Retribution (Kall Alien Warriors #3) - Sue Lyndon Page 0,29
to treasure such moments.
Who was she kidding? She’d done a piss poor job of keeping her guard up thus far. At this very second, achiness surged in her core and her breath kept hitching. How she could be so infatuated with the general, she had no idea. But the warm gaze he settled on her gave her no doubt that the infatuation went both ways.
Oh God, what was happening?
She was pretty sure Rule Number One for Kall prisoners was don’t fall for your captor.
“Good morning, human.” His eyes glittered with excitement and her stupid heart skipped a beat. He looked excited. To see her.
She quickly reminded herself that not long ago, he’d wished to hurt her, even kill her. And he had hurt her—he’d hurt her and frightened her badly.
He approached and handed her the box. “This is for you, Layla.”
She peered down at the plain white box, wondering what it might contain. Had he brought her a present of some sort? An odd sense of giddiness filled her. She gave him a curious look before she lifted the lid and peeked inside.
Clothing. He’d brought her clothing.
She ran her hands over the soft, luxurious silk, then walked to her bed and placed the box down upon it. Carefully, she withdrew a pretty light blue dress. Wow. She stifled a gasp. Upon further inspection, she found it was a gorgeous, long-sleeve gown with white embroidery around the neckline. The dress was in the Kall fashion, and the box also contained matching leggings, which Kall females typically wore under long dresses. There was also a thick white wrap that looked especially warm and a pair of shoes.
Was he truly giving this to her? She eyed him with suspicion. Was this some kind of trick? Or was it yet another way for him to apologize for that awful strapping they both avoided talking about?
“I’ve never seen a dress so beautiful,” she said, meaning it. She’d visited countless marketplaces on the Kall homeworld and hadn’t come across anything so lovely as this dress. She wondered where he’d gotten it. After all, they were in the middle of space. She sincerely hoped these garments hadn’t belonged to Shessema. That would be… awkward and problematic. Especially if he wanted to see her wearing this dress.
“I’m glad you like it.” He gave her a rare almost-smile, and for one quick moment his eyes dazzled like the stars. “My ship contains a materials replicator. It took the better part of the morning to create this dress and the other items, but I think everything turned out quite nicely, for replicated items.”
Surprise swept through her and she felt her eyes widen. Materials replicators were expensive, and the ones humans used could usually only produce smaller objects or machine parts. This dress looked like something out of a fairytale, and relief filled her knowing it hadn’t belonged to Shessema.
An awkward moment passed between them as she held the dress in front of her, wanting to try it on but not wishing to get naked in front of General Zamek.
He swallowed hard and nodded at the bathroom. “You could go in there and see if it fits, human. I-I would like to wait and make sure it fits.” There was a nervousness about his manner that she couldn’t help but find endearing, and a flush rose to her cheeks.
“Okay,” she replied. “I’ll be right back.” She scurried into the bathroom, holding the box close to her chest, and shut the door, thankful that there was a door. From what she remembered of the other cells, they didn’t contain separate bathrooms or doors.
She removed her clothing, folding it neatly and placing it upon a chair. She reached for the leggings in the box first, then noticed several pairs of panties and a few bras underneath it that she’d missed the first time she inspected the contents of the box. Oh my. He’d not only replicated the dress, leggings, wrap, and shoes, but he’d thought to provide her with new undergarments as well, even though Kall females typically didn’t wear panties and bras.
The bra was more like a sports bra, but it fit surprisingly well. The panties were a perfect fit too. She donned the leggings and carefully put the dress on, shocked by how well it fit. Had the general been studying her dimensions? She blushed at the thought. Once she added the wrap and slipped into the shoes, she peered in the mirror and gasped.