“But…you said you wouldn’t…that we wouldn’t…”
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Baird assured her. “Although you may wish I hadn’t made you that promise before we’re done tonight.”
I doubt that. But Liv didn’t say it out loud. Baird laid her gently on her side of the bed.
“Slip off your robe and lie on your stomach, Lilenta,” he murmured. “I’ll get the oils.”
Well if he was offering her another back massage, Liv was all for it. Not to mention the fact that she wasn’t exactly eager to lie naked face up on the bed for his inspection. Of course, they’d just spent the last half hour naked in the bath together but there at least half of her had been covered by the water. Now that she was out of the bathing pool and dry she felt extremely exposed.
As Baird went to rummage in the chest-like container at the foot of the bed, she took off the crimson robe and flipped hastily onto her stomach. She debated on keeping her arms straight down by her sides but it seemed silly. Baird had already seen her breasts—seen them, cupped them, rolled the nipples between his callused fingertips in a way that shot sparks of pleasure through her entire body…Liv stopped herself before her thoughts could get even more lascivious. The point was, she might as well make herself comfortable and put her arms above her head, even if the position did make her feel a little more vulnerable.
Soon enough he was back with an array of long, thin bottles in his large hands. They looked like blown glass and each bottle was a different unique mixture of colors. Their delicate shapes and intricate designs reminded Liv of the antique perfume bottles her grandmother had let her play with when she was a little girl.
“Wow, those are beautiful,” she said admiringly when Baird started to arrange them on the low, flat table beside the bed. “Are they from your home world?”
“This one is.” He showed her what looked to be the oldest bottle. It was a faded bluish green and there was a fine patina of cracks in the glazing that looked like a field of strange alien flowers when he held it at a different angle.
“May I see?” Liv sat up, making sure to cross her legs and drape one arm across her breasts before holding out her hand.
If Baird noticed her strategic cover-up, he didn’t say anything about it. Carefully, he placed the fragile bottle in her palm. “Each bottle holds a different type of oil for a different part of the bride’s body. This one has been in my family for generations.”
“Different oils for different body parts, hmm?” Liv examined the bottles with interest. The top of each one was a different design. Several looked like exotic alien blooms in red and green and vivid purple and a few were shapes she didn’t know. One seemed to be worked into the subtle shape of an animal face—a cross between a monkey and a fox. She hoped that didn’t mean the oil in it came from that particular animal, whatever it was. She really didn’t want to be rubbed down with ode de chimp or fox musk.
“The oils come from different plants on the Kindred home world as well as our three trade worlds,” Baird said, putting her fears to rest.
“And…you’re going to put all of them on me?” Liv looked at the array of bottles crowding the small table.
He shrugged. “More or less. I’ll decide as I go along.”
“Uh, but won’t that make me smell like an explosion in a perfume factory?”
“Not at all,” Baird assured her, taking the ancient blue bottle from her and urging her to lay down with a gentle nudge. “Most of them are odorless or made to enhance your own natural scent, like the fragrance I used on you in the bathing pool.”
“Oh. Okay.” She settled herself on her stomach again and turned her head to the side to look up at him. “But if the point isn’t the way they smell, then why have so many different oils? I mean, I’m sure that something that would work to relax my back would be just as good for my arms and legs. Right?”
Baird smiled. “To a certain extent, yes. But most of these oils aren’t for your arms and legs, Lilenta.”
“Then what are they…oh,” Liv ended in a small voice. Does he seriously have fifteen different types of alien lube he’s going to rub on me? Or…into me? The thought made her extremely nervous. But then Baird’s big, warm hands were on her back and, just as it had in the bathing pool, her tension seemed to melt away.
She would give the big warrior one thing—he could certainly give a hell of a massage. A girl could really get used to this, she thought drowsily as his hands, covered in some kind of warm, smooth oil, slicked over her shoulders and down to the small of her back. I wonder if Kindred males do this for their women after the claiming period is over or if this is a one time thing? Well, one way or another it didn’t matter because she wasn’t going to hang around and find out. Although if a nightly massage as good as this one was included in the deal, she might be at least a little bit tempted…No, think of Sophie and Kat and your nursing degree, she reminded herself. You didn’t just bust your butt for the last four years to lounge around on a spaceship getting massages and eating alien bon-bons.