my gaze. He’s got dips on the side of his ass, and he’s so toned that the cords that make up his muscles are clearly outlined on his thigh. Because I’m staring, I don’t notice when they quiet down.
They’ve seen me. There’s no point in hiding, so I step out, clearing my throat. “I would love to shower,” I say, then realize I forgot to add the when you’re done part. What in God’s name is happening to me? It’s like Nar’s body makes me stupid.
Nar extends a hand and flicks two fingers. “Join me.”
I had that coming, didn’t I? “I’ll wait until you’re done.”
Mas snickers. “If you wait until he’s done, he’ll stand here for the span and waste all the water on purpose. You’d better catch some while you can.”
To hold the pelt in place, I tuck the corner of it between my breasts, and I walk over.
“Mas,” Nar says.
“Nar?” Mas smirks.
“Fuck off.”
Mas scrubs his face and steps out from under his water spray, then points a finger at me. “You will accept a gift from one of us today, or no shower.”
“Ignore him. You can shower free of obligation.”
“I’m a better catch, and as you well saw, I have a bigger dick.” Mas grabs his length. I don’t look.
Nar laughs. “In your dreams, boy. Goodbye.”
Mas leaves, and Nar stands there, hands on his hips. “I advise you to walk away.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m horny and wanna fuck.”
“Why don’t you let me shower and you go jerk off?”
He laughs again, which lifts his eyes at the corners. I smile. I can’t remember the last time I smiled or laughed, and I feel both guilty and relieved I can still do both. I thought I would die in that dark hole and nobody would even notice other than Feli the next time he threw me food. But I’m alive, and that’s better than rotting in a pit.
Nar extends a hand.
I take it, and he rips the pelt right off me before he pulls me right up against his body. I look around, conscious we’re in public. Although nobody’s watching, I’m still apprehensive, probably because his hardness rests on my belly, and he holds me at the small of my back.
“I’m gonna wash you, pet you a little,” he says. One hand starts rinsing my hair, scrubbing my scalp. That feels nice. Even I can smell the dirt, mud, and God knows what washing away down my back.
“Back in Kalia,” Nar says, “we have oils and flowers we use for fragrance.”
I nod, happy he just wants to talk. “We have shampoos and shower gels. Well, on Earth. On Mars, they dry shower.”
“Mars?”
I nod. “A planet near Earth we’ve colonized.”
“I hadn’t realized your people are conquerors.”
“Oh, we’re not. We…um.” I frown, unable to deny it. Are we a conquering race? We’re always hungry for more land, more power, more alliances, and we’ve warped our belief system to the point where we can’t even see what we’ve done to a planet like Joylius. In retrospect, we occupied Joylius and spun our occupation as helping the Joyliuns live better. Are they living better? We’ve urbanized most of the planet and “secured” the native animal life into conservatories. Snuffed from main media channels but still existing somewhere in our database are reports of shortened lifespans among the natives. Ouch. “Mars didn’t have inhabitants prior to our colonization, so we didn’t conquer anyone.”
Nar rubs my shoulders, palms trailing over my spine, and even though the water is cold, his body warms me in more ways than one. I want to touch him. But I can’t, because touching another species the way I want to touch him is taboo. Humans don’t mingle with others. Nobody does that. “What’s your planet called?” I ask to distract him. Or me.
Nar takes my palm and puts it over his shoulder. It’s as if he knows my inappropriate thoughts, while I can’t sense anything from him. White eyes reveal nothing, and I’m at a disadvantage because my dark brown, almost black eyes, I’ve been told, are easy to read. Most humans’ eyes communicate something, and eye contact when pressed against a man like this makes everything more intimate.
“Nomra Prime,” he says.
As his hands roam over my back, lower and lower yet, they slide over my bottom and squeeze, then lift me up so we’re at eye level. The arousal that’s been blossoming in my belly since last night turns into an ache. My channel pulses, needing that hard, long maleness between his