“Bad boys?” He shifted his wings, the swirling patterns reflecting in the muted light.
Maelic frowned at her reaction but nodded.
“The fabric is quite comfortable, actually. I also find the design amusing. What a fierce beast the little one is, to ride sucha monstrous creature! Are these local fauna?” He asked it so seriously.
Delaney couldn’t hold her laughter back.
“Oh, the cat? Those are local. The T-Rex is actually extinct.” She managed to get the words out even through the laughter bubbling in her throat. “Cats are quite fierce, though. They aren’t scared of anything and act like they own everything.”
“What noble beasts these cats are.” He nodded like it made total sense.
And with that, they began to trek into the woods. Maelic kept glancing down at some super techy watch thing on his wrist.
“It is not far. The pod automatically enacted a cloaking device during the crash.” He sounded a little wistful. “This is not a true spacecraft like Axiom fliers are. It is an escape pod.”
“Oh? So the flier, that’s like a big UFO thing?” She felt a little out of her depth, awestruck at the reality of actual alien spacecrafts.
“UFO?”
“Unidentified Flying Objects.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” He scratched his cheek. “But yes, I can only speak so much about this to you. There are certain laws in place for planets like yours, little human.”
“You keep calling me that.” She stopped short and turned to look up at him. “I’m actually above average height for a human woman.”
Her lip jutted out.
Maelic’s mouth crooked into a small grin, fang peeking out. “Shall I just call you ‘human of above average height,’ then?”
He leaned forward, white hair falling loose. She felt the childish urge to tug it. Her gaze dropped to the exposed snow-white fur at his throat. So poofy. It reminded her of those fancy haircuts poodles got. No, more like a lion’s mane. She couldn’t equate him with a yappy dog, but a massive, proud feline? That fit.
Little human, huh?
“Well…” Without thinking, her hand lifted. She dragged her fingers through the soft fuzz. God, it was satisfying.
“Should I just call you ‘freakishly tall mothman?’”
Keep your hands up there. Do NOT go lower, girl.
But the urge to trail further down, to explore the muscle under his sweater… it was hard to resist.
Maelic’s pointed ears darkened. His expression went tight, antennae perking straight up. “This is a very sacred part of myanatomy,” he said, voice strained with obvious bullshit. The man had no poker face.
“Your sacred anatomy is very fluffy.” She stilled her hand, brow arching. “Is this okay?”
“I…” His voice dropped low. “If you do not stop, I worry about what I will do.”
That floral scent hit her again. Thick and heady. The one that always seemed to roll off him when he was losing control. Her core clenched on nothing.
“What do you mean?”
She should pull her hand back. She knew she should. But rational thought was slipping, her focus narrowing to just him. Her thighs pressed together, hot need sparking up in her.
Maelic scented the air. He caught her hand, gentle, but his expression bordered on pain. His other hand curled into a fist at his side.
“This is not right.” His jaw worked. “I mentioned the ruts, but my species… we are not just affected by pheromones. We exude them. It can alter your mind. It seems to be doing so now.” His grip tightened on hers. “I usually wear a mask to help with the effect. The medical device I mentioned.” He swallowed. “I want it to be your choice completely when I ravage that pretty body again. Not because I am enticing you unfairly.”
The hesitancy in his voice reminded her of the way he’d dodged something yesterday during cocoa. And again at breakfast. That gut instinct, the one that told her he was safe, flickered with alarm.
