Big Bad Claws - Michele Mills Page 0,14

she pointed at him and gestured at her clothes draped on the chair.

He grunted and complied. His giant green gloves went over his own eyes. She paused, making sure he wasn’t going to peek, then leapt out of his bed, her heart racing. She swiftly grabbed all of her clothes and rushed into the nearby restroom and shut the door behind her. Then she rested against the closed door and blew out a breath.

She turned the lights on and glanced around at the restroom, taking longer to look at it in detail than she had last night. An ancient clothes washer was embedded in the wall and still appeared to work. Jeez. Arriving in the middle of the night, exhausted and freezing cold, had gotten her all flustered to the point where she hadn’t even looked closely at what was available.

Lila shoved her pajamas, panties and kitten slippers into the washing unit and turned it on. Then she stepped into the cleansing unit. Everything was simple but it worked. It wasn’t perfectly clean though. She timidly picked her way around, avoiding the tacky walls and frowning at the fact that she was barefoot on a surface she didn’t feel was perfectly sanitary. Didn’t this male own cleaning bots? Bots were rare on New Earth, but she knew they were common elsewhere in the four sectors.

The cutest little bot moved along the outside of the unit. “Oh my gosh, you’re adorable,” she told the tiny machine. The poor thing looked like it was two hundred years old. It was really an antique. She lifted it up and put it in the cleansing unit with her and let it work around her feet. This was the problem, it was so small it couldn’t get in there by itself. Lila watched as it steamed away at the floor, leaving behind trails of bubbles. “Cute,” she grinned.

Rough cleansing water sprayed her body and she continued to wash up. She thought about the big naked guy. Zayzon was living in desperate circumstances and yet he’d been generous and let her sleep in his bed and hadn’t touched her. He’d quietly accepted her presence and slid in next to her and fell right asleep too. She couldn’t believe how trusting this guy was towards a stranger he’d found naked in his bed. Would she have reacted the same if she’d walked into her room back home and found a naked, sleeping male in her own bed?

Hell, no.

She would’ve called the peacekeepers in seconds.

She turned around to wash her entire body and wondered, why he hadn’t picked her up and moved her to the front room. She could’ve sworn she’d seen furniture out there that could double as a place to sleep. Or why hadn’t he left and slept elsewhere in the domicile? He’d found her there and then chose to leave her and stay. Why? He’d slept as if their proximity didn’t bother him. She was surprised an unmated Xylan would sleep that close to an unmated female. They were infamous for being super careful to not touch other unmated beings. Oh well, she’d just do him a favor and leave as soon as possible so he wouldn’t be bothered with her. Not that she knew where to go next…

The cleansing unit did its job, then switched to blow-dry. An older generation jet blew her hair in five different directions until she was warm and dry, her long hair shiny and clean. Lila stepped out and went to the clothes washer and found the cycle complete. She got dressed, delighted to discover there was even a mouth cleanser in this restroom. By the time she was done, she was perfectly ready, except she was dressed in her pajamas, as if she were going to bed.

She picked up the bot and cradled it in her arms. “You’re coming with me,” she told it.

Then she opened the door and found the huge Xylan male dressed and clean too. She blinked with surprise. Apparently, he’d used a cleansing unit in another part of the house?

She lifted her chin to get a good look at him because now that he was standing, she could appreciate how freakishly tall he was. Her breath caught because he was even more fine-looking, dressed from head to toe in shiny black clothing. Long gleaming braids fell down his back, highlighting his proud features. His shoulders were so very wide. She had no idea she’d continue to be this attracted to him. Her hands itched