CHAPTER 7 #2
“Like I said, Andromeda. It’s your choice.”
I frown, plucking a velvety flower petal to rub between my fingers. “It’s weird. Being scared has never stopped me before. It barely makes me hesitate. But this is… different.”
Sylvus is quiet for a long moment. Then, he says, “Pleasure can often be much more terrifying than pain.”
The words resonate with something deep in me. In that quiet, unexpected moment, a shell cracks. Words tumble out of my mouth.
“If I love you, then I can lose you. And if I lose you, I think I’ll break forever.”
His warmth surrounds me. “I’m here, Andromeda. I will always be here.”
I can’t hold back the tears anymore. He presses my cheek to his neck as I sob, letting twenty years of fear finally pour out of my body.
It’s why I always kept others at a distance. Why I kept changing lives and identities whenever anybody got too close. Why my ultimate dream was solitude.
Never again, I swore to myself. I’ll never be that vulnerable again.
My ugly wails don’t dissuade Sylvus in the slightest. He just grips me tighter.
Something silky soft glides over my skin, grounding me, helping my breath slow and deepen. Finally, I lean back and wipe my face on the silk Sylvus offers me.
A soft texture glides along my hip: a furry joint of his leg.
He notices me noticing. “Sorry if that’s… disturbing.”
I make a little stuffy-nosed laugh. “It’s cute. I like it.”
I reach out, and he hesitantly offers his leg to me. I slide my hands along the smooth, strong chitin, then bury my cheek in his fur. It’s softer than the finest mink, the fluffiest rabbit, the most advanced synthetic.
My hands continue down his leg until I reach his foot, that little paw with two clawed toes. I run my thumbs over the pads. “Look at these little beans!”
“Stop that,” Sylvus huffs, tugging his foot back. “You don’t have to make fun of me.”
He’s blushing brightly, staring at the ground.
I laugh and grab his cheeks, making him look at me. “I’m not making fun of you. You’re adorable.”
His cheeks warm under my palms. “Any sane person knows I don’t have any proximity to that adjective.”
I squeeze his cheeks and gently tug them. “Whatever you say.”
When I release him and snuggle against his chest, he presses a hand to where my fingers just were.
I smirk to myself as he gathers his composure.
“Here,” I say, squirming to get down. “Sit like this.”
He lets me down to the springy wildflowers again, and I go perch on the little rise. I point next to me, and though his expression is wary, he dutifully hunkers down like he did before.
“Okay, now scoot closer.”
He does, until we sit side by side, and I rest my head against his chest and loop my arm around his waist.
We click together like two puzzle pieces always meant to fit as we stare out at the beauty of Zairion Prime.
I take a deep breath, holding the thought in my mind to be sure I’m secure in my conviction. There’s a flutter of anxiety, but it feels… possible. Exciting.
“I’ve made my choice,” I declare.
Sylvus is quiet.
“Don’t you want to know?”
He raises a brow. “I’m being patient.”
“I want to hear you ask.”
He chuckles, then pinches my waist.
“Hey!”
“Andromeda,” he purrs next to my ear. “Tell me your choice.”
His deep tones go straight to my cunt, and I bite my lip to muster my focus. “If I… open myself up, I’m going to get hurt. That’s an inevitability.”
I feel the subtle shift as he braces. “I understand.”
“But…”
His breath stills.
It’s my turn to be a little sadistic, dragging this out. “If you’re the one that hurts me… I’ll be alright in the end.”
He quirks a brow, looking down at me. “Well, now I worry about how you see me.”
I roll my eyes. “I just—I was being poetic, okay? If being with you means I can get hurt… Then… it’s worth it.
I never thought—” My voice shakes, and I take a steadying breath.
“I never thought I could feel… safe again. Like I did on Earth. But I do, here. So… I’m not leaving. You’re stuck with me.”
Sylvus pulls me tighter to his side. I glance up to see his eyes watering.
“Aw…” I wipe a tear from his cheek—and another from his forehead. “You really cry out of all eight eyes?”
“Don’t tease me,” he quietly huffs.
“But it’s ador—”
His hand clamps over my mouth. “Don’t say it.”
I lick his palm.
He pinches my side.
We settle into each other again.
I close my eyes and tilt them up toward the sky. “I like it up here. It’s beautiful.”
“You can spend as long up here as you like.”
“Really? Space wolves aren’t going to jump out and eat me?”
He chuckles. “All the species here know better than to challenge the region’s apex predator.”
“That’s you?”
“Mhm. Obviously.”
“The apex predator?”
“Yep.”
I grab his cheeks. “Who cries out of all eight—”
His hand snaps over my mouth again. “Shut up.”
I twist my head and bite him—hard.
“You little—”
Gravity spins as Sylvus pins me back against the wildflowers, holding my wrists above my head with his iron grip.
My spine betrays me, arching into him.
He smirks, then catches my mouth in a deep, hungry kiss. His tongue sweeps through my mouth, sliding down my throat, making me moan.
Just when he has me aching, breathless, ready to beg him to fuck me, he pulls back.
Bastard.
He settles back down politely next to me.
So I launch myself at him, loving the flicker of surprise on his face as he catches me.
“You’re insane,” he chuckles.
I laugh against his mouth, falling into his arms and deep, deep into love.