Cosmic Castaway (Cosmic Romances #3)

44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

You won’t leave me, right?

My arms were wrapped around my mate as warm water sluiced over us. I kept myself tucked against his neck as I breathed him in. I would never get tired of how good he smelled, and how much I loved my scent clinging to him. I kissed him, and Bartholomew cupped the back of my head, fingers burying into the wet strands.

He’d insisted on showering and changing the sheets, even though we weren’t going to nap. I’d wanted to stay wrapped around him, covered in the scent of our sweat and seed, but he deemed it unhygienic and said we had to clean up, then take Pookie for a walk.

While I would never deny our daughter her due, I desired to spend more time with Bartholomew, alone, wrapped in each other’s embrace. Soon enough there would be demands on our time and energy, but right now we were able to focus on us.

“Mindy,” he said, “we’re not actually getting clean. We’re literally cuddling in the shower.”

I did not see the problem with that. I liked the feel of my mate’s soft skin against my scales as well as the warm water and humidity. Our quarters were being kept exceedingly cold, except for our bedroom, for Pookie. And I swore I felt the chill from it and the icy planet we’d left behind clinging to me. I needed all the warmth possible.

Bartholomew tried to back out of my embrace, making me groan and tighten my hold. I wanted to keep cuddling him. He cupped my cheeks, thumbs tracing my scales. I wished to fall into his brown eyes and get lost in them. I loved their depths and calmness that he exuded. So much of the time I felt as if I was racing back and forth, unable to slow down, but when I looked at him, I felt myself calm.

I didn’t know what soul type my Bartholomew possessed, as he hadn’t been tested and Dontilvynsan didn’t have a member of the ranks or a spiritual soul on his ship to do so, and yet, I wondered. He could be fierce and protective like a warrior when he needed to be. He was knowledgeable like a seeker, though he did seem to lack their curiosity. He had assembled that tent with creativity and he had an ability to find use for random objects like a creator. And he was so calm and wise, like a spiritual.

Who was my mate at his core? I was curious to find out, though I had a sneaking suspicion. My Flower saw the heart of the matter and liked to observe. I truly wondered if he might be the first non-drakcol to possess a spiritual soul. It seemed unlikely, but when I stared into his calm eyes, I felt myself slow. Only one other person had ever been able to do that to me. Monqilcolnen, my cousin and the strongest spiritual soul ever tested in recorded history.

“What are you thinking?” Bartholomew asked.

“What soul type you have.”

“Does it matter?”

“No, but I am curious.”

He kissed me, and I held him tight, wanting to stay like this forever. I needed to embrace him and hold him close. No one else would ever compare to him, not ever, and yet I worried. I worried he’d be stolen from me, but more than that I worried that he would leave.

Bartholomew had promised to stay, but I perfectly recalled the longing in his expression when I mentioned returning to Earth. Bartholomew had agreed to be with me before he’d known that Earth was a possibility. I didn’t want him to leave, though. I needed him, but more than that, I wanted him.

Need was important, but I chose Bartholomew. Out of every person I’d ever met, only one had made me think of forever, and I chose him. I wanted him. I liked him. I loved him.

My mate pulled back, frowning. “You are thinking very hard in there.”

“What?”

“You didn’t kiss me back. So either I have gotten very bad at this, or you are distracted. Which is it?”

I clutched him. We were wasting water, which Dontilvynsan would lecture me about when he saw my room’s usage, and I was not paying attention to my mate, which was far worse. “I was distracted.”

“About?”

“Can we not talk about it?” I refused to lie, but I wasn’t ready to voice my worries yet.

“Of course.” He kissed me again, his touch soft. “Sit and let me wash you.”

I liked that idea very much. On the edge of the shower was a bench so we could sit as we scrubbed our wings. Bartholomew easily slid in the space between the bench and the wall and began to massage my scalp. As he washed my hair, then me, I relaxed into the familiar feel of my mate’s fingers on me.

As we stepped out of our room, I suppressed a shudder. It was fucking cold in the living room. But that wasn’t the immediate issue. Pookie was running around, nose twitching as she snorted, dragging a ripped flag that Serlotminden had left out with the rest of his junk.

My boyfriend wasn’t clean. Truly shocking. I rolled my eyes.

“Pookie,” I groaned.

So she was a pig-rabbit-spider who operated on dog software. That was marvelous. She was a hunter, and like dogs, I guessed, enjoyed destroying random shit. It wasn’t her fault. Mindy had left all his crap everywhere, and she had no toys left from her most recent destructive binge—not to mention, we hadn’t walked her enough.

Caleb had been helping by taking her out. He adored her and wanted one of his own. Fyn had given a quick and immediate no. They were not going to ask Don to violate Maykian space a third time so Caleb could get a pet.

In truth, we probably shouldn’t have taken Pookie. While she’d domesticated rather easily, we didn’t know much about her or her needs. But it would’ve killed me to leave her on the planet; I was already so attached to her.

“We need to get her some more toys,” I commented as Mindy, somewhat stiffly, bent at the waist to pick up some of the fabric.

“Agreed. I’ll put all of this away, though.”

I snagged Pookie and cuddled her close while she snorted into my neck. I kissed her snout, then set her down to help Mindy. Between the two of us we had the room in decent shape in no time. Then Mindy scrolled through something on his tablet, probably toys.

He’d promised to give me a tablet, and he’d already given me a touchstone—a round stone that pulsed light blue in the center. It was connected to NAID, and it allowed me to speak to anyone. I was waiting to be added to the Drakcon system, but this way, I could talk to Seth or Caleb. Or Mindy, if we ever left each other’s side.

“There,” he said. “I’m having some toys synthesized for her.”

“Will it take long?”

“No. They’re probably in our dispenser by now.”

I peered at the terminal near the table, and yep, there were several stuffed toys of odd creatures and a few ropes. It was so nice not having to randomly go to the store.

I frowned at Mindy.

“What?”

“You made it sound onerous the last time you got her toys,” I commented. “I distinctly remember rewarding you.” I’d given him a blowjob, not that it had taken much to convince me; I liked sucking Mindy off.

He played with his lip ring, not meeting my gaze.

“You are horrible,” I teased. “Come on, Pookie, let’s leave the liar behind.”

“No,” Mindy cried, and I paused at the actual fear in his voice.

Slinging my arms over his shoulders, I kissed him. “You know I’m joking, right?”

“Of course.”

From the way his tail strangled my ankle and his arms were like iron bars around my waist, I was fairly positive he hadn’t known. “Let’s all go together, Honey.”

Taking Pookie out was always an interesting experience. People tended to shy away from her as she scurried on walls and sometimes the vines creeping over the ceiling. She’d never harmed anyone, but she was exuberant in her affection and liked everyone. And I meant everyone. Hopefully, we wouldn’t bump into Seth. He was mortally terrified of her after the incident where she’d flung herself at him.

I took a single step outside and sneezed. My eyes started to itch and my nose began to run almost instantly. Pollen might not bother the drakcol, but it sure as hell bothered me.

“Hold on.” I slipped back into the room; I’d forgotten my medicine. I held the preloaded injector with a frown. I had to jab it into my arm, hold it for twenty seconds, and done. However, it fucking grossed me out. Thankfully, the lone plant in our apartment was the floor. It was a moss of some type and didn’t bother my allergies.

Scaled fingers took it from me, and Serlotminden tugged me close. “Let me, Mate.”

He placed it against my bicep and pushed the plunger. I jolted, even though it didn’t hurt that bad. In time, I’d get used to it.

Mindy growled low in his throat, chest rumbling. He nuzzled me, and I pressed into him. He hated hurting me, but there was so much damn pollen, and I was so highly allergic to the plants that Klars worried my throat would swell to the point it would stop my breathing.

After Mindy pulled the injector away, he stared at my arm with rapt attention, and I knew it was because his instinct demanded he lick the tiny puncture. I lifted my shoulder in invitation, and he grabbed my arm, fingers easily circling it, and licked me.

I swallowed at the feel of his scaled tongue dragging over my skin, and Mindy groaned lewdly. I swore he did this on purpose. Whether true or not, we wouldn’t be fucking again. I doubted I could get hard, and Pookie needed a walk.

Once he was satisfied the tiny injection site was clean, he snagged my hand. Pookie bolted out, snorting and squealing with happiness. The drakcol who had gotten used to her calmly moved aside; everyone else skittered away with gasps as she raced on the wall, tongue lolling.

Pookie never left our sight, though that made her backtrack a few times, which in my opinion wasn’t a bad thing, because she needed all the exercise she could get to burn her excess energy. I kept my hand within Serlotminden’s grasp, and his tail was coiled around my ankle as we wandered without a destination.

Pookie wasn’t the only one who needed exercise. Klars had lectured me about how important it was to rebuild my muscles, and sex wasn’t what he had in mind, hence walking. When we reached Mindy’s home, I imagined the doctors would prescribe different exercises, but right now, this was fine.

When I started to lag, Mindy insisted we go back to the apartment. Pookie wasn’t as amicable. She stayed on the ceiling, snorting and tossing her head. Staring at her with my hands on my hips, I wondered if she was only an animal. She showed a certain level of intelligence that made me wonder. I didn’t think she was sentient like Mindy and I were, but I was fairly certain she was smarter than the typical animal.

“Pookie,” I called.

She gave me her furry butt, feet digging into the vines. Pookie liked to roam, but she also liked us and needed the cold, or we thought she did. We hadn’t tested it yet. When we did leave her with other people, she would try to get back to us after a short while, even with Caleb, who was definitely her next favorite.

But, ultimately, she was a giant baby who wanted what she wanted.

“Come on, Pookie,” I said. “We need to go back.”

She didn’t move more than to flick her tail at me.

Serlotminden ordered, “Come, Daughter.”

Slowly, she crept down the wall, and I frowned. She always listened to him, but not me.

Mindy brushed the back of his finger over my cheek. “No need to be jealous because she loves me more than you.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.” He grinned.

Frowning, I glanced at Pookie, then at the elevator. A revenge plan formed, and without thought, I decided to follow it. I pointed in the opposite direction and asked, “Who’s that?”

Serlotminden turned, and I dashed toward the lift. Pookie tore after me, clearly excited to play. It took Mindy a second to understand what was happening, but it was too late, and the elevator door was closing.

He snarled.

“Catch me, and I’ll let you fuck me again,” I called.

The door slammed shut, and I smirked. I was going to make it to the room before him. Served him right for teasing me. Why did Pookie like him better? I was the one who’d rescued her… though he had fed her. A lot. I snagged Pookie, who scuttled around the walls, and kissed her fluffy face. She snorted, rooting against me. When the door opened with a low whoosh, I stepped out, putting her on the floor, and started back.

On the icy planet, Serlotminden had enjoyed chasing me, so why not here? I wasn’t into exhibitionism like supposedly Caleb and Fyn were, but I had no issues with public affection. We could play, kiss, and hug around other people. As far as I could tell, drakcol were queer-normative, so we weren’t in any danger if we were romantic with each other. Also, I’d seen other drakcol couples doing similar in my time on Don’s ship, so we weren’t breaking any rules or social norms, at least I didn’t think so.

Arms wrapped around me and teeth latched onto my neck, making me leap. A low voice said in my ear, “I caught you. You did not make the chase that hard, Mate.”

My heart pounded as desire flooded me. “I didn't, did I?”

“No.” He licked my neck, then whispered, “Now, I am going to fuck my mate again.”

I replied, keeping my voice even, “I did say you could.” I wiggled and felt something hard pressing into my ass. “And you seem like you want to.”

He cupped the front of my pants, and I gasped, looking around. Thankfully, we were alone.

“So do you, Flower.”

Serlotminden threw me over his shoulder and slapped my ass. “Come, Pookie. I caught my prize, and I’m taking him back to our quarters.” She followed along, happy as can be, and I blushed profusely.