Page 35 of Meteor Storm

Her scent filled the narrow space between us.

Sweet. Intoxicating.

Every breath drew it deeper into me. It slid through my lungs and unfurled beneath my skin, spreading slowly through my body before coiling low in my core like a potent drug.

“Thilar,” Penny spoke softly. “Does that Pek-Tol guy expect us to do anything tonight? I mean… is someone watching?”

“No,” I answered. “He only means to toy with us, I think.”

She sighed again with another wave of relief, curling deeper into the furs. After a few moments, she started to adjust again as if she was uncomfortable. Then she readjusted again. Finally, she rolled her shoulder back, turning her head toward me. Her face was so close to mine that her breath was feathering across my lips.

“I’m cold,” she whispered.

Her lips had grown paler in the frigid cell, and the dark circles beneath her eyes were painfully dark. She was not getting the rest she needed. I extended one arm, and she lifted her head, accepting the invitation as if she’d been waiting for it. Then she turned fully toward me, nuzzling into the hollow of my neck, trembling. I wrapped my other arm around her slight frame and drew the sheet over her until she was completely covered. Her legs tangled with mine, seeking whatever heat she could steal. Her ice-cold feet slipped between my calves, and at last, the shivering ebbed.

The pride I felt when she relaxed was unlike anything I had known. It was not the satisfaction of winning a battle or passing a test. It was quieter than that. Deeper. Fulfilling in a way I did not yet understand.

As Penny’s breathing evened and her body softened against mine, I thought I could stay awake and watch over her. Instead, sleep took me too. I settled around her, eyes closed, breathing steadily. Calmly. Contentedly. For the first time since arriving on that rock, I found a small measure of solace.

When I opened my eyes again, the weight of Penny’s head was still on my bicep. She was conformed more comfortably to me, one of her arms coiled around my waist, and one of her legs was lodged between my thighs. Any movement and my cock would be pressed up against her belly. I didn’t want to wake her, but I also knew what a light sleeper she was. The moment I inclined my head to look down at her, she began to stir. She slowly opened her groggy eyes and looked up at me, her lips slanting into the faintest smile as she stretched her body out.

She was content.

I wanted her to stay that way… but then I noticed Pek-Tol’s skinny figure standing outside my cell. My mood instantly soured and when Penny saw him, her entire body went rigid.

I hated him for ruining her calm. My face hardened at his smug expression when the two guards appeared behind him. The door slid open, giving her so little time to find her bearings. She shot up from the bed, dropping the furs, just as the guards ushered her out. I stood up after her, fists coiled at my sides. Once in the hall, Penny shot me one last, longing look as if she didn’t want to leave. When she was out of sight, I locked eyes with Pek-Tol, my jaw clenching.

“Do we understand each other, Tuross?” he said calmly.

I didn’t answer, but the smile that spread across his face said he knew what I would have said. In the next game, he would put the two of us through even greater trials. He would present higher stakes and more danger and he would get rich off the outcome. And if he didn’t, one or both of us would feel his ire. And if we performed, he would continue letting us grow closer.

That increased the risk. On my part, that is.

“Very good, then,” he said tiredly before he walked away, leaving me to my thoughts.

The anticipated yard time wasn’t allowed to us for another two rotations and by then, I was sure Pek-Tol was well into his scheming and planning of the next game. With Penny being part of the stock, he would capitalize until she was spent and used to the bone. My heart was thrumming as everyone was shepherded into the yard to get some exercise. Behind me, Sunhai was walking like she had no cares in the world, acting as bored as she always did. Walking ahead, two bodies between us, was Penny. The way she trudged along worried me. She didn’t look bored, anxious, or even alert. She looked… absent. She wasn’t really looking around like she had before. Her arms were crossed over her chest like she was cold, but I knew that could not be true. The yard that day was unusually warm, probably to rile us all up.

Once we were allowed to do as we pleased within the rules of “social time,” I made myself scarce along the outer wall as Sunhai took to her usual routine doing various exercises to get her blood pumping. Only then did Penny’s eyes find mine from a corner across from me. I could tell she was trying to be invisible. She knew very well that she was the smallest thing there and eyes were always searching for her.

The nozun, though they were keeping their distance, smelled like sweat and grime as their mating hormones began to permeate the air. It was sickening and it sent my nerves into a vengeful frenzy. I wanted to tear into them every time their eyes even made a pass over Penny.

I wished she would come to me. I said I would defend her. At the same time, if everyone knew the extent of my… I didn’t even know what to call it… protectiveness? Desire? No, none of that suited what I was feeling. Either way, the more people that knew about it, the more dangerous things would get. For both of us. As of now, everyone knew Pek-Tol had been the one pulling the strings when it came to us. I wanted it to stay that way.

When Sunhai appeared, lightly shoving me aside to get to a pair of heavy weights near my feet, I could feel her slip something into my hand.

“Do you mind?” she said. “If you’re not going to use them then get out the of the way.”

I closed the small object in my fist and crossed my arms over my chest, letting out a quiet groan.

She glanced up at me as she shifted the weights around. There was arrogance in her expression, as though she was waiting for praise. But offering any would only draw attention, so I merely lifted a brow and looked away, feigning irritation.

But I could feel it in my hand.

My khof kaar.

Gods, how I'd missed it.

The faint hum of life pulsing against my palm was something only I could sense. Something woven into my DNA alone. It answered to me and no one else. And now that it had recognized the steady beat of my heart, it seemed just as eager as I was to return home.