"You think I would not speak truth to you?" Nikhil stiffened in outrage.
"I think you are a nice guy. I think you are trying to keep me calm. But I know there is no way you can see me as beautiful," her voice broke slightly. "Not with all the damage the Zaludians did to my face!"
"You think..." he carefully framed her face with his hands, gently forcing her to look up at him even as he leaned in closer. "I don't think you are beautiful, Mackenzie. I know you are. Yes, you are still covered in dirt, but that can be washed away. Yes, there is still some bruising on your face, but those will fade. What you don't seem to understand is that while you were unconscious, the deep-repair unit removed the damage the Zaludians inflicted."
"What?" Her eyes widened at his words, and slowly she ran her tongue along her bottom lip. A lip she knew had been split open by a Zaludian fist. She knew it because she had tasted the blood, but now there was nothing there.
Nikhil's eyes followed the path that sexy little tongue took across his Mackenzie's full, lower lip. How could such a small movement captivate him so?
"It's gone," she whispered quietly.
"What is?" he replied just as quietly.
"The split where the Zaludian hit me when I wouldn't tell him my name."
"The one wearing the red beads?" Nikhil asked gruffly, then cursed in Kaliszian at her answer.
"Yes. What's wrong, Nikhil?" she asked not understanding what he was saying.
"I shouldn't have killed him so quickly. I should have made him suffer the way he made you suffer."
"What? You killed him?" Her eyes widened when she realized he was serious. "He's dead?"
"Yes. He was in the cave where I found you. I killed him to get to you." Would she turn away from him now? Become afraid of him? How would he survive it?
"Thank you." Bracing her hands on his washboard abs, she rose on her toes, and pressed her healed lips to the corner of his mouth.
Nikhil felt his entire being still as her lips grazed his. A completeness he'd never felt before filled him, and it was all because of this one small female.
"For what?" he murmured, struggling to stop himself from crushing them under his, and was bereft when she pulled them away to respond to his stupid question.
"For making sure I'll never have to face him again. That I will never have to worry about him suddenly showing up and attacking me again."
"You never will." While he spoke softly, his words held an unmistakable power behind them. "He will never harm you again, Mackenzie."
"I believe you." Lowering her heels back to the floor, she just looked at him and waited. Slowly, he lifted the cloth again and with an intensity that should have frightened her, began to carefully and methodically cleanse her.
Cleanse. What a perfect word, she thought, for that was exactly what it felt like he was doing. Cleansing her body and soul, removing every remnant of her time spent with the Ganglians and Zaludians.
He started at her forehead then moved down, making sure he was extremely gentle around her eyes and lips. Once he was satisfied with the results, he started on her neck and shoulders, moving her cleansed hair from side to side.
"Mackenzie."
"Yes?" she asked when he paused.
"These coverings..."
Mac felt her eyes start to well. She knew the clothes needed to go, wanted them to go, there was nothing left of them, and they only reminded her of everything bad that had happened. But still... they were all she had left from home.
"Things don't make a home, Mac." Her grandpa’s words echoed in her head. "The people do."
"Don't matter," she told him, then frowned when Nikhil stilled her hand as she went to remove them. With a tug on each piece, the offending garments were gone. "Okay, I guess that's one way to take them off." Nikhil just grunted, but she could feel the satisfaction he felt in how he removed them.
Nikhil couldn't express how it made him feel to be able to remove those offending coverings from his Mackenzie. She should never have to wear anything that a Ganglian or a Zaludian had touched. He would make sure she had only the finest of coverings from now on. His mother would know where to find them. He would... his thoughts of coverings disappeared as he realized he was touching one of her breasts.
Carefully he cleansed the small globe, trying not to be distracted as it seemed to swell slightly at his touch; its dusty, pink nipple tightening. He was tempted to sample the small treat just to see what it tasted like, but knew now wasn't the time for that. Hopefully later, after his True Mate had fully recovered, she would allow him to claim her and offer her his Ashe bead.
Mac couldn't believe how gentle Nikhil was being. She knew if she were cleansing herself, she probably would have removed a layer of skin trying to rid herself of all the grime that covered her. Not Nikhil, he used care as he firmly cleaned first one spot then another with the cloth, rinsing it out in the stream of hot water flowing down her back.
When had anyone ever been so intent on caring for her? Not her parents, although she knew they loved her, but it was a secondary love. Looking back with new eyes, she realized the majority of her father's attention had been focused on the career that had killed him, and her mother's had been focused on her father.
Not her grandpa. While he had done his best, his mountain had always drawn most of his attention.
Not the guys, even though they had tried. But she wasn't one of their group. They didn't know her, she was just their guide.
No, no one had ever cared for her the way Nikhil was. As if her needs were all that mattered. She felt him tense for a moment while cleaning her breasts. They'd responded to his touch, and she knew if he had wanted to try something, she wouldn't be able to stop him. But he hadn't taken advantage of the situation, just quickly moved on to clean her stomach and hips. This extremely, large male, who barely knew her, was caring for her more than anyone else ever had.
She was about to thank him, to tell him how much she appreciated what he was doing when he shocked her by dropping to his knees.
"Nikhil..." her hands gripped his shoulders.
"I know you are getting tired, Little One." He looked up at her with concerned eyes. "It won't be much longer. Lift your foot." He gently gripped her ankle and lifted it onto his thigh. "You are doing so well," he told her as he began cleansing her leg.
"I don't feel like I am. You're doing it all."
"There is nothing wrong with letting someone else help you when you need it." He carefully moved the cloth between her thighs, cleansing an area he wanted to know more intimately, but refused to let himself linger there. Now was not the time.
He had never actually given any thought to how beautiful and sexy a female's leg could be. How the larger thigh connected to the thinner calf. How that continued on to become a delicate ankle and foot. He'd never considered a foot delicate before, having only ever looked at his huge ones. But Mackenzie's were.
Reaching the end of those delicate bones, he gently massaged each toe, his thumb working its way between them making sure not a single speck of grime remained. Setting her foot back down, he touched her other ankle, and she willingly placed it on his thigh. Carefully, he reversed his actions and worked his way up her other leg.
Mac looked down at Nikhil's lowered head, awed at the attention he was giving each leg. Her breath caught as he cleansed between her legs, brushing her sex, but as before, he paused for only a moment then quickly continued.
She found her hand rising to touch the wide strip of hair that covered the top of his head. It was softer and thicker than it looked, pulled back as tightly as it was. For some reason, she'd thought it would feel slick or oily, but it wasn't.
At the nape of his neck was some kind of clip that controlled all those strands. But what was curious was that when the strands came out of the clip, they were thin braids with a variety of colored beads affixed to them at different levels.
"These are beautiful," she whispered lifting several braids, letting them slip through her
fingers, caressing them. It was the strangest sensation because it felt like the beads were caressing her back.
Nikhil's hands stilled, his head snapping up when she touched his beads, his gaze capturing hers. "You find my Suja beads... beautiful?"
Mac gave him a slight smile since she just used the word she'd been giving him such a hard time about. "Yes, I do. Especially on you. Why do you wear them?"
"They signify my lineage, who my parents are, and what I have accomplished in my life," he told her, then carefully stood and moved behind her, blocking the water’s spray. “Tip your head back,” he encouraged softly, and when she trustingly did, he rinsed her long, gorgeous hair one more time. He made sure none of the grime from her back clung to it, then gathering it up, placed it over one of her cleaned shoulders.
"I will cleanse your back now; then you will be able to rest, Little One."
Mac just nodded her understanding and leaned forward slightly giving him better access to her back. It didn’t take him long to cleanse it since the steady stream of water had already removed the majority of it. Only a few spots remained that needed his attention. But he still took his time, amazed at how soft her skin felt beneath his warrior’s hands. He tried not to notice the two sexy indentations just above her rounded ass, or how perfect that ass felt in his hands. Mackenzie was already everything he wanted in a female. How amazing would she be when she regained her health and previous size?
Mac closed her eyes as Nikhil's hands ran along her back. She knew he was only cleansing her, caring for her, and while she didn't understand why he would do this, she wasn't going to deny that it felt incredible.
"Are you okay, Mackenzie?" he asked, his arms wrapping around her waist pulling her back against him as he finished.
"I am, with you holding me," she admitted. Slowly, she turned in his arms, tilting her face up to look at him. God, he was so amazing to watch with the spray of water bouncing off his back. Sinking deeper into the comfort of his arms, she felt her knees give out as the last of her strength left her.
"Mackenzie!" Nikhil swept her up into his arms, carrying her out of the unit. Ripping a drying cloth off the wall, he wrapped it around her. "I will take you to Luol."
"No!" She immediately rejected the idea even as she fought to keep her eyes open. "Just give me a minute and I will be fine."
"You are not fine!" he argued back. "You collapsed in my arms."
"I just need to rest for a minute.”
“You will have all the minutes you need, my Little One.” Carrying her to his bed, he ripped back the covers and gently laid her down.
“Nikhil,” she protested, “I’m soaking wet.”
“I don’t care. You need rest.” Pulling the towel from her body, he quickly covered her back up with the bed’s coverings, making sure they were tucked in close. Then he began removing the excess moisture from her hair.
“Nikhil.” She tried to free herself from the cocoon of covers that enveloped her, but his hand stilled her.
“No, Mackenzie, everything will be fine. Just rest.”
Mac found she could only do as he asked. The heat of the shower had relaxed her. Combine that with the comfort of the bed, and the feeling of safety her eyes closed and she was fast asleep.
Chapter Four
Treyvon frowned when he entered the medical unit and found it empty.
“She is in the deep-repair area,” Gryf told him, gesturing to the partially closed door on the other side of the room.
“She’s still in the unit?” Treyvon couldn’t believe it. The female’s injuries must be truly grave for the unit to still be treating her.
“No, she’s not,” Luol told them, walking out of his office. “I had Squad Leader Nikhil take her to his quarters.”
“What? Why?” Treyvon demanded.
“Because she is his True Mate and he is the only one that she trusts. Especially after the way the Commander treated her.” Luol gave Gryf a disapproving look.
“What are you talking about?” Treyvon spun around to look at his second-in-command.
“Commander Gryf tried to order Squad Leader Nikhil away from his unconscious True Mate.”
“He did what?” Treyvon’s gaze remained locked on his commander.
“Yes, and that understandably upset Nikhil significantly. His emotions transferred to his True Mate causing her to become very agitated. Had Nikhil not been able to calm her, she could have severely damaged herself as she was still in the deep-repair unit.”
“You attempted to force a Warrior, one of our largest, to desert his True Mate while inside the deep-repair unit?!!”
“At the time, I only had Healer Luol’s opinion that she was Nikhil’s True Mate. He could have been wrong.”
“But he wasn’t.”
“No.” Gryf had to break eye contact with his General and friend.
“Then once she finally calmed, Commander Gryf felt it would be a good time to interrogate her,” Luol continued.
“Commander?”
“She spoke of her time with the Zaludians," Gryf said, defending his actions. "I was only attempting to find out how long she was with them.”
“By barraging her with questions, and giving her no time to answer?" Luol fired back. "You frightened her!”
“That was not my intention!" Gryf took a threatening step toward the Healer.
“What is her condition, Luol?” Treyvon asked, interrupting the growing argument between his Commander and Healer.
“She is weak, which is to be expected after what she has survived.” Luol pulled his gaze from Gryf, giving the General his full attention. “The deep-repair unit was able to treat the injuries caused by the Zaludians, and I have begun replenishing the nutrients she was deficient in.”
Treyvon frowned at that. “Did you consider that perhaps her species does not require the same nutrients that we do?”
“I did, which is why I only gave her a portion of what the unit recommended. I did not want to overwhelm her system.”
“And?”
“Her body seemed to readily absorb what I gave her with no side effects. After she has rested, I will complete the treatment. Then she should be ready to use the educator.”
“It would have been better for her to remain here,” Gryf said stiffly.
“No, it wouldn't have. Not only would I not separate Nikhil from his True Mate but from what I’ve heard, there are going to be other survivors that need the deep-repair unit. Having other males around his weakened True Mate would raise all Nikhil’s protective instincts, which would in turn agitate his True Mate. She doesn’t need that. She will rest better in Nikhil’s quarters.”
“You are sure she is his True Mate, Luol?” Treyvon asked quietly.
“She wears his True Mate bead, General. And while I don’t think she realizes it or knows what it means, she responds to Nikhil’s words, touch, and emotions as only a True Mate would.”
“A True Mate hasn't been found in nearly five-hundred years, Luol.”
“I know that, General, and had I not witnessed it myself, I wouldn’t believe it. But I did. Her responses were true.”
“I need to see this for myself. Gryf, with me.”
Gryf silently walked beside his General, knowing some things still needed to be said. “I should not have approached her like that.”
“No. You shouldn’t have,” Treyvon agreed, continuing to walk.
“I didn’t believe she was his True Mate. I mean how could she be? She isn’t even Kaliszian.”
“You know there was a time when Kaliszians found their True Mate within other species, Gryf.”
“Before the Great Infection, perhaps, but not since.”
“True, but that only means we should thank the Goddess that she has blessed a male with one.”
“Thank the Goddess...” Gryf shook his head in disgust. “She is the one that took away our True Mates along with our ability to provide for them. If not for her, Mica...” he cut himself off.
Treyvon stopped walking and turned to confront his friend. “Mica was never meant to be yours, Gryf. If you can’t believe that by her actions alone, then believe your True Mate bead. It refused to accept her.”
“I left her alone too many times. I didn’t...”
“That doesn’t matter! Your True Mate bead still would have accepted her. It refused to do so, so she was never meant to be your True Mate. You have to accept this.”
“There was still a chance.”
“Only if Mica had accepted your Ashe bead. She refused it, Gryf. She has moved on, and so must you. One of our finest Warriors has found his True Mate. We will celebrate his good fortune as if it were our own.” Turning, Treyvon continued to Nikhil’s quarters.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Nikhil gathered up his weapons, worried Mackenzie might harm herself with one, and changed into a dry uniform. Now he just stared down at her sleeping so deeply in his bed, still finding it hard to believe she was there, that she was his. Carefully he reached down, lifting the section of her hair his True Mate bead had claimed. It responded to his touch by glowing slightly and giving off a sense of peace that told him she was well.
It was one of the carefully guarded secrets of the True Mate bead. The True Mate beads connected a couple. Just by touching it, one would know the condition of the other. If it were two Kaliszians that exchanged their beads, they needed only to touch the one in their hair to know if the other was okay.
Nikhil had to admit that he wished Mackenzie had a True Mate bead for him to wear. Then when he was away from her, he would know she was okay. But he was also grateful that she didn’t. He didn’t want her knowing if he was hurt during a mission, which was always a possibility. He didn’t want her feeling what he felt as he killed, even if it were justified. None of that darkness that was a part of his life should ever touch this amazing creature the Goddess had entrusted to him. She didn’t even realize how she had already lightened the load he carried. She looked at him and saw him, not some large, oversized male that others did. She didn’t fear him. She trusted him when she was most vulnerable, and he would never betray that trust.