My respect for Lion grew.
He was clearly aroused, but he did not take advantage of me, even though he was stronger and capable of hurting me. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was attracted to me.
By now, he had finished creating a bathtub inside the room using magic. He filled it with warm water and poured in some of the sparkling liquid from one of the vials.
Magical leaves and herbs were added and soon the water gave off a very pleasant scent.
He told me the bath was ready and shyly asked for my permission to help me wash, explaining that he needed to add tonic to the water periodically to restore my energy and health.
Why not?
I wasn't young enough to keep acting like a prude. I decided to trust Lion and gave him my consent.
His eyes lit up and I had a feeling they would soon change color because of what I was about to do.
I stood up while Lion watched me, making sure I wouldn't trip and walked slowly toward the bathtub. I kept my eyes locked on his as I slowly removed the blanket covering my naked body.
The blanket fell to the floor with a soft thud as I stepped into the tub. I finally sat down while Lion stood there, looking at me with such intensity that his eyes began to deepen in color.
The water was so soothing that I closed my eyes. I began to hum a tune when I felt Lion's arms hugging me from behind.
I smiled and continued to hum while he nuzzled my neck.
After a while, he poured a cool, sticky liquid onto my hair and let it sit.
He caressed my shoulders with his fingers while he sang in a low voice.
I told him that I was glad to have met him. I couldn't even imagine what would have happened to me if I hadn't.
He continued to sing while he held me from behind. I was contemplating what to say next when he stopped singing and rested his head on my shoulder.
He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. With a shaky voice, he asked if I would allow him to form a bond with me. I could feel him starting to tense up.
I admitted to him that I don't know anything about bonding except what Ghost had told me.
He turned his head toward me. I opened my eyes and looked at him.
Without hesitation, he told me that he wants me to be his mate in the future.
I see.
I watched him for a moment before replying.
Hesitantly, I asked him on what should I do and admitted to him that I wasn't sure my feelings for him are deep enough. Also, I told him that it felt too soon and that both of us don't know much about each other.
He smiled with amusement and touched my nose playfully. He explained that there was no need for me to do anything as he would be the one doing the chasing, performing the necessary steps of bonding and proving that he was a capable mate.
Then he stopped and looked at me curiously. He asked how long I thought I had been in this world.
I pondered for a while before telling him that it must be around three months or six months at most.
Right?
He snorted, then laughed. I looked at him incredulously.
What's so funny?
He continued to laugh while holding me tightly.
After a while, he finally stopped, though amusement remained etched on his face.
It turned out that I had been staying there for more than a year.
A YEAR?! THAT LONG?!
Based on what I remembered of science back on Earth, this world's rotation was somewhat longer than its orbit around its suns, kind of like Venus.
This world orbited two suns, which explained why they had no concept of time as I knew it.
It was confusing, but I was beginning to understand why the mornings and evenings felt so long.
Ah.
No wonder I felt tired all the time back then.
Lion asked me what Earth was like since I looked so confused by his revelation. I told him all about our concept of time, how we divided mornings and evenings into days, weeks, months, and years.
He thought for a moment and admitted that while he wasn't entirely sure, one year in this world was equal to several years on Earth.
Oh gosh...
I'm old.
Then I remembered that Lion was centuries older than me.
He had told me once that physical age, mental age and the number of years lived were all different.
It was a strange concept for a human to grasp.
I closed my eyes while Lion kept nuzzling me, waiting for my answer. I smiled and told him I would accept the bonding, adding that I would like it even more if our relationship continued to grow stronger.
I admitted that while I wasn't entirely sure of the depth of my feelings yet, I loved the affection he gave me.
There was silence.
Then I felt him gently washing my hair. I started to worry that I had said something to hurt him because he remained quiet.
My hair was dried by a gentle breeze that Lion summoned. Afterward, I felt his fingers slowly brushing my hair aside as he kissed my neck.
He began to comb my hair with the comb he had given me, peppering the back of my neck with soft kisses.
Then he began to sing again, and this time, his voice sounded much more cheerful.