Authors: Tracy St. John
“Oh!” he breathed, wondering at his lack of good sense. “I bet you’d like a shower. A real one instead of a quick spray while you’re hiding,” he added with a laugh.
Tasha laughed with him. The sound was low-pitched and husky. It made things in Nur stir with interest.
With a playful toss of her head, Tasha said, “Yes, well it turns out there were no real bathing facilities in that prison camp. I’m sure I smell to high heaven.”
The slight waft of sourness coming from her didn’t bother Nur at all. Not when she had that bright expression that lit her face, not when he imagined rills of water running down her soft body with its plump curves.
Nur wheeled around abruptly, not wanting Tasha to see his reaction to the enticing thoughts running through his head. He made a come-along gesture as he headed for the guest facility, refusing to look at the Earther who had caused more forms of excitement than Nur could take. “Let me get you set up.”
Her concerned tone stopped him. “Can you – is there some way to monitor Noelle while I’m out of the room? If she wakes up and no one’s around, she might get scared.”
He turned to her. Tasha remained near the guest room’s door, reluctant to be out of earshot of her little cousin. Nur understood the concern.
He headed back. “There is a room com that I can set for live monitoring in the rest of the home. Just a moment.”
Nur went into the guest sleeping room and adjusted the com for one-way monitoring. “There,” he whispered to Tasha. “I made it so we’ll hear her wherever we are. If she calls out while you’re in the shower, I’ll dash in and take care of her until you can get in here.”
The stiff set of Tasha’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, Nur.”
He led her to the bath facility across the hall from the guest bedroom. Tasha gazed around the navy-and-white bath. It was as much Nur’s storage as it was a lavatory. Open shelving held at least a couple hundred labeled bottles and jars, Nur’s main inventory of hair and bath products. He picked through them with a critical eye, selecting about half a dozen, which he set in the shower stall.
Tasha blinked at the myriad of moisturizers, conditioners, and oils. “Goodness. You could set up a salon.”
Nur grinned at her as he set out three fluffy white towels on the table next to the shower. “I’m a professional groomer. Most of my clients are vacationing Imdikos and Dramoks who want special pampering on their holiday.”
“Not a Nobek thing, huh?”
Nur laughed at her observation. “I don’t get many Nobek clients, though they’ll allow me to trim their hair if their Dramoks yell enough.” He stopped setting out soaps to look at her hair with the same measuring gaze he’d given his products. After scrutinizing, he picked out more toiletries. “Deep cleanser for your face, body scrub, moisturizer, hair mask. Who has been chopping on your hair with a hedge laser? That’s a shame with such pretty, thick hair. And you need deep conditioning—”
He broke off when she tittered, partly because he wondered what was so funny, but mostly because Tasha was so pretty when she smiled. He wished he knew why the world slammed to a stop every time she beamed at him.
She said, “Nur, I don’t know how to use half this stuff. I’m a wash-and-go kind of girl most of the time. Shampoo and soap are about the extent of it.”
Nur gave her a mock glower and shifted the products he’d selected for her so he could shake a finger at her. “Not in my house, you don’t. Get washed and then come into my lavatory. I’ll get everything ready. You’re going to be pampered so hard that you won’t ever walk out the door again without sun-blocking moisturizer on every inch of your skin.”
His arms full, he turned and walked out. Tasha’s throaty chuckle followed him, making Nur’s gut heat. Maybe it wasn’t sex, but grooming a woman would be a rare pleasure Nur couldn’t deny himself. The thought of touching Tasha’s lovely face and hair made his steps light as he hurried down the hall. If he went to bed with ramrod-hard cocks because of it, it would be worthwhile. Especially if he could get Tasha to smile at him again.
Nur beamed with anticipation as he mentally ticked off all the indulgences he’d give Tasha. Who knew dangerous situations could lend themselves to such fun?
Once she’d scrubbed herself free of the prison yard’s filth, turning her skin pink from the scouring, Tasha wrapped herself up in one of the downy towels Nur had set out. Another went around her head in a turban.
She hadn’t heard a peep since getting into the shower, but Tasha peeked in on Noelle anyway. The girl hadn’t stirred an inch since Nur had set her in the bed, and her face looked less drawn than before. Tasha sighed in relief, glad to see Noelle sleeping soundly. They weren’t truly safe from Ket, but at least the child could relax in the illusion of security for a little while.
She padded down the hallway and into the clan’s sleeping room. The light from the hall and bathroom illuminated part of it, but there were still shadows that Earther sight couldn’t pierce. Tasha wondered at a couple of large indistinct shapes in the corners of the room, but she wasn’t one for snooping into other peoples’ business. She kept going to the private bath.
Peeking into the room that had been her sanctuary during Ket’s search of the house, she saw Nur loading up the curtained countertop she and Noelle had hidden beneath. Some of the products looked vaguely familiar to Tasha. She’d lied a little about not bothering with anything more than washing and going. On occasion she had availed herself of the Matara Complex’s luxurious spa. It was a nice indulgence once in a while, but Tasha kept busy enough that she didn’t frequent it as much as some of the women. Being pampered by Nur sounded like a real treat.
She observed the Imdiko as he worked. His lips lifted in a pleasant smile, lighting his face with an inner beauty she appreciated far more than physical perfection. Nur didn’t have the heavy jawline of his Dramok that made Falinset look rather brutish. Nor did he have those amazing scars that gave brave Wekniz the aspect of a fearsome beast. Nur still looked interesting, someone Tasha could gaze at and discover something new about in each moment. Even with the typical Imdiko compassion, he possessed an underlying darkness, a hint of something that didn’t offer false promises of sweetness and rainbows. The shadows in his eyes drew Tasha more than anything else.
That magnificent body she’d gotten a gander at in the shower was rather compelling as well. Parts below gave a happy throb at the memory. Nur possessed an exquisite build that Tasha knew she’d enjoy putting her body all over. She wondered at her chances in scoring a tumble with the delicious Imdiko.
Unlike many women who had come from sexually-repressed Earth, Tasha felt no shame for her lively libido. As far as she was concerned, sexuality was one of her many attributes. It was no more obscene than the need to sleep when she was tired or the drive to eat when she was hungry. Sex felt good. Tasha believed she had every right to enjoy it.
Looking Nur up and down, she thought she’d enjoy it with him, thank you so very much. She eyed the breadth of his chest, the way his shirt clung to his shoulders, and the lean muscles in his forearms left bare by his rolled up sleeves. She sighed.
Nur looked up at her, his gaze lingering over her towel-clad body. It appeared to take some effort for him to lift his gaze to her eyes. Tasha rubbed her hands over the fluffy fabric that covered her hips as she said, “I don’t suppose my clothes are clean yet?”
Nur shook his head. “They need a few more minutes. Besides, I want you to put moisturizer on all over.” He looked her over again, his blue-purple eyes hot. He pulled a cushioned chair with a high back around to face her. “Come over here and have a seat.”
The Imdiko summoned her in a tone that sounded like an order. Tasha’s breath caught at the firm voice. No coaxing in saccharine tones, no pretense at making it sound like she had a choice.
Now we’re talking
, she thought as she padded across the floor to the waiting seat.
Tasha sat down while eyeing Nur unselfconsciously. Now that she didn’t smell like a skunk, she was ready to get deep into his personal space. Since she couldn’t race home with Noelle right away, passing the time playing with a strong and hopefully demanding Kalquorian suited her fine. As much as she was eager to get the hell off of Lobam, part of her hoped to give Wekniz a tumble too. If she was stuck here, she might as well be decently compensated for it.
She wasn’t so sure about Falinset. He had the rough customer look that turned Tasha on, but he was Maf’s son and Ket’s brother. Tasha had birthed an almost violent hatred of Maf, along with Ket. The two of them needed to pay for what they’d done to Noelle. Even more so, they owed the abducted Earther women gallons of blood.
Tasha had every intention of seeing them pay for their crimes.
For now, however, there was Nur. She would let him pet and pamper her and ... if he played his cards right ... quite a bit more.
She sank in the comfortable seat and settled in. “Are you sure we’ll hear Noelle if she needs me?”
“Positive. Stop worrying and relax.”
Nur barked a command in Kalquorian, and the chair Tasha sat in lifted a couple of inches off the floor. With one hand on an armrest, the Imdiko guided it over to the sink. He put Tasha’s back to it and had the chair settle back to the ground.
As he got the slender silver faucet with the spray attachment running, Tasha asked, “Where are your clanmates?”
“Playing with a couple of drones.” He snickered at her confusion and lowered the back of her chair so that her head hung over the deep sink. His fingers began to carefully comb through the snarls of her hair. “Wekniz sent out his fire scout drones to see if the home is being monitored by Ket and his men.”
“Fire drones?”
“They’re flying drones configured to find hotspots for firefighting. They can trace body heat signatures too, but that means they have to go slow. It could be a couple of hours before Wekniz and Falinset finish mapping the area.”
Tasha tried to think over the situation, but Nur’s fingers massaging her scalp relaxed her. She realized she could easily fall asleep under his care. The man had an amazing touch.
Her eyelids sank shut. She murmured, “By my count, there are about three dozen guards available to Ket at the compound. They work in two shifts to keep an eye on the women. It could be the containment is big enough that Ket won’t be able to spare too many men at a time to watch here.”
“Especially since there has now been a successful escape. Maybe we can get you and Princess Noelle out sooner rather than later.”
Tasha thought he sounded disappointed by that prospect. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. “I appreciate the danger you’re all putting yourselves in. It must be particularly hard on your Dramok.”
Nur snorted as he rubbed a sweet-smelling gel in her hair. “Not for the reasons you might think. Falinset has no loyalty to Maf. He despises him. We all do.”
Tasha peeled her eyes open and gazed at him curiously. “What’s he got on you three that you don’t turn him in?”
Nur was quiet. His eyes were distant, his expression pained. His jaw tensed, making it jut forward. It gave his strong features a tragic cast. Hurt somehow made him look more compelling than before. The effect fascinated Tasha.
After mulling her question for a moment, Nur shook his head. “When Maf’s identity as the Basma comes out, so will everything else. You’ll hear about it soon enough. I’m going to sit you up now.”
He adjusted the chair so that Tasha sat upright. He added more, or perhaps a different gel in her hair, making it sit heavily on top of her head. Tasha thought it smelled wonderful, like the outdoors after rain.
She thought about pressing him for more information about what it was that allowed Maf to blackmail his son’s clan, but Nur’s tone had been firm when he shut her down. For an Imdiko, he struck Tasha as unyielding when he resolved on a course of action. There was an iron strength to Nur that made her stomach flutter when he displayed it.
“There. That will set for about half an hour. Now let’s see to your skin,” Nur got to work deep cleaning her face and then putting on a hydrating mask. While that set, he worked on softening her hands and the soles of her feet.
Tasha was impressed as the effects of Nur’s efforts began to show. Her feet and hands were as smooth and soft as Noelle’s cheeks when the Imdiko finished with them. Her face emerged from the mask brighter than before and even the fine lines that had begun to show on her forehead and at the corners of her eyes had disappeared. Nur got better results than the groomers who worked at the spa in the Matara Complex.
Nur still wasn’t finished. He continued to work on her face and then trimmed her hair to fix the ‘damage’ he complained her usual hairdresser had unleashed on the tresses. His touch was soothing, and Tasha dozed under his meticulous care.
The Imdiko’s quiet tone reached her through the mists of being half-awake and half-asleep. “Tasha.”
She opened her eyes to find herself facing the mirror. Tasha blinked at herself. Her new haircut framed her face softly, and the highlights many walks on the beach had put in her hair gleamed brighter and prettier than before. Her face glowed. She looked like she had slept well for months on end though there had been little real rest on the hard pallet that served as a bed in the prison camp.