretty, yes, though no one will ever be as lovely as my beautiful wife.”

Sofia had never been the jealous type—had even been in a polyamorous relationship with two people before she got married—but her mind felt warped by Greyson’s infidelity. She hated the creeping suspicion that coiled through her like a dark shadow, but it was impossible to deny its presence.

Still, his words were comforting, and she had sensed nothing but kindness coming from Evelyn, no lingering tension like she had belatedly recognized between Greyson and her former best friend.

“Will you consider Evelyn’s offer?” Braax asked quietly, pulling away from the hug so he could gaze down at her.

Sofia pushed aside the emotion clenching her chest, threatening to burst her protective cloud. An exhibition in a gallery, a posh one on an alien planet at that. It was something she had never dreamed of, the last few years of her life consumed with marital woes and infertility.

Dealing with treatment and surgery and the intense depression that went along with so many failed cycles had stalled her creative output, had made it difficult to focus on anything other than surviving.

But perhaps having a new goal would be beneficial, something wholly focused on her own effort. Something she could control.

“I’ll think about it.”

Braax beamed, squeezing her into another hug and planting a chaste kiss on the top of her head.

“I am so happy to hear that. Your artwork deserves to be shared, seen by all.”

The words warmed her like his assurances always did, and Sofia let herself dream, at least for the time being.