“What if I gave them that—something like that. But without, you know, the whole touching and coming part.”
“What are you talking about?” He shook his head.
I raised my hand, as if about to make a vow.
“I’ll give you my promise that I’ll provide entertainment for your buddies.” I waved my hand in the air. “But on my terms.”
“I’m asking again.” He frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’ll be needing a few things...” I glanced back at the clothing rack. It held enough dresses for me to make a costume. “Do you have something that plays music?”
“Why music?” He stared at me, clearly dumbfounded.
“I’ll dance, okay?” I explained. I’d taken dance lessons for years in school and then in art college. I’d even won a few competitions, back in the day. Not that any of that mattered much to a group of males searching for stimulation to get themselves off. “I’ll take my clothes off too,” I added, reluctantly. “Some of them.”
I stifled a sigh. Sadly, I wouldn’t be the first woman in history pressured into stripping by necessity.
“Dance?” Wyck scrubbed his hand over his face, not looking convinced at all. “How is a dance supposed to be exciting?”
Clearly, he’d never seen a striptease before. That could work to my advantage: they’d have nothing to compare me with. I’d have the sense of novelty on my side.
I really hoped that would be enough.
The idea could be tested right here, I realized.
“Oh, Wyck. Dance can be so many things,” I said in a deliberately low, raspy voice, moving toward him. Swaying my hips, I gave him a sultry look. “It can also be very, very sexually stimulating.”
I hoped errocks—as well as the rest of the aliens here—responded to body language similarly to human men. Because that plate with steaming stew looked and smelled more amazing the closer I got.
Wyck’s nostrils flared as I approached.
“Hungry?” he asked, his voice came out rougher than normal.
“Very.” I held his gaze, licking my lips.
His thick eyebrow ridges shifted together, his bright eyes glaring with menace and heat. At this distance, I spotted grass-green spots floating in the yellow-gold of his irises—a touch of calm amongst the wild light.
“Come and get it, then.” He took a piece of meat off the plate, holding it out between his fingers. The same way he’d done when he’d tossed food to Lesh.
I was sure he intended to insult me, but I was too hungry to care. Stepping closer, I rose on my tiptoes, tilted my head back, and opened my mouth.
“That’s a good girl.” His voice rumbled with approval. He sounded almost delusional, as if caught in a surreal dream with me.
This place certainly felt like a dream—teetering on the edge between a nightmare and a hallucination.
He dropped the meat between my lips, quickly withdrawing his hand, not giving me a chance bite his fingers. This might not be the best meal I’d ever had, but it certainly felt like it. I quickly chewed and swallowed the piece of meat right there.
“More.” I reached for the plate in his hand, but he lifted it up higher.
“Not so fast.”
“I’ve given you my promise.” I stepped on the toes of his boots, to get higher. I’d never thought of myself as short, but Wyck would dwarf any human with his height and bulk. Next to him, I felt petite, and the plate remained out of my reach.
“Not exactly the promise I’d asked you for.” He moved the plate even higher.
Hooking one arm around his massive neck, I pulled myself up, straining to get to the food. “Who cares? As long as you get the same results?”
His other arm wound around my waist, holding me in place.
My attempts to get to the plate suddenly halted, the awareness of our position rushed in.
I was hugging his neck, my face at his eye level, my body pressed flush to his so tight I could feel the firm beat of his heart against my chest. Every breath I took was filled with his scent—strong and masculine like him.
“That hungry, are you?” The velvet rumble in his voice gave his phrase a whole new meaning.
He dipped his face to the place where my neck met my shoulder, and his wide chest rose with a breath so deep, it lifted me up.
“I want you to listen to me,” he growled against the skin above the collar of my suit. “And obey.”