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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