Mardok’s eyes widen in surprise. “You will?” At my nod, his smile fades. “I didn’t tell you my sad story to try and push you into the decision, Farli. I just wanted you to understand that…sometimes my head isn’t in a good place.”
“I know this,” I tell him soothingly. I slide around and move into his lap, keeping my arms around his neck. I press my forehead to his, our horns interlocking. “I would not make you stay behind, not if it means hurting your spirit. Not when you do not like it here. I can go with you. See theworlds like you have promised.”
“You want to?”
I cup his face in my hands. “More than anything, I want to be at your side. It is where I belong.” I will not think about what I lose if I leave—my family, my tribe, my pet, the life I have known—I will weep for those things another time. For now, I am with Mardok, and he needs my love.
“Gods, I love you, Farli,” he murmurs, his gaze searching my face. “You’re sure?”
“I am sure.”
He leans forward, and his mouth captures mine in a hungry kiss. I eagerly return it, pressing my body against him as our mouths meld. There is nothing for me here if Mardok leaves. Without him, I will be lost, and I suspect he will be, too. This way, we are together forever. Hungry for him, I lick at his mouth, and he groans and holds me tighter, stroking his tongue against mine. The kissing soon becomes hot and fierce, and I am panting between each crash of our mouths together.I pull away briefly, though it is difficult. I want nothing more than to kiss him for endless hours, until the moons fade and the suns return. I could spend a lifetime kissing his perfect, wonderful mouth.
And I will. But for now… “Are you hungry? Do you wish to eat?”
He nips at my mouth, sending shivers through my body. “Only hungry for one thing—you.”
Such bold words make my skin tingle. My khui—already singing proudly—grows louder by the moment, the song filling my heart and my spirit as we mouth-mate once more. We somehow end up with my back on the metal floor of the ship, and Mardok’s weight is pressing over me. It feels right, the crush of his hips, the feel of his chest against mine. The only thing that is missing is the matching song of his khui. A tinybolt of sadness shoots through me, and I push it away.
I have my mate. Nothing else matters. We are still together even if we are not bound by khui or resonance. We choose to be together. Nothing more is needed.
I gasp when he slides his hand inside the front of my tunic, cupping my teat. Every time he touches me, it feels new. We have mouth-mated and pleasured each other in the furs, but he has never put his cock inside me. We always stop before; sometimes he spills on my belly, and sometimes he spills in my mouth. I enjoy it, but…I want more. “Tonight,” I tell him between fierce kisses. “Tonight, I want to belong to you completely. I want you to come inside me.”
“Won’t there be a baby?” He searches my face, caressing my cheek. “I didn’t want to make you pregnant if I was going to leave you behind, but if we are staying together…”
“Then you can come inside me.”
“There are ways to prevent children, if you want,” he says softly. “A plasfilm worn over the cock, or a shot of medication. Both can stop it from happening.”
“Resonance sometimes takes days before a kit is conceived. It might not happen tonight. And if I leave with you…” It might not happen at all. I cannot help but ask. “Do you not want a kit?”
“Actually, I do.” A grin breaks across his face. “The thought of you with my child inside you? Nothing brings me greater joy. But it’s about what you want, Farli. It’s your body.”
I smile happily, because it is what I want, too. “I would love to make a family.”
“So no plasfilm?”
The thought is unpleasant. “I want nothing between us when we mate.”
The look in his eyes grows fierce. “Me either. You’re mine, and I want to claim you in all ways. I have since the momentI met you.” He presses another fierce kiss to my mouth, then begins to move down my neck. His fingers tease my nipple, dragging over it and tormenting me with every brush of his skin against mine.
“More,” I beg him. I tug at the seam of his heavy, thick tunic, wanting to get to the warm skin underneath. “Do you need furs? I want to be naked with you.”
He shakes his head, his mouth licking a trail down to my teat. I push open his tunic, and I feel his entire body shiver in response. I am not sure if he is reacting to the cold or my touch, but it is enough to make me stop. “Mardok.”
“All right, maybe we get out a few blankets.” He looks rueful. “But then I get to lick you from head to toe.”
“As if I would refuse!”
He grins, and then we are both racing for my pack. We traveled here on his ship,The Tranquil Lady, but I knew he and Har-loh would be working and that he has no khui to keep him warm, so I brought extra wraps, just in case. I am glad I did, because we shake them free and pile them near the fire, and then we are tearing at Mardok’s heavy coverings. I would love to see him dressed like my people, wearing nothing but a loincloth and letting his fine chest be bared. His shoulders are so wide and appealing, and I run my hands all over the artful designs that dance over his skin. “I love the way this looks,” I tell him. “It is so strange and yet beautiful.”
“People decorate their bodies all the time back on my planet,” he says, stripping off his tunic. “I love your beautiful bare skin, but we can get you a tattoo if you want.”
I am intrigued by the idea, but I will explore that thought later. For now, the only exploring I want to do is him. I help pull off the rest of his clothing, except his boots, and then run my hands hungrily over his bared skin. I caress his chest as he tugs at my leathers, and then slide my hands down to hiserect cock, toying with the fascinating piercing there. “I will finally get to experience this?”
“Absolutely,” he murmurs between kisses. He pushes my leathers off my shoulders, exposing my teats, and then begins to press kisses there. I moan and cling to his horns, my tail seeking his own. His shortened one wraps onto mine tightly and squeezes, and it sends another burst of pleasure through my body.
He shivers in the cold again, and my pleasure changes to remorse. I keep forgetting that he cannot withstand the cold. “Under the blankets,” I demand, and finish undressing. I slide under the blankets after him and pull him close so he can share my body heat. The old ship is protected from the wind, but not much else, and I imagine it is bitterly cold to him. “Better?”
