Odd Coupling (5 page)

“
What is your
name?”

His very logical question halted her
retreat. Mortified by her own bad manners she turned back to face
him. “I’m sorry. I should’ve introduced myself. I’m Bethany
Montgomery. Just call me Bethany.”

“
Bethany,” he said. His
lips curved up into a very human smile. “My name is Vrenden. If you
wish, you may call me Vren.”

In spite of her misgivings she smiled,
and said, “Nice to meet you, Vren.”

He gave her a tiny nod and then
shifted his attention to the shower. “To bathe in water is a great
luxury for me. Thank you, Bethany. You are kind.”

“
You’re very welcome. I
hope you enjoy the shower.”

Bethany hurried out of the bathroom to
give him some privacy while she dashed to the kitchen to retrieve
two large trash bags. One would hold his boots so she could hide
them in the back of her closet. The other she’d use for his
uniform. If he allowed it, she wanted to toss his shredded clothes
into the fire pit on her patio as soon as possible. She hoped the
material would burn. If not, she could dig a deep hole and give the
soiled, incriminating evidence a proper burial.

Along the way, she had to pass through
the living room. The sight that greeted her made her realize just
how vulnerable they were. She gawked at the row of floor to ceiling
windows spaced across the back of the room. A set of double french
doors with clear panes divided the collection. They opened out to a
stone-covered patio. The view, which was usually so breathtaking
during the daytime, turned inward. Until now, she’d never
considered the possibility of someone using a high-powered scope to
spy on her in the evenings. There were no interior window coverings
in the room, and never had been. Only exterior storm
shutters.

She recalled her father’s
words.
Who needs privacy shades in a
living room when their house is built smack dab in the middle of
three thousand acres, high fenced and located in remote south
Texas?

I do, Dad.

For tonight the storm shutters would
have to do. Tomorrow, to avoid suspicion, she’d have to figure out
some reason to keep them closed. Bethany hurried to the control
panel on the wall and hit all the buttons to bring the shades down.
Luckily, the windows on the opposite side of the room and the ones
in the kitchen had blinds and they were closed. She scanned the
interior once more to make sure everything else appeared normal.
The widescreen televid monitor mounted above the fireplace
displayed the time—a few minutes after ten. She hurried to the
kitchen and then grabbed two large trash bags from beneath the
sink.

Until Vren was back with
his own people, they were both in danger. Surely, his friends would
come for him soon. The alternative was for her to take him to NASA
in Houston where he’d be safe and could receive medical attention.
The only thing she had to offer was basic first
aid
. Like an ice pack.

Bethany grabbed a quart-sized zip bag
and filled it with ice. She was dying of thirst so she took a
bottle of cold water out of the fridge and downed half it. She
grabbed another one, then headed back to her bedroom. Her guest
might want a drink also. After she placed the ice bag and the
waters on the bedside table, she hurried to the bathroom. The door
was still open, and he’d left his clothes on the floor alongside
his boots. Apparently, some things were universal when it came to
males.

Unable to stop herself, she glanced at
the closed shower door. The frosted glass panel obscured her view,
but she could see his form as he moved around inside. The enclosure
was extra-large, but he took up a great deal of room. The guy was
huge. At the moment, he stood beneath the spray while he rinsed his
hair. Bethany turned away and kneeled to collect his clothes. Out
of the corner of her eye, she watched as he rubbed soap over his
shoulders, across his chest and down his stomach. She couldn’t help
but wonder what his body looked like. The blurred image didn’t
reveal any details. Occasionally, she’d catch a glimpse of his tail
as it swayed back and forth.

Stop peeping at
him.
How could she stoop to stealing
glances at a naked alien? She was being ridiculous.

A loud hiss came from the shower.
Alarmed, Bethany jumped up and clutched the two trash bags to her
chest. Had he caught her spying on him? He hissed again, softer
this time. It sounded as if he was in pain.

“
Are you okay?”

“
The soap burns where my
skin is cut. There is a large one on my hip.” He hissed again, an
angry tone this time. “Does all the flora and fauna on your world
have thorns and sharp teeth?”

Bethany couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
“No. This is south Texas. You just picked the wrong place to
land.”

Another loud hiss came from him. “I
had no choice. I crashed.”

“
I wondered about that.
What happened?”

She waited for his answer. He growled,
and the threatening sound gave her the shivers. Maybe she shouldn’t
have asked. She was about to leave after she decided he wasn’t
going to talk to her.

“
Wreckage from a Krellian
fighter hit and disabled my ship.” He growled again before he
continued. “I survived the crash, but I don’t think the locator
beacon was so lucky.”

“
Does that mean your people
don’t know where you are?”

“
It will take them longer
to find me.”

Bethany bit her lip.
Not good
. Another hiss
sounded in the shower.

His voice was softer, almost hesitant
when he spoke again. “I need assistance.”

“
How can I help?” She
stared at his blurred form as she strained to see him.

“
Does your culture have an
objection to touching?”

“
What?” She was
dumbfounded, and would’ve never guessed he’d ask something like
that.

“
I apologize for shocking
you. It is of no matter.”

“
No, wait. I think we’re
just having a communication breakdown. What is it you need
exactly?”

His deep sigh seemed filled with
regret. “I have a cut on my back, making it difficult to
clean.”

Bethany gasped and almost
choked. He needed somebody to wash his back?
Oh,
my god.
This could get kinky strange, but she’d already trampled a few
moral codes. What did another one matter? On the other hand, was
she ready to see catman nude? She took a deep breath for courage
and dropped the bags onto the floor.

“
Turn around and I’ll wash
your back for you. I’ll try to be careful.”

She slid the door open. The sight of
him damn near overwhelmed her. His back was turned toward her, and
it took several seconds to figure out in detail what she was
looking at. He was so…colorful. His muscular arms and shoulders
were striped just like a tiger. His long mane reached midway down
his back, and she glimpsed black stripes fanning out from a thin
black line that ran down his spine all the way to the base of his
tail. The patterns on his legs matched his arms.

Bethany gaped at his powerful
physique. She couldn’t stop staring and wondering if his front was
as impressive as his back. Her gaze zeroed in on his gorgeous
striped muscular ass and long tail. Vren wasn’t entirely naked. Her
mouth dropped open.

He wore the cutest little black thong
underwear she’d ever seen. The broad waistband rode high on his
hips and the back strap split apart to accommodate his tail. She
was dying of curiosity to see the front. Her imagination ran wild.
Catman had to be huge since everything else about him was
humongous.

Muscles rippled in his shoulders and
arms as he reached up and lifted his long hair away from his back.
Water droplets splashed her face and revived her from a stupor.
Bethany glanced down. She was still dressed in boots, jeans and a
button-up shirt.

“
I need to take off my
boots first. Hold that pose,” she said and blanched.
Hold that pose?
What was
wrong with her?

She slipped out of her boots and
tossed them into the bedroom. She gathered the last remnants of her
dignity, stepped into the shower stall and closed the door behind
her. His large body blocked most of the spray, but she didn’t want
to chance flooding the bathroom floor. She grabbed a washcloth, a
bar of soap and worked up a good lather. All the while, she studied
his back. A long cut below his left shoulder blade marred his
skin.

“
I see it. It’s not deep,
but it’s pretty long.”

He acknowledged her assessment with a
deep grunt.

She started between his shoulder
blades and scrubbed his back. She took care to gently wipe the
soapy cloth around the cut. The temptation to rub her palms over
his thick shoulders and down his sinewy back was almost
irresistible. She wanted to touch him so bad. His skin looked
amazing, striped and suede-like, the same as his face.

“
That feels good,” he said.
“No one has ever washed me this way.”

“
No one, ever?” Bethany
found that hard to believe.

He shook his head. “Our females do not
like to tend to males. I hesitated to ask you to help me. I did not
wish to insult you.”

“
Oh. Uh, um, well, human
females like to
tend
to their men sometimes. It’s what couples do, you know. They
help each other. It’s not insulting.”

He glanced over his shoulder and
looked at her with a hopeful expression. “Do you want me to wash
your back now?”

Bethany laughed nervously. She
couldn’t tell if he was teasing or if he was the most literal ninny
she’d ever met. The corners of his mouth lifted in a hesitant smile
as he waited for her answer. His eyes sparkled, mesmerizing
her.

Talk about the cat getting your
tongue. She remained speechless for a few seconds. The only thing
that responded to him was her body. The idea of his large hands on
her naked back did shocking things to her. She clenched her thighs
together and prayed she wouldn’t cream her jeans.

“
Oh…um…I think I can do
that myself. Uh…later. After you’re done.” She swallowed hard,
dropped the washcloth and backed away.

To her surprise, he turned around and
took a step toward her. Her back hit the shower door and she let
out a startled yelp. He stopped and stared at her. His nostrils
flared as he drew in a deep breath.

“
You are aroused and are
ready to couple, but you act frightened.” He stepped back. “I do
not understand.” His eyes narrowed to green slits and his ears
swept back. It made him look more ferocious. “Does my appearance
disgust you?”

Mortified that she’d insulted him,
Bethany blurted out the truth. “No, you don’t disgust me! I think
you’re amazing looking and very attractive. You’re just really big.
And I don’t know anything about you. Human women like to get to
know someone before they get…close.”

His expression softened and his lips
formed an encouraging smile. “For us, coupling brings us close, and
we get to know each other very well. It is a time
saver.”

I’m sure it is,
Bethany wanted to say. Instead, she said, “Well,
we prefer talking to each other first.”

Not quite the total truth since many
human couples went from saying “hi” to groping each other in a
matter of minutes. She was pretty sure catman meant full out, body
to body naked contact when he spoke of coupling.

The idea of having sex with him made
her stomach flutter and sent a spike of desire to her pussy so hard
it almost made her moan. He was incredible to look at. She wanted
to run her hands all over his hard-muscled body and explore every
inch. She slid her gaze downward to marvel at his ripped form. She
admired his wide muscular chest and washboard abs, which tapered to
a tight, trim waist. It was what she didn’t see that surprised
her.

The waistband of his thong dipped low
across his lower abdomen where it held a triangular piece of
material snugly in place. There was no sign of a bulge or any
evidence of an erection between his beefy thighs. He looked a lot
like an anatomically incorrect life-sized doll. She couldn’t help
but stare in disappointment. Bethany had expected, anticipated, so
much more, considering his enormous size.

“
Bethany?”

His deep voice startled her. Bethany
jerked her head up and gazed straight into his wondrous eyes.
Vren’s sly smile stretched into a broad grin. He’d caught her
staring, and seemed to have guessed what she was looking for. Her
mind raced to find some way to recover from her flub in
manners.

“
So you bathe in your
underwear?”

He huffed out a small laugh. “I do not
wear underwear. All Alliance fleet personnel must wear a uniform
while on duty. This is how I dress when I am not on duty.” He
hooked his thumbs under the waistband at the front of the
thong-like garment and tugged it downward just a bit, drawing her
gaze once again to his crotch. “This is a tapa. All D’Lyrians,
males and females, wear this. Our females also wear small strips of
decorative cloth to cover their breasts. We males enjoy looking at
them.”