Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
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Two hours later, we have an emergency injection in case I run across something else that I’m allergic to. We’re settled back in Melody’s quarters, and she insists that I sit down while she pulls each item out of her small pantry and holds it up for me to vote on. We end up putting half the food in a box and I feel guilty that she can’t keep it. “That’s a lot of credits to be tossing out.”
“I’m not tossing it out,” she tells me. “I’m going to give it to the woman that runs the boarding house. She’ll probably gift it to the next person that comes in. Someone will put it to use. I don’t want any risk that you’re going to have problems. Next time I buy food, you come with me, all right?”
“Next time,” I agree with a nod, and touch my mouth. My lips are still somewhat swollen but they’ve gone down quite a bit, much to my relief. “Can you read any of the Homeworld language? Or any other alien language?”
“I know a bit,” Melody says as she packs away the groceries. “But most of the words I know are things like ‘flammable’ or ‘cut here’ and not things like ingredients. You’ll have to teach me.”
“Maybe we can make a game of it,” I murmur, imagining nights curled up with Melody, sharing mugs of tea and going over languages.
“I don’t know if I like that idea, because I always lose to you,” she teases, and then sticks her tongue out at me. “Do you know how much you weigh, by any chance?”
“…weigh? Why do you ask?”
She puts the lid on the box and gives me a pointed look. “So I know how strong to make our bed frame, of course. I’ve got enough metal in the basement that I’m positive I can craft something to extend the frame to a larger size. I’m thinking king size for sure. Unless there’s something bigger than a king, because you’ve got a massive frame and I want you to be comfortable. What size are the beds in your people’s hotels, I wonder? I’m also a bit of a bed hog, so we need extra space for that.”
“A bed,” I echo. “For both of us?”
Melody picks up the box and puts it just outside her door, then closes it again. “No sense in us having two apartments if we spend all our time together. I think one big bed is the best idea, but if you hate it I guess we can get two smaller ones, though it might make sex tricky. But I guess there’s always floors, right?”
She wants us to move in together. My impulsive, wonderful female. Of course she wants to move in together right away. She’s right in that we spend all of our time together. When I’m not working, we have lunch together or I help her pick up scrap (mostly I just listen to her talk because she doesn’t like “assistance”). I’m with her every evening until it’s time for me to leave for the night. The thought of never having to leave her side again is…intoxicating.
“You should have your own space,” I begin, and then stop, because I am deciding for her again. “But I would like to live with you, if it would not be too overwhelming.”
“I have my workspace in the basement, but you’re right.” Melody thinks for a moment, and then moves to where I’m seated at her table, with a mug of tea that she’d insisted I drink. “Let’s give it a few weeks before you let the lease on your apartment go. Just in case I’m too much for you.”
Too much for me? I scoff at the thought. I like that she is decisive. That she firmly knows what she wants and needs. That she doesn’t second-guess herself. I envy that.
She stands over me and cups my face in her hands, studying my features. I remain still, enjoying her touch as it flutters over my skin. “The swelling is going down. That’s a good sign.”
“Mm.”
“Can you breathe through your nose now?”
“Some. Getting better with every breath.” I put a hand on her waist, tugging her forward. I want to wrap her in my arms. I want to touch her all over and show her that she’s mine. I’m just not sure how to start. I stroke her side, thoughtful. “Melody…”
“Yes, you can kiss me. But let’s make them small kisses so you don’t struggle breathing.” Her fingers dance along my ear, then move up to my broken horns, two ugly stumps capped off with metal. “You can strip me naked. You can lick me all over. Think of me as a blank canvas and you’re the artist.”
That’s far more poetic than how I feel. “More like I’m just the lucky bit of scrap that you’ve decided to craft into something new.”
She grabs me by the ears, her expression fierce as she forces me to look her in the eye. “You’re not scrap. You’re just as worthwhile as anyone I’ve ever met. Better, even. You saw me hurting and did something about it instead of walking away like so many others. That shows your true character. I probably cost all of your credits, was a bother and an annoyance because I remember crying like a madwoman, and then you even found me a new place to live where I’d be safe. You didn’t just sell me to another person and hope for the best. You made sure that I was taken care of, even if it was a problem. You’re amazing. Your heart is amazing. I don’t care that you don’t have a good family name or that your father’s father was a splice. I don’t care that you have a criminal record. All the things that you think make you unworthy don’t bother me, because I know how you really are when the chips are down.”
“What are chips?—”
“Hush,” Melody says, exasperated. “I’m trying to build you up here.”
“I apologize. I’m listening.” I’m flattered, and it makes me prickle with an uncomfortable sort of pride that she views me so highly. I’m not used to thinking of myself as anything other than just more station trash. It’s humbling to think that she sees me as something different, and always has.
“Earth people have a saying. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. I don’t think you’re trash, but I do think you should realize that you’re special to me. That your kind heart and your sense of right and wrong means more than whatever name you were born with. That’s the part of you that I fell in love with, understand?”
“You fall in love too easily,” I grumble.
Melody makes another exasperated sound. She starts listing things off. “You’re allergic to chski, whatever that is. Your horns got cut off as a punishment when your unit was nearly destroyed in a Thresh battle and only three people came back. You wear the same color uniform over and over again, which tells me you like the color gray. You’re really good at games and you gloat a little too much when you win. Your tail has a notch cut into the fur near the tip and that was from a work accident. You enjoy noodles for breakfast and green veg, but not the white ones. You get this sad look on your face when the women here cross the street to avoid you. You’re dying to help me out with my scrap but never do because you don’t want to intrude. Those are all the things I’ve learned about you in the last month because you wanted us to get to know each other better. Well, I know you a lot better, and guess what? It hasn’t changed how I feel. I still think you’re amazing. I still want to be with you. I still?—”
I tug her down into my lap.
She falls against me with a startled squeak, clearly not expecting that. Her arms go around my neck and she gives me a startled look as she settles onto my thigh.
“Point taken.” I lean in and brush a light kiss over her lips. She tastes like tooth cleanser, because she’d scrubbed her mouth out over and over again at the medic’s clinic, distressed that she’d done this to me. I don’t care. I just want to kiss her. “Am I allowed to say that I think you are amazing and want to be with you?”
“Yes. You’re allowed to say it repeatedly.” She relaxes in my arms, one hand toying with my nape. “As long as you promise you’re not going to leave me behind again. Promise that I get a say in everything.”
“Yes and yes.” I lean in and kiss her again. It’s a light kiss, little more than a brush of lips, because I don’t want her to be repulsed by my swollen features. “I want a future with you.”
Her return smile is brilliant. “Oh, Brux. Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear that?”
“Five years and one month?”
She rolls her eyes at me and tweaks my nose. “Very funny.” Then a panicked look crosses her face as she realizes what she’s done. “Oh no. Your nose?—”
“It’s fine. It’s just a reaction. I’m not broken. You can touch me. And I can touch you.”
“Mmm, what did you have in mind?”
A hundred filthy, lascivious thoughts tear through my head, the thoughts I’ve been having ever since I met her and have tried to push from my mind. I embrace them now. “Let me make you come.”
Melody shivers, her fingers flexing against my neck. “I’m open to suggestion.”
“I get you naked.” I stroke a hand down her side, boldly gripping her plump backside. “Lick you everywhere. Finger you. Figure out what you like best. What makes your cunt wet and slippery, and what makes you moan.”
She bites her lip, eyes shining.
“And then I do it again.” I squeeze her ass to emphasize my words.
Melody whimpers, clinging to me.
“And a third time if you want me to, but it might be too stimulating. I don’t want to overdo it. I might just put you on my cock and let you sit there for a while.”
“Maybe you let me decide what’s too stimulating,” she breathes, her gaze flicking to my mouth.
I chuckle. My stubborn human. “Of course. At that point, I’d let you decide. But I get to make you come twice first.”
“I’m okay with this.” Her voice is shaky as her gaze darts back to mine. “When do we start? Or are we just going to talk about it all night?”
“So impatient. Perhaps I want to savor you?” I lean in close, wanting to move my lips over her skin. “Or should we wait until I have recovered?—”
Melody groans and leans in, biting my lower lip with her teeth. I’m shocked at her bold movement, and a hot pang of desire races through me even as my skin stings from her bite. It’s not sharp, doesn’t break the skin, and I love the edge of pain that it adds to our heightened senses. I suck in a breath.
Immediately she draws back, worried. “Are you all right? Is your lip sore? I forgot.”
Strangely enough, I love that she bit me. I love that she’s so impulsive because I overthink everything. We’re a good balance when we’re together. “You can nibble on me all you like, but it’s my turn to give you pleasure this time. I don’t want this to be anything like last time.”
“I loved last time?—”
I give her a warning look and squeeze her ass again.
Amused, she puts her hands up in the air. “Fine, fine, you tell me what to do and I’ll do it.” She tilts her head back and extends her arms wide. “Use me.”
“Oh no, we’re doing this the right way.” I nudge her off my leg. “Stand up and undress. I want to look at you now that you’re not all ribs.”