“Why did you turn it off?” I asked as I rubbed my eyes.
N’kal kissed my forehead and stroked my hair. “You were sleeping. I did not want the sounds from the television to disturb you.”
Funny. He was trying to let me sleep, and thelackof noise ended up disturbing me more than the actual show did. I guess I was keyed up enough to be on alert for any changes in my environment even while asleep. Not N’kal’s fault, but it was a bit annoying that my nap got interrupted.
“Go back to sleep, Timber,” he said, his voice low and hypnotic. “I will protect you.”
“I’m supposed to be protecting you, remember?” I yawned in spite of myself. “You keep getting that turned around.”
He kept running his hand through my hair, and between that and his tone I had trouble keeping my eyes open.
“We will protect each other. A team. Is that acceptable?”
“Sure,” I said as my eyelids grew heavy again. “Acceptable.”
I didn’t know how long I dozed that time, but when I woke, I was pleasantly surprised to find that nothing catastrophic had happened while I napped. No gunfire, no one breaking into the room—just peace and quiet.
N’kal was out cold when I woke up, and I did my best not to disturb him as I disentangled myself from his arms and made my way to the bathroom. In addition to needing to empty my bladder, I wanted to take another shower and freshen up a bit. N’kal’s words about me smelling like sex still reverberated in my head, and I couldn’t get over the feeling that I had to get clean again.
The hotel shower warmed up fairly quickly, and I stepped into the steamy spray with my face to the water, letting it run over my body. Aches and pains from the activity of the morning melted away as the hot water eased them.
I jumped when the shower curtain opened and N’kal stepped in with me.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he wrapped his arms around me.
“I am joining you,” he said, and I swear he started to purr.
Hot damn … Purring was pretty sexy. I leaned into him as his body rumbled with the sound. He wasn’t quite vibrating, not like he had during sex the night before, but the sensation simultaneously relaxed me and keyed me up. I had insisted that he take it easy, but now I wanted him to rail me. What was wrong with me?
“N’kal …” I started to protest, but he stopped me with a kiss.
“Shh,” he murmured against my lips. “Do not worry. I will not hurt myself.”
I didn’t know how he knew what I was about to say. Maybe Xalanites had some kind of telepathy, or maybe I was just that transparent. Either way, it relieved me a bit that he understood I wanted him to be careful.
“Put your legs around my waist,” he said, cupping my ass with both hands. “I will not try to lift you, but I will assist.”
Ooh, standing shower sex! That was kind of hot, and if I held on tight enough, it wouldn’t stress his shoulder.
I climbed him like a fucking tree, using the curtain bar for leverage and balance as I gripped him with my thighs. My other hand snaked around his back, holding his uninjured shoulder. N’kal groaned and positioned himself, his eyes glowing as he started to hum with his cool vibrations. I gasped as he slid inside, and his secondary dick started stroking my clit while he moaned and began to thrust.
This position allowed him to hit deeper than he had on the bed, and I panted for air as he pounded into me.
He braced himself against the shower wall with his good hand and grunted in time with his pumping hips. His gills flared, and the purring and vibrating increased. I screamed with my first orgasm of the night, and N’kal grinned.
“We are bonded,” he said. “Mates. There can be no one else for me in this life.”
His words startled me, and I worried he was getting too attached. “N’kal, I can’t—”
“Hush. Let me speak.”
This seemed like a really strange time for romantic declarations, but I didn’t know enough about Xalanite mating traditions to know if it was weird for him. Maybe they just waxed poetic about mate bonds during sex like a normal thing?
“Once a Xalanite bonds to a mate, the bond is for life. Sometimes the bond is immediate, but sometimes it takes time to build. Ours is such a bond. I was attracted to you from the moment I met you, but I did not feel the bond until we worked together, fought together against our enemies.” He didn’t let up during his speech, continuing to slam into me while he spoke. “Our souls, our spirits are connected. There is no denying this. We are as one.”
The commitment-phobe in me balked at his words, but the hidden romantic loved to hear them. No man had ever spoken like that to me, so soft and tender but also firm, like he wasasserting himself to me. Like he was making damn sure I knew how he felt.
He rested his forehead against mine as he fucked me into the shower wall. “I have never known love before. I have mated many times, but never before have I known what it is to love another, to feel such ultimate devotion.” He dipped down to kiss me. “Your body fits my lowern’rillike you were made for it. I cannot imagine ever mating with another female, on this planet or any other.”
