CHAPTER 13

Chloe dangled her legs from the high bed and took in Nitiel's cabin. Her new cabin, if she had understood correctly Commander Siriniel's gravelly instructions to Nitiel over his communication badge. She should ask Nitiel, but he had excused himself after the short call and had disappeared in the bathroom.

The cabin was identical to her previous one in terms of furniture and space view, just slightly smaller. The lack of personal touches and knick-knacks of Nitiel's made it look Spartan. However, the bed was fancier: it was covered in the same blue jelly but the frame was a massive open clamshell. Ariel, eat your heart out!

Chloe sighed. She didn't need a luxury bed, just a place where she wouldn't die from hypothermia, or from the licks of bouncing drain dwellers. She was lucky to be in one piece; she didn't even need a shot against infection.

Trixie had brought a special cream from the doctor when she had shown up shortly after Vrixiel and the space station's pest control guys. Chloe had applied the gooey substance on the reddened lines on her arms while being carried here by Nitiel like some ancient queen. She had treated the tender places on her legs after the Subcommander had gently placed her on his own bed and went to comm her ‘fated mate'.

Fated mate. Ha-ha. The guy's voice had grated on her nerves rather than getting her excited. Nitiel's voice during the somewhat heated conversation about her future accommodation and protection? Now that was a seductive sound that made Chloe squeeze her bare thighs together.

Perhaps Nitiel's presence was why she was yet to worry about her stay on the station having just been prolonged. Indefinitely. Trixie's smart advice about enjoying the present moment also had a role to play.

Chloe was in a captivating alien's bed wearing only a towel. The two of them were going to share a cabin, as per Commander Curly Horn's orders. To ensure her safety, the Subcommander was not to leave her side. She should focus on these exciting facts, rather than on the length of her stay that she had no control over. She had wanted a date with Nitiel, hadn't she? Well, a date couldn't get more intimate than a night in the guy's bed, so…

Then again, Chloe couldn't enjoy her extra time with Nitiel if he didn't want her around. He had certainly been scandalized by the Commander's orders, to the point where he had argued with his superior, insisting that Vrixiel accommodate her instead. Curly Horn – or was it Twirly Horn? – hadn't budged: he trusted no one else but Nitiel with Chloe"s protection. She was sure Nitiel would comply with the order, but would he be giving her the bad eye about it? Or avoiding her altogether, by hiding in the bathroom?

Some ten minutes later, just when Chloe was about to bet on the second option, the bathroom door slid aside. Her swinging legs paused in mid-air and her eyes zeroed in on the misty space within. Nitiel had taken a shower! Her pulse sped up at the thought of him towel-clad and wet. What would his bare chest be like? Would his hair cascade down his shoulders when unbraided? Would it be darker when wet? What would his wings look like when wet? Could the feathers even get wet?

As a dry-looking Nitiel stepped into the main room, Chloe bit her bottom lip. She had definitely not been prepared for that sight. She couldn't help it: she went into a fit of giggles.

"Lady Loe?"

Even his attempt to resume addressing her formally – again – couldn't keep her giggles in. Not when he moved further into the room with one arm around his chest and the other, around his middle. Each clutching a small towel to his body, like a shy woman trying to hide all her assets but with the smallest pieces of cloth available. Only that Nitiel was a huge-ass male, so the effect was hilarious.

"Loe?"

"I'm sorry, Nitiel, it's just that…" She choked down a giggle so she wouldn"t offend him. "Didn't you have a bathrobe or something equally big?"

"Forgive me, my lady." He wrapped his wings tighter against him, using them as additional cover. "This is unseemly, I know. But in my absence, my extra clothes appear to have been taken for decontamination, and so has my big post-cleansing towel. Unknowing of this, I put my dirty uniform down the decontamination chute. I should have been informed; this is… unseemly. "

Chloe blinked. Had he just told her he had nothing to wear? Oh my. "It's… okay."

"It is not okay," he grumbled. "I called for a spare uniform, but it is yet to arrive, just like your dress. It should not be taking so long."

It sounded like the universe was on Chloe's perv-y side. "It's truly okay, Nitiel. You're not hurting my delicate sensibilities – I'm a Terran, remember? Our men wrap a towel around their hips and strut around in it for hours, no biggie."

He shook his head. "I am no Terran. A Gaenthian cannot leave his belly button on display when a lady is present. It is scandalous."

"Really?" She had not read that on the way here, because she would have remembered. "How peculiar. Is that area considered sexy?"

His wings fluttered. "It is very vulnerable. As such, it is reserved only for the eyes of a female the Gaenthian trusts enough to allow in his bed."

"Why, Nitiel," Chloe smiled coyly, "you've already allowed me in your bed, so… you can lose the towel over your chest."

Nitiel just stood there, unmoving and unblinking. Had she broken his chivalrous mind with her spontaneous flirting?

Suddenly, Nitiel turned his back to her and went to the illuminator, eyes on the view. "The bed is no longer mine, Lady Loe," he said firmly. "It is yours. I will be sleeping on the bench from now on."

"What?" She eyed the narrow piece of metal levitating under the illuminator. "Don't be ridiculous, Nitiel. That thing has space for one of your legs only."

"I sleep with my wings draped over my body. There will be enough space for me to fit on the bench."

"Mhmm… How about I take the bench, and you sleep in your bed?"

"Now you are being ridiculous, Lady Loe."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "You know what, my lord?"

That made him look her way, finally. "What?"

"The one being ridiculous is Commander Twirly Horn. Why the heck won't he just meet me and get this farce over with? He clearly wants nothing to do with me, so why not send me home instead of wondering where to stash me?"

"It's Commander Siriniel of the Swirling Horn Clan." Elbow keeping his upper towel in place, Nitiel scratched at the base of one horn nub as he added, "He wants everything to do with you. Just… not right now."

"Yeah, yeah. He has his mysterious reasons. Well, I don't care about those. I'm getting a good night"s rest – on the bench – and then I'm going to pay him a visit."

Nitiel narrowed his eyes at her. "No, Lady Loe."

Her eyebrows crept up. "No? Take the bed, and I might give the Commander a little more time before I barge in his cabin."

"Loe. I am taking the bench."

She shrugged. "And I'm going to the Commander uninvited first thing in the morning. Or whatever time it is when I wake up."

"You don't know where his cabin is."

"Trixie will gladly take me."

"She can't take you if you have no means to contact her first."

Chloe smiled sweetly. "She promised to have a communication badge delivered here along with my dress. They should be arriving pretty soon."

A rumble came from Nitiel.

Chloe's smile grew.

"Fine," he grumbled.

"Fine?"

"I'll take you to your niel once you wake up. Just sleep in the bed, please."

Chloe sighed. Well, she'd tried. "Okay, enjoy the bench. It's your back's funeral."

"It's perfectly comfortable, Loe–Lady Loe. I'll show you."

Oh, that was going to be good. She leaned back onto the jelly, propped on her palms, and resumed swinging her legs. "Go ahead, my lord."

The expression on his face was one of raw determination. He turned to face the bench, tapped on it to make it rise to a comfortable height, and then sat down, small towels clutched to his large body and wings as tucked as possible. He gave Chloe a triumphant look.

She rolled her eyes. "Let's see you lie down, shall we?"

"We shall."

And lie down he did. Somehow, his body fit on the narrow bench. Barely, but it fit when his wings were closed around him rather than spread on either side of him. As long as he didn't turn in his sleep, he would make it through the night.

"Hm."

"What was that, my lady?" A smile spread across Nitiel's rugged face as he pushed up into a sitting position.

Chloe shot him an even look.

His smile broadened.

Agh!This alien. He enjoyed teasing her. But she didn't mind, because when he smiled like that… Her heart went pitter-patter.

Creeaak.

They both froze.

"Nitiel, what was–"

The sound came again, stronger this time.

Their gazes met. Understanding filled his eyes.

The bench broke in two. Underneath him.

"Nitiel!" She jumped off the bed and ran to him, lying in a tangle of limbs, wings, and towels as he was. "Are you alright?"

"Stay back, Loe!"

She stopped in her tracks, startled by his brisk tone. "God, are you hurt? Did the metal cut you?"

"No." He pushed himself up onto four legs, using his wings as cover. "Do not come any closer."

"Why not? If you're afraid to admit you need help–"

"I don't need help."

"You're angry at me because I was right about the bench?"

"I'm not angry at you!"

She raised her arms in defeat. "Then why are you all growly?"

He peaked at her from behind a wing in his kneeling position. "I'm not growly. I'm naked."

Chloe gaped like a fish out of water. "Well… I can't see anything–"

"Your towel is slipping!"

"Oh." She clutched at the piece of cloth just as her areolas were beginning to play pick-a-boo with Nitiel. Not that he hadn't already averted his gaze, the perfect gentleman.

"This is ridiculous," Chloe muttered. "Where are our clothes?"

As if on cue, someone rang the doorbell. The beeping sound startled both Nitiel and her.

"Are you going to get that, or should I?" she asked.

"Not you," he growled in outrage. "No male should see you like this."

"Yeah?" Chloe raised a brow at him. "What if it's Trixie? You can greet her, but not me, in wings only?"

"I–I won't be in wings only." Nitiel shuffled behind his wings and when he stood up, he had a piece of the bench with him. His front thus covered from neck to mid-thigh and his wings pulled back to hide his butt, he went to get the door.

Chloe followed his progress, a smile dancing on her lips. How had they ended up in this situation? It was like they were the victims of a hidden camera show; what was happening was that absurd. She couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed herself so much. Never with a guy, that was for sure. And she and Nitiel had simply talked and argued.

Chloe tapped a finger on her upper lip in thought. Should she go to the Commander uninvited first thing tomorrow? Or wait to see what fate had in store for her and Nitiel?