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"What is it?" I ask, and my nipples tighten under my tunic.
He shakes his head, his long braid flicking. "I just…I want you to know you are safe, Sam. No matter what happens, I will protect you from everyone. You have nothing to fear."
It's the sweetest thing to say, and somehow exactly what I need. I offer him a weary smile, and he looks so inviting stretched out in his furs that I decide to be a little brave. Just a little. I get up and pull my furs over next to his, lying down next to him.
"Sam," he says, and the way he says my name makes my belly flutter.
"It…this isn't what you think," I say quickly.
"You do not want to sleep next to me?"
"No, I do. I just…I don't want you to think it's more—"
He shakes his head before I finish. "I told you that I will not touch you unless you ask. I have not changed in my thinking." He gazes down at me with those wide-set, kind eyes, and I can't get over how beautiful he is. It's like I turned around and Sessah went from awkward to mouth-watering.
"Okay," I manage. "Cool. I just wanted to set the proper expectations." I hesitate for a moment longer and then lie down next to him. "Is this okay?"
"Why would it not be okay?"
"Because I know you're aching." My khui sings loudly the moment I get closer to him, reminding us both that I'm aching, too. I close my eyes, determined to ignore it, and settle down on my furs. When he doesn't move, or speak, I open an eye to find he hasn't moved a muscle. He remains turned on his side, watching me. "What?"
"What do you mean, what?"
My cheeks get hot. "You're watching me."
"Is that bad? I like looking at you." Sessah gives me a slow smile. "It makes my spirit easy."
I like looking at him, too, but I'm afraid to admit it. If I do, I might not be able to turn this thing around. "I'm bad for you, Sessah. Everything I touch goes wrong."
He shakes his head. "You were abandoned by those you trusted in the past. Let me prove to you that you can trust me."
"How?" I ache with how badly I want to trust him. "How do I do that?"
"How does one eat a sa-kohtsk?"
Is…that a serious question? Sa-kohtsk tastes terrible, and the tribes only eat it when they have to. "You hold your nose and eat it because there's nothing else to eat? Are you comparing me to that?"
Sessah grins, all white teeth and sharp fangs. His face creases with delight, and for a moment, he looks like the old Sessah and not the big, overgrown, impossibly handsome one before me now. He reaches out and brushes a lock of hair back from my forehead, and the small touch is so tender that it makes me shiver in a good way. I don't mind his small, affectionate touches, I realize. My mind has built up any touch from these huge aliens as something to be terrified of. Brad was bigger than me, after all, and he used that to his advantage. But the sa-khui are different. They've been taught since birth that women are prized and special, and absolutely no one hits anyone. Stalkers are not a thing. Murder threats are not a thing.
It's…safe, in its own way.
"You eat a sa-kohtsk," Sessah explains in a low, gentle voice, "with small bites. One at a time. And that is how I shall prove to you that you can trust me."
"With small bites?" I joke.
He sucks in a breath, and his eyes darken. I'm lying so close to him I can feel the shudder that ripples through his big body, and I'm fascinated by his response. "Do you like biting?" he asks in a hushed voice, his gaze intent on me. Just as quickly, one big hand scrubs down his face and he shakes his head. "Forget I asked that."
Prickles move through me, but I'm not afraid. I'm tempted to slip my hand between my thighs and start touching myself. I'm breathing fast again. This time, there's no panic, though. There's only a hot curl of anticipation. "Do you like biting, Sessah?"
His nostrils flare, his jaw clenching as he looks down at me. "I think I would like anything you do to me, Sam."
There he goes, caressing my name again. Saaaaahm. It should not be as hot as it is. Actually, everything Sessah does is turning me on. I don't know how much of it is the khui, and how much of it is just me realizing that he's a big, delicious-looking alien with the soul of an absolute teddy bear. Right now? Next to him? I feel safe. Even though we just found a pod with a stranger in the snow, I feel safe with Sessah at my side.
