CHAPTER 5

Flushed

A s Vrixiel entered the bathroom with her in his arms, Trixie took a deep breath. She had to calm down. She was turned-on, excited to the point of her heart trying to burst out of her chest, feeling bad for stopping sexy time, but also anxious. All those feelings were threatening to overwhelm her.

She had no trouble doing the deed with a hot stranger in the name of pleasure. She enjoyed those fast-burn novels where the fated mates didn’t waste time talking before tearing each other’s clothes off. But now that Trixie herself was in the middle of that trope, and the hot stranger was going to be her husband, she found herself worrying. Not only about the will-it-fit part but also about rushing things .

Did she really want to jump Vrixiel’s bones before getting to know him? Before building some connection beyond the physical? Otherwise, didn’t she risk disappointing him – and herself – on their very first night together?

That was the real reason why she had asked him to wait. She did always shower before going to bed, and she must have dirt on her from the landing bay’s floor, but the interruption was more about her need to take things slow. Or, as slow as her impatient and horny self was capable of handling. Now, she just had to communicate that to her hard-as-steel mate.

“Vrixiel, I need to tell you–what is that?!”

He froze two steps into the bathroom. “You mean the toilet? That’s… the toilet.”

Trixie stared at what looked like the pant legs of a statue cut vertically in half. Those things were sticking out of the floor to the right of the entrance. The glass dome to the left had to be the shower cubicle. The glass bowl suspended in thin air by the wall opposite the door must be the sink. But these black pant legs of what looked like rubber coming out of the floor? She couldn’t imagine how she would do her business with them. In them? On them? “Vrixiel… How?”

He chuckled, the sound deep and warm. “I must put you down to demonstrate. May I?”

“Demonstrate away.” He didn’t seem annoyed at yet another postponement of their intimacy, and Trixie could use the distraction to get her emotions in order. Also, she was dying to see how this tech worked .

Vrixiel lowered her to the floor in the middle of the bathroom as carefully as if she were made of porcelain. He then went to the rubber pants and turned to face her, wings lifted, leaving the so-called toilet against the back of his legs. The second his glutes came in contact with the toilet, it began to expand forward until Vrixiel had black pants on top of his red ones. His bulge at the front was still as clearly visible as before, the toilet fitting him like a glove.

“How?” Trixie couldn’t wrap her mind around what she was seeing.

He gave her an amused smile. “These are nanoparticles that get activated by coming into contact with you. They morph to your body, creating a safe environment for your excreta.”

“Safe?” Trixie echoed.

“Safe for the cleansing chamber and also for your body, both of which remain clean. You must be naked from waist to knees, of course.”

“Okay…” More and more questions were forming in her head.

“Whether you choose to stand or sit, it does not matter: the toilet follows your movements.” Vrixiel pressed a panel on the wall, which opened to let a levitating seat out. He sat down, the nanoparticles staying on without a glitch. “See? As you do your business, the nanoparticles instantly degrade the excreta. Any wetness or stickiness is degraded off your skin as well. At your command, the toilet releases you.” He patted his thigh three times in quick succession, and the black pants moved back until they were once again sticking out of the floor, vertically cut in half.

“Holy smoke.” A toilet that you didn’t have to scrub, allowed a girl to pee upright, and left you clean without a single piece of toilet paper needed? That was a flush system to die for. And she had expected to have to pee in a tube, like the one on the ship that had brought her here. Phew . “I’m in love with our toilet as well.”

Vrixiel’s grin grew. “I am happy you like it. The nanoparticles can be lowered all the way to the floor, if you prefer. That way you will not have to lift your long dresses to use the toilet. You only have to step close enough for the particles to touch your ankles. Then they will extend upward to encase your lower body underneath your dress.”

“Wow.” Gaenthians had thought of everything.

“That is not all.” Vrixiel went to the levitating seat, tapped on it and pressed it down. It lowered until he stopped pressing on it. Another tap and a push, and the seat floated back up. “You can control the height to your liking. The same goes for the wash basin.”

“Seriously? Wait, can I do that with all our furniture?”

Vrixiel nodded. “Does that please you, bean?”

She couldn’t reply. No words could convey how she felt about the news, but even if they could, Trixie would better not talk about her feelings now. Or she might start crying.

She was never again going to need steps to use her own furniture. No more unreachable shelves. No more hazardous climbing of a ladder for something as simple as changing a light bulb. Trixie was going to be completely independent in her new home, her height no longer a daily hindrance.

No, she couldn’t help it. Her eyes turned wet.

In a flash, Vrixiel had her back in his arms. His concerned face hovered over hers. “Talk to me, niela . What upset you?”

Trixie brushed her tears away with the back of her hand. “Not sad. Happy.” She sob-laughed and patted his chest. “You made me very happy.”

He didn’t look convinced. “What can I do to bring your smile back?”

Her lips curled up. “Just be here with me. Preferably in the shower.” She should focus on fun times, otherwise there would be full-blown crying.

“Are you sure?”

Ah, this guy. The king of consent. “I want to get to know you, Vrixiel. And you, me. Let’s start with our bodies, shall we?”

A serious look of determination appeared on his face. “We shall.”

“But let’s stick to washing only,” she quickly added, wiping the last stray tear away. “Is that okay?”

“Yes.” There wasn’t a single trace of disappointment in his tone; in fact, he sounded content. “I shall wash every single inch of you, my bean.”