Chapter 7 #2
“Any disease you can imagine. Yes, even the condition your father had, in case you were worried about a genetic component,” he said, hoping to ease her worries.
“As soon as the nanobots detect an illness or any kind of abnormality, even autoimmune conditions, they get to work. As for injuries, the nanobots will heal all but the most grievous of injuries, such as decapitation or severe dismemberment. But the nanobots easily heal deep lacerations and even broken bones.”
“Will it hurt?” Still staring at the syringe, she rubbed her upper arm.
“A slight sting, perhaps,” he said, wishing he could take the pain on himself.
She lifted her chin, met his eyes, then gave a brief nod. “Okay. I’m ready when you are.” She pushed her sleeve up to reveal her upper arm, closed her eyes, and sucked in a deep breath and held it.
Draevan didn’t like seeing her so nervous as she braced for the pain.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t forgo the injection.
Just as claiming her and consummating their mating union would offer her protection from rogue, unmated warriors, giving her a dose of nanobots would protect her from a different set of potential dangers.
He approached her slowly, took a firm hold of her, then gradually injected the contents of the syringe into her left upper arm, mindful that it would burn more if he pushed the plunger too quickly.
Thankfully, she didn’t flinch or even grimace in the slightest, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he watched her eyes finally flutter open.
She met his gaze with a sheepish look. “Wow, you’re right. It didn’t hurt. I barely felt it. Thank you for being so gentle, Draevan, and thank you for giving me the healing nanobots. It’s a bit shocking, in a good way, to know that I’ll never have to worry about getting sick ever again.”
He tossed the empty syringe toward a receptacle mounted to the wall. The lid slid open just in time for the syringe to land inside, then just as rapidly slid shut. He turned Cora in his arms and reached up to cup her cheeks, mesmerized by the sparkling depths of her blue eyes.
His pulse quickened and his pants became tighter, so uncomfortable he worried his rigid cock might burst through the front opening before he even unclasped it.
“You are so beautiful, Cora from Earth,” he murmured softly.
She flushed all over again, and her eyes briefly danced around the room. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re beautiful too. I mean, you’re just so handsome… sometimes when I look at you, my thoughts become completely muddled.”
Her confession sent a wave of pleasure through him.
She found him handsome. More than handsome, if her muddled thoughts were any indication.
The realization filled him with a fierce, almost youthful delight.
He shifted closer, his tongue vibrating with the need to kiss her.
If he leaned down just a tad more, he could easily press his lips to hers.
He suspected the universe might stop expanding if he did it.
Yes, surely time would stop, and his life would change forever.
With all the certainty in his soul, he knew that once he kissed her, there would be no going back. He would become utterly lost to her.
But he feared the intimacy as much as he craved it. What if she didn’t feel the same way in return? It was possible the only reason she was becoming slick between her thighs was because she was physically attracted to him and nothing more. Nothing deep. Nothing real.
To his shock, he found he desperately wanted it to be real.
Perhaps even if she was only physically attracted to him now, the emotional connection would come later. Star God, he hadn’t even claimed her yet, hadn’t even spilled his seed in her slick depths yet, and he was also entertaining poetic thoughts about their mating union.
At last, he threaded his fingers into her silken tresses and leaned down to capture her lips, pressing softly at first, tentatively, as he gauged her interest in the intimate act.
She closed her eyes and softened in his arms, becoming more pliant as she leaned into him.
He closed his eyes and pressed his mouth harder against hers, relishing the feel of her soft lips and the gentle movements she made in response to his.
He had never kissed a female before, though he’d seen plenty of Vaxxlian-human couples doing it.
So many times, on his way home from the training arena, he’d glimpsed couples embracing in darkened alcoves, utterly lost in one another, heedless of the world around them.
So, in theory, he knew how to kiss. But rather than mimic the kisses he’d witnessed on the streets of Starzzia, he found himself following his own instincts, urges that rose from deep within that he’d never known existed.
It was as though he knew just what to do, just what she needed.
A tiny whimper left her as he deepened the kiss.
And finally, he allowed his tongue to vibrate against hers, an action that drew a startled gasp from her, though she didn’t pull away.
She froze for a moment, then resumed kissing him back, gliding her tongue along his, seemingly losing herself in him just as he was losing himself in her.
His hands roamed up and down her back as he drew her closer, eager to press his hardness against her stomach.
But he was so much taller than her that they didn’t quite line up that way.
Not while they were standing in one another’s arms—yes, she was holding him too—and kissing as though their lives depended upon it.
When he finally withdrew from the kiss, he was pleased to find Cora breathless, her eyes hooded with desire, a fresh splash of pink tinting her cheeks.
Once again, he became mesmerized by her beauty.
But he was also enchanted by her heart, by her very soul.
Perhaps it was only wishful thinking, but he could almost swear he felt the goodness in her, her sweet nature, and the purity of her heart.
He stepped back and clasped one of her hands between both of his.
He searched her eyes for any doubt, for any hint that she didn’t wish to proceed.
But to his great relief, she appeared just as eager as he was.
Her breathing only increased with each passing moment, and the scent of her arousal kept growing stronger in the air.
She also kept glancing at the bed with a hopeful look that made him want to release a growl of victory.
He turned toward the bed and gave her hand a slight tug.
“Are you ready to consummate our union, sweet Cora?”
“Yes,” she replied in a shaky whisper. “Yes, Draevan. I am ready.”