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“I have rules.”
I tilted my chin, amused.
“I won’t stay with anyone who is wishy-washy about how they feel about me or how they treat me. You can’t do this thing you’ve been doing where you’re nice one moment and distant the next. I want consistency and commitment. I’m not looking for a fling. I know you can’t control the mate bond, but if I so much as think you’re sniffing around elsewhere, I’m gone.”
Did she really think another female could lure me away from her? Never.
It was a miracle that I even managed to trust anyone again, let alone a female, not after what happened with the nomads. Surely, the only reason I had managed to overcome it now was because Sam was special.
“The mating bond will come. I can feel it. There’s an ache in my chest when I’m around you. I thought it was because I was still weak, but I recognize it now as longing. I ache for you.”
Saying it out loud lifted a huge weight off my chest, and it responded by vibrating louder.
She let out a shaky breath. “Okay. Then we’ll give this a try. An honest one.”
“You will stay here in my shuttle with me, and I will join this hunter group.” The words had an air of finality, and I couldn’t believe I’d ever considered leaving. I’d been so blind.
“Making demands already, I see. Why am I not surprised?”
“You will stay in my shuttle,” I repeated. “And sleep in my sleeping nook. I will pleasure you like I did inside our fortress of blankets. You enjoyed that.”
Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. “Well, I did ask for commitment, so I shouldn’t be surprised when I get it. Fine, I’ll stay. But seriously—you can’t be flinging my friends around just for hugging me. Not even the guys. I’ve been with this group since the bugs got here. If anything were going to happen between any of us, it would have already. None of the men here is your competition.”
“What about the one named Lenny?” I didn’t like their obvious closeness in the way they worked and how he touched her so easily.
“Lenny and I never worked out. We shared a room for years, but we had no urge to climb into each other’s bed again after the initial failed attempt at a relationship ended. The dead bedroom is never going to rise from the grave, don’t worry.”
I considered her strange words. I didn’t understand how a bedroom could die, not ever having had life, but I’d never scented him on her, except in a way that indicated they’d spent time working in the same space.
“We are better as work partners than as anything else,” she continued. “I’m in awe of how his brain works, and he respects my skills. Together, we make one whole Tech Wizard. And yes, I’m okay with that title now. Because I get it. It’s what we do.”
I grunted in acknowledgment. Their work was essential to give this hunter group the help it so badly needed. We’d gone for so long without that final piece of the puzzle, bashing through the bugs with brute force and relying on old technology passeddown for centuries. The scourge was ever-evolving, meanwhile we’d stagnated. It was time for a change.
“I understand. I was reluctant to see humans in the revered role of Tech Wizard, but I have seen you at work. I will never understand how these things work, but you do. It is astonishing to me.”
“That means a lot to me. Thank you.” She hugged me tightly. “So it’s agreed then? We give this the good ole college try, and you stop growling at everyone? That second part’s crucial. Even before this, they were calling you a loose cannon.”
“I do not understand. Kan’n is my name. But I am not loose.”
She giggled. “No. A loosecannonis someone who’s unpredictable or uncontrolled and might be dangerous. You kept saying things like you didn’t trust humans, and everyone was waiting for you to do something stupid, like attack someone. One wrong move, and they were going to kick you out. Even the hunters agreed.”
I’d known about that. But I hadn’t minded then, because I’d planned on leaving. I cared now. I could steal Sam away if they forced me to leave, but that would leave this hunter group with only half a Tech Wizard.
“I no longer believe that all humans are untrustworthy, only some. I will not attack anyone.”
“Good.” She relaxed and smiled at me.
“Umm, guys? How much longer do you need? They were happy to greet me, but now it’s getting pretty obvious I’m just stalling for time. They want me to open the door and make sure you’re safe, Sam.”
“Just one more minute!” She turned to me. “I was going to ask you to pinky swear, but let’s kiss on it instead.” She grabbed me by the horns and hauled me down to her level to plant her lips on mine.
I didn’t know what a pinky swear was, but a kiss I was more than willing to entertain. My brain vaguely understood that this was supposed to be a short kiss, something to formalize the terms outlined in our conversation before stepping outside. My body, however, didn’t. It reacted the same way it did every single time she touched me.
It roared to life with throbbing desire, and blood surged to my cock. I didn’t know how it happened, but all of a sudden I was pressing her against the wall of the shuttle, and she had her arms and legs wrapped around me. I ground against her, rubbing my erection at the fabric covering her crotch.
She whimpered and pulled away from me. “Later,” she said breathily. “After all our friends have welcomed us home, and we’ve assured everyone you’re not a loose cannon anymore.”
I released her, and she slid down my body, her front rubbing against my hard cock and making me groan. “I will need a moment.” I looked down at my loincloth, which stood out obscenely in front of my body.
