Page 13 of Champion (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #6)
I lingered in the dining hall, talking to the other gladiators until the cook kicked us out… which was becoming a regular occurrence. Adtovar alone walked me to my quarters, wishing me goodnight with his usual teasing smile.
As evenings went on this arid planet, it was a pleasant night. A few wispy clouds hung in the sky, turned into tufts of cotton candy by the dark pink moon. Still, it was clear enough that Charick could see clearly despite the darkness. He wouldn’t have gotten lost.
Where was he?
Why did his absence bother me so much?
I pushed the door open to my room, freezing at the sight of a large metal tub, scents reminiscent of eucalyptus and lavender wafting from the rising steam.
My breath escaped in a pleasured gasp, and I slapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a sound I was quite sure might have bordered on a squeal of excitement.
A bathtub.
Rusty metal and looking like it had seen better days, but an honest-to-God bathtub filled with water hot enough that fragrant steam rose from the surface.
I stood there gaping, too excited and stunned to move. Charick emerged from the bathroom carrying a thick towel. He caught my expression and grinned, dropping the towel onto the chair he’d pulled next to the tub before striding toward me.
“What? What is this?”
“I believe you humans call it a bathtub.” He smiled as he pulled over the chair, indicating that I should sit.
“Where did it come from?” I sat, my eyes following Charick as he knelt before me.
“I found it the other day when I was scouting potential escape routes.” His fingers went to the buckles on my boots, removing them with slow, gentle movements.
“Cristox helped me carry it to the room. You said last night you were sore from training, and I noticed you limping today. The hot water should help ease your muscles.”
I remembered seeing Cristox coming into the dining hall later than usual. But not Charick.
“You skipped dinner to set this up for me?” I bit back a sigh as he pulled the boots from my feet, strong fingertips kneading the muscles of my calves.
“You are my mate. I would do anything to ease your discomfort.” He murmured, golden eyes intent on the task of rubbing my feet and legs.
Well, shit… that was sweet. Really sweet. My husband was a sweet guy, too, and he treated me well, but this was on a whole other level. Mark had never rubbed my feet. Not once.
“Thank you,” I murmured, my voice holding an odd tremble.
Charick’s lips turned upward faintly, as though he didn’t want to smile but couldn’t help it. He jerked his chin at a small leather pouch lying on the tabletop.
“Zahavi gave me some herbs to help you relax and a salve to help with muscle soreness.”
He got me meds, too. Sweet. Sweet, sweet, sweet.
Charick finished tending to my feet, rolling off the strange cylindrical things that stood in for socks on this alien world. He gathered my boots and socks in his hands and stood, letting his eyes linger on me for a long moment before nodding toward the tub.
“I will wait outside until you finish your bath.”
“Wait.” The word was out of my mouth before I could ponder what saying it might mean.
Charick remained still, his golden eyes deepening to ochre. His gaze grew in intensity as he focused on my face.
I didn’t want him to leave. Granted, I wasn’t so far gone that I wanted him to crawl in the tub with me.
Although the thought of how seven feet of rippling muscle might look like naked made me swoony.
No, I wasn’t ready for anything like that yet—but I didn’t want him to leave either.
Maybe Adtovar was right. My abduction was a second chance.
I licked my lips before issuing a tentative smile. “Stay. We can talk.”
Charick’s body gave a heave of relaxation, as though he’d been holding himself tense.
“It would be my honor.”
I grinned like a giddy teenager at his response.
I stepped toward the metal tub, then hesitated. “Just turn around until I get into the tub, okay?” I’d imagined how he’d look naked more than I’d like to admit, but that didn’t mean I was ready to give him a strip tease.
His lips twitched as Charick inclined in his head just before turning his broad back to me. I stripped quickly, leaving my kilt and tunic on the floor, and climbed into the tub.
Bliss!
Utter, complete, perfect, heated, watery bliss.
On a good day, the small trickle standing in for a shower was lukewarm at best. How the hell did he gather all this lovely hot water?
I turned to gaze at the broad back and shoulders, noticing a metal bucket on the floor beside the doorway.
Suddenly, what he’d had to go through to do this for me became clear.
It was far more than just dragging the tub into the room.
My eyes grew hot and itchy, and I pressed my palms against them, knowing Charick would not appreciate tears, even ones of gratitude.
I cleared my throat, and even so, my voice was husky with emotion. “You can turn around now.”
Charick did as I bade, settling in the chair next to the table. Far enough away, I knew he couldn’t see beneath the water. Such a gentleman.
“I have to say, you’re getting some brownie points for this.” I sighed, leaning my head against the edge of the tub. God, this felt heavenly.
“Brownie points?” Charick shifted in the chair, dropping his elbows to his knees and clasping his hands.
“It means you did good. Really good.”
Charick’s low chuckle rolled through the air. “I am glad you are pleased.”
My hands moved through the water, cupping and pouring liquid warmth on the few areas of my body that remained unsubmerged, mainly my shoulders. “Are there bathtubs on your spaceship?”
“The Bardaga ? Yes, much bigger than this.”
“No wonder my friends like it aboard your ship.” I didn’t know a woman alive who would turn her nose up at a bubble bath.
“You miss them?”
I turned my gaze to find him, noticing the gold of his eyes seemed brighter now.
“I do. They’re my family. I’d have never made it through losing my husband or son without them.”
“I swear on my honor, you will see your friends again.” Charick did that vow thing by thumping his fist against his chest. Why did I find that so freaking hot?
“I know.” In my current situation, a smile was all I could offer in exchange for his promise. “What about you? Tell me about your family.”
Something shifted across his face, not sadness exactly, regret perhaps, and he lowered his gaze, focusing on his clasped hands.
“My father and older brother are warriors—highly decorated. Both reside on my home world and help train younger warriors. My mother works with the Alliance, the governing entity for this sector of the universe. I had a younger brother, Enslak, but he too died in battle.”
My heart seemed to skip a beat. He’s lost a loved one to war. We had more in common than I realized. Our eyes met and for a moment, grief and the healing power of someone understanding your pain passed between us.
“Did you always want to be a Sage—a wise man?” I changed the subject, not wanting to linger on the past, but explore the future. I wanted to know Charick.
“No,” he snorted. “I wanted to be a warrior, like my father and brothers. But early skills testing indicated my predisposition toward diplomacy.”
The alien version of the SAT, perhaps?
“What about when you were younger? Any girlfriends?” I teased, although a strange twist in my gut dreaded the answer.
He appeared shocked by the question, the pelt on his high cheekbones coloring faintly pink. “Perhaps a stolen kiss or two when I was a youngling.”
Charick was too gorgeous to escape the notice of any red-blooded female—no matter the species. I cocked my brow, expecting there was much more to the story.
He laughed, leaning back in his chair. “I am a wise man… not a holy man. But no. Nothing more than a passing moment in time. I thought I had lost all hope of finding a mate when I joined Bardaga . For a long time, most believed that other species could not withstand the mating ritual of the Vaktaire.”
And yet he thought of me as his mate? “Why not? What’s the ritual?” I asked, trying to control the ire in my voice at thinking of him with other females.
Charick watched me for a moment, his fingers absently rubbing the section of his chest where I knew his heart lay. “The valakana. It is the ritual where our hearts join together in beating. A blessing from the goddess to seal our union.”
My palm pressed to the space between my breasts, feeling the deep, steady thrum of my heart.
It was a more excited beat than I would have expected since I sat up to my neck in lavender-scented hot water.
My muscles felt so relaxed I stood a good chance of actually melting. Perhaps it wasn’t my heartbeat at all.
“Is that why my heart feels so weird around you… because it’s copying your beat?”
“Yes.” His golden eyes met mine and held. My body tingled like the water held an electric current.
“Did Emmy… did my other friends go through this valakana thing?”
“Emmy was the only one whose mating I witnessed, but I am told the others did, yes.”
“And they’re happy?” I pressed, although I was beginning to understand how they might be. The man skipped dinner to draw me a bath. Sweet… just sweet!
Another sexy thump of his fist against his chest, and my heartbeat skittered.
“I give you my vow that your friends are happily mated.”
“If their guys are as sweet as you, Champion, I know why they’re happy.” I used the nickname Adtovar gave him, hoping to lessen the intensity of the moment. Yet, from the flash of discomfort that crossed his face, it wasn’t successful.
“You don’t like to be called Champion. Why?”
Charick went back to staring at his hands, hesitant, with something akin to shame crossing his handsome features.
“It references a time in my past I had rather forget.”
Part of me wanted to let it go. Yet another part… a part angered by anything that would put such an expression of contrition on his handsome face pressed forward.