N’kal’s words ignited a fresh flame in my loins, and I gripped him tighter with my thighs, locking my ankles behind him. I didn’t want to let go, didn’t want this moment to end.
“I understand if you do not feel the same yet. Human bonds seem to take longer to form. More work to maintain. I am willing to do whatever it takes to help you realize our bond. Anything you need, mytyr’il. My mate.”
I thought I was ready for anything at that point. Any declaration of love, any sweet nothings he might whisper to me …
What I wasnotready for was for his cock to swell inside me, locking him in place.
“What the—?” I barely stammered it out before he sighed and thrusted with renewed vigor. It feltamazing, hitting places I didn’t even know I had, but I didn’t know what was happening, and it scared me a bit.
“It is my knot. Proof of what I am saying. When a Xalanite finds his mate, his lowern’rilwill swell, filling his mate and allowing for a better physical connection. When we join like this, we will remain joined until the knot fades, until I have emptied my seed into you.”
Uh …What? “I thought you were sterile right now.” Panic caused my voice to rise and squeak as the implications of what he said began to sink in.
N’kal cupped my cheek and kissed me again. “I am. You do not have to worry. I will fill you, but I will not impregnate you. Not until you are ready, if such time ever comes. We do not need to rush.”
If we didn’t need to rush, why did this feel so hurried? I went from a fun fling with a hot alien to mate bonds and knots in zero point two seconds, and I didn’t know how to act. I felt like there was some hidden Xalanite protocol, some response I was supposed to give to this, but my human brain had no idea what that response might be.
“N’kal, I don’t know what to say. This is all really sudden; I’m not sure I know what I’m supposed to do.”
He nuzzled my neck and nipped my earlobe gently with his fangs. “You do not have to do anything right now. Just be with me.”
We stayed there, locked together, until long after the water had gone cold. N’kal’s frantic humping turned slow and soft, and I shuddered as I came again and again while he murmured sweet nothings to me.
Chapter 14
N’kal
I could not believe my good fortune. I gave Timber my knot, told her how I felt, and she did not reject me. She was hesitant, yes, but she didn’t stop me, didn’t turn me away.
After our shower together, Timber ordered us dinner delivered to the room. She almost had to physically fight the reporters gathered outside the room when she opened the door, and she ended up dropping one of my sandwiches on the floor when she brought the tray in. She blushed and apologized, but I simply picked it up, dusted it off, and devoured it. Dirt from this planet had yet to harm me, and I was hungry.
Timber looked at me sideways, her expression one of severe distaste. “Do you have any idea the kinds of germs there could be on that carpet? We don’t know what ick we might have stepped in downstairs, and that’s assuming the floor was clean when we first got here.”
“I am not concerned.” I picked up a second sandwich and took a large bite. “Dirt does not bother me.”
“It’s not just dirt. It’s whatever other gross substances may have been tracked on the floors in this building. Just the thought of it makes me queasy.”
“May I have your sandwich, then?”
“No!” She snatched the food out of my reach before I could grab it from her. “I need to eat, too. I ordered plenty for you; eat what I got you.”
She glared at me, but when the corners of her luscious mouth twitched with mirth, I knew she was not angry. I grinned at her and took another bite, washing it down with the diet drink she had ordered for me.
Timber’s phone chimed, breaking the comfortable silence. She checked the screen and groaned, setting down her sandwich. “Fuck. It’s Steve.”
Steve. The AARO agent assigned to liaise with Timber in my case.
She stood and put the device to her ear as she got up from the table. “Hey, Steve. What’s going on?”
Timber went to the bathing room and shut the door, locking it behind her, but I don’t think she realized that my Xalanite ears could still hear every word. I sat quietly, hoping to eavesdrop as much as possible in case I could be of assistance.
“I should be askingyouthat, Detective. What’s all this on the news about you and N’kal being involved in a shooting at a comic convention? You’re supposed to be keeping a low profile!”
I heard Timber sigh through the closed bathroom door.
“It’s not our fault some anti-Xalanites came in planning to shoot up the place. We probably kept the casualty count a lot lower than it would have been.”
“I contacted the local police there. Those guys you killed and arrested were members of AXL. They call themselves the Anti-Xalanite League. Nasty guys with a dangerous track record.”He paused.“And yeah, you probably saved lives today. AXL has a tendency to shoot first and ask questions never.”
