Lily sat there, stunned.
The audacity. To learn to kiss like that overnight. To know her body after one night. To leave her wound so tight that she was the one tempted to break every rule and climb him during her shift.
She made a decision.
Khar was not getting away with this.
Sooner or later, she was flipping this situation on its head.
And she already looked forward to the moment he begged.
Chapter 16
The Chrono-Cycle After Victory
Khar
One slow morning, Lily was making low, growling sounds in the command hub when Khar entered.
Khar stopped in the doorway.
He had never witnessed such behavior from Lily before. It was… concerning.
“What ails you?”
Lily’s face immediately flushed into that warm human hue Khar had come to recognize very well.
“Nothing,” she said quickly, refusing to meet his eyes. “I was just practicing my Divani.”
Khar’s twin hearts suddenly felt too large for his chest.
“No one learns languages anymore. It is redundant—”
Lily cut him off before he could finish.
“I know, I know. The translator does everything. But on Earth we do learn foreign languages. It’s a chore, sure, but it’s also kind of romantic.”
Khar considered this.
Then he nodded once.
“All right. Practice on me.”
“I haven’t practiced much,” Lily warned. “But here I go.”
She produced a rapid sequence of guttural growls and clicks, then looked at him expectantly.
“So… how did I do?”
“Well,” Khar said carefully, “you sounded Divani. A bit provincial. Perhaps from one of the outer bases. But definitely Divani.”
Lily brightened.
“And what did I say?”
Khar hesitated.
“You told me to mate with a ferish bear-beast. Vigorously.”
