Athena grimaced. “By that logic, everyone here has to listen to and respect you.”
He grinned. “How funny that that is the way it worked out.”
She sighed. “I lost two days. I can’t believe it.”
“You snort when you roll over, and you roll over a lot.” He chuckled. “Come on, we will get you showered and bathed and tucked back into bed.”
“No sex?”
He snorted. “No sex. It isn’t any fun when the partner is too exhausted to participate. I want to end with you limp in my arms, not start that way.”
Melr came out, and Athena thanked him, complimenting his efforts.
Etska agreed, got to his feet, and carried her back to the bedroom. He hadn’t been joking as he took her to the bathing room, helped her disrobe, and then dispassionately gave her a rubdown with a soapy cloth before rinsing her off.
When she was clean from head to toe, he set her in a huge tub, and while she soaked, he disrobed and scrubbed down as well.
She stared at his naked form. There was the superstructure of muscle covered with soft dark brown skin. His penis was what she wanted to figure out. It was at half-mast if she guessed, and there was a strange conical structure to it that intrigued her. It looked like it would go in easily, even if it increased in proportion. She could just stop when it go too tight. She blushed as she realized that he was looking directly at her.
“Don’t think for a minute that I wasn’t memorizing my view of you while I bathed you. I have a lot of patience, but I am still a male who prefers females.” He finished his showering before he walked over and eased into the bath.
The water level rose sharply, and she was suddenly floating. He caught her and pulled her in next to him. “Relax. The water isn’t too hot for you. You are too feeble right now for me to pursue our bond. I could give you strength if we had already bonded, but that isn’t what has occurred.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“That connection that I mentioned earlier with the venom involved. It creates a symbiotic relationship. It is easier for me to get what I need from you, and I can also transfer what you need to you. There is a mutual benefit.”
She felt the weakness in her limbs. Getting any kind of infusion would be better than simply waiting for her body to catch up, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Well, I guess I am glad you aren’t in a hurry. But why didn’t you remove my clothing while I slept?”
He smiled. “You were comfortable, and I did not wish you to suspect that I had taken advantage of your weakened state.”
She frowned. “Good call. That would have been my first guess.”
“It would have been a good guess, but I prefer my partners responsive.”
She blushed. That was true. The few times he had made contact, he assured himself that she was responding before he moved to the next level.
When they finished their warm soak, she was tired again and irritated as hell. She hated being weak, and it was one thing for the K’liir venom to be working on her. That she had control of, but to have her body on the road to recovery and have the road be an unexpected one was frustrating as fuck.
She took the drying sheet he gave her and blotted herself dry before wrapping it around her. He chuckled and took the towel from her and dried her hair with it. He sat her down and brushed her hair, and then, he smoothed his. “Ready for bed?”
She blushed and nodded. Being around him while they were both dressed was definitely different than with both of them being unclothed. When he tucked her into bed and then curled up against her back, her heart pounded for several minutes before it was obvious that the hand cupping her breast was going to remain there.
He whispered in her ear, “Rest. Recover, and then, we will have time for anything and everything else.”
Athena nodded, and she fought sleep for several minutes before her body told her she was an idiot and pulled her into slumber. There would be time to figure out what she was going to do next when she woke up.
Chapter Nine
Athena got up in an empty room, got dressed in the clothing that Tolr had laid out for her, and headed to the office. She did the whole thing without saying anything or whispering to the walls. Two additional days of recovering, and she was finally feeling like herself again. She had gone against Etska’s advice and watched the medical recording of the purge procedure and now understood why she was weak. Contaminated blood had flowed out of every orifice, and the team’s efforts had been to transfuse her with as much plasma as possible. She had gotten enough injections to give her body the basic building blocks, but she had nearly bled to death. It was chilling to watch.
Today, she felt better. Her muscles responded when she moved, and she didn’t feel like she was under water. Even the outfit that Tolr had laid out was to her taste. An open-panelled skirt in cerulean blue and a copper to pale peach top with fluttery sleeves. A breastband underneath kept everything confined and comfortable.
She finished the task at her desk and headed downstairs for the dawn meeting and breakfast.
Team Vel was now operating out of the overseer’s home. Etska gave them special assignments and locations, and they brought the samples to a priority holding area in the warehouse. The samples were all for special projects, and since Etska knew what had been planted in those zones, he was interested in their current status.
She went down the stairs until she heard the low voices and found the guys gathered around the larger garden table. Upgrades happened quickly around the overseer.
The first sun wasn’t up yet, and the guys were talking softly around the table.
“If you are keeping it quiet for me, you don’t need to. I can sleep through Tber snoring, so I can sleep through most things.”
Etska turned toward her and smiled. “You are looking well this morning, Athena.”
She nodded. “I feel normal, as in before the K’liir venom normal.” She paused and remembered, “My lord.”
He chuckled and beckoned to her. “Come here, my lady. Time for breakfast.”
As if he had been watching—because he probably was—Melr arrived with the first course and served each of the foragers in turn before placing a double portion of everything on the plates in front of Etska. She grimaced and walked toward him. “I am feeling better. I can manage my own food.”
“You eat too fast. Sit.” He patted his thighs, and his expression got stern.
Athena felt her face pucker a little, but she stalked over to him and sat down with a thud that made him grunt.
Tohba chuckled, and the other two snickered.
Tohba smiled. “It is good to see you more yourself, Theena. You were getting weaker with each passing day. Now, you are close to the psycho we were teamed with originally.”
She made a face and said, “What are we waiting for? The food’s getting cold.”
Hivr cleared his throat. “No one eats at the overseer’s table before he does.”
Athena turned and looked at Etska. She grabbed a piece of toast and stuck it between her teeth. He narrowed his eyes and leaned in, taking the other end of the toast in his teeth, and he bit down. She took the piece of toast and turned her back on Etska. “There. He’s taken the first bite.”