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~ VOSKI ~
In the face of her smile, her love, her belief in me, the darkness around us suddenly ceased to be a pit. In the freedom of solitude, and the protection of our dragons, her touch was precious. And for the first time in many months, my chest loosened.
‘Thank you for loving me better than I love you,’ I sent as I kissed her, softly at first. But then harder. ‘It’s the only thing I’ll ever fight to beat you in.’
The sound of her laughter—thick with tears, but tinkling with joy—set my heart afire, and I took her open mouth and kissed her again.
And again.
And again.
And as we both became desperate, and the dragons called in the distance, I drew her to her feet, then carried her, still kissing, still whispering all the ways that I loved her, still vowing every way I would love her—body, mind, and soul—until I had her in the cave, shook out the largest of the furs, laid her down on it, and tasted every inch of her skin.
I stroked, and kissed, laved and sucked. I reveled and worshiped.
And through it all, those words were a refrain—in my head, and through the bond.
I love you.
I love you.
~ GRACE ~
Hours later, I lay in that familiar cave, on the same fur, under the same moon, my body humming and warm with desire for the same man. But this time, instead of aching, and hollow, and confused, I was full, and sated, and grateful.
And Voski slept.
I couldn’t remember the last time he’d fallen asleep before me. Yet here, finally, after making love to me twice, his body and the bond echoing the words until my skin tingled with them, he’d sunk into the furs and slept.
We lay on our sides, facing each other. Both naked. The largest fur beneath us. Two others thrown over us as our sweat cooled in the night air. His large, calloused hand rested on my hip. My knee was bent and pinned between his, the air between us warmed by our bodies, and breaths. I ached to reach up and run my fingers through his hair, but he looked so peaceful, I didn’t dare move.
‘You two should be quiet if you come into the clearing,’ I warned Koa. ‘Voski is finally sleeping.’
Koa chittered and her heart surged. ‘Kham agrees. We will give space.’
I smiled at the rush of love and delight she sent, along with images of returning to each other in the morning. I had missed her terribly. I’d thought I was doing fine, being able to communicate every day, even if only for a short time. But the moment I’d seen her, something in my chest broke open. I’d cried a lot. Then cried again when Voski held me after, because I could feel how much he understood.
He hadn’t spoken. Hadn’t given advice. Hadn’t told me not to be silly and weepy now, when we were all together. He just… felt it with me.
It was precious. And now I wanted to understand for him.
He so desperately needed the rest.
‘He loves a mate’s love. It fills. And it bleeds.’
I smiled. Koa’s English was improving, but she still had unique ways of saying… well, anything.
‘I’m glad you and Kham can be together now, too,’ I said. ‘None of us should be apart like this. It’s too hard.’
‘Kham is relieved. For reunion, and for Voski’s rest.’
‘Me too,’ I assured her. ‘Can you ask Kham how I can help him? Now that he’s relaxing, I realize how tense he usually is. How do I make him feel less afraid?’
She took a moment to respond. But when she did, she filled my mind with images of Voski’s smile, and his eyes when he looked at me—they were warm.
‘Kham says love. Remind him of his heart. Don’t let him go cold.’
That made me shiver. I knew precisely what Kham meant. I’d seen it whenever his mother entered the room. Or when he thought a threat was upon us. There was something in him… a switch that flipped. As if he turned off his heart. Cold rode his blood when he was like that—and I felt it in the bond, as well. A tiny thread wrapped around that pulsing, powerful cord between us. But just like a tiny thread on a rope, it could cut in and make the rest weaker.
