Book 3. Samantha - I'm sorry 1

Book 3. Samantha - I'm sorry 1
The rational part of me knew I had to face Ulrus and tell him he had done nothing wrong, but the other part of me—the part gripped by shame—needed a little more time, so I took Rachel up on her offer and hid behind the counter.
Just as I ducked out of sight, the front door opened, and I heard Ulrus say, “Hi, Rachel. Ssythar.”
“Ulrus,” Rachel greeted him.
Ssythar grunted.
“Have you seen my mate?” Ulrus asked, sounding quite frantic, which made me feel bad for avoiding him, but it wasn’t like I was planning to ghost him—more like half an hour. “She looks like a goddess,” he started, describing me, which made my eyebrows shoot up because no one had ever referred to me like that. I was pretty, yes, but not that pretty. “She has eyes like a lake early in the morning, and her hair is golden.”
His words made me feel even worse about how I reacted earlier. 
“Congratulations on getting a mate,” Ssythar said.
Rachel chirped, “You’ve been matched. Such wonderful news.” In a more somber tone, she added, “Unfortunately, we haven’t seen your Bride. Isn’t that right, Ssythar?”
“No,” the Naga replied. “Yes.” After a moment's pause, he added, “What my mate said.”
“I am not your mate!” Rachel rebuffed.
“If that is the case, then why do you come to my nest night after night, your lips on my lips, my tongue exploring your sweet mouth, while your hands—”
“One more word about your nest, and it might suffer an accident,” Rachel threatened him.
Her attention returned to Ulrus as she walked to the front of the shop. “As I mentioned before, I haven’t seen Samantha, but if I do, I’ll let her know that you’re looking for her. I’m sorry to inform you, but we were about to close.”
“How do you know her name?” Ulrus asked suspiciously.
“Because you’ve been calling it,” Rachel reminded him. “Bye now,” she added moments before the front door closed and the lock clicked into place.
A minute passed before Rachel said to me, “You can come out now.”
Reluctantly, I stood. “I’m so sorry—” I started to apologize for my behavior, feeling quite ashamed, but Rachel held up a hand, and I stopped speaking.
“Ssythar is going to prepare the two of us chocolate milkshakes, while we’re going to have a lovely chat, and then Ssythar will tidy up around here.” Her tone was cheerful, but she looked anything but as she glanced at the Naga, who was rubbing the back of his neck. “And if you so much as mention our business to anyone, our arrangement as fuckbuddies is over, no matter how great sex with you feels. Which means you won’t be in Jocelyn’s life anymore. Clear?”
“Crystal,” he grumbled.
She brought her palms together. “Good. Now, the milkshakes,” she said, bossing him around as she sat down at a table and waved me over.
After I joined her, she jumped right into it. “I’m sure the trip here has been long and tiring—trust me, I know that better than anyone—and I bet that whatever Ulrus said to piss you off is just a huge misunderstanding. Also, men tend to be hot-headed,” she mused while side-eyeing Ssythar, who was good at multitasking as he kept playing with the baby—who looked a lot like a So’ok—while making the milkshakes, and still managed to steal a few glances at Rachel. “So promise me you’ll put Ulrus out of his misery soon.”
Knowing that if I didn’t clear up the misunderstanding right away, false rumors would start to circulate about Ulrus, and I didn’t want anyone to think badly of him, so I revealed, “I’m avoiding him, for now, because I snapped at him in the middle of the street.” 
Rachel fell silent, and it was only after Ssythar brought us the milkshakes that she commented, “I feel like I’m missing something.”
I took a sip of my drink, then let her know, “I don’t like being touched. By men.”
She blinked at that. “And you told him this?”
“Yes, but he forgot, and when he touched me, I had an ugly reaction,” I groaned, realizing how childish I sounded. “This is so stupid. What grown-ass woman has a meltdown over something so silly?”
Rachel gave me a sympathetic smile. “Your feelings are valid,” she reassured me, “especially since you communicated your boundaries to him. But it’s also important to understand that the aliens on this base are not like the men back home. They are good men who would never hurt a woman. I’m not making excuses for them, but I’m positive Ulrus meant no harm. Raaxians are very protective of their mates.”
“So are my kind,” Ssythar interjected, letting me know he had been eavesdropping on the conversation.
Rachel continued as if he hadn’t said anything. “You should see Commander Driann. In a room full of people, his gaze is always on Lexi.”
“I’m not mad at Ulrus,” I made clear.
She arched an eyebrow. “Then why are you hiding from him?”
“Because I’m disappointed in how I handled things. And because I needed a moment to gather my thoughts before I faced him.”
She looked over my shoulder. “And now it’s time to face Ulrus and talk to him,” she got to say before a knock on the front door made my entire body tense up.
“Samantha,” Ulrus said loudly enough to be heard. “Can you give me a minute to apologize? Then, I promise to leave you alone.”
Despite me being the one who had lost her temper and screamed at him, he was the one who wanted to apologize. It made me feel even worse.
“Could you let him in?” I asked Rachel.
“On it,” Ssythar said as he snaked his way to the door, the baby now in his arms.
The moment he was inside, Ulrus rushed to where I was. I was still trying to find the right words when Rachel got up.
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” she said as she walked away. “Let’s go to the kitchen,” she told Ssythar.
When we were alone, Ulrus asked, “How badly did I mess up, and what can I do to make it up to you?”