Chapter 22
Keelie
Wiping my eyes, I take a deep, shuddering breath as I watch Earth disappear from view.
I know that if I told the guys I’ve changed my mind, they would turn this ship back around in an instant…
but… even though I’m sad over leaving, there’s nothing left for me there.
Turning around to go find my mates, I startle a little when I see Ahstahl leaning against the wall inside the small room where I retreated to watch our departure.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you.”
Opening his arms, he catches me when I fall against his chest, soaking up the comfort he so freely offers. “One would think by now you’d be used to one or both of us loitering about.”
Stuttering out a half-hearted laugh at his quip, I rub my face against the soft scales of his upper body. “It’s been a long night. Can we go to bed now?”
Ahsthal bends slightly and picks me up, carrying me bridal style all the way back to our room.
Entering our quarters, Ahstahl doesn’t stop until he’s in front of the mostly backless couch before he sits.
He makes sure I’m comfortable as he drapes his wings across the low cushion. Peering around, I don’t see Aercek.
“Ahstahl, where’s Aercek?”
I know I’m being needy, but I just left my whole freaking planet, and my mates are the only constant I have at the moment.
“He is checking on a few things and providing the other males with our course before we are all… indisposed for several risings.”
Quirking an eyebrow, I hone in on what he just said. “Why would we be indisposed for several days?”
The sound of the front door opening coincides with my question as Aercek purposefully strides into the room.
“Because we have just enough time to inject you with aptet and the consequential mating heat before we arrive on Undatfonyh,” he answers.
Well, that’s not what I was expecting to hear.
“Alrighty. Why don’t you explain this to me like I have no idea what you’re talking about… because I don’t.”
Aercek has the self-preservation to be abashed at my backhanded statement, and Ahstahl freezes beneath me. If I recall correctly, they’ve mentioned something about this “aptet” before, but I don’t exactly understand the full ramifications of what it does.
Waving at him to get on with it, Aercek jumps into an explanation.
“While we told you that aptet is an enzyme we secrete to make you sexually compatible and extend your lifespan to meet ours, what we didn’t tell you is that you must have it to live on Undatfonyh.
Your body, as it is now, won’t be able to breathe the air or tolerate the pressure on our planet. You would die in minutes…”
When his words trail off, I narrow my eyes at him. “Okay… what else?”
Pinning his ears in an uncharacteristic display of nerves, he clears his throat. “The easiest way to deliver the aptet is through sex, because it can be quite painful if one isn’t distracted with pleasure. Keep in mind the aptet is what makes you sexually compatible.”
That’s when the lightbulb goes off. “That’s part of why y’all haven’t tried to instigate sex, isn’t it? We aren’t currently compatible, and y’all were giving me time to get to know you.”
Ahsthal’s voice rumbles from behind me. “Correct. We weren’t sure if you were going to fully commit to leaving with us, and didn’t want to bring this up if you changed your mind.”
That’s fair, even if it’s a bit irritating that I didn’t know this beforehand, and I say just as much. “I understand y’all’s point of view, even if it’s frustrating right now.”
Hopping off Ahstahl’s lap, I start taking my clothes off as I stomp over to the bed. By the time I get there, I’m completely naked and more than a little self-conscious. My body doesn’t look anything like theirs, and I’m not sure how they could find me appealing.
The damn bed is so high there’s no way for me to attempt a sexy move while I climb in. But once I’m up, I kneel and turn to face them.
Heat blazes out of their eyes, and any shred of doubt I had about whether they’re attracted to me or not disappears as I watch the sheaths at their groins slide back, revealing two sets of monstrous, lubricated dual cocks.
Oh, fuck.