Chapter 11

Although Veda didn't much care to be bossed around, Traze's possessiveness sparked something in her. It was oddly sexy the way he plucked her out of the pond.

And though he was being demanding, Veda knew it was only out of a desire to protect her. She could appreciate that… though that didn't mean she wouldn't be a bit sassy about it.

Veda, still soaking wet, crossed her arms as Traze stared at her.

"Are you going to just stand there and watch me as I change?" Veda asked.

"Yes, that is exactly what I am going to do."

Veda rolled her eyes and started to get dressed. Truth be told, she didn't much care if Traze saw her naked. The others she was less enthusiastic about, but she wanted Traze to eye her. She wanted to be desirable to him… Even if she could never actually have him.

Veda dressed slowly and deliberately, accentuating what she knew were her most flattering body parts. She could've sworn Traze noticed, and he eyed her seductively.

As soon as she was dressed, he picked her up once again and started making his way back to the hold. If the seers were following, Veda couldn't really tell. It had become darker, and Traze was walking so fast that the other Aterans were no longer directly behind him.

As Traze walked, Veda's body bounced steadily in his arms. She had her arms wrapped around his neck with her breasts pressed up against him. She could feel her nipples getting sensitive against the hard scales of his skin. They had become hard after getting wet and were then stimulated by the cold wind. And then, of course, her shirt was also wet because Traze had insisted she get dressed while she was still soaked. So she could feel his scales against her a lot easier than she had on their way to the pond.

Veda never imagined that this was something Traze would notice, but he looked down at her in confusion.

"What?" she asked.

"Why have the circles of your breasts hardened?"

Once again, Veda blushed wildly.

"I, uh, it's just… It's just a reaction to the cold." Veda tried to brush off the question.

"Just the cold?" he asked.

"Yes… Just the cold."

But it was more than that, and she knew it. She was intensely attracted to Traze and every moment she spent with him made that attraction grow.

They made it back to the hold a lot quicker than it had taken to get to the pond. Traze took her straight to the room where she'd been sleeping and set her down at the end of the bed, looking frustrated.

"I don't get it, what has you all annoyed? It was your idea for me to get one more healing session in."

"Yes, I know, but…" Traze let his sentence trail off.

"But what?"

"But I was not expecting everyone to stare at you the way they did. I didn't like it. I didn't want it to continue."

"Why, though? Why would you care if anyone stares at me?"

"I… don't know," Traze told her.

Veda stared at him. His jaw was tense, his muscles bulging. Despite knowing it was impossible, Veda truly felt that Traze had an interest in her, and it turned her on. She could feel her pussy tingling as she thought of being intimate with him…

Traze looked around in confusion, smelling the air.

"What? What is it?" Veda asked.

Traze extended his tongue to taste the air. Veda watched as his forked tongue moved to explore. It was so long, so thick, she wondered what it would feel like against her pussy…

"It's you," Traze announced.

"What's me?" Veda asked.

"The change… the smell. You smell different. Why?"

"I… don't know what you're talking about." Veda looked at him in confusion.

But then he walked over to her and sat down next to her on the bed. He began to sniff her from her head to her torso, slowing down as he got to her lower stomach, and finally settling on her pelvis.

"Here it is… This is the source of the smell."

Veda awkwardly coughed. "Oh… yeah, uh, that's just…" Veda had no idea how to explain this.

"What? Why has your scent changed?"

"This is… completely humiliating." Veda sighed.

"Do not be humiliated. I only wish to learn your human body."

Veda could understand this, as awkward as it was. She was very curious about the Aterans too, after all. So she decided to be honest.

"When human women get aroused, they exude moistness and a certain… smell. That's all."

"And you are aroused right now?" Traze asked.

Veda bit her lip. "Well, yeah… You're a very attractive man."

Traze's eyes widened. "You are attracted to me? Even while I am so different from you?"

"Well, yeah. I don't mind at all that you don't look human. I was only on the IGMA Tranquility because I was willing to marry an alien man. I'm not really all that attracted to human men anyway."

Traze seemed relieved to discover this. "You didn't like human men? You actually wished for an alien?"

"Yeah… Yeah, I did. I mean, I wasn't getting what I needed on Earth. I was hoping I'd be able to find everything I wanted in an alien man. I'm not surprised I'm attracted to you as an Ateran."

Without explanation, Traze grabbed her and pulled her into his lap on the bed. Veda did not protest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him.

Veda was sure of it now, Traze was attracted to her despite the fact that she was not his kode. Perhaps she had been right to be skeptical of what the other women had said. It really didn't make sense to her that it was impossible for Aterans to be attracted to anyone but their kode.

And if Traze was attracted to her, Veda was happy to take advantage of it.

She leaned into him and pushed her lips against his. For a moment, Traze pulled back in confusion.

"What is that? What are you doing?"

"This is a human tradition. When one human has feelings for another human, they press their lips together to kiss."

"This signifies attraction?"

"Yes, exactly."

Traze nodded and leaned back in to kiss Veda. It was awkward for a moment, but as Veda moved her lips, Traze followed her direction. They made out for a minute and Veda's heart raced. Her attraction to him grew and grew, and she was ecstatic about the fact that her feelings were reciprocated.

As they continued to kiss, Veda could feel something hard press up underneath her. It was Traze becoming aroused, and Veda was excited by the thought that they might actually get to have sex.

But suddenly a knock on the door interrupted their kiss as they looked in that direction.

"Aldohr, what is it?" Traze demanded.

The Ateran man, evidently named Aldohr, looked at Traze seriously. Veda recognized him as the seer who had so many snarky things to say about Veda. "I only wanted to check on the weak human."

Traze tensed with anger for the fourth time that night. He looked as if he was going to yell out at Aldohr.

But he took a deep breath and steadied himself, lifting Veda and setting her down next to him.

"Aldohr, tomorrow we are making an expedition through the streams that lead to the pond of the healing sands. Inform Najol promptly that he must choose an assortment of warriors to make the trip."

Aldohr left, and Traze turned to Veda. She was hopeful that they would resume their encounter.

"I will leave you to rest, Veda," Traze told her.

"Oh… I mean… really?" Veda asked, disappointed.

"Yes. I will see you tomorrow for the expedition."

"Uh… Alright, yeah, sure." Veda sighed.

Her heart sank as Traze walked out of the room.