Chapter 23
She lay on top of me on the couch, and I watched her sleep.
I messed up.
I was going to wait.
I was going to do this right, make sure she understood, and instead… Instead, I gave in. The fire in my blood for her and her obvious insistent desire for me had combined until the moment had taken hold and run away with us both.
I smiled at the thought, and then my smile faded.
I did it despite the consequences.
I didn't know for certain the osae would behave the same for a hoomon. I didn't know if a child made by the two of us would be healthy and strong. I didn't know if she even wanted children.
All I knew was that she wanted me with a desperation that matched my own.
And when she bit me, teasing me with the threat of a claiming bite, I couldn't find any part of me that wanted to stop her. If she had continued and broken the skin, she could have claimed me - me, of all of the people in the Empire.
And she didn't even know who I was.
She thought I was some bodyguard named Zale.
It wasn't even my real name.