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A finger taps on my hip.
I turn slightly, and Jamef is gazing at me in the early morning light, his red eye bright against his face. “Did I wake you?” he asks, voice so low it’s more a mouthing of the words than a whisper.
I shake my head.
He leans in closer, his gaze on Bethiah’s back as she sleeps. When she makes a sleepy sound that tells us she’s still in dreamland, he whispers again. “She almost kissed me last night.”
My jaw drops with delight, and I give him an excited look of approval. “You two can kiss if I’m not around,” I tell him. “We have to keep working on her. Make her realize she needs us.”
Jamef nods. “Same. Kiss her as much as you like. We need to make sure she doesn’t back off from us again.” He pauses. “I’m with Kaatir today. You’ll stay at her side?”
I give him a thumbs up. I’m going to stick so close to Bethiah that she’s going to be sick of me.
He strokes my cheek with one hand, then caresses the edges of my mouth with his fingers. “Kiss her hard for me. I’ll be back later.”
Jamef gets out of bed in a creak of limbs and I’m a little disappointed he’s not staying to let me—or Bethiah—help him out with his erection. Maybe later. I tuck myself against Bethiah’s back again and go to sleep. Or try to. I’m thinking about Jamef’s words and his suggestion.
Kiss her hard for me.
Make sure she doesn’t back off again.
I’ve been letting the others take the lead when it comes to the sexual stuff, but perhaps the next step forward is mine. I study her sleeping form, brushing her hair off of her shoulders. What if she wakes up to me kissing her? Is she going to fuss that it’s a bad idea or is she going to let me?
Only one way to find out.
I slide my arm from around her waist and sit up. She’s larger than me by at least a foot so it’s always a bit of maneuvering to kiss. I caress her shoulder, stroking her arm, and then lean in to press my lips to her skin. She’s fascinating to touch—whereas Jamef is velvet framed by metal, Bethiah is tattooed velvet with the plated ridges that cover her body in certain spots. I’m sure Jamef has the same plating, but I notice it more on Bethiah because I keep expecting her body to be a bit more like mine. I glide my fingers over one rough, plated shoulder and then up to her collarbone, and then I kiss the back of her neck.
She jerks, and one of her horns cracks against my nose.
“Ow!” I crash backward onto the bed, holding my nose. My face feels as if it’s caved in, and tears sting my eyes.
Bethiah grunts sleepily, waking up, and then rolls over. She squints at me and sits up. “What the kef, fluffit? Why is your nose bleeding?”
“You horned me in the face,” I manage, pinching my nose shut to stem the bleeding. Even that small action feels like it’s killing me, and I whimper. “I was trying to wake you up and you headbutted me.”
She sighs and climbs out of bed, moving to the lavatory attached to our quarters. “This is why it’s a bad idea to share a bed with a human. You’re far too fragile —”
“Don’t even start that,” I call after her. “I’m not sleeping somewhere else just because you’re twitchy when I kiss you.”
Bethiah returns a moment later, a weird look on her face and a wet towel in her hand. “You were trying to wake me up with kisses?” She crouches next to the bed and indicates I should sit up. When I do, she cleans my nose for me. The towel is warm and feels good against my throbbing face. “What’s Jamef have to say about that?”
“He said I should kiss you as much as possible.” I give her a wimpy look. “How was I supposed to know that you rear back when your neck gets touched?”
Her lips twitch and she continues to hold the towel to my nostrils. “For the record, if you want to wake me up with kisses, it’s probably better to tackle me from the front instead of the back. Or go below the belt. No sharp equipment below the belt.” She studies me for a moment. “And second, that’s very sweet of you. I’m sorry I tried to get rid of you yesterday.”
“What?”
“What?” she echoes, blinking innocently.
“You tried to get rid of me yesterday?” I squeak, horrified. My skin prickles with fear and I feel dangerously close to crying.
“It was half-hearted at best, fluffit. I was trying to think of what was best for you. But I talked to Jamef and he made me realize just how much I want to keep you around.” She shrugs. “So…I do feel a little bad about that.”
