Page 39 of Pocket Wife

We climb the slippery ridge as the rain intensifies. Loose stones shift underfoot. Thornbrush snags Lucy’s trousers and scrapes her arms. I shorten my long stride multiple times. On the fourth occasion, I stop pretending detachment.

“Take my arm.”

“I do not need⁠—”

“Lucy.”

Her name leaves my mouth weighted with concern. She looks at me—rain freckling her cheeks, curls escaping their braid, eyes bright with pain and defiance—then slowly slides her arm through mine. The contact sends another ripple through the deepening bond.

We reach the shelter as the downpour turns the ground to mud. The structure crouches beneath a rocky overhang, half-hidden by tall grass. I force the rusted manual latch after two attempts. The door groans open. Inside, the air is cold, stale, and blessedly dry. Old storage racks line one wall. A cracked emergency lantern casts a weak, flickering glow.

Lucy steps inside and immediately presses a hand to her ribs, breathing shallowly.

“Sit,” I instruct.

“You keep saying that like it works on me.”

“It worked earlier.”

“Because you threatened to involve Torren.”

“I can repeat the threat.”

She lowers herself onto an overturned crate with a wince. “Cruel man.” There is no real heat in it.

I locate a sealed emergency kit and begin treating her injuries. I clean the graze at her temple with careful, clinical movements. When my fingertips brush her hairline, however, the bond ignites without warning.

A powerful surge of recognition floods me. My hearing sharpens dramatically—I can hear every raindrop striking the stone roof, Lucy’s quickened pulse, the faint hitch in her breathing. Beneath my silver-blue skin, the bioluminescent patterns along my wrists, collarbone, and chest flare bright blue.

Lucy notices immediately. “What was that?”

I step back, trying to steady myself. “A physiological response.” I explain the ancient Pi’rell soul-recognition bond: rare, not chosen at first but impossible to ignore once awakened. It is profound alignment—biological, emotional, and spiritual—not ownership or forced destiny. I will not allow my biology to strip away her choice the way Helix tried to strip away her home.

Lucy absorbs every word in heavy silence. Rain drums steadily overhead. She stands slowly, favoring her injured side. “Do you want the bond?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want me, or just the bond?”

“You,” I answer without hesitation. “The bond only named what had already begun forming the day I watched you stand between your people and those ships.”

Tears shimmer in her eyes. She rises onto her toes and kisses me.

The kiss starts tender but quickly turns desperate and hungry. I cup her face with both hands, then let them slide down her body, careful of her bruises. Our clothes come off in a heated rush. My formal coat and tunic fall to the dusty floor. Lucy’s fingers work impatiently at the fastenings, pushing the fabric from my shoulders. Her shirt follows, revealing smooth skin marked by fresh bruises. I help her out of her trousers, then remove the last of my own clothing.

My cock springs free, thick, hard, and aching. The bioluminescent patterns across my torso glow brighter in response to her. Lucy’s gaze traces my body with open hunger. She reaches out, wrapping her hand around my length and stroking slowly. I groan, hips jerking into her touch.

“Lucy…”

“I need you,” she whispers against my mouth. “Right now. I want to feel alive. I want to feel you.”

I lay her down gently on the emergency blankets we’ve spread across the floor. My mouth claims hers in a deep kiss as my hands explore her body. I kiss every bruise tenderly, then move lower. Settling between her thighs, I lick along her folds, savoring her taste. When my tongue circles her clit, Lucy moans loudly, fingers tangling in my long hair. I slide two fingers inside her slick heat, curling them as I suck gently on the sensitive bundle of nerves.

Her hips buck. “Rethan—please⁠—”

I bring her to the edge, then rise over her. The head of my cock presses against her entrance, hot and heavy. “Meet my eyes.”

She meets my gaze, eyes glazed with need.