luxuriously decadent. Its red color changed to bright orange and yellow in my hands when I picked it up. Despite being thick and fluffy, it took little space when I rolled it into a bundle and stuffed it into the bag.
“You like pretty things,” I observed when Vrateus walked out of the bathroom.
“As long as they’re also functional.” He handed me the filled canteens to put in the bag. “Come.”
Taking the bag from me, he picked up the metal-cutting tool then headed back to the bathroom.
“That way?” I asked, confused.
“We need to get more weapons, remember?”
“In the bathroom?”
“Not exactly.” He lifted a piece of wall paneling, revealing a hidden door behind it.
“Is that where your weapon storage is?” I gasped. “Crux would love to know that.”
“He might still figure it out.” Vrateus entered the hidden room, gesturing for me to follow. “Maybe.”
The room behind the door was at least ten times larger than the bathroom. Shelves lined the walls, displaying a collection of weapons that would make any museum proud. The earliest models Vrateus had might have been millennia old. Though I couldn’t date them accurately, as many seemed entirely unfamiliar.
I recognized a toolbox from my ship standing in a corner.
Vrateus locked the door behind us.
“Let’s see.” He took a leather belt with holsters from a peg on the wall then turned to me. “This should fit you.”
Leaning over, he wrapped the belt around my waist then buckled it in the front. “These go here.” He slid a small gun into the holster on my left then put a slim knife into the sheath on the right. “And this will go here.” He took a cluster of narrower belts with a sheath. Getting down on one knee, he wrapped the belts around my right thigh.
“I’m not sure how to use any of these.”
“You did pretty good out there.” He tipped his head toward the corridor that must still be littered with dead aliens. I had shot some of them. The reality of me being a murderer still hadn’t settled in. “This gun is like the one you’ve used.” He took the small weapon out of its holster on my belt then showed me how to use it, explaining its parts. “Shoot from a distance,” he added. “Aim for their face, neck or stomach. Most of the species have thinner skin, smaller scales or a finer chitin layer in those areas.”
He placed the gun back into its holster. Sliding his fingers around my leg, he adjusted the straps of the dagger sheath around my thigh next.
The sudden awareness of his hands skimming the inside of my thigh sent a warm shiver up my body. He must have sensed it too, as his fingers stilled on the strap.
His hand splayed on the back of my thigh, he released a shuddered breath, letting his head drop between his shoulders.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, my voice unintentionally breathy.
“Now, more than ever, I need to be fully alert. But you’re such a distraction, Svetlana,” he groaned.
It didn’t come out as an accusation. Still, I felt a pang of guilt. The image of him chugging the poisoned wine after my failed escape attempt rose in my mind.
“I’ve been wreaking havoc on your world, haven’t I?”
“You have no idea,” he growled.
“I’m really sorry about how it all happened. I didn’t know that Crux would use my escape attempt as a distraction and strike against you.”
“I’m not blaming you for my lapse in caution.”
“For what then?”
He lifted his gaze, meeting mine.
“For everything that has been happening inside me.” A storm was churning in his vivid eyes.
“What would you have me do to change that?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t want to change a thing, Svetlana. From the moment you arrived, you’ve scrambled my thoughts, deprived me of focus, and wreaked havoc on my body.” He remained on one knee in front of me, his hands splayed on my thigh. “There is a pleasure in this torture, though. I don’t understand it, but I don’t want it to end. In fact, I crave more of it.”
I stared down at his face, confusion visible in his hard features. His physical reactions weren’t surprising. If I was the first woman he had ever encountered, some surge of hormones, pheromones, or physical desire on his part could be expected.
What had been shocking were my own feelings for him. The initial resentment had disappeared, slowly replaced by desire. Now, the genuine attraction was growing strong inside me.
I craved more of him, too.
He slid his