Chapter 14 #2
“Sorry for surprising you.” Her smile warmed me like the brightest sunshine. “I have a feeling we’re about to be very, very busy and focused on other things, so I went for it. I wanted to know if I’d like kissing you.”
Her racing heart and the scent of desire had already answered that question for me, but I brushed her lower lip with my thumb and asked, “And did you?”
“I did.” Her smile turned impish. “Let’s do it again soon.”
With that, as abruptly as tearing off a bandage, Elena rolled out of my arms to sit on the edge of the bed, her back to me. “Went to bed in a research station, woke up in the forest,” she muttered. “Ardruc, did you know the floor is grass?”
“I did not, but I smell grass, so I am not surprised.” I scratched Forux’s head, left him snoring, and moved to my side of the bed.
Indeed, the flooring had disappeared under a thick layer of soil and dark blue-green grass.
When I set my feet on it, it was very soft and released a pleasant scent.
In fact, the entire station smelled like forest now—natural and green and alive—and hardly at all like the odors of chemicals, metal, fuel, and wiring that had often made my sensitive nose twitch, especially when I returned to the station after spending time outdoors.
“It’s like Hyderia has claimed this station as its own,” Elena said, just as I opened my mouth to say the same thing. “Not taken it back, since the Nyvorans built it, but taken it.”
“The station’s basic functions seem intact,” I noted. “The air circulation system appears unaffected and we have power. But I am concerned about the medical bay equipment, food preparation, sanitation, and the rest.”
“Me too. At least all our data and research is secured and backed up.” She stood and stretched, her arms over her head, and bent at the waist to put her palms on the floor between her feet.
“We should try to find out what that dust was that you saw,” she said as she straightened.
“If we could bottle some, it could be the cure for insomnia. That discovery could fund this station and keep us comfortable here for the rest of our lives.”
My brain skidded to a halt on the casual way she spoke of spending her life on Hyderia with me.
To cover my reaction, I rose and stretched as well, marveling at how warm and ache-free my muscles felt, even after sleeping for such a long time. I had seldom felt better rested in my life.
As I spread my wings and settled my feathers, Elena padded barefoot to the wall, where leafy vines and branches all but obscured every square centimeter of the partition between this room and the living area. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her reach for one of the branches.
She gasped.
I half-ran, half-flew to her side, my feathers prickling with anger, protectiveness, and worry. From my fluffed hair to the tip of my tail, my body’s reaction to that soft sound of surprise and alarm was unified: My mate must not come to harm.
Strange and freeing to find myself responding in such a way after months of burying these urges and a lifetime of never experiencing them at all.
Elena was not hurt, however.
I watched, dumbfounded, as a vine detached from the rest of the foliage and extended toward Elena, its blue-green leaves caressing her outstretched hand.
It twined itself as gently and lovingly around her fingers, wrist, and forearm as I had encircled her leg with my tail.
She watched it move, eyes wide with wonder.
I caught the scent of her fear, but it was mild.
She appeared far more in awe than afraid.
“Elena?” I touched her other hand because she seemed nearly mesmerized, and to reassure myself. “Are you well?”
“Yes.” She looked up, her eyes sparkling. “It’s welcoming us.”
Uneasiness and suspicion made me want to rip the vine from her arm and drag her away. “How does it speak to you?” I asked.
“It’s not speaking to me in words. It’s a feeling.
” Elena’s smile turned wry. “I’m aware of how weird that sounds, for the record.
I can tell you’re worried.” She took my free hand and squeezed.
“I know just as little about what’s going on as you, so keep an eye on me, okay?
If I start acting strangely or growing branches, you have my permission to do whatever you need to do to protect me, even if it’s from myself. ”
“I will.” I studied the foliage. “We should investigate the rest of the station and then decide what to do next.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh.
Gently, she extricated herself from the vine. It unwound itself readily from her arm and returned to the branch, settling in among the mushrooms and lichen. Only when I confirmed that no marks or wounds had appeared on her skin did the tension leave my shoulders.
Elena’s gaze swept over me. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.
I was suddenly acutely aware of all my bare skin, and that my sleep pants rested low on my hips, revealing my lower abdomen and the darker red scale pattern that ran from my navel to my groin. Her gaze lingered there, and drifted a little lower.
Her sleepwear was as simple and comfortable as mine, but the way it draped her body made me want to fall to my knees and press my face to her abdomen to breathe her in. I ached for her scent, her softness, her touch.
Beneath the thin material of my sleep pants, my cock began to harden and bead with lubrication, preparing to please my mate. The tip of my tail quivered.
All the gods above and below, if I did not distract myself somehow, my desire would become very visually apparent very soon, but I could not tear my gaze away, much less redirect my thoughts.
“I desperately need you to put clothes on,” Elena said, her voice husky. “I’m trying to remember how mad I am at you, and I need to be able to think like a scientist. This will all be much easier if I don’t have to look at you with no shirt on.”
She reached out with both hands. My breath hitched. Where would she touch me? Could I bear it? Could I control myself if she put her hands on me? I genuinely did not know.
Her thumbs hooked into the cinched waistband of my sleep pants. My hearts stuttered in my chest.
Her gaze locked on mine, she drew the top of my pants up over my hips and let go, allowing the fabric to snap snugly onto my waist.
“Have mercy on me, Ardruc,” she said with a knowing smile, as if she heard my hearts pounding and blood rushing. “Go dress like you’re the director of research. If you don’t, I’ll tell Forux to bite your tail. Or better yet, I’ll bite your tail.”
That threat had quite the opposite effect of what she had intended. It conjured fantasies of her mouth on me, her teeth in my flesh, the tip of my tail between her lips…and delving into other warmer, more intimate places.
I had to force myself to walk away from her, go to my closet for clothing, and hurry to the bathroom.
Like the rest of my apartment, forest foliage and fungi had taken over the bathroom. To my relief, both the water-based and sonic cleaning systems still worked, so perhaps all the station’s basic life-support functions still operated.
A cold shower might have served me best, but for expedience I utilized the sonic system to clean my body before dressing quickly in a shirt, pants, and boots. Every moment I was separated from Elena rather than guarding her from potential threats caused my guts to churn.
When I emerged, I found Forux awake but dozing and Elena examining the mushrooms and lichen growing among the branches.
“Look at them,” she said, without turning around. “I know you don’t care that much about fungi, but just look at their colors and variety. And they’re more like us than they are like plants, you know—at least, genetically speaking.”
“I have heard that is true.” I joined her and let my fingertips brush hers. “I know little of fungi, but I see why you call them beautiful and fascinating.”
“I feel the same about your korae—both the regular ones and the living ones.” Elena glanced at my attire and smiled.
“Much better. Very professional, and much less distracting.” She gathered up her own change of clothes and headed for the bathroom.
“I’ll only be a few minutes,” she said before closing the door.
Forux rose, stretched, and made a chuffing sound as he ambled to the edge of the bed near where I stood. I scratched behind all his ears, eliciting a deep, rumbly purr.
“I adore your mistress,” I confided as he yawned. “Our station has been taken over, some computer functions may no longer work, and Elena says the forest welcomes us—whatever that may mean. I do not know what lies ahead, but I do know I have to get this right.”
Forux tilted his head.
“Good point,” I said. “What do I mean, get this right?” I thought about the question.
“I would like to know what life is like with a true mate. Is it as happy and contented as the research says? I would like to make up for my poor choices, if I can. And most of all, I want Elena to be happy. How do I ensure she is?”
Forux settled on the bed, his front paws tucked under himself, and held my gaze.
I studied his pose. The tucked paws implied he felt safe and relaxed and believed he would not have to run or escape from anything.
The position also conserved body heat. For all the changes that had taken place while we slept, the temperature in my apartment was very comfortable.
I had seen no indication that Elena was either too cold or too hot—no shivering, nor flushed skin or perspiration.
Perhaps I was reading too much into Forux’s body language, but the little arval had demonstrated not only perceptiveness but intelligence. I believed he had understood my question and done his best to answer.
So I must keep Elena safe and warm and all that urge implied. And stay nearby as well to offer protection, care, and support when needed, but not so closely that I became a hindrance or, worse, smothering. I must respect her space.
I gave Forux a nod. All these things, I could do—I would do—with joy in my hearts, until Elena decided whether she found me worthy.
In the meantime, we had many mysteries to solve.