alone. I take her hands in mine. “I am sorry. They were big secrets and I did not know how to tell them without making you run away. I need to realize I am no longer alone, too.”
Kim squeezes my hands. “I think we can come back from this.”
“I know we can,” I tell her confidently. Already she trusts me far more than she thinks. I simply have to woo her again.
She nods and steps out of the shower. I watch her go, full of longing. “You can wash the rest of you.”
“You will not scrub my cock for me?” I cannot help but tease. “What if it is terribly dirty?”
“Then I’m going to wonder what the hell you were doing out in that field,” Kim says tartly.
I bark a laugh, and because she is still looking at me, I stroke a soapy hand up and down my length. It feels good, but what feels better is that Kim’s gaze locks onto that motion and her lips part. “I was not digging with my cock, if that is what you are asking.” I repeat the motion, twisting my hand as I reach the tip to work the crown, and she blushes and turns away.
So much for that. I bite back a sigh. I am patient, though. I will not give up.
“I need you to do a few things for me, Nassakth,” Kim says, her back to me.
“Anything. You know this.”
“If I make food you don’t like, I need you to tell me. Don’t just eat it because I worked on it. We’re from different species. I’ll do the same for you.”
“I understand.”
“And I think I want you to sleep in another room for a few days. Not because I’m angry, but just because it helps me think to have space.”
“I understand this as well.” Sort of. But if Kim needs space, I will give her space.
“Also, I want you to wear clothes around that bounty hunter.”
My brows furrow. This seems an odd request. I slide my soapy hands over my stomach. “Gladiators are often naked. It is so the enemy has nothing to hold onto—”
“Yes, but that isn’t an enemy. That’s Bethiah…and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like you being naked around her.” There’s a curious note in Kim’s voice that almost sounds like…irritation?
Is she jealous?
Hope blooms in my chest. It will not take long to win my Kim back at all. “If you are asking if I will cover my warrior so she is not overwhelmed with the magnitude of it, then I agree. This is wise.”
“Thank you,” Kim says.
“I do not want her falling in love with me,” I add boastfully.
My mate shoots me an irritated look over her shoulder that makes me laugh. Ah yes. There is my Kim. And she IS jealous.
53
NASSAKTH
Kim asks for her space that afternoon, and so I busy myself with my plants and with exercise. She spends her time in the bedroom, and I suspect she works on her story. I am curious what it is about, but Kim will tell me if she wishes for me to know. We eat dinner together, and while it is not entirely comfortable, it is not bad, either. After dinner, Kim teaches me a new card game called “I must go fish” with more complicated rules. I prefer Slapjack, but Kim does not want to play.
I think it is because if I put my paws on her, she will not be so resolved to keep this distance between us, and she wants to be strong.
I will let her be strong, for now. But I am crafty. I can wear down her defenses again, make her realize I am good for her. That she can trust me.
I do not protest when she sleeps alone. I sleep on the floor in my workout room, and when I wake up early the next morning and make breakfast, I am perversely pleased to see that my Kim looks as if she did not sleep well. "Tired?" I ask innocently.
"Not at all." She spoils these words with a jaw-cracking yawn.
"You would sleep better if I was there," I cajole, serving up a bowl of noodles.
She grumbles something under her breath and I grin.
We eat our meals, and when Kim turns to retreat back to the bedroom, I stop her. "Have you forgotten? It is time for our lessons."
Kim makes a face. "Nassakth, I'm tired and sore—"
"All who begin are tired and sore. You will build muscle soon enough." I