The thought should have terrified me. A week ago, it would have sent me into a panic spiral about losing my independence and having my career derailed by an unexpected relationship.
Instead, I felt…relieved.
Not just because Torven was attractive and competent and protective in all the ways that apparently made my hindbrain purr with satisfaction. But because this meant I was done with dating. Done with the awkward small talk and the inevitable disappointment when potential partners either found me too intense or too scattered or too focused on work. Done with wondering if I was meant to be alone because I’d rather analyze weather patterns than go to social events.
The universe had apparently decided for me, and its choice was a gruff, green-eyed pilot who I’d really thought didn’t like me very much.
I reached out and traced one of the marks with my fingertip, marveling at how warm they felt. “So this is permanent?”
“Yes.” His voice was rough, and I could see colors shifting under his skin—warm golds and ambers, which I was learning meant contentment mixed with arousal.
“And it means we’re biologically compatible for reproduction?”
“Ah. Usually, yes.”
I nodded, filing that information away for later consideration. “And Destran society will recognize this as a legitimate bonding?”
“They’ll have to. The marks don’t lie.”
Practical questions answered, I let myself look at him—reallylook at him—as my mate rather than just the attractive pilot I’d been trying not to stare at. The strong line of his jaw, the way his dark hair fell across his forehead, the careful way he was watching my face to gauge my reaction. It was a face I’d be looking at for averylong time.
“How do you feel about this?” I asked.
“Like I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.” He crossed his arms. “And now we are bound together for life. Like a marriage, in human terms. But no party.”
That was either the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me, or the most terrifying, depending on how I chose to interpret it. I decided to go with romantic. Still… “That’s too bad. I like parties.”
“We can have one when we get back to the Destran city,” he said, and granted me one of his rare, full smiles. “Because I’m not raising our babies here in this weather tower.”
I was about to inform him that whether or not I would consider offspring was a discussion for the future when a different thought broke through. I cocked my head, listening to the sounds outside. “You know, the weather doesn’t sound that bad right now.”
“Okay.” Torven frowned, clearly trying to follow my thought process. “So?”
“When you went outside earlier,yes, there was a light acid rain, but there wasn’t any wind, right? No lightning, no electromagnetic interference. The clouds looked thinner when I went up to check on the flora samples.” I was starting to talk faster, the way I did when I got excited about data. “If the atmospheric conditions have stabilized even temporarily, we might be able to get a clearer signal with the communication equipment on floor twenty-four. And we should refill our water containers anyway since I used most of mine cleaning the acid off your skin, which I’m glad I did because acid burns are not something we have the medical supplies to deal with properly, and—”
“Rivers.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re brilliant.” He was giving me that smile again. It made my stomach flutter. “Let’s go try the communications again.”
I felt a surge of pride at his praise, which was ridiculous given that I was a trained scientist and he was just recognizing basic logical observation and deduction. But there was something about the way he said it, the genuine admiration in his voice, that made me want to solve every problem we encountered, just to hear him say it again.
“Right. Good. Let’s go.” I started toward the stairwell, then stopped as the reality of the climb ahead hit me. “Oh, hell. All those stairs again.”
My legs were still sore from yesterday’s climbing adventure, and the thought of hauling myself up twenty-four levels made me want to cry. But before I could start cataloging all the reasons why this was going to be miserable, Torven stepped behind me and scooped me up, tossing me over his shoulder in one smooth motion.
“What are you—oh!” I grabbed onto his shirt to steady myself as he started climbing the stairs at a pace that was significantly faster than our previous ascent.
“I can carry you,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “It’ll be faster.”
I was once again eye level with his very nice ass as he climbed, only it was upside down this time. It was an interesting perspective I hadn’t expected to have today. After a few flights, curiosity got the better of me and I gave one firm cheek a squeeze.
“Did you go slow yesterday because of me?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, without missing a step. “I didn’t want you to feel like you couldn’t keep up.”
“And now?”
