“You have my vow.” He lies on his side again and brings me close.
I close my eyes, not sure I’ll actually be able to fall back to sleep, but I’ll try. The next time I open them is when he coaxes me awake so I can eat something. As soon as I’m done eating, I fall back asleep. Katem wakes me once more for the evening meal someone kindly brought to our tent. Again, my eyes drift shut when I’ve finished. I’m vaguely aware of him lying down in the furs with me and drawing me to him. He cuddles with me throughout the entire dreamless night.
A bright light pierces my eyelid. I shift my head to avoid it and slowly open my eyes. Through the opening in the roof of our tent, the sun is visible and shining high in the sky. Beside me, there’s a soft snore. I turn and stare at Katem, whose hair is spread out around his head. He looks younger in his sleep, and I realize I don’t actually know how old he is. Not that it matters, but I am a little curious. I continue studying him, as well as the mating marks that have turned almost pitch black since they first appeared. God, it feels like a lifetime ago.
I take in a deep breath and hold it, waiting for the coughing to begin. Certain this is only a dream, I actually pinch my arm to see if it hurts. The air in my lungs hisses out of me when it does.
“Why are you pinching yourself,keeshla?” Katem asks in a sleepy voice.
“To make sure I haven’t dreamed all that’s happened since yesterday.”
He turns on his side and caresses my cheek. “It is not a dream.”
“No, it’s not.”
“I would like to kiss you,keeshla,” he whispers.
“Yes.”
Our lips meet. This kiss feels different, as if it’s not going to be our last. Or maybe I’m the one who’s different. I’m alive. A sense of wonder and hope fills me. I never want to take for granted that I’ll have time to do all the things I want to do. The fear I’d been holding onto for so long washes away.
“Make love to me,” I murmur against Katem’s mouth.
“You are still recovering,keeshla.”
I draw my head back and wait until our eyes meet. “Please. I need you.”
He studies me a moment longer before lowering his head and capturing my lips again. The kiss is slow but delicious, stoking the embers of our desire. His tongue explores the cavern of my mouth, and we exchange little gasps and breaths. I tug the fabric bunching beneath my hips, exposing my lower body.
“Will you take this off of me?”
He helps me sit up and with an agonizing slowness, draws the white shift I’ve been wearing since the Bohnari ship up the length of my body and over my head. My hair falls around my shoulders in wild disarray. I sit with breathless anticipation as my mate’s gaze caresses my flesh. I’ve never been self-conscious about my body, but I’ve lost a lot of weight recently. Am I too skinny? Too sickly?
As if reading the intrusive thoughts that have pushed their way to the forefront of my brain, Katem drags his fingertips along my heated flesh between my breasts, his every touch sending sparks shooting through me. The light in his eyes shines brighter.
“You are the most stunning creature I have ever set eyes on,keeshla.”
My chest warms along with my cheeks. “So are you.”
Feeling far more confident, I lie back and stare up at him with a challenging smile. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
Katem grins and reaches for the ties at his waist. Nerves flutter in my belly that I’ll finally get to see him naked. I’ve imagined what his cock looks like more often than I’d like to admit, but nothing could have prepared me for reality.
My core clenches and grows damp. He’s long, but not too thick, with strange looking nodes that run the length of him on all sides.The biggest difference though is the head. Instead of the blunt, rounded tip like a human’s, it’s shaped more like an umbrella blown inside out by a strong wind. Curiosity of how it will feel inside me runs rampant. More than anything, I’m certain it will feel good.
Unbidden, I reach out, but stop just short of touching it. I glance up at Katem.
“Can I?”
His jaw is clenched, but he gives a short, succinct nod. Gently, I run my fingertip down the entire length of him. A slick, viscous substance coats it, wonderfully alien, and my skin warms everywhere the fluid touches.
“It is my mating fluid,” he rasps out. “It is meant to enhance our mate’s pleasure.”
I rub my thumb and finger together, and they glide easily over each other from the fluid covering it. A tingling sensation tickles my skin, my flesh practically vibrating with need. What will it feel like when he’s inside me? I’m anxious to find out.
Needing to feel him close, I draw Katem to me and clutch him tightly. I run my hands over the muscles that provide me a sense of safety and security. I continue to explore the hills and valleys of his arms before trailing my fingers down the contours of his back. The strength he holds in them ramps up my desire.
When I reach his tail, my fingers graze the base of it. He sucks in a sharp breath, and I jerk my hand away, afraid I hurt him.
