Lysa quickly stripped and got ready to shower once she shoved Martinez into the first room of the sauna. It was a simple location with a single shower and a few cubbies for clothes and towels, Nelya’s revealing clothes neatly stacked in one.

Once she had turned on the faucet and doused herself in the flowing water, she looked back toward Martinez, who was bashfully pondering the idea of taking off his clothes.

It was cute that Martinez, a trained and combat-experienced Corpsman, was embarrassed by the idea of being in a sauna with her and Nelya. He was a man who had faced the perils of the enemies of the GU with valor time and time again, but her mother naked was too much for her dear Ruh'ah.

Lysa knew they had open-bay showers when he was in training, so it's not like public bathing would be new to him. Aviex were incredibly social in their families, so group baths and nudity amidst each other were common.

“Don’t worry about feeling awkward; we are all going to be naked,” Lysa assured, gesturing toward the door leading into the sauna room.

“That’s easy for you to say; I am about to go into a sauna with my girlfriend and her mother,” Martinez replied, gesturing toward the door Nelya had just entered.

He was thankful that he only caught the slightest glimpse of Nelya. The idea of being in the same room as her while nude was overwhelming, especially when it came to having Lysa around as well.

Martinez never went to strip clubs, slept around, or did anything along those lines. To him, being that exposed with someone was reserved for intimate moments, save for the showers in training, you had no choice but to shower together—but those were his brothers in arms, not his girlfriend's bombshell of a mother.

Where was he allowed to look anyway? Could he look at Lysa and not piss off Nelya? She seemed reasonably nonchalant about Lysa and Martinez’s relationship, but that was only from his understanding that Lysa told her every detail of their relationship.

That idea made looking at Lysa all the more fiddly. While Martinez roughly knew what Lysa had told Nelya, the precise details of their conversations were unknown. Did she know every intimate detail? Or just an overview of what they do in the bedroom?

Then there is Nelya. The idea of looking at her and chatting while nude was beyond awkward; no, it felt like a social faux pas, downright sinful. She was his girlfriend's mother, for god's sake. That she invited them to the sauna did not change the fact that he was raised not to look at any other girls naked—-much less your Ruh'ah’s fucking mother.

His grandmother and grandfather would have beat him with a switch and disowned him if they ever even thought he cheated or looked at another woman—not that they were alive or knew about Lysa, but he had seen it happen to his cousin Jose.

Seeing Martinez still in a bit of a tizzy, Lysa clicked her tongue and shook her head. If Martinez was ever going to become her Gra'hu he could not feel this shy about being naked. But she also had to be an excellent potential Gra'hu for him and support his shortfalls.

“Don't worry about feeling awkward,” Lysa said while stepping closer, the water dripping down her muscular body. “You are the only Ruh'ah that I've had. I am certain my Mother is not quite sure of how to behave. Frankly, neither am I.”

Martinez smirked slightly. He doubted what Lysa was saying there. She was generally proficient at holding her composure and knowing how to behave. Her mastery of those skills comes from being an Aviex in a large city. You had to know how to adjust your actions on the fly to not piss off an angry alien.

He was not sure about Nelya, but he would have to spend more time with her to take her mental pulse at a glance as he could with Lysa. Either way, he still appreciated the reassurance, even if it did little to ease his pattering heart.

“Head on in. I will rinse off and be there in a minute,” Martinez said, having decided to treat the situation like pulling off a bandage—just get it over with.

“Very well, Ruh'ah,” Lysa replied before leaning in and kissing his lips softly.

Martinez nearly instinctively wrapped his arms around her, pulling Lysa tight and deepening the kiss, completely forgetting that she was soaked. Not that either minded the water.

Once the kiss broke, Lysa smirked, one of her dimples forming. “Well, now you must change; you are sopping,” she purred, plucking open his top button and stepping back. “We will be waiting for you.”

Martinez took a deep breath once Lysa was inside the sauna. The rush of damp air filled his lungs and pulled out some of his rattled nerves, but it was enough to get him to continue.

He stripped, dropped his wet clothes in one of the cubbies, and stepped into the surprisingly cold water. The chilly liquid pulled goosebumps up on his skin.

While he rinsed off, he could barely hear Nelya and Lysa chatting. The running water and the closed door made all but their laughter indecipherable. It was a good thing they were laughing; Lysa needed this trip to go well, and he wanted it to.

To him, family was vital in a relationship, and it was not like his family was a few hours away. If Martinez ever wanted them to meet Lysa, they would have to take several weeks to travel to Earth; that would be both expensive and difficult, so they would have to wait until they had more money and were further on in their relationship.

Once Martinez showered and was in the suit God had given him, Martinez slowly opened the door. He damn near knocked but caught himself before rapping against the wood; he was already going to likely make an ass of himself during the next few minutes; doing something he knew the women could get a chuckle out of would not help him.

Inside the sauna was about what Martinez expected: simple wooden construction composing the walls and long benches teared up to the ceiling. The dead center of the round room was a metal stove filled with hot rocks.

Next to Nelya and Lysa were glasses and a bottle of wine. None of them had poured any inside the glasses so far. But Martinez did notice one detail that made him raise an eyebrow. Why were there only two glasses?

Before he could ponder that, Nelya reached over and cast a ladle of water onto the rocks, with steam erupting off them, causing the already near-scalding air to be overbearing. The heat was insane and pulled sweat from Martinez instantaneously.

But none of those details were what Martinez’s monkey brain focused on. He looked hard left and concentrated on the empty bench. Whether it was him being genuinely curious about what they looked like right now or his stupid habit of needing to know what was happening in the room, he glanced over at them, blushing and seeing them intently watching him.

After years of combating the Farq on Heavalun, Martinez had developed keen senses and the ability to take a snapshot glance of what he looked at, allowing him to instantly assess dangers. Usually, that was beneficial to him. It helped him and his teams stay alive—now, not so much.

The Human hoped he did not see what he did but knew what was witnessed was true; it always was.

Nelya was leaning back against the wood, her arms propping her up. Her plump, voluptuous chest almost made him gawk, but thank God he could keep himself composed. While her chest certainly had no budget cuts, neither did the rest of her.

Her thighs looked soft and plush, along with her long, trailing black hair resting on the bench. Unlike her daughter, Nelya’s pink eyes scanned Martinez with curiosity. It's likely a reaction to finally seeing how similar Humans and Aviex are firsthand.

Nelya had what looked like a tattoo on her upper thigh. It resembled a band of brambles, with a flower blooming just over her hip.

That was curious; Martinez had not expected the gentle-acting Nelya to be the type to get a tattoo. That and Lysa never showed any interest in tattoos, even the Human Marine tattoo he had on his right shoulder.

He might ask about it later but knew he likely would not—ink not out in the open was generally for the wearer, not the observer; at least, that is how he thought of it.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Lysa was sitting less than an arm's reach away and just as hypnotic, but her natural form was something Martinez was comfortable with; seeing her abs glistening with sweat and her athletic build was homey.

Though, unlike her mother's more laid-back posture, Lysa sat erect with her hands gracefully resting on her lap. She had a wide grin on her lips as she looked at Martinez with the same reverence he gave her.

“Henry, come and take a seat,” Neyla said, patting the area between her and Lysa with a snarky smile. “You should sit beside your Ruh'ah, not over there alone.”

Nelya and Lysa giggled when Martinez's spine went ramrod straight after being called out, not that it changed his plan.

He slowly worked his way over to them, not looking directly at them. However, instead of sitting between them, he sat to the side of Lysa, with her acting as a barrier between Nelya and him.

For several seconds Martinez was silent, sitting forward and staring straight forward, focusing on the water bubbling on the hot rocks.

“Come on now, Ruh'ah, you should try and relax,” Lysa whispered into his ear; her usually hot breath was a chilly breeze in the steamy room.

Martinez glanced over and nodded, trying to assure Lysa that he was making some effort; this situation was a lot for him.

“So, Mother, do you recall me telling you about Henry’s military service?” Lysa said, trying to pull Martinez into a conversation, hoping that getting him to involve himself would assist him in finding solace.

“I do,” Nelya replied before leaning forward and looking over at Martinez. Her long hair draped down and nearly touched the floor. “Are you still in the service or not? Lysa tried to explain it to me before, but I could not make heads or tails of what she said.”

“I made an earnest effort,” Lysa insisted.

“Yes, yes you did,” Nelya replied, acknowledging Lysa but still wishing to chat with Martinez despite her knowing his situation very well. “So, could you try to explain your situation to me?”

Even Martinez was unsure of that. He was on loan from the Human Navy to the GU medical service, so while he technically could be considered still in service, he was in no way acting like it. Hell, he might as well be a civilian, despite the threat that the Human Navy could recall him at any time they felt like it.

God knows that the Human Navy is fickle and that the Human government does not care about one soldier's happiness.

Martinez did his best to explain his situation to Nelya and answer any follow-up questions. She mostly asked a little about his time in service and what he liked and did not like about it.

Both were easy enough to answer, and he did not hesitate to reply despite his environment. A detail Lysa and Nelya noted, both understanding they just had to be casual and keep him talking and involved.

Martinez briefly reviewed how he went to basic training back on Earth and was then sent to Mars for follow-up training, where he learned to be a Corpsman; after that, he explained his nearly six years of constant warfighting or support operations around the galaxy.

He told them the rough gist of the fighting on Verilon and Harudeth before he was assigned to relief efforts in some of the outer Human colonies, specifically his near year of helping relocate and treat refugees of a repelled assault from the Bulamric empire.

The details of that campaign were all too vivid for Martinez. The remnants of those aliens rampaging across the planets were impossible to forget. There were so many bodies, destroyed houses and cities, along with gruesome treatment of the prisoners of war.

How could he forget the bat-like alien stay-behind troops and their odd social existence? Unlike most of the other members of the GU who were republics or other democracies, they were still a hereditary monarchy, just not in the traditional way humans had used it.

The Bulamrics had a strict caste system, the only exception to that system being when someone was born with white fur. Anyone born with white fur out of the traditional upper crust was filled into their church and allowed vertical movement.

Nelya shocked Martinez by mentioning that she knew about the empire's assault on Human colony planets; the nocturnal chiropterans had supposedly claimed hundreds of standard years before Humans had stepped foot on them.

It was not surprising that she knew of it. Humans were the talk of the GU at the time. No, it was the details she knew.

Nelya mentioned how they fileted members of outposts to display as warnings, shot down several of the planetary defense forces spacecraft, killing thousands, and even outlined how the Human Navy, Marines, and Army kicked them to the curb by bringing the full weight of their might upon the Bulamrics small attack fleet.

All of those details were things only the Humans directly involved would know. Nelya could even explain the warrior caste and their vampiric origins, drawing a clear line of how they even had something similar to Mordain, even though it was far more bloody and brutal.

“How do you know all of that?” Martinez questioned, knowing the Human government did its best to keep the events of the war quiet, likely to strong-arm the Bulamric empire into a trade deal instead of a GU sanction.

“Indeed, Mother, you seem quite well versed in politics on the far side of the galaxy,” Lysa commented, genuinely curious about why she would know intimate details of Human wars.

Nelya smirked slightly and attempted to cover it with her hand, but both Martinez and Lysa saw it clear as day. “Well—I read up on them for novel research,” she explained, trying to avoid eye contact with the duo.

Martinez noticed that and knew Nelya was not being forthright. There was no way it was just that. But he would not outright call her a liar; for all he knew, she was just researching to include Human characters.

“Seems like an odd thing to research since you write spy por—-er romance thrillers,” Martinez said, catching himself from calling Nelya’s novels outright porn.

“Don’t worry, I’ve heard plenty of critics call my novels porn, and if some of my reader's reviews are anything to go by—they enjoyed it in ways I did not intend,” Nelya shrugged.

“Oh, come on, they aren’t that pornographic,” Martinez insisted, having finished her debut novel on the shuttle ride over. “I like your books.”

Her first novel, Kirkai Lourin, and The Rutiral Apprentice, only had three sex scenes in its six hundred pages. He did not think it was terrible, even though the book was strewn with sexual innuendos and tension between Kirkai and his trainee Urenta.

Though he only thought it was not that abashedly sexual because the porn scenes were well-written, easy to visualize, and were not out of nowhere. They had a good build-up. Even someone like him who did not read books laden with sex could tell that much.

“Lysa, you were right; I was going to like him,” Nelya smiled a toothy grin, gesturing up and down at Martinez, eliciting a heavy blush from him as he looked away, having not realized during the casual chat about his time in service he ended up looking right at Nelya.

“I know,” Lysa complimented while patting Martinez’s shoulder. “Ruh'ah is amazing.”

That did not help Martinez relax; he had never been the type to enjoy praise, and getting it from Lysa and Nelya only made him feel more like he was taking what he should not receive.

“So, Henry, what else did you think of my first book?” Nelya questioned.

“Well, I enjoyed the setting. I think the city you placed it in was fun and felt alive,” Martinez replied.

That response was not him just trying to be nice to Nelya. The city of Roqural, the setting of the novel, genuinely breathed atmosphere. Her vivid descriptions filled the world with motion—not so much that it was overbearing, but just enough that he thought he was seeing what she did.

“Oh, please continue,” Nelya insisted after Martinez explained what he enjoyed about the story overall.

Martinez chuckled at the obvious attempt to fish for compliments, but he was not one to belay praises because he was in front of someone who deserved it.

The three of them began conversing about some of the books they enjoyed and their favorite genres to read.

Nelya explained how she started writing because she was bored sitting at home waiting for Kyroll to return from missions. Initially, she began by writing what she called horrible, barely legible short stories on the data net until she finally managed to cobble together her first Novel.

That sounded similar to what Martinez had heard from one of the Human Marines he knew, Aura. He had done something similar toward getting published.

“I’m certain Lysa will do something similar if you stay in military service and are sent off to another war,” Nelya casually commented.

“I am uncertain if Ruh'ah intends to return to the Human Navy,” Lysa said, patting his thigh. “I pray he stays and becomes my Gra'hu.”

“Well, we can’t have that until you two have your own hunters and huntresses running around causing havoc. On that subject, did you two go to a clinic to see if our species can reproduce naturally? I am eager to know how long it will be. I'm not getting any younger after all.” Nelya mused, tossing another ladle of water on the coals, steam wafting up and filling the area.

Martinez looked over to Lysa, expecting her to explain what Nelya meant by they had to have kids, but Lysa was motionless and blushing while she damn near glowered at her mother.

This was not the first time Martinez had heard the word Gra'hu, but he understood it to mean something similar to husband or wife. Now, he was starting to question what the word precisely meant.

This was bringing to light some of the differences between Humans and Aviex. Some that Martinez was realizing he likely overlooked, having been swept up in his romance, work, and other issues at Draun.

It took Nelya a few glances between Henry and Lysa before she said anything to break the silence. “Oh— I see; well, I think I will leave the two of you alone—here, have the bottle,” Nelya calmly said, leaving a bottle and two glasses on the bench and then quickly slipping out of the room.

It was now that Martinez started to piece together more about Nelya. She was cunning, and his little thoughts about her were confirmed. Like a politician steering a conversation and a meeting—she planned this interaction between Lysa and him.

“So– do you want to explain what she meant by that?” Martinez questioned.

To his surprise, Lysa did not initially respond; she was not even looking at him. She pulled the glasses over, poured some of the wine, and handed him a glass.

After taking a few sips of the wine, she sighed, hung her head, and spoke, “To put it bluntly—”