40. Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Earth is a possibility?
After a few minutes, I stood and returned with a towel. Serlotminden complained, but I cleaned him before tossing the soiled cloth aside. I stretched out against him, arm over his waist, and kissed his chest, nose wrinkling. He smelled like cum. He’d have to take a shower to get rid of it, but I wasn’t going to worry about it at the moment.
My fingers trailed over him as I asked, “Will we be able to get Vince?”
“Dontilvynsan has assured me that he is close to ending the negotiations for Vince and the rest of the humans. I can go to the planet myself and retrieve him.”
I bit his chest, his scales hard against my teeth. “Not alone. I will go with you.”
“Of course. We belong together.”
I hid a smile against his chest. “We should probably also bring a guard or your brothers.”
“I doubt they will leave me alone, even if I requested it.”
That I understood. “What happens after we get Vince? We haven’t really talked about it. Are we going back to your planet? Where do you live?”
He stroked my back. “I live on my home planet, Tamkolvanloknol, but I’m not there often. I race shuttles and I’m a diplomat. I travel a good portion of the time.”
Well, that would be interesting.
“But we don’t have to,” he said in a rush. “I can and will give it up for you.”
My lips closed around his nipple, licking it, and he jerked before grunting in pain. I rested a hand on his stomach to keep him in place. “I don’t want you to sacrifice anything for me. I don’t mind traveling if I’m with you. It will be exciting. But I don’t know if Vince will like doing that. Can he live on your planet?”
“Certainly, or we’ll take him back to Earth.”
I stiffened. Home. Earth . “We can go back?”
Serlotminden tensed, arm tight around me. Too late, I heard my words. We . I had promised to stay, but I hadn’t realized Earth was a possibility; that seeing my family again was a possibility.
He gripped me so tight that his claws dimpled my skin. “You can go home. I will take you.”
“Mindy,” I started.
“I will, but I don’t want to. I know it’s not fair, but I need you, Bartholomew, forever. I can’t breathe without you. The very thought of separating from you guts me.” He took a deep breath. “But I will. There are things you have to know first. Your memory would be erased. You wouldn’t know me or anything that happened while you were off Earth. I can’t go with you. The Coalition won’t allow it, and from what I understand of your planet, I wouldn’t fit in.”
If Serlotminden came to Earth, he’d have to hide. How could I do that to him? I couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right nor would I enjoy it. We could never be open together.
I stared at him, and he watched me with wide eyes as he took deep breaths. His hold remained like a vice around me and his tail was coiled about my leg. I kissed his chest. I’d promised him to stay. I loved him, and the thought of being apart from him… My mind refused to conjure it. My family probably thought I was dead at this point, anyway. Not that I missed them any less. I wanted my moms to meet Serlotminden—they would love him. Marie and Joy would tease me horribly about Mindy, but they’d like him too.
Rolling on top of him, I tried to put all my weight on my elbows and knees, so I didn’t hurt him. His hands moved to my hips, gripping me and making it difficult to not squash him. I pressed my lips to his firmly in a claiming kiss that broke no argument of who he belonged to.
“You need to know something, Serlotminden.”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
“I know that.”
“I am never going to leave you. Do you understand? You are mine, and I’m keeping you.”
A wide smile stretched over his lips. “Thank you.”
I scoffed. “You say that now. Wait until I'm old and cranky, and you’re desperate to get away.”
“That will never happen.”
I captured his mouth, sucking his tongue, but my thoughts went back to Earth. My family was there. My moms. My sisters. I was leaving them behind. How was that fair to them? They probably thought I was dead, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t like to know I wasn’t.
Serlotminden groaned against my mouth. I buried my fingers in his hair. How could I leave him? Attacking his mouth, I knew I couldn’t. He was mine, and that was all there was to it.