14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Inside the suite, the door slid shut behind us, muting the hotel corridor. For a moment, neither of us moved. The room was softly lit, the city glowing beyond the glass, but all I could focus on was Zhari’s hand still wrapped around mine.
She led me toward the seating area and sat on the edge of the couch. I sat beside her, kicking off my shoes.
“You know, I was very hurt,” she mumbled.
“I know,” I whispered, cradling her hand tighter.
“I know this is a big thing,” she continued.
“We have only known each other for a short time. I understand why you were afraid. I understand that humans do not experience this the way Velans do.” Her thumb moved slowly over my knuckles.
“But the universe knows, Vada. My body knows. My aura knows. We are meant to be together.”
She looked down at our joined hands.
“When you kept hesitating, it stung. Not because you owed me an immediate bond, but because it felt like you did not take what was happening seriously. Like I was the only one standing in front of something enormous while you kept looking for an exit.”
My chest tightened.
“And then Tev offered you a job,” she said. “You accepted it without even batting an eye.”
“I was scared of the bond, not of you as a person,” I said softly.
“I know that now.”
She released my hand and folded both of hers in her lap.
“I was hurt for another reason too. I had finally found one thing I thought I could have to myself. Not the label’s. Not the fans’. Not something that belonged to the tour or the whole galaxy.” Her glow dimmed around the edges. “Just you. Just us. I thought I could have that with you.”
“Then Tev offered you a place inside this crazy world, and it felt like that was taken away too. Like even this—having you here with me—was becoming part of everyone else’s plans.”
“I never meant for it to feel that way,” I said.
“The job wasn’t me choosing something over you.
It was me choosing something for myself.
I’ve spent my whole life waiting for permission to want anything.
When Tev offered me a future I could understand, I grabbed it before I could talk myself out of it. ”
Her eyes lifted to mine as she slouched back against the couch.
“And I should have told you,” I continued. “I should have understood that you weren’t asking me to give up my life. You were asking me to believe that what was happening between us mattered.”
“It does matter,” she said. “More than anything.”
“I’m sorry it took me so long to say it. I understand that it’s terrifying. I understand that it’s permanent. I understand that it changes everything.”
She looked toward the window and watched the sky train whiz by. I watched with her for a few minutes before I continued.
I reached up to her cheek and moved her head to look at me. “And I still choose you.”
Her breath caught.
“I’m still scared,” I admitted. “But I’m done pretending that being scared means I don’t want this.”
For a moment, she just looked at me. Then she leaned closer, her forehead resting against mine.
“I can give you time,” she whispered. “But I need to know you are moving toward me, not away.”
“I don't anymore time. I've known it was you from the start. I was just scared. ”
My heart glitched. Like a major system glitch.
“I want this."
Her pupils flared. I reached out before I could overthink it and hooked a finger beneath the thin strap of her tank top. Slowly, I slid it down the slope of her shoulder, exposing the elegant line of her collarbone and the faint shimmer of her aura just beneath the skin.
Her gaze dropped to my hand as I reached for her.
I ran my fingertips slowly down her arm, barely touching, tracing the smooth skin from shoulder to wrist. I watched her watch me—her aquamarine eyes darkening as my fingers slipped beneath the thin strap of her tank top and gently tugged it down her shoulder.
“Then,” she whispered, “are you asking… now?”
I held her gaze.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I’m done being afraid of what this could be, or what it might take from me.”
My hand found hers, our fingers threading slowly, like I was learning the shape of something I never wanted to lose.
“I want this,” I continued. “I want you. Not just the easy parts, not just the moments that don’t scare me. All of it. I want to choose you knowing exactly how much it means.”
My thumb brushed against her skin, grounding myself in her warmth.
“I want to seal the bond,” I said, softer now. “I want to be with you. I want you as my mate.”
Zhari blinked at me for a second—then a slow, crooked smile pulled at her mouth. “Well,” she said, squeezing my hand, “it’s about time.”
She tilted her head, eyes glinting. “Talk about major lag,” she added, a soft huff of laughter slipping out. “I was starting to think you’d make me wait another lifetime.”
Her fingers tightened around mine.
“But yeah,” she said more quietly, her gaze dropping from my eyes to my lips, “I want you too.”
We rose from the couch without breaking the kiss. I kept one hand at Zhari’s waist as she clung to me, and we crossed the hotel suite in slow, unsteady steps.
At the edge of the bed, I kissed her again before helping her out of the last of her clothes. Mine followed soon after, discarded somewhere on the floor behind us.
I guided her backward until the backs of her knees touched the mattress. Keeping my hand at her waist, I eased her down gently, following her until she settled in the bed.
I watched her stretch out against the sheets under the soft night light. Her skin held a warm, even pink from head to toe, glowing faintly in the low light. Her long legs relaxed against the bed, and the smooth line of her thighs led to the gentle curve of her hips and the soft rise of her stomach.
Her breasts rose and fell with each unsteady breath. When she looked up at me—open, wanting—my pulse quickened. She was so beautiful I could barely breathe. Then she parted her legs a little wider, and a sparkle caught the light between them.
I stared.
Zhari’s voice broke the silence, almost amused. “It’s a piercing. Surely you humans get them.”
“Yes, we do,” I managed. “I just didn’t know you were pierced down there. It’s… super sexy.”
I climbed onto the mattress and swung one knee over her, bracing my hands on either side of her shoulders. I settled carefully over her right thigh, my knees sinking into the sheets beside her hips. When I lowered myself fully against her, the firm warmth of her thigh made a shiver run through me.
Zhari’s hands slid gently along my sides, holding me as if I were something precious.
“I’m so excited,” she whispered, her voice trembling with happiness. “We’re mating. Bonding for life.” Her eyes shone as she looked up at me. “It feels so special.”
I leaned down, brushing my nose against hers. “It is special.”
“I’m so glad it’s with you,” she said. Her fingers curled lightly at my waist then trailed down to my thighs. “You’re everything I’ve waited for, Vada. Everything.”
I leaned down and kissed her, slow enough to savor the softness of her mouth. Zhari’s hands came up to grip my hips, her fingers tightening with a gentle, encouraging pressure as I began to move against her in an unhurried rhythm.
“Higher,” she whispered against my lips.
I drew back just enough to meet her eyes.
“I want to feel how wet you are on me,” she murmured.
I nodded and followed her guidance. I lifted slightly, spread my knees farther apart on the bed, then settled against her again. I bent her leg and pulled her knee close to my stomach, using it to balance myself as I moved back and forth.
“Uhh—” I moaned, arching my back.
“Yes, just like that, uhh—” Zhari whimpered as I rocked back and forth.
She moved her arms to the side, her hands grabbing for the sheet as she rocked into me.
After a few minutes, I felt a little tug at my clit that caught me off guard.
“Oh!” I gasped, flinching my lower body.
“Don’t worry,” Zhari chuckled, “it’s just my clit. I may have the same sort of anatomy you do, but mine’s just enhanced.”
I moved my hand in between us and grazed my fingers gently over her lips, then slowly further down to her clit.
I felt the difference right away. Her clit was bigger than any I’d known—soft, slightly ridged, flaring a little at the tip like a small suction cup. Her piercing tight against the one lip.
“Well, I love it,” I breathed. I drew my hand back, turned my head, and pressed a kiss to her inner thigh. I gave her skin a gentle suck, then settled against her again.
The soft tip sealed around my own clit with a gentle pull, holding us together. I could feel it pulse gently if I focused on it, almost as if Zhari was sucking on my clit.
“Ohh—yeah, that feels nice.”
I tilted my head back and started rocking my hips, slow at first, then faster, tracing figure eights against her.
I leaned down and kissed her hard, sliding one hand behind her neck to pull her closer. Her lips parted with a soft moan that slipped straight into my mouth.
“Mmm…”
I kept kissing her as I started moving, rolling my hips faster, pressing deeper against her. Her hands stayed locked on my hips, guiding every grind. She pushed her tongue into my mouth, swirling it against mine, then bit my bottom lip and sucked it.
“Oh… that feels so good,” I breathed against her mouth.
“Vada—” she moaned into the kiss.
My breasts brushed against hers with every motion. Each roll of my hips tugged gently where our clits met, which felt so good.
I leaned back and shifted her knee higher along my stomach, giving myself room to move. My back arched as I found the rhythm again, each motion building into the next until the pace quickened.
“Just like that—uhh,” Zhari shouted, her hips now bucking into mine.
I looked down at her.
And stopped.
Something swirled around her.
At first, I thought my vision had blurred. A faint violet glow curled over Zhari’s shoulders, so subtle I almost mistook it for city light slipping through the window. Then blue threaded through it. Gold flickered softly near her hands.
I stared.