Ka'Cit's Haven (Riv’s Sanctuary #3)

“No.” The corners of his lips twitched a little.

Did he ever sleep? She hadn’t seen him sleep since she’d met him.

“You must be tired.”

“I am. But…”

“But what?”

“I didn’t want to lose time.”

Nia smiled a little. “Well, we have two more days here just waiting on that ship to be fixed. We have all the time in the world.”

The corners of his lips moved slightly and the look he was giving her gave her the impression that she’d misinterpreted what he’d meant.

But he didn’t move to explain and she left it at that, opting to just look up at him as his finger moved across her cheek.

He was thinking about something, caught up in his thoughts far in the back of his mind, and as she looked at him, it was hard to merge the person he was now with the same man she’d seen shoot three aliens in the lounge.

Right now, all wrapped up in bed with her, he looked like the farmer she’d thought he was.

Calm, innocent, laid back.

He was like a puzzle she wanted desperately to solve.

His gaze suddenly focused as if he was rising from under water and he blinked.

“Are you hungry?”

Not for food.

“No. I’m still full of the Zeregga meal. I don’t think I’ll be hungry again for a while. It was quite a lot.”

Ka’Cit nodded, his gaze moving to her hair.

One of her braids moved as he took it between his fingers.

“Your hair has changed.”

“I had to braid it.”

He seemed entranced as he played with the braid for a few moments.

“I’ve never done anything to my hair before.” He said it almost absentmindedly as he played with the braid and Nia’s smile grew.

“I could braid yours, if you like…”

Ka’Cit’s eyes widened a little and between them, something twitched against her thigh.

Now it was her turn to show surprise.

He’d been hard the entire time?

“I’d like that.” His voice was so thick with need that she considered skipping the hairdo to play with something else other than his hair. But there was also anticipation in his eyes.

So that’s how she ended up sitting on the edge of the sleeping slab with Ka’Cit sitting between her legs on the floor.

He didn’t bother putting clothes on and before she even started on his hair, she was already having trouble concentrating because she had full view of his Pisa.