Chapter 10 #2
“We didn’t intend to develop a link, but the more time we spent together, enjoying each other’s company, the more the connection grew. And then it became more. Something physical that’s difficult to deny. I know you’ve noticed the way we touch each other.”
“And more than that,” T’ukka murmured.
Mia’s eyes widened. “I knew you two fucked,” she muttered. “In that decontamination room yesterday?”
Axel laughed and nodded. “And I’ve never felt an urge to suck a man off before. But right now, I want my mouth around his dick more than I want to breathe.”
And just when things were going a direction I could get behind, a knock on the door startled us out of our conversation and Axel got up to answer it. My heart pounded as I worried they’d figured us out, that they were here to arrest us.
Commander Shurkuls Bru’ugo An’Mu’ol followed Axel into my public rooms, with his Aunga’ri guards and an American soldier, Nora Wilder, who usually accompanied him.
I wondered what kind of soldier she was, what her special skill was, now that I knew Axel’s was codes and languages.
Was hers similar, or had they sent people with a variety of specific, useful skills to dig into our occupation and find out our weaknesses?
At that thought Axel glanced at me and shook his head, but I wasn’t sure why.
When he was focused, I could read him clearly.
When he was like this, his agile mind skipping from thought to thought, I couldn’t make sense of his jumble of emotions.
It had irritated me at first, the way I felt emotions and thoughts bounce off of him, but now I craved the familiarity of his mind.
How could I cram two years’ worth of emotional growth into a shortened time period?
“Commander,” I said, bowing in the customary way. Axel bowed as well then straightened into a military pose, his hands behind his back, his face a stern mask. Internally, he was analyzing each person in the room as if they were a potential threat.
“I’m here to evaluate the progress of your new mission,” the commander said, walking regally around the room like he was the fucking king.
“We’ve made progress,” I muttered.
“Oh! Excellent. So you have results.”
“Not that much progress,” Axel muttered. His sharp eyes were roaming over the commander’s face, then he frowned and stared at the commander’s human companion. I could feel his mind calculating, assessing, but I didn’t understand the direction of his thoughts.
“I’m expecting results, Thrikteols Bhusl’ai An’T’ukka.
” He bit out my full name, his body tense with irritation.
Some prince of my tribe long ago had forced everyone to pronounce his full name, starting a tradition that lasted still, even though lower castes were no longer executed for failing to do so.
I was accustomed to it but Axel found it irritating, the length of my name, and apparently, so did the commander.
I wondered if the irritation was new, or if my newfound knowledge of his irritation was coming from Axel.
“I’m sure they’re trying their best, sir,” the human soldier said.
She had a slow, relaxed way of speaking that differed from the quicker cadence of Axel’s speech, but human accents all sounded similar to me, so I wasn’t sure if it was her personality or some regional difference.
I couldn’t imagine a soldier being more relaxed than Axel and still being effective as a soldier.
“If their best won’t work, we’ll have to revisit allowing Ms. Tsung’s brother inside our treatment facilities.
” Mia gasped softly and glanced at me, her eyes wide.
Axel reached a hand towards hers, his focus shifting to her comfort.
And it must have been the right thing to do because she took it, her small hand enveloped in his big one.
I crossed my arms over my chest, assuming a more dominant stance to stare down the commander. “Why the sudden rush? We’ve been around the humans for over two years now. Surely we can wait a short time to do this research.”
Axel grinned. “Yes, tell us the reason for the stressful timeline, Commander. Please.” I glanced at him and got a smug awareness of secret knowledge that was flowing around his words.
“Could they be demisexual?” Mia blurted the question, frowning. “Either the prince, or perhaps all the race? Most humans don’t struggle with sex just for pleasure, but some only feel attraction to someone they’re emotionally close to.”
“Huh,” Axel said. “That would explain a lot. A lot.” He widened his eyes at me, and my pants began to feel a little tight. I shot him a look and mentally told him to stop thinking about fucking. Again.
“If that is the case, how long would it take for this bond to form?”
“About six months,” Axel answered. “With this kind of proximity.”
“Unacceptable.” The commander’s stance tightened, and he glared at all of us. “You have two weeks, or Ms. Tsung’s brother will be removed from our facilities. Figure it out.”
“Six months? That was surprisingly specific,” Mia said as the commander stomped out of the room.
Axel shrugged. “It was how long it took for T’ukka and me to bond more closely.”
“You mean that psychic link thing you two do? The Bhesai Ker’el?”
Axel laughed good-naturedly. “Yep. It has built over time, but that’s about when I started to get weird feelings from him. Good call on the demisexual thing, though. I wonder if there’s anything we can do to speed things along.”
“Well, the problem, if he’s demisexual, is that there’s no guarantee that he’ll be attracted to me ever,” she said with a sigh.
“Oh, he’ll be attracted to you,” Axel said, grinning.
“How can you know that?” I asked, frowning at both of them. “She may be correct.”
He turned to me, smiling. “You’ll be attracted to her because I’m attracted to her, and we’re… I don’t know. We fit. We agree.”
Mia studied us both, her eyes widening. “Can you use the Bhesai Ker’el to share that attraction now?”
And that was definitely a thought.