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The only thing that did make sense was her utter perfection. In all her strangeness, all her awkward angles of bone, all her parts so different from my own, she was as flawless as a cool flight through the sky of early dawn.
The next part to be removed was her stiff human cloak. It crinkled even more than usual, not because of the nature of the fabric, but because of the dried layer of my blood cracking along its surface. She held the garment in her hands, wrinkling her high, bony nose at the sight. The greyish material was entirely black at its front.
She crouched, scooping water onto the jacket’s surface. Rather surprisingly, the blood came clean off and left no stain. That annoyed me. The marks my blood had left on her skin would no doubt be washed away. Why could the mark on her cloak not remain?
Evidently satisfied with her work, Zuh-Tephanie set her cloak aside.
Then, my near-bloodless heart stopped.
Because she was pulling at the leg coverings she wore, wriggling them over her narrow hips and down her legs. She was seated on the stone with her back to me, so I could not see her legs, nor what was between them. She appeared to wear some kind of tight loincloth beneath her leg coverings that further obscured my view of her.
And yet, even that glimpse was entirely overwhelming. I let out a broken moan.
Her head snapped back to me.
“Stop looking over here. Just focus on getting some rest,” she said, eyes flashing.
“You are the one who commanded my sight stars remain on you,” I shot back. “As far as I know, I have not yet been released from that command.”
“Oh.” The irritation in her expression softened. Somehow, that softness was even harder than the arrow she’d pulled out of me. “Ok then. I release you now. I’m not even getting fully undressed, so don’t get too excited over there. That probably wouldn’t be good for your recovery.”
“How do you know?” I asked testily. “Perhaps seeing something exciting isexactlywhat I need to recover. A man needs something to live for, you know.”
Her mouth opened and laughter spilled out, the sounds both bright and rough, like unpolished gems tumbling to the floor.
I had already said it once tonight.
I could not help but say it again.
“I love your laugh.”
Her laughter quieted, and she fixed me with a thoughtful stare.
“I didn’t expect to be laughing so much. You’re actually pretty funny, Gahn Errok.”
I certainly liked hearing her laugh and seeing her happy, but I had never really thought of myself as funny before. I was brutally strong, headstrong, and hard-fisted. Relentless and determined and deadly.
But this little creature thinks that I, greatest Gahn of the Deep Sky, am funny.
I was not entirely sure that was a good thing.
So, I asked.
“Is that a good thing?”
The pale pink, lash-lined lids of her eyes drew back, widening her gaze slightly.
I found I could not stand her hesitation. I pressed her harder.
“Being funny. Is that an attractive trait? Do you like that in a man, in a mate?”
Is that the sort of thing that could make you love me?
She flattened her mouth, pressing her lips together. This made her lips oddly white, while her cheeks flushed dark pink.
She uttered a single word before shunting her hips forward and plunging into the heated water. And with that single word, I felt a whole new world of hope open up before me.
“Yes.”
