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“I’m experiencing a nearly uncontrollable desire for you.”
She hesitates. Her pale skin slowly flushes pink. Then she looks away and clears her throat.
“Right. No, I should’ve realized that. I did learn about the mating call before. But still—” Her nostrils flare as she faces me once again. “— it doesn’t give you the right to tell me what to do and take me wherever you please without my permission. And if you think for one second that I’ll let you touch me—”
“I don’t.”
She stops mid-sentence and sighs. “Good.”
“I’m many terrible things, but I’ll never steal a mate’s affection from you.”
A shaky nod. “Good to know.”
She hates me. The fact that I have to promise not to break the most basic expectations of physical respect between male and female isn’t a great place to start.
“There are clothes in my air vac trunk, if you need something to wear,” I tell her, having noticed that she’s slept in the same things she was wearing when I found her on the airfield. She’s quite feminine, so I suppose she’d prefer my mother’s garments that Ruka might offer. Besides, there’s no reason to even ask Ruka when I have extras that I never had the heart to give away. Most of them were made by my mother, or carefully selected at market. I won’t pretend that I don’t have a perverse desire to see her in my family heirlooms. A mate’s need to provide itches at me, along with the need to possess, to wrap her body in my belongings as if the threads against her skin can connect us.
“That would be helpful,” she says. “Can I ask how long I’ll be here on this ship?”
“I wish I could answer. Until there is a way to transport you toThe Rightful Heir, or if the status of Sector 5 is secured, and we can move to Kar’Kal.”
“Oh, I’m moving to Kar’Kal?” She asks with airy mocking in her voice. “Just like that? You say where and I should go? You say jump… and I say, ‘How high?’”
“I take it that’s a human turn of phrase. If it’s meant to be humorous, I don’t get the punchline.”
“You won’t steal my affection, but you’d steal my freedom,” she spits. “I’ve already done this song and dance before, and I don’t—”
She stops mid-sentence although I didn’t interrupt. The fury in her expression slips away as if she realized she was about to reveal something she’s hiding. So what is it, exactly? She was gearing up to give me the thrashing I deserve to hear, but her bubble has burst. I feel oddly disappointed. I’m so starved for her attention that I’d like for her to scream at me as long as we’re breathing the same air.
“We’re having trouble communicating as it is,” I mutter. “So please refrain from the figures of speech. What song and dance do you mean?”
“Forget it.”
Awkward silence settles in for a moment. I don’t know what to say, and it seems she’s lost the desire to yell at me. What’s there to be done? She doesn’t want to be here, but I can’t take her back. Besides, I wouldn’t if I could. I can’t have a living, breathing weakness wandering around without my protection.
“Can I ask you about something?” She chooses to break the silence.
“You can ask me anything,” I tell her.
“When I was with Ruka, the topic of my previous mate came up. And what she said about it concerned me.”
I jolt to laser focus the moment I hear the phrase ‘previous mate’. Ruka neglected to mention this, likely because she’d rather mind her own business.
“What?” I rasp.
My low tone makes her narrow her eyes at me.
“On Earth, I was married to a human. We’re not together anymore, but I’d like some confirmation from you that my ex isn’t in danger just because of his association with me. Will you promise me not to harm this man?”
She presents this with formal, carefully chosen words.
My head spins slightly as I think about this other mate, some male that might think he still has a claim on her. It’s an inherently un-Kar’Kali problem, a problem no warrior would ever imagine dealing with. Sure, many youth experiment in the bedroom, but to commit oneself to another that you don’t share the mating bond with? It doesn’t happen. Ever.
That word, ‘married’, translates to matebonded. It makes my insides roll.
“Your eyes are black,” she says apprehensively.
“Naturally,” I growl. “I cannot control my feelings at the moment.”
