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?? CHAPTER 31 ??
Ryle
I think my human is... embarrassed? She expresses the desire to bathe in the pool when we wake, but she hesitates. She peers around the corner and she wrings her hands.
“What is wrong?” I demand. Do I need to clear a path for her? Shield her? I’ll do it.
“We were really loud,” she says, her cheeks turning pink. “I hope we didn’t keep anyone awake last night.”
“Oh. You mean they will be jealous? They should be. And they should all know now that you’re my mate. None will doubt it.”
“I think they know a lot of things now,” she says with a giggle. “Things I might not want them to know.”
“You are being... I don’t know what you’re being. But I will take you to the pool.” I lift her in my arms. She laughs, and she bats at my shoulders halfheartedly as I carry her out of our cave.
No one halts our walk to the cavern at the back. In fact, the main area is quiet. Wroz gives us a smirk, and one of the human women - Skye, I believe, the one with the very yellow hair - blushes and turns away as she crosses our path. But it seems that everyone is keeping to themselves as they wait out the storm. I’m certain they must appreciate the privacy and the rest. There are no ships to work on down here, no disagreeable computers, no engines to find, no Dozers to drive. This place is a respite. An oasis.
Another human scurries out of the pool cavern as we enter, nodding a quick hello but avoiding looking up at our faces. I don’t recognize her. I do recognize the male who’s in the water when we pass inside.
I grin. “Have you found your mate?” I ask Styt in Rurimish.
He shakes his head. But his grin gives away his thoughts. “We were only speaking,” he says, turning away from the sight of Maysee’s scowl.
“Not my business,” she says. I lower her to her feet and she does that strange human dance, trying to cover her sensitive parts from Styt. “Just...” she glances over her shoulder, back towards the main cave, back towards her friend. “Just be nice to her.”
“Of course,” Styt says to her, bowing his head. Then he winks. “You may have the pools to yourselves. The humans want to make a... schedule?” He trips over the word. “But you should have some peace.”
He raises himself out of the water. I growl, just beneath my breath. The sight of him naked in the same room as my female angers me, though he’s done nothing wrong. He isn’t a threat. Is this part of the bond? Perhaps. It is one feeling that I will have to suppress.
We slip into the water together once Styt is out of sight. The water is soothing. Just what we need after such an incredible night of mating. I draw Maysee close and I touch her everywhere, gently, as I’m sure she’s sore and worn out from my rough treatment.
“You are unharmed?” I ask. “I felt that I lost some control of myself. I wanted to be careful.”
“I’m good,” she says. She releases a contented sigh and rests her head on my shoulder. “I’m more than good.”
I want to take her again, here and now. Instead I settle for making her come with my fingers while I kiss her mouth and neck. I will never tire of this. Not a single action, not a single thing about her. I kiss her and I tell her, and she makes me come again in her hand beneath the water.
It is my most fervent wish that we could just stay in this cave forever.
Maysee appears to feel similarly. “It’s nice in here. It’s peaceful.”
“A good place to settle,” I say. “Safe for sleeping. For storage. For fucking.” She giggles. “For offspring.”
She chokes at that. “Let’s not think about that until we have to,” she says, shaking her head.
“I will think about it!” I declare. “But quietly. For you.” I nudge her with my mejj. “Though you will be a wonderful mother to my offspring.”
“Oh, God,” she says, sinking her face against me.
“You dislike this idea?”
“It’s a little scary,” she says, then takes a deep breath. “But... with you? Maybe... maybe it would be okay.”
“Just okay?” I know that “okay” ranks pretty neutral on the human language scale of goodness. We can do better. We will do better.
“More than okay,” she agrees as she relaxes in my arms.
Good. I don’t want her to be afraid. We’re safe here, and the planet will keep us safe. It brought us here. It wants this.
