Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

Lomax

“Y ou seem different this morning.” Ellis eyed me up and down.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Ellis shrugged. “You just seem different.”

“She got laid,” Roxie said.

I gaped at her as Ellis nearly fell over right there in the hallway.

I’d fallen asleep last night in Regan’s arms, our bodies pressed together in the too small bed, and I had the best sleep of my life. Regan was already up, showered, and dressed when I woke just after seven. I didn’t have to work today in the garden, and he urged me to stay in his bed and sleep a little longer before leaving for the training room.

I fell back asleep and didn’t leave his apartment until ten-thirty. I’d returned to my apartment, and after a quick shower, I headed toward the dining hall to grab lunch. I’d run into Ellis and Roxie in the hallway, and they’d invited me to join them in visiting Inara, who was still on bed rest.

“How do you know that?” Ellis asked as she gave me another up-and-down look.

Roxie grinned. “She’s got that look we all get after fucking a Draax.”

I cleared my throat. “I’m not, I mean, I didn’t…”

“And I saw her leaving Regan’s room this morning as I was leaving Adrix’s,” Roxie continued with a laugh.

“We’re friends,” I said as my face went blisteringly hot. “I, uh, fell asleep on his couch last night.”

Ellis rolled her eyes. “Do you think we fell off a havoc cruiser yesterday, Lomax?”

A Draax I didn’t recognize passed us in the hallway, giving us a shy smile as his gaze dipped briefly down our bodies before returning to our faces. “Hello, small females.”

“Hi,” Roxie said.

His tail thumped excitedly against the floor at her greeting, and, his cheeks a dark green, he gave her another shy smile before continuing down the corridor, his tail waving back and forth behind him. Roxie watched him go with a faint smile. “They’re so cute when their tail does that flicky flicky thing.”

“So, you and Regan, huh?” Ellis said.

“Keep your voice down, please.” I looked up and down the hallway, but the Draax had turned the corner, and the three of us were alone.

“Why? Are you worried because he’s from the east and advisor to that asshole King Eastolf?” Ellis asked. “Because Galan likes Regan and is super impressed by his training and fighting skills.”

“Really?” Roxie asked.

“Yes,” Ellis said. “Like I told Lomax before, Galan said Regan is especially great with the recruits. He’s patient even when they keep messing up, and he’s explained some sword fighting techniques they were struggling with in a way that helped it click for them.”

She leaned against the wall, poking at an oil stain on the coveralls she wore. “Galan said even Henden and Adrix, who were the most suspicious of Regan, have come around. They eat lunch together almost every day now.”

Warmth washed over me, as well as a weird prickle of pride. I knew how amazing Regan was, and now other people did, too.

“So, yeah, if you’re worried about people judging you for sleeping with him, I don’t think you need to be,” Ellis said.

“That isn’t it,” I said. “I don’t care what people think of me.”

“Yes, queen,” Roxie said and held out her fist.

I bumped it. “I’m not worried about that, but last night was the first night we were together, and we didn’t discuss whether we wanted other people to know we’ve slept together.”

“Ah, gotcha,” Ellis said as the three of us started walking again. “So, I guess you were wrong about Regan not wanting to bump uglies with you, huh?”

“Yes,” I said. “Regan was attracted to me but didn’t think I was attracted to him and didn’t want to ruin our friendship, so he pretended he wasn’t.”

“Aw, that’s adorable,” Roxie said.

The air was growing noticeably warmer and humid with the lingering scent of flowers. We were almost to the garden entrance, and it was lunchtime, which meant the hallway was rapidly filling with Draax and women as they made their way to the garden to eat lunch.

“Hey, can we stop at the dining hall before we head to Inara and Melu’s?” Ellis asked. “I want to grab some hot chocolate for Inara. She loves it, and Wendy mentioned they’d used up the last of what they have in the apartment.”

“Sure,” Roxie said.

“Fine by me,” I said as I dodged a woman with long dark hair and a Draax carrying a small metal box that flickered with a dull purple light. “I want to grab some - oh!”

A Draax with a sword around his waist and a bagged lunch in his hand had bumped into me hard, and he gave me an apologetic look. “I am so sorry, little human. I was not looking where I was going.”

“That’s fine,” I said.

I studied him, my brow creasing. “Hey, I know you, right?”

He nodded. “I am Thromi. We met on Earth.”

“That’s right. I’m sorry, I’d forgotten your name.”

He grinned, his teeth flashing bright white against his green skin. “You can be forgiven for that, little human, as you were actively dying at the time.”

I laughed. “Well, it’s nice to see you again, Thromi.”

“You as well,” he said as the crowd of Draax hurrying to the garden jostled us closer together. “You look much better than you did when we first met.”

“I feel a lot better,” I said. “Thanks to Sigan.”

“I am glad he was able to help, little female.” Thromi stepped closer, giving me a long look before taking my hand. Warning bells clanged in my head as his voice lowered. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight, little human? I would very much enjoy spending an evening with you.”

A tail snapped around my waist, and I was yanked away from Thromi. Regan stood behind us, and those alarm bells turned furiously loud when he growled, “Touch my mate again, and I will gut you where you stand, king’s guard.”

Regan’s hand clapped at his empty hip, and he growled in frustration as Thromi gave him a cool look. “You would need your sword to do so, Regan.”

“Uh oh,” Ellis said as Roxie gave the two Draax a wide-eyed look of anxiety.

Regan bared his teeth at him, the tufted end of his tail whacking against my thigh. “If you think I cannot take your blade from you, you have misjudged me, Thromi.”

Thromi’s face turned dark green, and he rested his hand on his sword handle. “You can try.”

Regan’s tail dropped from my waist, and to my astonishment, he stalked toward Thromi. Adrenaline spiked through me, and I immediately stepped in front of Regan, resting my hand against his chest. “Regan.”

He stopped, his gaze dropping from Thromi to me, his silver eyes gone the colour of flint. “He touched you, sadora. You belong to me, and he touched you.”

I rubbed my hand across his chest, gratified when his big body relaxed, and his tail looped loosely around my hips again. “He didn’t know.”

“Why did you not tell him you belong to me?”

Now, I could see hurt lurking in those silvery depths.

“I would have, but you showed up and threatened to gut him before I could,” I said. I rubbed his chest again. He was hot and a little sweaty, and his body thrummed lightly under my hand. Anxious to make that hurt in his gaze disappear, I said, “I won’t let him touch me again, Regan.”

The tenseness of his body eased, and his chest rose under my hand as he took a deep breath. “I do not want other males touching you as if you belong to them, small one.”

“I know,” I said, “but you can’t go around threatening people, all right?”

A scowl crossed his face. “It is my job to keep you safe.”

I smiled at him, still rubbing his chest in small circles. “I appreciate that, but we both know I’m safe here. I won’t let other Draax touch me, okay?”

He nodded before taking another deep breath. “I am sorry, sadora.”

“It’s fine,” I said.

He glanced at Thromi, the end of his tail flicking back and forth against my hip. “I should not have threatened you, Thromi. I apologize.”

Thromi’s hand released his sword handle. “I would do the same for my mate.”

Alarm swooped back in when I noticed the blood blooming through Regan’s shirt just below his ribs. “Oh my God! Regan, you’re hurt!”

I pushed his shirt to the middle of his chest, and Ellis nudged Roxie. “See, I told you his abs have abs.”

I scanned Regan’s green skin. A deep cut on his side was bleeding freely, and I gave him a look of panic.

“You’re bleeding!”

“Just a small scratch,” he said.

“More than a scratch, Regan.” I glared at him. “Why didn’t you drink gallberry juice?”

“Ilna drank the last of it in the training room,” he said. “I was going to the infirmary to get more from Sigan.”

“You might need serum, too,” I said as blood slid down his side and soaked into the waistband of his pants.

“I will not,” he said with a dismissive look at his side.

“Oh, you’re getting the turing carver for sure,” Ellis said.

He glanced at her. “What is the turing carver?”

“You’ll find out,” she said, her face gleeful. She checked her PAR phone. “Shit, we gotta go if we want to see Inara before lunch is over.”

“You go without me,” I said. “I need to go with Regan to the infirmary.”

He smiled and shook his head. “No, my sadora, go visit your friend. I promise you this will be healed quickly by the gallberry juice.”

“What if you pass out on the way to the infirmary?” I fretted.

“I will not,” he said. “I do not feel faint.”

“I am headed toward the infirmary,” Thromi said. “I will walk with him.”

“There, you see? I will be fine. Visit your friend, sadora, and I will see you later today after training,” Regan said, pushing his shirt down.

When I continued to hesitate, he squeezed me gently with his tail before bending and kissing me. “I will be fine, small one. I promise.”

“Text me as soon as you’re finished in the infirmary,” I said. “And you have to text me a photo of your side. I want proof that it’s healed before you return to training.”

“Yes, my mate,” he said with a slight grin.

He gave me one final squeeze with his tail before releasing me. I watched him and Thromi walk down the hallway - they were already laughing about something as if Regan wasn’t actively bleeding, and they hadn’t just threatened to gut each other in the damn hallway - before I turned around.

The small crowd of Draax and women was dissipating, and I joined Ellis and Roxie. Roxie smiled at me. “I guess we know if Regan is good with others knowing about you.”

“Yeah,” I said as we walked past the garden entrance and turned the corner at the end of the hall.

It was quieter in this corridor, and Ellis gave me an uncharacteristically solemn look. “You’re still planning on returning to Earth when the storm ends, right?”

“Yes,” I said, but my stomach made an unpleasant lurch, and my faint hunger took a deep nose dive.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but have you made that clear to Regan? Because he’s wrapping his tail around you and referring to you as sadora, a pet name the Draax only give to their mates. Hell, he’s straight up calling you his mate,” Ellis said.

My stomach churned. “He knows I’m returning to Earth. He called me his mate last night, and I thought it was a sex thing. Like maybe he does that to all his partners while they were having sex.”

“You need to talk to him,” Roxie said. “If he believes you’re his mate and you leave him to return to Earth…”

“It makes me a real bitch,” I said.

“No,” Roxie said, “but it will look like you’re leading him on and giving him hope for something that won’t happen.”

“I know,” I said. “I’ll speak to Regan tonight, and if he truly thinks I’m his mate and isn’t just, I don’t know, caught up in how good the sex is with us, then I’ll end it with him and tell him we can only be friends.”

My churning stomach immediately worsened, and Ellis raised an eyebrow at me. “You okay? You look like you’re going to barf.”

“I’m fine,” I said briefly. “But I’d like to change the subject.”

“Sure.” Roxie put her arm around me and gave me a brief squeeze. “Did y’all hear that Lori is meeting with Queen Sabrina tomorrow?”

“What?” Ellis said.

Roxie nodded before sweeping her long braids back over her shoulders. “Yeah, the rumour is that she’s telling Lori she’s being kicked out of the program as soon as the storm ends.”

“Holy shit,” Ellis said.

“You haven’t heard anything about it?” Roxie asked. “You and Galan hang out a lot with the king and queen.”

“Haven’t heard a word,” Ellis said. “But Sabrina isn’t a gossip or anything like that and never talks about program business with me.”

“Why are they kicking her out?” I asked. “And do you know if she ever talked to the queen and king about Regan? She threatened to tell them that Regan was mistreating her.”

“She’s all talk,” Ellis said. “And if she had gone to the king, Quill would have already spoken to Regan about it. He’s very straightforward, takes the protection and comfort of the women in the castle seriously, and does not shy away from conflict.”

“They’re kicking her out because two of the king’s guard got into a fight over her. Like, a serious fight,” Roxie said. “I can’t remember which two it was, but Adrix said if he and Aiden hadn’t separated them, someone would have died.”

“Holy shit,” Ellis said.

“Lori was sleeping with them both separately, which is fine if everyone is aware they’re not inclusive, but neither of the Draax knew Lori was sleeping with the other one. Lori told both of them that she would leave the program for them and mate with them.”

“How dumb is she to do that?” I said. “How did she think that wouldn’t create conflict and lead straight back to her?”

“Some people just like to watch the world burn,” Roxie said. “She has a lot of anger inside of her.”

She glanced at me. “Anyway, that’s why it’s good to be clear with Regan about what this is, you know? I know you’re not technically in the program, but if Regan threatens every Draax who touches you, that could cause serious problems for him. From what I’ve heard, Eastolf and King Quill have plenty of conflict. I’m surprised they even let Regan train with the guard or leave his apartment. If Regan is causing trouble, I’m sure the king would lock him in his apartment for the rest of the storm.”

My stomach lurched again, and I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. Regan being forced to stay in his quarters for another two weeks would drive him insane. He might not be the most social of Draax, but training with the guard every day was important to him. Even if it wasn’t his guard he trained. Confining him to a small space day after day would be torture for him.

“I’ll talk to him,” I said. “I won’t let him get in trouble with the king.”

“I know you won’t,” Ellis said as we turned down the corridor that led to the dining hall. “Now, let’s get that hot chocolate and make Inara’s day.”