Alex nodded. “Why do you think I sent the guys away. I sensed you needed to talk.”
“That mindreading shit’s no joke.”
“Not mindreading. Sensing emotions,” Alex corrected.
“Right,”Kenji said.
“What would you like to talk about?”
The word mate kept being tossed around, and Kenji wanted to better understand it.
“Did you feel an almost instant connection to Cryss when you first met? Like… a deep, emotional bond that…” Kenji paused, not sure how to put it.
“Felt like you’re two powerful magnets on a collision course with one another?” Alex asked. “And you couldn’t avoid it, no matter how hard you’d try?Ifyou wanted to try, of course.”
“Something like that.”
Alex chuckled. “Almost the minute we met. I knew we belonged together. I fought it at first because I didn’t understand it—but that bond is something wholly Nefyrian. The connection they feel with their mate is sacred here. Because of that, they accept it a little more easily, too. I was human and had doubts. But it didn’t take long for those doubts to fade away.” He snickered. “Don’t get me wrong, Cryss fought it a little, too, but nowhere near as much as I did. And I think his fighting was rooted in fear I’d freak out when I learned he was an alien.”
“How long before he made his mark on you?”
“You mean the imprint?”
“Yeah,” Kenji said.
Alex pushed up his sleeve, showing off a thick imprint similar to the one Kenji had made on Qylar, only the tentacles were much,muchlarger. “Cryss made this first one by accident. In his sleep.We hadn’t been together that long at all. Subconsciously, he knew we belonged together.”
Kenji eyed Alex.
“I know you’ve done the same to Qylar. Perhaps deep down, you know it, too.”
Kenji nodded. “Perhaps.”
Alex smiled and pushed back his other sleeve. “This one… was made as a conscious choice. A commitment to one another. In Nefyrian custom, having both means we’re bonded for life.”
“I’ve marked Qylar, but he hasn’t marked me. Before dinner, I asked him if he ever would—and he stiffened up. I felt… rejected.”
“Qylar’s spent a lifetime telling himself he’d never have a mate.” Alex glanced at Kenji. “He believed that down to his bones. I could see that interfering. Making him hesitate.” Alex searched his face. “Do you want him to mark you?”
Yes.“I don’t know.”
A slow smile crossed Alex’s face. “Yes, you do.”
Kenji’s face warmed. “Yes. I do.”
“Then tell him that. Don’t ask him when he’s going to get around to it, shove your arm in his face and tell him to get on with it.”
“I’ll think about that,” Kenji said.
Alex sat up, cringing, his hand going to his stomach. His stomach stretched out a little farther before returning to the size it had been.
Kenji swung his legs over to the side, ready to jump into action. “Are you okay?”
Alex lifted a finger to Kenji. He drew in a deep, slow breath and pushed it out just as slowly before sitting back again.
“I’m okay,” Alex said. “The baby finally turned.”
“Turned?”
