Page 42 of I Married A Syllen

“Let me guess, it means you want a copulate?” he asked with a hint of amusement.

“Yes, something like that. And I would have to hurt you if you touched another woman like that,” I taunted.

He snorted. “Duly noted, my mate.”

Although he pursued his caress down the length of my arms left exposed by my sleeveless shirt, I didn’t miss the fact that he hadn’t apologized for touching me in a suggestive fashion. Was that his way of implying that he in fact did want to have sex with me, or was I just taking my own fantasies for realities?

When his caress reached my hand, he lifted it up before his face to examine my fingers without webbing and my blunt nails. His fascination did something funny to me. I was used to being stared at as I could honestly say that I was above average in the beauty department. But the innocence and wonder with which he examined me made it a completely new experience that I rather enjoyed.

My com going off startled both of us.

“It’s the UPO finally getting back to us,” I explained before opening the message.

My heart leapt upon reading its content.

“What is it?” Taelen asked with a sliver of worry in his voice. “Bad news?”

“No, not at all,” I said in an apologetic tone. “My reaction was just expressing a pleasant surprise. Since they know that your people want to limit the presence of shuttles in your airspace, they’ve offered to come with the aid of a Shadow Lord, which would involve no technology at all.”

“A Shadow Lord?” he asked, curious.

“He’s a member of the Derakeen species of the planet Dramnac,” I said. “Only the few like him with the power to open portals to any location anywhere in the galaxy earn the title of Shadow Lords. With your permission, he could instantly bring the hacker directly in front of the cave.”

A mix of curiosity and uneasiness warred on his face. It had to be unsettling to realize not only what a great diversity of species existed out there but also learning that one of them could appear in a blink anywhere on his territory.

When the existence of the Shadow Lords had finally been made public, a lot of people became borderline paranoid about the damage they could do. Naturally, mercenaries and warmongers tried to recruit a few of them only to be sent packing in the harshest fashion possible. Anyway, Dramnac had far too few Shadow Lords to be able to spare them on a permanent basis to some mercenary or rebel army. Their planet literally depended on their work to keep it from falling apart and being swallowed up in a rift.

As Dramnac was under strict Prime Directive restrictions, very few people had ever seen one in the flesh. My shock at reading the message stemmed from the fact that I would potentially get that honor. This day was seriously full of crazy but wondrous surprises.

“You may tell your Shadow Lord to bring your hacker,” he said, the stern and reserved Thesh of the Drossara Tribe coming back to the fore. “Let’s go back.”

I nodded and followed him back to the Nordjarimm before we took flight.

Chapter 8

Taelen

Despite the worry burning deep within me, I found my mind wandering to the delicate female leaning against me as we flew back to the secret cave. I loved how her body felt against mine. And that sentiment had significantly increased since our meal together.

Unlike the Settlers, Mirella had not instinctively squirmed at our food. When they first arrived, they lifted their noses with disdain at everything that didn’t match their own culture. Eventually, they recognized the greatness of our local goods, but it took a while. My soulmate didn’t hesitate and tried everything with an open mind. That she genuinely seemed to enjoy all of it further warmed my heart.

Every moment spent with her clarified why the land and the Great Mothers had claimed her. Mirella truly cared about this world and wanted to immerse herself in it.

My abdominal muscles contracted at the memory of her hands on me. They were so soft, I wished she had been bolder in her exploration of me. It had been all the more frustrating that the intoxicating scent of her blossoming arousal had wafted to me, making me crave even more. It had taken every ounce of my willpower not to pressure her further into indulging in her desires.

As much as her human boundaries felt illogical to me, they remained boundaries and therefore had to be respected. I just didn’t understand why she felt compelled to deny herself what she wanted since I had freely granted her leave to enjoy.

The wind blew her soft strands against my face, and I closed my eyes, reveling in their wondrous caress while inhaling deeply their floral scent. I couldn’t wait to feel them draped all over my chest as we lay in bed.

That instantly reminded me of her questions about a potential dormant lover or mate I might have. I couldn’t help a smile at the jealousy that had discreetly reared its head as she questioned me. I loved her possessiveness of me even though we’d only just met.

Touching her had also lit a fire in my loins. I didn’t think I would ever become attracted to her, but that was shifting at a dizzying speed. That things should flow so effortlessly between us right from the start further reassured me that our union would be harmonious.

Still, she lacked so many things that would make her life here both easier and more fulfilling. With no gills, no webbed fingers, no echolocation, and no veris, how was she going to function in this world without constant babysitting?

Granted, she spoke our language well enough to understand what we said and to be understood by us. But I didn’t know what I could do to make her adaptation easier. The thought that life by my side might be too challenging to the point she might want to leave hit me much harder than I expected, considering we’d only just met.

For all that, I was truly excited at the thought of all that I had to show her of my world and all the things she would get to experience for the first time. During the brief lunch we shared, Mirella made me look with new eyes at countless things that my brain hardly ever noticed anymore because it was routine for me. I would greatly enjoy rediscovering my world through her.