Chapter 25

I woke with a moan. My mouth was bone dry, and my head throbbed angrily.

“Are you dying?” a voice asked.

“Yes.” It felt like I was. Kal forcefully shifted me onto my back, which made me snap, “Fuck.”

He hovered over me. “Do we need to go to the medbay?”

“I’m joking, obviously.” When Kal opened his mouth, I covered it with my fingers. “No talking. Please.”

He got out of bed. I automatically reached for him, but he didn’t see. He set a glass of water on the nightstand before disappearing into the bathroom. When he came back, I forced myself upright. Kal sat on the edge of the bed, then he wiped my face with a cool cloth.

I couldn’t remember the last time someone took care of me. It probably hadn’t been since my mother had died.

Kal draped the damp cloth over my eyes. His mouth pressed against my ear, and he asked in a low voice, “Is that better?”

I nodded, tears prickling the backs of my eyes.

“Drink your water. NAID says hydration is the key to curing hangovers for humans,” he said, breath tickling my ear.

I blindly reached for the cup. Kal placed the glass in my hand, and I took a sip. My stomach protested, but I swallowed the bile. I would not vomit on Kal. I would never recover from that level of embarrassment.

With the towel over my face, I drank my water, and Kal sat next to me, his tail securely wrapped around my ankle. I patted the bed until I connected with him. My fingers ran down his arm, his scales scraping my palm, then took his hand.

I couldn’t remember much about last night. There was a lot of laughter, Urgg and Wyn singing, and more laughter. The commander made an appearance, but I didn’t recall more than him rolling his eyes as Captain Talvax led Urgg out of the mess hall. The main thing I remembered was having fun.

“What?” Kal asked.

I tugged his hand to my chest. “Last night was fun.”

“I’m glad, though you might not want to drink so much next time.”

“Urgg started it.”

He snickered.

“Don’t laugh, please,” I begged because every sound was a hot poker to my skull. When he grew silent, I straightened, the towel sliding down. I glanced at Kal to make sure I hadn’t hurt his feelings.

He kissed my temple before putting the cloth back. “I”m fine, Mate.”

Eventually, Kal left to feed Lucy, who’d screeched repeatedly for her breakfast. He refilled my water cup when it was empty and re-moistened the towel. When I finished my second cup of water, I laid down, and Kal settled beside me. I snaked my arms around his waist and burrowed against his back. This close, I could hear a deep thrum. The sound was different from the thump of a human heart, but it had to be Kal’s heart. I liked it. A lot.

When my headache dimmed, my stomach growled in hunger.

“What do you want to eat?” Kal asked.

“Nothing.”

He released a breathy laugh. For whatever reason, Kal was in a very good mood this morning. “How about bread?”

“Fine, but you can’t move.”

Kal chuckled again. He rolled over in my embrace. “Why don’t you clean your teeth, then we’ll both eat?”

My breath must be absolute shit. I started to shift back, but Kal held me fast, his body flush against mine. His lips hovered over my mouth. “Can I kiss you?”

“You probably don’t want to.”

“Not true.” Kal waited, his lips right above mine. I nodded, and our lips molded together. The pressure was soft and the pace was achingly slow.

He whispered, “I will always want to kiss you.”

Scary thing, I was pretty sure I would always want to kiss him.

I entered the cafeteria alone, though Kal had promised to join me when he finished with Pimtimzol. Drakcol filled the space, and the lively conversation hummed. I searched the crowd for a familiar face. Urgg was supposed to be here. Instead, I spotted Wyn, who had his head on the table.

“Are you still hungover?” I asked, sitting next to him.

“No.”

“Then what’s wrong with you?”

He hit his head against the table with a thud. “I puked on Commander Monqilcolnen.”

“What?”

“I puked on him. Three times. I didn’t remember, but he sent me a note this morning to remind me,” Wyn said in a thick voice. “I’m never going to be able to look at him again.”

“Three times?” I asked, swallowing the laughter that threatened to erupt.

Wyn released a strangled sound and hit his head on the table again. I awkwardly patted his back, unsure if it would help, but he didn’t stop making the noise.

When Kal arrived, he raised an eyebrow. “Does this have to do with you puking on Monqilcolnen?”

“He told you?” Wyn asked.

“I saw the first time. Thankfully, I missed the second and third times.”

A strangled cry came from Wyn, and I said, glaring at Kal, “You’re not helping.”

“I wasn’t trying to.”

Wyn sat up but froze when he saw Kal, then inclined his head, exposing his throat. “Prince Kalvoxrencol, I didn’t realize it was yourself.”

“My mate wanted to eat dinner in the canteen, so I’m joining him.”

I dragged Kal down next to me, and his tail curled around my ankle. “Your cousin didn’t talk about it that much did he?”

“He did, unfortunately, in great detail. He related it to the entire command crew, multiple times.”

Wyn’s shoulders slumped and his tail curled around his calf. “I’m going to have to be reassigned to another ship. Everyone’s going to call me pukey or something.”

“They won’t,” I lied.

Urgg clapped Wyn’s back. “Ensign Puke, how are you feeling?”

“I told you,” he whispered before fleeing.

“What?” they asked. “Everyone’s calling him that. The story of him puking on Commander Monqilcolnen is going to be legendary. I would love to be so lucky.”

“I don’t think that’s going to comfort him,” I said.

Urgg flopped down across from us.

Kal took my hand and drew my attention away from where Wyn had disappeared. His thumb traced over my knuckles, which sent shivers up my spine. I squeezed his fingers, but my eyes went back to the door. Should I chase after Wyn? We hadn’t known each other very long and he probably wouldn’t want my comfort. I didn’t even know what I would say.

Captain Talvax joined us. She caressed Urgg’s jaw. In turn, Urgg placed a sloppy kiss on her fingers.

Kal pressed my palm flat against his thigh and smoothed his hand over mine, so my fingers spread over his leg before turning it over so my knuckles pressed into him. Slowly, he began to follow the lines in my palm.

I swallowed. His fingertip crested the outside of my fingers. Warmth rushed to my cheeks, and he grinned. “I love your blush, my Mate.”

“I see we’re not the only ones getting along,” Captain Talvax remarked, making me jump.

“Of course not,” Kal said.

Changing the subject, I asked, “Did you really eat the heart Urgg proposed with?”

“I did,” she said.

“It was glorious.” Urgg squeezed Talvax with a brawny, tattooed arm.

“I don’t think I’ve heard that story,” Kal said.

Immediately, Urgg launched into the epic tale as we ate. Not great dinner conversation, but watching Urgg’s enthusiasm and the way Talvax stared at her mate was enjoyable. They were so different, yet they were obviously happy.

Once Urgg finished, I asked Talvax, “You and Kal were at Takzil?”

“We were,” she said before taking a sip of her drink.

“Were you there, Urgg?”

They belched before scratching at their bulging stomach. “No. Talvax was still fleeing from me at that point. She came to me after they colonized Takzil.”

Kal stared at the table, gripping my hand. I tugged on him and flashed him a bright smile to let him know everything was okay.

Shifting back to Talvax, who watched us with narrowed eyes, I asked, “You two became friends there?”

“I have known Kalvoxrencol his entire life. I’m friends with his parents, but when I was assigned to Takzil and Kalvoxrencol was entrusted to me, we became friends.”

“Entrusted?” That was an odd word to pick. It might have been NAID’s translation, but I didn’t know for sure.

Silence prevailed.

Kal clutched me and his tail was firmly wrapped around my ankle like he feared I would run away. Talvax studied Kal while occasionally glancing at me. Urgg refused to meet my gaze and clamped their lips closed, wiggling in their seat. They clearly knew what was wrong, but Urgg wasn’t going to spill any secrets.

“Me and mine should be going,” Talvax said. Urgg patted me, managing to not send me sprawling this time. Talvax squeezed Kal’s arm before heading toward the door with her tail coiled around Urgg’s wrist.

“Kal?” I asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Kal pulled me to my feet, and we left.

As soon as we stepped inside our apartment, Lucy rushed toward us, meowing. “She’s hungry,” I said.

“I’ll feed her.”

I sat down on the couch and watched Kal as he readied Lucy’s food. He didn’t want to talk about a lot, which I understood, but I wished he would open up. Movements jerky, he set the bowl down, then sat beside me.

He didn’t say anything and neither did I. Kal pressed his forehead against my shoulder. I sighed and brushed his hair, massaging his scalp. “I’m not mad.”

Kal nuzzled me.

My thoughts whirled. I didn’t know how to help him. I should. We were married, sort of, though we’d basically been married since the first time I’d seen him. But it was different now. I liked Kal. Shouldn’t I be able to help him? Show him I liked him without necessarily saying the words.

A sudden idea popped into my head, and I wiggled out of his embrace.

“What?” he asked.

“Stay right there.” I rushed into my room and snatched something. “Close your eyes.”

His eyes instantly closed.

As I approached, Kal’s head cocked to the side, listening to my movements. I stood before him, and he opened his legs so I could press against him. Carefully, I draped the gold chain over his neck, then tugged his hair out from beneath it.

“Open your eyes.”

Kal brushed the rough-cut amethyst. “What’s this?”

“I found this on…” I blanked on the name, and continued, “That watery, Petty, planet, something, and it reminded me of you.”

He crushed me against him.

“Married people give each other gifts on my planet, though I should’ve given you a ring.”

“Married?”

“We don’t have mates like you do. We don’t mate for life.”

His eyes widened.

“Some stay together forever,” I said in a rush. “But when we want to show our bond, we get married.” At least some people did, but I didn’t want to make this confusing for him. “You would be my husband.”

He tried the word a few times, then said, looking directly at me, “Husband.”

My heart sputtered. I pressed a hard kiss to his lips, unable to stop myself. After a moment, I whispered, “I know you don’t like talking about everything, and you don’t have to, but I’m here whenever you want to.”

Seth slept in my arms, snoring, and Lucy was curled up on my hip, making me stay in the same position so I wouldn’t break the cultural law of Earth. I’d watched the entire episode of the cooking show, but he’d fallen asleep within two minutes of an episode of Star Trek.

Once again, I was struck with a sense of peace and wholeness. I wanted this, and I was beginning to think Seth did as well—if his gift that hung around my neck meant anything. It was a tangible connection between us—one I would never take it off.

My thoughts flashed back to my father. Instinctively, my arms tightened around Seth. I would not let anyone take him away from me. Seth was mine.

Seth grunted, stirring. “Babe, are you alright?”

I had no idea what “babe” meant, though it didn’t sound like a bad thing. NAID gave me the words infant and child before switching back to the human word, but that didn’t seem to fit his soft tone.

“I’m well.”

He sleepily muttered, “Go to sleep, Babe.”

I snuggled close, breathing in his scent.