Chapter 20
TWENTY
The room was darker than it was when Niir was unconscious.
It was for his eyes, the doctors told her.
Virilians were sensitive to light, anyway.
He was still gloriously nude, suspended in that gel.
His head was down. He hadn’t noticed her yet.
The red, bulging veins were nearly gone.
He was back to his usual size, and the horns were completely gone.
That was sort of too bad. The horns were kind of sexy.
The Baylan physicians had told her that Niir could hear her and speak.
He had healed well, after such a grievous injury.
She relived that horrible day in the hangar over and over, in dreams and while waking.
Everyone had been so shocked when she’d reached for him, touched him.
The many looks of horror when she’d pulled him into her arms had been as jarring as the bleeding wound in his chest.
So, she could withstand heat. Always could.
How else could she and her cousins reach into the ovens and turn the terti flowers while they roasted?
Plus, they had lived on the hot moon without any protection, while the Virilians had needed their suits.
It wasn’t her fault that no one had put it all together.
She approached the tube slowly, not wanting to startle him. When she was right up in front of it, he slowly lifted his head. As before, he was completely at ease with his nakedness. She had seen him like this before, after all.
Gray eyes met hers through the thick, blue-tinted gel. “Hello, Calinae.”
“Niir.” She smiled back, eyes burning with tears. “I am so glad to see you. Alive.”
His mouth curved into a weary smile. “I am difficult to kill. Many have tried.”
“You look like you again.”
“Mostly. For now.” He looked at the backs of his hands, then up to her. “Are you well?”
“Yes. Anna and Olivia have been kind and welcoming, as have the Baylans,” she said. “I would like to visit Earth one day, I think. Humans are interesting.”
“They are,” he replied. “And your cousins are comfortable?”
“They’re my sisters, actually. Can you believe it?
” She smiled, still tickled by the new information gained from the Baylan scientists.
“And yes, they’re great. Rakolin was one of the archived languages in the ship, so it was loaded into a few V-links.
They are so happy to be able to talk and ask questions.
” She tilted her head, eager to get back to the pressing issues on her mind.
“Niir, you never mentioned that heat was a big part of your primal form,” she said.
“I could have told you that my cousins and I have high resistance to heat. It allowed us to turn the terti flowers during the roasting process. They crumble very easily, so we used our hands.”
His eyes widened. “That’s why he gave you Luktarian genes. We were wondering about that.”
She tilted her head. “Luktarians? I don’t know anything about them. They are able to stand high temperatures?”
“Yes. Among other things.”
“They said you’ll be getting out of this thing very soon,” she said. “Your body temperature is almost where it needs to be.”
He nodded gravely. “Calinae, I cannot guarantee this will not happen again. In fact, I can almost guarantee that it will. The primal form is always with me.”
“Trak explained it to me,” she said, nodding. “And you did, too. I understand.”
He sighed and looked down. “Dealing with me when I’m like that is…I cannot ask you to accept it.”
“You don’t have to ask,” she said, swallowing hard.
Everything was different. She was different.
Cali rubbed her palms on her tan pants. “I care about you, Niir. It’s not some big burden, like you think.
As you know, your heat doesn’t scare me.
” She shrugged one shoulder. “And the horns are kind of sexy.”
He surprised her by laughing. “I love you, Calinae. I would advise you to choose another male. I am more work than the typical mate, and even with this tube around, I will turn to primal form again. That cannot be helped, I’m afraid.”
“And if I choose you anyway?”
He smiled, sweet and full. “Whatever path you decide to take, with me or without, my love for you will not change.”
Warm happiness swirled through her belly. He was hers. She stepped right up to the tube and pressed her hands on the cool glass. No warlord betrothals or scary space fights or terti flower farms. Just them. “There’s no other male for me, Niir. I’m not afraid of you, no matter what form you take.”
He put his palms to hers on the inside of the tube. “If you’re sure.” He lowered his head and shook it. “I should be listing all the reasons why you should run from me, but I don’t have the will. If you accept me, I will do everything in my power to make you happy.”
Thick glass separated them, but Cali had never felt so connected to him. “You already do. Virilia sounds wonderful. My cousins—I mean, sisters—are excited to go there and this way I can be near them, too.” She grinned. “They’re hoping to find some handsome husbands.”
He rolled his eyes. “They will have no shortage of suitors.”
“What about you? What will you do if you aren’t setting up spy missions and advising Trak?”
His face went relaxed and soft, then, making him look younger and happier.
He paused, giving the question serious thought.
“I was once a mercenary who became a scholar of languages and expert of communications,” he said.
“I am very interested to see what I become next. And you, Calinae? What will your life be like, aside from being my beloved mate?”
She laughed, delighted by the query. It revealed so much of him, that he expected her to have interests and pursuits of her own.
“I have spent much of my life processing terti flowers. I would like to not do that. After that, I don’t know.
We were sheltered on Rakol—or whatever it really was—but I spent all my free time in the study center.
If possible, I would like to learn, if that makes sense.
I’d like to find out about the species that make me, me.
” She pressed closer to the glass, as if she could sink through the surface and slide into his arms. “But before anything else, I want to spend large amounts of time with you. In a bed. Naked.”
“I like your plan.” His teeth bared. His hands slid over the tube impatiently. A glance down revealed his cock standing proud and long, also pressed to the glass. Behind her, the monitors were blinking warnings.
“The Baylan physicians are going to come in here if you keep setting off the monitors.”
“Can’t be helped,” he growled. “I want you, Calinae. Need you, love you.”
She heard the rough hunger in his voice and felt it through her whole body.
He was potent enough to seduce her without even touching her.
Her own arousal was as strong as his, just not as visible.
“Good. It’s settled then,” she replied, grinning at him.
“So let’s get out of here, okay? So we can do this properly. ”