Page 21 of Her Alien Delegate (Necia Alien Warriors)

As we walked down the halls, we passed by another warrior that stopped mid-step to inhale the air. Chief Wren-Kal growled in warning before the other warrior moved on.

"Evie of Earth, I will be responsible for your teachings on necia culture and tribal laws.

Please keep your legs closed at all times in the presence of a warrior, as this is considered an invitation to bathe.

Threatening a warrior in any way on this ship can lead to them assuming you wish to trigger their primal urges to mate.

Dueling is a way of showing our stamina and skills in protecting you.

"This may seem opposite to customs of hoomun's culture, but I assure you, we hold high honor in bringing happiness to our mates in whatever form we discover will appeal to them."

Fascinated, I forget being afraid and found my desire for information outweighed any self-preservations I had. "And fighting appeals to you?"

"For some," he agreed. "Many females only wish to mate with someone that can prove they are decent enough warriors to outwit them in combat."

"And you?"

"I've lost much of my honored standing by not challenging for leadership of my tribe. I prefer a mate that would recognize my efforts to protect our planet from invasions unseen by our eyes, but in the technology we surround ourselves with."

"I think that's admirable," I told him with a genuine appreciation of what people like him have done to protect others.

We arrived at a door that he stopped in front of.

"This room is linked with your implant; it will only open for you, and the other hoomun that came with you. It was unexpected to be escorting another exchange, so I apologize that you'll be sharing the space."

"It's fine. I don't like being alone."

He cleared his throat and stared at the ceiling as he spoke, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Riley of Earth has told me to warn hoomun's of certain necia customs. Bathing customs in particular.

No male on this ship is allowed to bathe you without your permission, but to know that when you offer your consent that it is deemed to be consent for all warriors present unless you've offered a token of intention to mate a single warrior.

Keep your requests private if you do not wish to attract unwanted attention or trigger a warrior's rut. We can become territorial."

"Am I in danger?"

"A warrior would be dishonored if they harmed you without cause. I'm honored to assist you with your bathing needs privately. Riley has stated that privacy is common until an agreement to mate has been established."

My throat felt dry thinking about what he was offering, and I nearly choked on my own spit to ease the sudden itch.

"Are you offering to ummm..." I diverted my own eyes to the wall, too embarrassed to meet his gaze.

"To bathe you and make your body fill my mouth with your ellopul," he stated bluntly.

My god!

"Thanks for the offer, maybe next time," I squeaked and quickly darted into the room, watching him smile at me before the door began to slide closed.

He bowed and I heard him say, "It would be my honor," before I collapsed on the bed behind me. My heart raced and I clenched my fist at my chest to calm it.

I didn't know how much time passed before the door opened to a naked Violet, making my jaw drop. She was definitely fully dressed when I saw her last.

"You didn't...?" I couldn't help but ask after the proposition I received myself.

Violet grinned from ear to ear, and she moaned with remembered happiness and an unashamed wink.

"What did you read up on bathing customs?" she asked with a teasing tone that spoke of her excitement for me to try what she had obviously just done.

I gulped and shook my head. "I don't think I could do it," I quickly added, "not that it doesn't sound fun.

" I didn't want her to think I was judging her, and necia customs did seem more focused on a female enjoying themselves.

"The necia males basically worship the body with no expectations of anything in return except for drinking your cum.

" I choked on the embarrassment of knowing any of that, let alone saying it out loud.

"Wait, so that's normal for them to give you head until your legs can't function and then run off before you can play with them too?"

We both stared at each other until I had to hide my eyes behind my fingers from the excessive eye contact.

"Girl," she elongated the endearment with a satisfied sigh.

"I can't believe you let him do that in front of whoever was around. I still have trouble wrapping my head around having my junk on display."

"It's not like you're really that exposed with someone's head between them and a view. But no one was there, so it was a non-issue."

"No one was there?" That was odd for a necia warrior. Even Chief Wren-Kal had stated the only reason he knew to be private with a human was because he spoke to another human about it. It didn't seem like many warriors knew much about human customs.

"Only the medic, Ul-Ro, was there when my pants were ripped off, but I forgot he was there, honestly."

"Two of them!" I quickly corrected my tone, so she didn't think my shock was judgmental. "I guess, I knew that was a possibility. I still can't believe it."

"Are we talking about the same thing?" she asked.

"You," I paused to find the right words, "You let two sexy alien men bathe in your orgasm?"

"Orgasms," she corrected with a smirk. "But, no. I mean sure, that sounds awesome. No, though. Ul-Ro left when Roe-el growled at him before he got down on his knees."

"He didn't stick around to watch?" I asked with fascination. This was not what Bode had explained to me about necia customs.

"Was he supposed to?"

I opened my mouth to answer before closing it again. I wasn't an expert on necia culture. I forced myself to relax and admit, "That's a relief. That wasn't really the kind of adventure I was signing up for when I joined the exchange."

"You wanted to get laid, but not in public," she teased, but it was full of acceptance. I flushed and merely nodded at her. She was right. That was what I wanted before I met Ter-ak. My experience on Trillume kind of ruined things for me.

Violet plopped on the bed next to me and then stretched out, unconcerned with her state of undress.

She was like a cat reveling in the aftermath of a good dose of catnip.

She couldn't get her mind off of the commander that had escorted us.

I smiled. I was glad she was enjoying this. One of us should.

"I never did say thank you. You didn't have to come with me, and you might still be in trouble. What I mean to say is that I'm glad I'm not alone. Thank you," I confessed to her while keeping my eyes on the wall in front of me instead of ogling her chest.

"It was nothing. Don't worry about it. I didn't do it for you, and I've been more than compensated, if you ask me."

After a heavy silence, she sighed and continued, "I left Earth to get away from my past, from a guy, and...."

I could feel the tremble of her arm next to my thigh, and I reached out to place my hand on her shoulder for support. She was holding on to something heavy, and I felt like there was this string between us that tugged at my own heart. It was moments like these that bonded girlfriends for life.

After her personal confession, I felt guilty for not revealing anything of myself, but I didn't want to take away from her experience, either. Her story wasn't mine to tell, and I waited until her burdens were unloaded before I spoke again.

Violet bolted up, only to collapse against me. I squeezed her close and confirmed what she already knew. What we both already knew about the men of our past. It felt like a shared hurt as I said, "That wasn't love."

Tears absorbed into my shoulder as Violet cried. A strong woman, capable of walking around naked without shame, and taking a spike in the hand without crumbling.

As my head rested on hers, and I stroked her back in comforting strokes, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering to the way a warrior once told me, "You can be my eyes, and I can be your legs."

It hit a little different in the moment as I thought about what it meant to be someone's eyes or legs.

I was probably overthinking it, but it made me think that it was okay to not always be the legs that are forced to stand and stay strong.

Right now, a woman that was most definitely stronger than me was using me as her legs to hold her as she healed.

Me. The weak one, held someone else up.

It was in this moment that I decided I didn't need a mate—I needed her. Violet was mine. It was nothing sexual. It was just a bond I never knew I needed. With a smile, I kissed her head. It felt good being needed by someone, and that I could be her legs for a moment.