The First Hunter

Closeness

"Human, wake up".

Leanne slowly opened her eyes, "How long did I sleep?"

"About three hours. Come, we must use the cleansing unit and change before our meeting with my brothers." He looked at Leanne's clothing with distaste.

Leanne too looked at her top and pink leggings, "Excuse me, these are Lululemon's, you know? They are expensive!"

"Your leg covering is strange. And you need to bathe."

Her expression went from indignant to deflated , "Did you forget what happened the last I tried to use your cleansing unit?"

Bet-khar let out a defeated sigh and began unbuckling hear seat straps, "You can bathe with me."

She looked up at him with a concerned expression, "You want us to bathe together?"

"What are you concerned about human? You asked to share my bed last night and shamelessly rubbed your naked body against mine all night ..." He looked at Leanne with a blank expression, "You have nothing that I haven't seen before."

Her face flushed a bright red, "I didn't rub against you... did I?" Her mind went blank when she tried to remember. She deserved a break, alright. She almost died in the last 36 hours, her body was tense and her mind tired. She'd slept like a rock last night and woke up drooling. Everything else was just a blur.

"We don't have much time, come!" He turned to leave and Leanne followed him out of the bridge. She hadn't intended to touch him, but she felt cold throughout the night and his body was like a space-heater.

Bet-khar undressed and stepped inside the shower unit. The human remained rooted to the ground. When she made no move to undress, he picked her up and carried her towards the water.

"Hey, my clothes will get wet!" She protested.

He lowered her to the ground and crossed his muscled arms over his chest, "Clothes off!" He said firmly.

Leanne quickly peeled off her layers and carefully placed it on top of a shelf. He studied her face, paying no attention to the rest of her body.

Bet-khar pressed a few buttons on the wall and turned to face her again. Leanne tensed when water began to pour violently against his back. She took a step back, away from him, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him.

She remained pressed against his abdomen in stunned silence. The water wasn't hitting her hard like the first time, since he was blocking the direct contact. Within seconds she was completely wet, and warm. Bet-khar released his hold on her and reached for something over her head. She felt him pouring some cool tick liquid on her head.

To her astonishment, Bet-khar began to wash her hair? His clawed fingers scrubbed her scalp with gentle pressure. Leanne closed her eyes and relaxed under his ministrations. She let out a moan when his claws scrubbed the base of her neck. His hands stilled and she stiffened. She tilted her head up to face him. He stared at her mouth curiously and ran his fingers along her lips. He was pleased with the sound that came from there.

Leanne eyed his sharp claws warily. It amazes her how gentle he was with her. Bet-khar went back to scrubbing her head, his gaze never leaving her mouth. Leanne pressed her lips into a firm line, but after a long minute another soft moan escaped from her mouth. Bet-khar let out a series of clicks that she now came to recognize as interest, or curiosity... or maybe laughter?

"You like my hair, don't you?"

He gave her one sharp nod, "Yes".

Leaning against his body, she felt content. His presence made her feel less lonely. And she was very lonely back on earth. 

The past three days were spent taking naps, eating, and talking to him while he maneuvered the spaceship. Whenever they ate, Leanne talked bout human society and traditions, and he'd stared, giving her his full attention.

It hadn't taken long for her to be comfortable with him and the way he looked. Not that he was unattractive, just foreign. Nevertheless, Bet-khar was a sight to behold.

"You said we don't have much time tho. Let me rinse off so that I can give you some space to finish bathing", she said softly. He let go of her and proceeded to wash his long torso. 

Leanne quickly grabbed a cloth-thingy and stepped out of the shower to dry off. She looked around the bedroom for something to wear, since he insinuated that her outfit was both ugly and dirty.

She found a drawer next to the bed wall and carefully opened it. A dark green tunic was neatly folded inside, along with two oddly shaped robes. The shape of the green tunic was a bit strange, but it covered her from head to toe. And it smelled otherworldly wonderful! The fabric was soft and warm. The color contrasted nicely with her bright green eyes.

Her hair was surprisingly soft and free of knots, thanks to Bet-khar's miracle shampoo and magic fingers. She could bathe with him every single day if he washed her hair like that. No one has ever done that for her, and she really enjoyed the experience.

Bet-khar stepped out of the shower naked and fully dried. His eyes narrowed as though trying to make sense of the human's new outfit. Leanne twirled around to show him, "Do you like my new dress? The color is beautiful!"

A flicker of confusion crossed his face, but it was instantly gone, "That's not a dress but a shirt suitable for... relaxation. It will do just fine." He dragged the word "relaxation" for some reason.

"Well, you look nice too", Leanne muttered.

"Where did you find it?"

Leanne pointed at the drawer, "There is only one dress, I mean, shirt. Do you have something else to wear?"

Bet-khar shook his head, a devious grin crossed his face, "I do not wear such coverings human."

Leanne looked at him suspiciously, but before she could ask further, his wrist-computer activated displaying a sequence of numbers, and he abruptly left the room.