“Easy, my zuzu.” He withdrew his fingers slowly, sending more shocks through her body, before pulling her tightly against his chest. “That was magnificent. I love that you are so responsive to my touch.”
“Mm.” She couldn’t find the words to answer him yet, her brain still spinning and her body soft and satisfied. His hands stroked over her back and she wanted to crawl up into his arms and take a long nap.
“As much as I love having you in my arms, perhaps it would be best if you took your bath before your brother returns.”
“Oh crap.” The thought sent a jolt of awareness through her body and she tried to pull back, cheeks flaming. “What if he had come in? We can’t do this again.”
T’chok held her in place easily. “Relax, R’chel. I was listening for him. But you should take your bath now.”
Since he still held her close, she was aware of the strength of his arousal. Looking down, she could see the swollen head of his cock, glistening with arousal, as it pushed up past his waistband. “Yes, of course. But what about you?”
“My precious girl. As I said, I can wait. I love you, R’chel.” He kissed her tenderly and unexpected tears sprang to her eyes.
“I love you, too.”
“Good. Now go.” He turned her around and sent her off with a smack across her butt that made her jump but also did a good job of reawakening her lust.
By the time Benji knocked on the door, she had finished her bath. Unwilling to put her dirty clothes back on, she found an old shirt of her dad’s to wear while she washed everything else in the bath water. Fortunately, he had been a big man and his shirt came down over her thighs. With a clean pair of panties, it would have to do. The wet clothes were hanging over the back of the chairs when Benji entered and he gave them a disgusted glance.
“Do you have to have girly stuff hanging around?”
“If it was warm enough to hang them outside I would. Did you bring extra clothes?”
“Yeah.” He pointed at his backpack, sitting next to the bunk.
“Good. Then we can wash the ones you’re wearing, too, as soon as you’re done with your bath.”
She pointed at the bath, but he scowled at her and didn’t budge. “Now? I’m just going to get dirty again.”
“Yes, now.”
He crossed his arms over his thin chest. “I won’t. Not while he’s here.”
“He’s asleep, Benji.”
“Maybe he’s just pretending,” he said defiantly.
“Why would he do that?” She sighed. She’d forgotten that trying to get a ten-year-old to do anything could be a struggle. “No more arguing.”
“But you’re here, too!”
“Bug, I changed your diapers. I gave you baths for the first half of your life. Are you really worried about it now?”
His scowl grew darker. “I’m not a little kid anymore.”
“Okay. If you promise to wash every inch of you, including your hair, I’ll go wait outside.”
“And leave me alone with him?” He pointed at T’chok again.
She sighed. “What if I go sit with him and draw the curtain?” A line ran across the end of the cabin with the big bed and a curtain could be pulled across it. The material currently pushed back against the wall was dusty and faded but it would provide a modicum of privacy.
“Okay,” he agreed reluctantly. “But don’t come out until I say you can.”
“I won’t,” she promised with a smile. Her smile faded as she drew the curtain carefully across the end of the cabin, trying not to wake T’chok. Unwilling to disturb him, she perched on the trunk instead of the bed while she worried about her brother. Benji was growing up so fast. They couldn’t stay here indefinitely. What would they do if T’lan wasn’t able to get them a reprieve? Could she really expect her brother to go on the run with them? Despite her troubled thoughts, she smiled again at the sound of her brother splashing away. It reminded her of all the times she had bathed him when he was a baby.
“I’m done,” he called finally.
“Good.” Leaving the curtain in place, she stepped back into the main area of the cabin. Water was puddled from the fireplace to the bunks and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, I wanted to wash the floor anyway.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
By late afternoon, the cabin was as clean as Rachel could make it. She cast a rueful glance at her dirt covered legs and started heating more water, grateful for the wood that Benji had split. He had brought most of it in and stacked it next to stove before helping her with the rest of the cleaning. T’chok had slept on and off for most of the day. She suspected that their brief interlude had taxed his strength, but she couldn’t bring herself to regret it.
“Why don’t you get out one of those schoolbooks and do a little reading while I figure out what to cook for supper?”
“I guess.” Benji tried not to sound enthusiastic but he was soon ensconced on his bunk with a history book in his hands. She smiled at his frown of concentration and turned her attention to their limited supplies. There was some rice in one of the jars, and cans of both tomatoes and beans, as well as some rather ancient spices. If the canned goods were okay, she could make a poor man’s version of red beans and rice.
Opening the cans, she gave them a cautious sniff. They seemed to be fine. With a mental shrug, she started putting the meal together. If T’chok wasn’t awake by the time they were ready to eat, she would wake him and ask for his scanner. Some hamburger and a few vegetables would have been nice additions, but all she could do was open a can of French onion soup to add some flavor. The meal went together quickly, and she left it to simmer as she checked on her clothes. They were dry but the thought of putting the same items on again didn’t appeal to her.
Searching through the linen chest, she found a few items belonging to her mother—a flowered, button-front dress and an old pink cardigan. Neither was her taste but at least they were different. Rather than take another bath, she took a pan of water behind the curtain and did a quick surface scrub before donning the old clothes.
“That is much better. I do not like seeing you in another male’s clothes”
She jumped and cast a startled glance at the bed. T’chok was leaning on one elbow, watching her with a speculative gleam in his eyes.
When T’chok awoke, the pain in his head had subsided. The faint sounds from the end of the bed caught his attention and he lifted up enough to see his little female bathing. She was unaware of his observation and made no attempt to be enticing, but the sight of her naked body was all he needed to send his shaft into full aching arousal. He winced and adjusted himself, waiting until she covered her tempting body before he spoke. The dress and soft sweater were more feminine than anything she had previously worn, and he liked the way they contrasted with her fiery personality. He was also glad to see that she no longer wore the other male’s shirt. He knew that it had belonged to her parent, but it still went against his instincts to allow it.
When he spoke, she startled, eyes flying to his and he couldn’t resist smiling at her.
“Is it my turn for a bath?” he added.
Her eyes heated, traveling down across his chest to his engorged cock. She wet her lips and started to round the bed toward him.
“No. It’s time for supper.” The young male’s voice sounded from behind the curtain. Rachel jumped and he swore under his breath, annoyed that he had forgotten the presence of the child.
“Later,” she whispered, before continuing in a normal voice. “Do you think you can join us?”
“Of course,” he said with a confidence that he did not feel. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he sat up. His head ached but he no longer felt a piercing pain at any movement. She pulled the curtain aside and stood watching him anxiously. He pulled on his belt and managed to stand up, swearing again as a wave of dizziness swept over him. R’chel slipped under his arm, pressing against his side, and he was able to keep his balance. She led him over to the table
, his steps as uncertain as a small child, and he collapsed gratefully into a chair. The wood creaked but held him.
Once she was sure that he was stable, she told the young male—B’nji—to wash while she prepared the meal. B’nji complied, then seated himself across the table from T’chok, glaring at him suspiciously.
“I didn’t have much to work with,” R’chel said nervously as she put a large bowl of food in front of him. “Can you scan it to make sure it’s safe?”
The strange looking dish smelled amazing. It reminded him of how hungry he was, and he was momentarily impatient with her request. His stomach could handle most things but as he saw his female and the child watching him, he knew he could take no chances with their safety. To his relief, the scanner indicated no issues. “It is fine,” he assured her.
After making sure that she started to eat, he began devouring the food. It tasted as good as it smelled, and he felt his strength returning.
“This is excellent, my zuzu. Is there more?”
“Here, you can have the rest of mine.” She pushed her half empty bowl in his direction.
He frowned at her and the child protested. “You can’t give him that, Rachel. You need to eat, too.”
“He is correct. I will not take your food. I have a large appetite, but this will be sufficient. Perhaps tomorrow you could make more?”
“Hah!” Benji said. Rachel twisted her fingers together and avoided his eyes.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, no. Nothing for you to worry about while you’re recovering.” She frowned at her brother when he started to speak.
“Do not lie to me, little girl. What is wrong?”
He heard the child snort when he spoke to R’chel, but he ignored him and kept his eyes on his female.
“It’s just… Well, we don’t have a lot of food.”
“You are going without?” he roared, clapping a hand to his head at the pain that followed. “That is not acceptable. I would never take food from you—either of you. You should have divided this between the two of you.”
“No, we’re fine really. This is plenty.” She waved at their bowls. “We have enough for a few days, at least.”
He scowled at his empty bowl as he considered the problem. He had the standard allotment of supplements and rations, plus some Yehrin food that he had brought as treats for R’chel, but it was not a large quantity. His decision to flee with her had been driven by emotion rather than his usual well-thought-out tactics. He had not considered the difficulty of providing for her in a primitive environment.
“I am sorry, my L’chka. I did not adequately consider this plan.”
“You think?” the boy asked with a sneer that looked out of place on his young face.
“Oh, hush, Benji. It’s not like you were prepared to spend winter in the mountains, either.”
Ignoring their squabbling, he considered. In a primitive environment, one must adapt. He had not been stationed on a backward planet but, like all warriors, he had received basic survival training. “Is there wild game in this area?”
“Well, yes. The elk that hit us…” She winced at the memory.
“Good. Then I shall hunt.” He started to nod but thought better of it. He looked across the table to find both of them staring at him with identical looks of disbelief. “What?”
“Um. Do you know how to hunt?” R’chel asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I had survival training,” he said stiffly.
The child gave him an openly skeptical look before turning to his sister. “The snow is melting pretty fast. I could go up to the lake and see if I could catch some fish.”
“That’s not a bad idea. There are some fishing rods in the shed.”
T’chok growled, irritated that they doubted his ability to provide for them. “I will hunt,” he repeated.
“You should rest for a few more days, T’chok. Your scanner said so, remember? Once you’ve recovered, we can talk about hunting.”
He reluctantly conceded the logic of her argument, although he chafed at his inability to provide for her as he should. However, when he stood up, the dizziness reminded him that he was not yet returned to full strength and he clutched the back of the chair for support.
“Where are the sanitary facilities?”
“There’s an outhouse. Benji, will you take T’chok?”
“Do I have to? Can’t you do it?”
“You would ask your sister to go out into the cold?” He gave the boy a long look. Night had fallen during their meal and he could hear the wind gusting around the cabin.
Benji’s cheeks reddened. “No, I guess not.”
“It’s all right. I don’t mind taking—”
“No, R’chel. Stay inside where it is warm.”
“Yeah, sis. It’s fine.”
The young male looked at him grasping the back of the chair and sighed. He went and rummaged in a cabinet at the end of the bunk beds, returning with a tall piece of wood.
“Here. This is a hiking stick. It should help you keep your balance.”
He accepted it reluctantly but found that it did help to support him. Trying not to imagine what T’lan would say if he could see him now, he cautiously dipped his head in thanks. Following the child outside onto the small porch, he stared in disbelief at the small wooden shed the boy indicated.
“These are your facilities?”
“Yeah. If you don’t like them, you can just go back to your spaceship and leave us the hell alone.”
T’chok frowned at the boy and he paled but stood his ground. Good, he had courage.
“Young male, I understand that you blame me for taking your sister away; however, I was not directly responsible for that. I would never have taken her from you. It is also not my fault that your maternal parent is unsatisfactory.”
The boy scowled. “You could let her go now.”
“No, I could not. We have bonded to each other. Even if I wished to let her go—which I do not—she would be as unhappy without me as I would be without her.”
“But she’d have me,” the boy argued.
“You are with her now. That makes her very happy. She has longed to return to you since she was taken, even risking her life in the attempt.”
“She risked her life?” The concern on his face appeared genuine.
Apparently, R’chel had not mentioned that part of her story. Another wave of weakness came over him and rather than fall down at the child’s feet, he sat down on the steps.
“Do you wish to know the tale?”
“Yeah.” The child hesitated and then joined him on the steps, although he kept as far away from T’chok as possible. The night air was cool, but the boy was bundled up. Keeping an eye on him for signs of temperature problems, he gave the boy a brief but truthful account of R’chel’s escapades.
“Wow,” B’nji said when he was finished. “She didn’t tell me all of that.” He looked up at T’chok with a troubled face. “She shouldn’t have. Especially since, well… It was really my fault.”
“Your fault?”
“She left the house that night to get my medication. If I wasn’t so sickly, it never would have happened.”
“Who told you that you were sickly? You seem quite capable to me.”
“I have asthma.” He kicked at a rock and avoided looking at T’chok.
“That is simply a medical condition. It is not your fault and I can not believe that your sister has ever felt differently. Did those words come from that borag male?”
“Tom? Yeah.” He glanced over shyly. “R’chel said that you hit him.”
“I did. I was enraged when he said that he had struck you.”
“Really?” The boy’s eyes rounded with shock.
“A true male does not damage those weaker than himself.”
“Um. Thank you.”
“You are shivering. You should return to the domicile.”
“No, I told Rachel I would watch out for you. You were right,
she doesn’t need to be out here.”
He nodded in solemn agreement. “We males have a duty to protect our female.”
The boy’s chest puffed out. “You betcha.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
T’chok was appalled at the primitive sanitary conditions. As soon as he recovered his strength, he would have to remedy the situation. When he emerged from the outhouse, he found Benji still on the steps waiting for him, although he was definitely shivering now. Once again, he was pleased by the young male’s courage and determination. He had the makings of a fine warrior.
Inside the cabin, R’chel scolded them for staying out so long but she had hot drinks waiting for them.
“What took so long?” she asked suspiciously.
“We had things to discuss.”
She glanced between them. “Really? Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine, sis. Just man talk.”
“Ah, I see.” She smiled at her brother and ruffled his hair. He ducked away but gave her a grin. Relieved that he had come to an understanding with the boy, T’chok gave R’chel a hug of his own.
“You have already cleaned the dishes. We would have helped.”
“It’s fine. There wasn’t much. I found a sewing kit so I’m going to try and mend the pair of leggings that I ripped. Are you going back to bed now?”
Exhaustion weighed heavily on him, but it was time to resume his duties.
“No. I wish to review the information I have on my com about this area. I am afraid that it will be minimal, but it is better than nothing.”
“If you can translate written words, there are several guides in the bookshelf.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure if they will help or not.”
“That would be most useful. Thank you, my zuzu.”
As always, her color heightened at his praise before she turned away and assumed a seat by the fire. The boy sprawled on the rug by her feet with a book of his own. T’chok gathered several books before sitting next to her. He eyed the open flames with distrust. He would have preferred that she was not in such close proximity to a possible source of danger, but they were necessary for heating. Which raised another concern. “Do we have an adequate supply of fuel?”
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