Chapter 16 #2
He blinks, surprised. “I don't.”
“I suppose you grew up with it though, so you're used to all your secret thoughts being on display.”
Dom comes to stand next to me, staring past the wall he and his brothers put together with their own strong hands. “It's not quite like that. There are levels inside our minds, areas that can be private. Everyone has truths they hide, even from themselves.”
“So psychics like you can't see them?”
He shakes his head slowly. “Only if Nevare pushes.”
I let that sit for a moment. “Interesting. You said you had an idea.”
“Yes.” His intense amethyst eyes meet mine. “Last cycle, while we…” An image of me flat on my back, legs spread and wand pressed to my thirsty pussy, drops into my head. I look debauched and desperate. Hot.
Dom’s crooked smile flashes onto his face before he becomes serious again. “We became entangled shortly after. It might be related.”
“Oh, I see,” I say. “You want some more.”
“That as well. I can’t hide my desire from you.”
“Because I’m in your head?”
He frowns. “We’re not in each other's head, you’re part of the mind sync between us, an invisible connection synchronized to our brainwaves. To use it, imagine pushing what you want to say toward me.”
“I tried that, and it seemed to be too much.”
“A gentle push. Not forceful or shoving.”
“Hm. Like… pushing a paper boat on a pond?” I move my hand slowly in the air as if wafting something forward.
“Try that.”
Closing my eyes, I think, ‘Hi, Dom,’ while imagining waving my hands in the air, like flapping away smoke.
“Softer. I’m close to you no matter where you are.”
My stomach flips at that. It’s such a simple thing, the words themselves barely more than breath, but they thread through the empty space inside me and settle there.
I’m not adrift, not scrabbling on my own anymore.
Someone feels me, reaches back, steady and certain.
For the first time in so long, the voices in my head aren’t accusing.
Something scuttles in the corner, creeping out toward us.
“Shade! What are you doing here?” Dom scoops them up and returns to my side with quiet steps.
The little plant wriggles its long fronds out to me. I run a finger along one, and they shiver. “Shade seems more mobile than before.”
“There is a vast quantity of emotion in here for them to feast on.” Dom’s gaze lifts up to meet mine, soft. “Can you see the colors?”
“Colors?” It’s dark in here, so I can’t see much, but Shade still seems to be the same color as before: dark green on their scaly body with the long fronds purple underneath.
“Yes.” Dom’s hands surround mine, so we’re both cupping Shade between us. The barn gets brighter as if the sun’s coming up, even though there’s no additional light sources, and now I can see a thin yellow mist swirling over the stones.
‘Seems I’ve had an increase in psychic power,’ Dom says inside my mind, with a touch of purple smugness.
‘You can see auras from further away!’ Nevare crows, his excitement yellow as daffodils and cornflower blue. ‘And sorry, I’ll leave this connection for now.’
Dom shoots me an apologetic look, but I know his Apex can’t help it.
“That’s okay. Something exciting happened to you, I’m not surprised he felt it too. So, uh, what does seeing auras mean?”
“Everything has an aura. Before, I’d only see them on living beings, and only if they were very close to me. Mainly pain and fear, if we’re chasing down defective clones on Oloria.”
Shade’s fronds wave, more little feathery stalks unfurling from their main body. Around them spring up smudges of royal blue and lavender in the air, and the feathers start scooping up the color like a shrimp sampling the water.
They’re eating the colors. “That’s what Shade feeds on?”
“Yes, but emotion is limitless.” Dom’s fingers shift, gently stroking the side of my hand. “Nevare as the Apex can see all auras. Now it seems I can see them from further away than before, and more things, like the stones. Before, I’ve only seen your aura.”
“Mine? When?”
“The first time was outside the machine shed, just after you discovered my proclivities, when Ilia and Ellen’s starship surprised us. After that, whenever we’re close.”
That’s something new. “What’s my aura like?”
Dom closes his eyes, hands warming around mine. It’s welcome in the cold barn, and I step closer to him.
Between his hands, my pale ones seem to glow, turning yellow like flax, glittering on the edges.
“Wow.”
“It’s beautiful.” Dom smiles, still with his eyes closed. “You’re beautiful.”
Yep. Definitely a romantic. “Does it ever change color, or am I just one shade?”
His expression falls. “Yes, it changes. It’ll become overshadowed by… I’ve been calling them spikes. They’re metallic blues and septic greens, and they are most prominent when you’re stressed and engaging in negative self-talk.”
Despite the heat of his hands, my limbs go cold. Fuck, he can see everything. I thought the mind reading was bad enough, but he can actually see how I feel as well. The gold dims, and as if he invoked them, sharp shadowy peaks loom on the edges of my vision.
Dom’s hands slide down my arms and jump to my waist, pulling me close to his chest. “Law-rah, don’t be afraid.”
“I’m not,” I say firmly. I don’t think I’m lying, but it might be a fake it ‘til I make it type of deal. I always know what I’m doing, always have a plan for what’s happening now and next. I’m always in control.
“Yes. Always,” Dom rumbles. “And you’re safe with me.”
The temptation to lean against him is strong, but the need to assert myself is stronger.
The twinge that’s been bugging me all day flares again. I rub my belly and the pain fades as if taken.
Dom’s lips twist with discomfort.
I ask, “Hey, are you taking my stomach cramps away from me?”
“Of course.” He touches his own stomach, hands slipping down his pebbled abs. “It hurts a lot. What is it? Are you hungry?”
“It's my period, my reproductive cycle working away.”
“Your…” His eyes bug out and the bond strums like plucked guitar strings, melodic and warm. “Is this… Are you… Have you changed your mind and you desire to mate with me?”
My heart flips. “No, no. Humans go through a monthly cycle, preparing a layer for pregnancy and shedding it when no baby gets made.”
“On an earth monthly basis? Seems wasteful. And painful.” He half closes his eyes, sucking in a breath.
I don't feel any pain, but somehow I know he's taken it from me. I get nasty periods, too; sometimes I have to go on the pill to deal with them.
“Thank you.” I touch his scaled arm.
“Of course.” His eyes shine. “I can't bear to feel you in pain.”
This guy. He might just melt my heart.
He looks down at my chest. ‘Is that a medical emergency for humans? It would be for Olorians.’
“Right. Still broadcasting. Um, well…” I fish for an explanation an alien would understand. “A saying. A cultural thing. That you only say to someone you've shared special times with.”
“Like… us?” The image of me, legs splayed, writhing with pleasure, drops into my head.
“Right. Yeah.”
He nods happily. But he's just being a good Base. Right? He explained taking away pain and caring for others is part of his psychic carer duties.
He's not doing it because he wants to.
“Being on my period means we can't play for a week. Not unless you want your red wings.” I’m teasing, because the idea of oral when I’m on my period is mildly horrifying to me.
“If we cannot ‘play,’ then we may not untangle exactly what happened to bring you into the mind sync,” he points out.
“There’s still a lot of things we can explore outside of what’s in my panties.” Having orgasms for research would be a great premise for a scene, except I’m exhausted.
Dom’s arms slide around me, pulling me gently to his chest. “Rest, Law-rah. I will think about how I can best serve you.”
The image of him towering over my spread legs, diligently and hungrily pushing the wand to my pussy, springs up in my mind.
He nods eagerly. “Yes, like that if you want.”
“Did you enjoy it?” I ask him, voice low.
“I did.”
I know he did, he cracked like a pressure cooker pushed too far. “What about it made you so excited?”
He sucks in a breath and a welter of colors spin past me, blues and purples and pinks. Each one has a different emotion: pride, loyalty, and a searing desire so hot I gasp. “Seeing you come undone. Knowing I’d served you well.”
He means it, too, the sincerity pulsing within him like a third heartbeat.
“You did a good job,” I reassure him.
“I know.”
That makes me laugh out loud, my chuckles echoing against the bare cavern of the barn.
“Alright, let’s make a contract. You teach me how to moderate my thoughts or whatever you said so I’m not putting myself on blast constantly, and…
” I tip my face back to look up at him. “I’ll come up with some scenarios so we can investigate how to untangle me, and you’ll learn a few things about your desires in the process. ”
His eyes flare, a brief spark of dark violet.
“Deal?” I press.
His strong arms squeeze me tighter. “I don't need to make a contract. Teach me everything about you and your wants, Law-rah. When I'm here with you, I want to serve each and every one. As well as teach you how to navigate the bond. For Nevare.”
Warmth trickles over my skin in a pleasant wave, like I’ve stepped into the sun. Still… “I don’t like owing anyone anything. A contract sets this up properly. So, deal?”
Looking down briefly, Dom says, “Of course, Law-rah.”
Marvellous. While we're here, hidden away from everyone else, safe in our secret fantasy, I remain in control.
“Good boy. We start tomorrow.”