Ch. 5.2

"Master Xana, would you like something to eat, as well?" the bot immediately asked.

"Whatever Rio here has," Xana said. "And Kyle, if Rio ever asks for more personal questions about me, direct him to me."

"Certainly, master Xana. And thank you."

"What for?" Xana quirked an eyebrow.

"For calling me Kyle."

Xana was now looking at Riordan with a mix of pride and appreciation.

"Thank Riordan. He was the one to name you."

"Thank you, master Rio."

"You're welcome, Kyle," Riordan replied.

He could not pretend he wasn't a bit pissed about Xana ruining his fun. His master picked a perfect morsel off the plate offered by the bot and looked at him with satisfaction.

"Care to take a bath together?" Xana began caressing Riordan naked calf with his tail.

"Yeah," Riordan agreed. "I'm getting too used to be slimy all the time with you around. Are you sure you don't have to go back to work?"

"Positive." Xana smiled and grabbing him and throwing him over his shoulder, he began marching towards what qualified as a bathroom in the household.

This was different from the bathroom he had visited when Kyle had prepared him for the party. It resembled the accommodations where Xana had inflated his belly the first time. It was clear that the Xeno felt best in that kind of environment, frolicking in the water happily and dragging Riordan with him.

"So." Xana resurfaced from the water and embraced him, pulling him close. "What is it that you want to know? I thought I staved your natural curiosity just earlier."

"Xana, why do you like... having sex with male humans so much?"

"Why don't you ask me directly why I like you?"

"Fine," Riordan agreed. "Why do you like me?"

"I cannot explain it," Xana said simply.

"Why?" Riordan pressed and looked the Xeno into his hypnotic eyes.

"I am used to facts. There is no fact here. I saw your file and I just thought I want you."

"Just like that?"

"Yes. I saw your eyes. I don't know if I noticed anything else. The selector tried to entice me with other files, but I only wanted you. I wanted to see your eyes, up close, like this." Xana circled him slowly, all the while not breaking eye contact.

Riordan felt a little taken aback and his skin began to warm but pretended not to notice. "That's a bit different from what you told me earlier."

"I have a sudden urge to hide things like these from you. But you're persistent. And I didn't lie to you. I like that you're dark. I like that you're old, although I don't believe that you're old. I like your imperfections. I like your uncouth manner of talking. I feel like I could spend my days in bed with you, filling you gradually over and over again. I would put my egg inside you this instant if I didn't know I could not do that without hurting you."

"Wow." Riordan smirked. "And you say you're not crushing on me?"

"Maybe I am." Xana smiled slyly.

"C'mon, snake boy, you don't have to lie to me to get me to bend over. I'm yours anyway."

"Mine," Xana whispered and he dragged Riordan closer for a kiss.

"How do we know when the perfect match is achieved?" he inquired as soon as he was allowed to breathe.

"Eager to have my egg inside you?" Xana licked one side of his face making him snicker.

"More like eager to get stuff done and see about the rest of my life," Riordan replied.

Again, the air turned cold, and Riordan felt his teeth starting to clutter uncontrollably.

"Stop it with this shit," he murmured.

"With what?" Xana asked, his voice cool as the freezing air.

"You won't be getting any egg inside me if I die of cold," he spat, the tremble in his lips growing stronger.

Xana seemed to get a hold of himself. Gradually, the temperature returned to normal. Riordan let out a breath.

"How do you do that? And why?" he lashed out at his owner, the moment he felt some of the blood returning to his limbs.

"It's a natural reaction. It happens when I experience a change in my brain chemistry."

"Brain chemistry? Bullshit. You're pissed and suddenly, everyone around must die freezing." Riordan swam towards the edge of the gigantic pool and pulled himself out of the water.

He shouldn't have been surprised to feel the tail coiling around his waist and dragging him back. Again, he was facing that mercurial being, and the green eyes were darker now, filled with passion.

"In Earth terms, I'm supposed to be a cold-blooded creature."

"You're not. Your body is warm." Riordan struggled to remain composed as the tail continued to squeeze him tightly.

"It gets hotter around you," Xana admitted, his eyes never leaving his bearer's face.

"What happened earlier is the exact opposite. Stop squeezing me, you ass," Riordan finally let out. "You're exasperating."

"I must make sure you don't slip away," Xana relaxed his hold but only for a tiny bit.

"It's not like I could go anywhere. Stop being irrational."

"You barely wait to leave my side." Xana seemed miffed now.

"It's you planet, your laws. At the end of this bargain, I need to find myself a safety blanket. You just dance around the subject. I don't know what kind of humans you met until now, but I value security. You give me nothing. I only try to find out whether I'll be forced to work in a whorehouse or learn how not to die of boredom filling forms all day long."

"You got everything wrong," Xana said through his teeth.

"Why don't you enlighten me? It's not my fault I'm being kept in the dark. You just make things hard."

"I don't want you to leave."