Which made me really in space. Yeah, that made no sense. As if the only place I was going to get some action was on another planet. Or moon base.
“I thought you might be comforted by having your things here, in our new home.”
“New home?”
His sigh was deep, his disappointment clear by the slant of his shoulders and downturned lips. No one that gorgeous should look so dejected. And I was the cause. He’d been kind, collecting my things. Thoughtful.
I shifted in his hold, sat up all the way. The room didn’t spin this time, and I inspected the large bedroom with a king-size bed, multiple built-in closets and drawers along the wall, a door that disappeared into what appeared to be a bathroom, and another door that was firmly closed. The sheets were soft, the lights were low, and I really didn’t want to move. I wasn’t ready for this. I really wasn’t. I sighed, then said, “I’m sorry. I know I’m asking the same thing over and over. This is a lot to take in.”
His thumb stroked the back of my hand, and I hid the shiver of lust that rocketed through me at the small touch. This guy was lethal. I knew now just how big he was beside me. I could feel his breathing, feel the texture of his uniform. The same as the one I’d worn when I’d flown all those trainings beside him.
“Perhaps you will feel revived by a shower and change of clothing.”
Hot shower? Yes, please.
I agreed at once. He climbed from the bed, then helped me stand. After ensuring I wouldn’t fall on my face, he led me to the connecting bathroom nearly identical to one found on Earth. Sink. Toilet. As he pushed a few buttons, I almost sighed with relief at the sight of running water. “I thought we were on a moon? How do we have water?”
My brain was definitely scrambled, because I was asking after weird scientific things. I wanted to ask him if his cock was as big as it felt, but I wasn’t sure if he’d laugh, run, or let me touch it and find out.
“Arturri has two large ice caps as well as significant groundwater stores. All our water is recycled and purified. We have more water here than we will ever need.”
So not a barren, rocky, gray lump in the sky above Velerion. And to answer the cock question, I eyed the front of his uniform pants. The bulge was undeniable.
Alex pointed to a small closet in the bedroom behind us, hopefully missing the open ogling. Although, he’d held me while I slept and had touched me somewhat intimately. It was tit for tat. Or tit for cock.
“Clean uniforms are there. They should fit you perfectly.”
“Okay.” If they made me look as good as Alex did, I was okay with that. Plus I was curious. Were they really going to look exactly like the uniform my avatar had worn in the game?
“You will be well on your own?” He looked me over in an assessing way, although I couldn’t miss the gleam of appreciation. “The trip across great distances of space is not a problem for those who have been doing it their whole life. You will quickly adjust, but I do not wish for you to fall in the shower and hurt yourself. I can help.”
“You want to bathe me?” I asked, my mouth hanging open. My voice sounded surprised, not because I couldn’t do it on my own, but because I really liked the idea.
“We are bondmates. Whatever you need, I shall provide.”
I had a feeling he meant a lot more than helping me with soap and a washcloth.
Wow, okay. While he was… spectacular, I wasn’t quite ready for that. Yet. I wasn’t sure what would happen if he took off his clothes. My mind—and body—would probably melt. No matter how crazy all of this was, I was attracted to him. Everything I’d said to Mia and Lily hadn’t been wrong. I wanted him.
I cleared my throat. “I can do it. Thanks.”
Even though his attraction had been obvious, Alex was a gentleman and turned on his heel and left me alone. The door slid closed behind him, offering me privacy as I took a long, hot shower. Too long probably, but I wasn’t quite ready to face whatever insanity I’d gotten myself into. Once I couldn’t get any cleaner, I turned off the water, dried myself, and pulled out the uniform.
Just as he’d said, it fit like a glove. I took another five minutes turning around and around, admiring myself in the mirror I had discovered on the backside of the closet door. I was in the Starfighter uniform.
OMG. I’d thought of what it would be like to wear one, and now I was.
I looked good. The snug black uniform did an amazing job of making me look thinner than I was. Tougher. Stronger. More confident, because I needed all the help I could get.
I gave a quick glance to my pajamas on the floor. I felt as if I’d stepped out of my Earth persona and into that of a Starfighter. Was I insane? This was real.
I couldn’t stay in the bathroom and wonder. My curiosity pushed me into the other room, which was three times the size of my little one-bedroom apartment on Earth. A kitchen area with a small table and four chairs opened into a large living space with a sectional sofa that looked like an entire basketball team could sit shoulder to shoulder with room left over. In addition to the massive sofa, two large, stuffed chairs surrounded a square table perfect for putting up aching feet or setting down a drink after a long day.
The flooring looked like short, commercial carpeting, but the strands had been soft under my bare feet in the bedroom and I sank into the simple flooring like I was walking on a cloud.
I recognized all of it. Even the lamps standing at the ends of the sofa, the throw pillows. The adorable statue of the Velerion creature—whose name I couldn’t remember—that stood guard next to the main door. A good luck guardian or something like that. Every detail I had chosen. Again, from the available menu options in the game…but still.
“Oh my God. This is crazy.”
“Is it not to your liking? You may change whatever you wish.” He looked around as if he’d never seen the space before. Perhaps he hadn’t. When I’d gone into my game menus and selected the sofa and decorations, it had all been a game to me. Fun. My one and only chance to design a living space without concern for money. Now I was standing in that space, and I knew without looking that behind the other four doors I would find another bathroom, a spare bedroom, a tactical room used to store extra weapons and armor, and the black door would take us out into the corridor, onto the moon base.
“It’s perfect.”
“I agree.” Alex turned and looked me up and down, and I knew he was not talking about our apartment. Living quarters. Whatever. The heat in his eyes made me tingle all over. My time in front of the mirror had done nothing to my confidence in comparison to how he was eyeing me.
“Do we have to clean this place? It’s three times the size of my old apartment.”
Alex chuckled. “Of course not. We have service bots that take care of maintenance and cleaning.”
“Thank God. I hate scrubbing toilets.”
His laugh this time was booming, and my smile was so tight my cheeks ached. When his amusement died down, he focused on me with the look of a man who liked what he saw in a woman. Desired her. “You please me, bondmate,” he said, his voice deep. I’d heard that tone before, but it had always been technical, not sexual.
A thrill of feminine satisfaction shot through me, and I felt my cheeks heat. I glanced away under his intense scrutiny. Then my stomach rumbled.