“They are certainly beautiful,” Asher said softly. He shook his head before she could answer. “Forgive me—I promised myself I would not make such remarks to you. It’s just difficult when you’re so beautiful.”
“Um, thanks. You’re not so bad yourself,” Lisa said, smiling shyly up at him. “And I don’t mind compliments. As long as we both understand they aren’t going to lead to anything else.”
“Of course not,” Asher vowed seriously. “We will keep our relationship strictly professional.”
Lisa couldn’t help herself—she started to laugh.
“Strictly…professional,” she gasped out, when she could talk through her giggle-fit.
“Yes.” Asher frowned. “Why is that funny?”
“Well, I mean, we’re standing here together naked—or as good as—in a steam bath. It’s not exactly a professional setting, you know?”
“Well, no,” he admitted frowning. “But to me professionalism is more about attitude and actions than circumstances and setting.”
“Good point.” Lisa finally stopped laughing but her little giggle-fit had done her good. It had gotten the last of the fear and anger out of her system. Ba’deal might be an asshole but she was determined not to let him spoil her night.
I’m on an alien planet sixty thousand light years from home, she reminded herself. Which is so much better than being on a bus headed to some other city in Florida, hoping that Cameron won’t track me down. I refuse to be upset.
“Oh, there you two are.” Lambada came out of the mists to find them with Natillus right beside her. “We were wondering where you might have gotten to,” she said, giving Lisa a worried look. “Was Ambassador Ba’deal bothering you excessively?”
“He was,” Lisa said honestly. “But I don’t think he’ll dare to try anything again—not after the way Asher here was staring him down.” She reached out to pat the big Kindred’s arm, noticing that he was solid muscle as she did.
“He had better not,” Asher growled, frowning. “I will not tolerate anyone hurting my mate.” He sounded so menacing that Lisa shivered.
“He will stay far away from you now, I am sure,” Natillus said dryly. “For a moment there, it seemed that your eyes were turning color with protective anger—I have never seen such a thing.”
“It’s a Kindred trait,” Asher said shortly. “When a beloved mate is threatened a Kindred warrior may go into what we call ‘Rage’—a state of berserker fury which persists until the threat is eliminated.”
“Well, I’m certainly glad the ambassador apologized!” Lambada looked shaken. “I have never liked him,” she confided to Lisa. “Those from the Southern continent are not to be trusted. I do not know why the old Potentate allowed him to come to the coronation of the new Potentate.”
“I believe they expressed a wish to make peace,” Natillus said mildly. “Though I will be very much surprised if it comes to pass.”
“Well,” Lambada said, looking at Lisa and Asher. “Have the two of you visited the Mouth of Thufar yet? You must experience it, you know, for the full effect of the purification.”
“I have while Natillus and I were waiting for you and Lisa,” Asher answered. “But we can visit it again for Lisa’s benefit.”
“Oh please—by all means,” Lisa said politely. “That sounds lovely.”
“This way, then.” Asher took her by the hand and led her though the mist, though how he could tell where he was going was a mystery to Lisa.
Soon enough he stopped in a cloud of especially thick mist and just stood there.
“What—is this it?” Lisa looked all around her. “Where’s the Mouth of Thufar?”
“Look up,” Asher said simply.
Lisa did, but at first she didn’t see anything because of a thick stream of hot vapor coming down on them. Geeze, she was so wet and sticky at this point she was going to need a shower before she got out of here, she thought with exasperation. She hoped that once they “experienced” the Mouth of Thufar, they would be allowed to leave the super-sized sauna. She was really tired and—
Her thoughts cut off abruptly when the mists above cleared, revealing a truly terrifying sight.
Directly above them was yet another carved depiction of the three-eyed god but this one was huge! Thufar’s mouth was stretched wide—it was five feet across at least, Lisa thought—a gaping black hole that the clouds of mist and steam were issuing from at regular intervals.
And then the mouth started moving…coming down as though to eat them.
Twenty-Three
Lisa gave a high, frightened cry and started to try and scramble out of the way of the descending mouth.
“No, Lisa!” Asher grabbed for her quickly, afraid that she would be caught by the massive carving and possibly injured or even cut in two. He pulled her to his chest, holding her close to his body as the mouth continued to descend until it had engulfed them completely in darkness and steam.
“What…what is it doing?” Lisa’s voice was high and frightened and he could feel her soft, curvy body trembling against his own.
“It only emits extra steam—don’t worry, it will be over in a moment,” he said, raising his voice over the hissing steam and trying to reassure her. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it—I thought Lambada had warned you.”
“Well, she didn’t.” Lisa gave a trembling sigh. “Sorry, I just don’t like dark, close places. It reminds me…reminds me of things I would rather forget.”
Asher wished he could ask her about her memories—about what had happened to her. But he felt again that if she wanted to talk about it she would. Until then all he could do was hold her and try to keep her safe.
“It’s almost over,” he murmured and indeed, the hiss of steam was lessening and the clouds of vapor, so thick he almost felt he was breathing in scented water, were growing less dense.
Slowly the enormous mouth lifted, leaving the two of them clinging together in the middle of the large room filled with mist.
Asher knew he ought to let go of the curvy little Earth female now, but he didn’t want to. She felt so soft in his arms—so right pressed against him as she was. He wished he never had to stop holding her.
For her part, Lisa didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave his arms. She pressed against him and sighed deeply, as though recovering herself.
It occurred to Asher that she was having a very stressful evening. It was her first time on an alien planet and she had already been attacked by that bastard of a Chorkay Ambassador (Asher promised himself to see to him later) and then she’d been frightened by the Mouth of Thufar. He hoped that their duties were almost over so that he could take her back to whatever quarters had been assigned to them and get her settled for the night.
“Ah, so you experienced the Mouth of Thufar?” Natillus said, as he and Lambada came up to them.
Lisa gave a shaky laugh.
“We certainly did! It’s…quite an experience.”
“It definitely caps off the ritual of purification,” Asher agreed soberly.
Natillus frowned.
“I am afraid it doesn’t though—not quite.”
“What?” Lisa exclaimed. “I mean, what else do we need to do to be purified?” she asked, trying to modify her tone, though Asher could tell she was upset.
“Only one more thing,” Lambada said soothingly. “As you are a mated couple, you must retire to one of the private purification chambers and cleanse each other of the mists. Then and only then will the two of you be considered purified completely.”
“And then we will all be able to get to sleep,” Natillus said heartily. “I know you must be as tired as we are,” he added frankly.
“Yes.” Lisa sounded unhappy. “Yes, I’m very tired,” she said.
But whether she was tired of the never-ending litany of purification rituals or the mission they were on or the entire planet of Helios Beta, Asher couldn’t tell.
Twenty-Four
“Here we are—you t
wo can take this purification chamber and Natillus and I will take the one directly beside it,” Lambada said, opening the door to the compact, tiled room which reminded Lisa of a large walk-in shower.
“Um, thank you,” she said, hoping the Chorkay woman would leave so she and Asher could pretend to bathe each other.
“But first,” Lambada said, ushering them into the purification chamber and following herself, causing Lisa to give a mental sigh, “But first I must show you exactly how the equipment works and acquaint you with the bathing purification ritual.”
Oh my God, if I never hear the world “purification” again it will be too soon! Lisa wanted to scream but instead she smiled politely, the same way she had smiled when an angry parent had shouted at her that the pictures with Santa didn’t look right and they wanted their money back. Or when a toddler had a meltdown in the middle of his picture session, holding up the already long line.
See? My time at Santa’s Village wasn’t wasted, she thought. If nothing else it taught me patience.
“Please, by all means show us how everything works,” Asher said courteously.
“Very well. But first you must strip.” Lambada looked at Lisa expectantly.
“What…now?” Lisa asked, feeling her cheeks get hot.
“Well, of course. Do not worry—I and your mate are the only ones here. Natillus is already waiting for me in the other chamber.” Lambada made it sound like a perfectly reasonable request—and it might have been, if she and Asher were really married and used to seeing each other naked, Lisa thought. As it was, however, what Lambada was asking was extremely embarrassing.
Of course, Asher was already naked—she was very aware of it since he’d held her against his big, hard body so long in the Mouth of Thufar. Also, she was trying very hard, now that they were out of the concealing mists, not to look at him below the belt.
Well, what the hell, she thought with a mental sigh. He’s naked and I’m already practically naked too—I might as well be with this obscene underwear on! So how much worse could it be?
Much worse, as it turned out—at least from her point of view. She turned her back modestly to strip off the bra and panty set and turned back around reluctantly, trying to cover herself with her arms.
“Your people are certainly excessively modest,” Lambada remarked, giving her an odd look. “Do you really mind so much, showing your mate your body?”
“Lisa is simply…unused to being bare in the company of others,” Asher said, stepping in front of her a little. This helped in two ways—first it shielded Lisa from the gaze of their alien hostess and second it put his back to her, which meant he couldn’t see her either. Of course it meant that Lisa had a good view of his hard, muscular ass but she tried not to look.
Feeling a bit more comfortable—and very grateful to the big Kindred—she straightened up a little and stopped shielding herself quite so much.
“Now then…” Lambada went to the far wall of the tiled chamber where a complicated array of dials and nozzles was placed. “First you must use the sacred lather and wash each other well—every part of your bodies,” she instructed sternly. “No part must you neglect and you must not touch yourselves but only your partner. Otherwise you will feel the Itch of Thufar.”
“Uh, the ‘Itch of Thufar?’” Lisa asked, frowning. “What is that?”
“An itching irritation which comes upon a supplicant if he or she attempts to wash themselves instead of their partner,” Lambada said promptly. “Now, after the sacred lather, you may wash yourself off in the hallowed water…” She pointed to the next nozzle. “And then you may finish your ritual with the consecrated oil.” She pointed to the last nozzle, which was more of a faucet with a shimmering, rainbow-colored droplet hanging from its mouth.
“Are we meant to put oil all over our bodies, then as the last step?” Asher asked with a completely straight face.
“Not your own bodies,” Lambada cautioned. “You must only stroke the oil into each other’s skin. Otherwise—”
“The wrath of Thufar will come upon us?” Lisa guessed.
“Well, actually, the Sting of Thufar,” Lambada said earnestly. “Which is not pleasant—I assure you.” Finally, she went back to the door. When she reached it, she paused and gave them a direct look. “Please do all that I have told you in the exact way I have detailed—only then may you be considered properly purified and eligible to attend the coronation tomorrow,” she said.
“Of course,” Asher said smoothly. “We completely understand. Thank you for your kind instruction.”
“You are most welcome.” With a bow, she closed the door, leaving the two of them alone.
“Lisa, I want you to know we don’t have to—” Asher began but Lisa put a finger to her lips and motioned to the top of the wall separating their purification chamber from the one beside it, where Lambada and Natillus were.
The walls between the chambers were incomplete, Asher saw now. There was about a foot of room between the bottom of the wall and the floor and the same amount of space between the top of the wall and the tiled ceiling.
And sitting on the top of the wall, peering down at them, were Natillus and Lambada’s chewchies.
“Shhh!” Lisa beckoned to him and Asher bent down so she could whisper in his ear.
“I think we’re going to have to do it,” she murmured, keeping her voice low.
Asher frowned. “But I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable,” he objected, also in a low voice. Not that he wouldn’t enjoy running his hands all over her beautiful, curvy body, but he didn’t want to do anything to her that she didn’t want done.
“I’ll live,” Lisa whispered. “Look—I’m pretty sure those chewchies are more than just pets. What they see, Natillus and Lambada know. And if they report back that we haven’t been following instructions and aren’t properly purified…” She shook her head.
“But…I’ll have to touch you all over your body—and you will have to do the same to me,” Asher pointed out, wanting to make certain she knew what she was getting herself into. “Are you prepared to do that? I thought we agreed to keep our relationship professional?”
“We can do this in a professional way,” Lisa insisted. “Just be quick and don’t, uh, linger anywhere if you know what I mean. We’ll be done before you know it.”
“Well, all right.” Asher nodded doubtfully. “If you’re certain. I would never want to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“I know.” She gave him a small smile. “And that’s one of the reasons I’m okay with this. All right?”
Asher nodded, glad to know that she trusted him.
“As you wish,” he murmured and went to turn on the first nozzle.
Twenty-Five
Lisa couldn’t believe they were going to do this. She couldn’t believe she was naked with the big Kindred she had known less than twenty-four hours and they were about to soap each other down and oil each other up.
But really, what choice did they have?
Looking up, she saw the two chewchies still perched on top of the dividing wall between the purification chambers. The two fluffy little spies were staring down at them expectantly, as though wondering when they were going to get started. Probably, on the other side of the wall, Natillus and Lambada were wondering the same thing.
Asher walked to the first nozzle—the one that was supposed to dispense the ‘sacred foam’ or whatever it was, and twisted the metal handle beneath it.
A great gout of creamy white foam sprayed out, hitting him square in the chest with a loud splat!
Lisa couldn’t help herself—she let out a surprised yelp of laughter.
“Are you laughing at me?” Asher looked back at her and the expression on his face was so comical, she laughed again.
“Yes, but I didn’t mean to,” Lisa said quickly, trying to stifle her giggles. “It’s just…you looked so funny!”
He looked down at his broad chest, which was covered in the creamy bubble mixture, now
dripping down his abs and thighs, and gave her a rueful smile.
“Well, I suppose it is fairly ridiculous.”
He started to wipe the foam off his chest but Lisa ran forward to stop him.
“Wait!” she exclaimed urgently. “Don’t touch yourself! Remember what Lambada said about the, uh, itch of Thufar, or whatever it was! You don’t want to be scratching all night.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Asher let his hands drop to his sides and looked at her helplessly. “Then, what should I do?”
“Nothing,” Lisa said firmly. “I’ll do it.”
She had been fearing and dreading this—feeling embarrassed about the idea of touching the big Kindred and having his big hands all over her in turn. But now it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to come over to him and spread the creamy foam all over his broad, muscular chest.
Damn, he’s gorgeous! she couldn’t help thinking, as she rubbed the soapy lather all over his chest and abs and arms—standing on tiptoes to reach the tops of his shoulders.
Asher didn’t say a word as she worked on him but his body reacted—his long shaft rising as she touched him, though Lisa was carefully going nowhere near it—not yet, anyway.
Rather than tackle that particular can of worms, she went around behind him and soaped his broad, strong back instead. His skin felt like satin under her fingertips and she couldn’t resist running her hands down his lower back and over the firm globes of his ass, which she had been trying (and failing) not to admire earlier.
Asher stiffened a little but said nothing as she continued to wash, moving down the columns of his muscular legs from thigh to calf and then back up again.
Then she moved around to do the front, starting at his ankles and working her way up…until there was only one thing left to wash.
“Lisa,” Asher murmured, looking down into her eyes. “You don’t have to…”
“Yes, I do,” she insisted, a bit breathlessly. She nodded up at the two chewchies who were still watching them avidly. “We have an audience—remember?”
Falling for Kindred Claus Page 13