his search for her.
“Maybe you weren’t the Phaeton I was looking for after all.”
“I’ve been searching for you since the moment you ran away from me,” he growled, closing the distance she’d created until he could smell the scent of fresh soap on her skin. She may not know it yet, but he’d become her protector the instant he touched her in the marketplace days ago. He was hers and she was his and his alone. “Also know that there will be no other Phaeton for you. Ever.”
“Huh?” His female cocked an eyebrow at him in challenge.
“Psssst.” Click. Click. Click.
“Yes,” Axis answered the healer, still refusing to take his eyes off the curvy woman in front of him. He still couldn’t believe she was actually here. She looked like he remembered, yet slightly different. Her hair was longer than he remembered it being—most likely because the heavy length of it was still wet. The long curls lay heavily against the tops of her shoulders before falling down her back a few inches. The tattoos that had been painted on her hands and arms were almost completely faded away. Observing the empty tub that sat in the corner of the room, he suspected his female had scrubbed herself clean the moment she was offered a bath.
“Wait,” she said, looking back and forth between him and the two grophki. “You understand what he’s saying?”
“Of course,” he answered with a shrug. “They understand us too.”
“Hold up,” she said, turning to look at the healer with wide eyes. “You knew what I was saying this whole time?”
“Pssst.”
Axis bit back a smile at the answer the healer gave within that one hiss. “He said yes, and that you talk a lot.”
“Pfft,” she snorted, crossing her arms in front of her as she began to fidget. “Did he say anything else? Anything about dreams or…anything?”
“What?” he asked, unsure what she meant. It was entirely possible his confusion was coming from him missing part of their conversation. He was so distracted by the way her breasts were playing peekaboo with the colorful fabrics she had wrapped around her torso he could barely remember his name. He was unsure where she’d procured the outfit from, but he wholeheartedly approved of it. It was as if she were a present wrapped and waiting for him to unwrap.
“Nothing,” she answered with a wave of her hand. “I’m Nova.”
“Appropriate for the stars we live among,” he said with a nod. The name fit the beauty in front of him perfectly. “You shine as brightly as the occurrence you’re named after.”
“Ha!” she laughed, a dimple appearing in her left cheek in her amusement. “Not even close, dude.”
“I don’t understand.” He frowned, unsure what he’d said that made her laugh. “And my name is Axis.”
“I’m not named after anything as romantic as the stars, Axis.” Nova’s smiled went from cheery to slightly sad in the blink of an eye. “I was named after the type of car they found me abandoned in when I was little. It was an old burned-out Chevy Nova.”
Axis could read the pain on her features easily. Even though her voice was strong, there was a fragility to the tone he couldn’t ignore. It called to him to comfort her, so that’s exactly what he did. He reached out and pulled her into his arms before he could think twice about the forwardness of his actions. Petting her hair, he was careful to keep his hands from getting tangled within her curls. At first, her form was stiff where he sheltered her in his arms. Then, she relaxed with a sigh.
“I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you by bringing up a memory that you would rather forget. Although I cannot change what has happened in your past, I can promise you that you will never be alone again. I will make sure of it.” Axis had no idea if anything he was saying was helpful at all but couldn’t stop himself. The sadness on her face didn’t belong there. “Also, I do not know what a Chevy Nova is, but if you’re named after it, then it cannot be that awful.” He felt tiny bit of relief when she let out a snort against his chest.
“I’m sorry I’m acting like such a crybaby,” she whispered as she leaned back a little way to look up into his face. Her eyes were red with unshed tears, but she gave him a small smile. “I like your story more though.