fields first before returning to the market. Your friend and the rest of his family pod will walk among the vendors today and see what they can learn.”
“Is that safe?” Nova couldn’t help but worry about her little pink friend. She’d feel like shit if she somehow got him into trouble, or worse, hurt in some way. “What if Cruum or Talis find out they’re asking questions? Won’t that put them in danger?”
Axis pulled her into his side, the solid feel of his body next to her as they walked offering her a feeling of comfort she hadn’t had in a long while. “Do not worry, Nova. I said they will walk around the vendors; I did not say they were going to ask questions. The grophki are often overlooked because of their size and quiet nature. Their unassuming presence makes it easy for them to listen in on conversations that others would generally keep guarded.”
“I can see that,” she said as her face flamed red with embarrassment. She knew exactly how easy it was to blab around one, considering she’d done it herself.
Nova kept quiet, following closely beside him. Not only was she stalled for what to talk about, the craziness around her kept drawing her attention. The market was a wild and crazy place to behold. Despite only arriving the day prior, she finally saw it in all its glory for the first time.
“Wowza,” she said as an offensive smell wafted out from a passerby. She waved her hand under her nose to push away the lingering odors. She figured it was coming from the weird, furred space-cow that had just passed, but considering the look of the guy leading it, it could have wafted from him as well.
“Come here,” Axis said a second before he was pulling her closer into his side. “Tuck your face into my side if the smell becomes too much. Once we clear this portion of the market, it should be easier to breathe.”
Nova didn’t hesitate to take him up on his offer. Although he’d bought her a new robe to take place of the shit-smelling blanket she’d stolen in the brothel district, the coarse fabric had already started to reek of her surroundings. It didn’t help that they were literally walking past a pen full of the weird ox creatures that were the ones stinking up the whole place.
Axis’s pace increased to a definite hustle as they worked their way through the crowd with him parting the sea of stink with his bulky form.
“The air should be better here,” Axis informed her once they moved beyond the stalls and noise of the market.
She lifted her head to give an experimental sniff. Testing the air, she relaxed and took a deeper breath when it hadn’t made her want to puke. Her nose was still able to pick up the lingering stench, but it wasn’t as chokingly thick as before. “At least I can’t taste it now,” she agreed with a grimace. “How much further to the landing field?”
“It is just ahead,” he said, raising their linked hand to gesture the direction they were walking.
“Do you think Cruum and Talis are still there?” she asked, even though she knew they most likely had already moved on.
“I don’t think they are,” he answered with a shake of his head before giving her a tilted smile. “But, then again, I didn’t expect to find my bride in the market with a grophki healer.”
“Touché,” Nova agreed with a chuckle. “Part of me still can’t believe it.”
“I know.” He lifted up the hand he was holding and gave it a little squeeze. “I think that’s why I keep touching you…to make sure you’re real and not something I’ve dreamed up.”
“Dreamed—” she sputtered on a nervous laugh. In her mind, Nova imagined a neon sign above her head popping up and listing all the ways she’d defiled his body in her fantasies. Then she realized what he’d said. “Wait? You’ve been dreaming about me?”
“Every time I’ve closed my eyes,” he answered as he slowed them to a stop on the side path. The walkway was fairly empty, but he’d moved them out of the way of the aliens who still lingered. Turning to face her, he cupped her cheeks in his big palms. “And some of the times with them open as well.”
Nova stopped breathing, her body forgetting how to perform the simple act at not only his admission but also the hot-as-fuck look in his eyes.
“My obsession with