“Oh God.” Disappointment is a lump in my throat, and I roll off Killan. “I’ve just remembered that you can get me pregnant.” My period might be playing hard to find, and my hormones might be wrecked with stress, but I’m not taking any risks. Especially as that was the whole point of why Smith chose Harlee, Briar, and me for LOVE GALAXY—because Humans and Ril’os are biologically compatible.
Killan blinks, his expression hazy, as though he’s trying to comprehend what I’ve said. Considering most of his blood has vacated his brain in favor of his dick, I pat his shoulder, giving him another couple of seconds to catch up.
“Akh. Contraception,” is all he says, and it’s more of a grunt than actual words. I’m surprised my translator understood.
“You’re carrying contraception?” I sit up, with a glance toward his boots, in which I know he has pockets.
“Upstairs.” His gaze seems glued to my throat, and he grips the base of his cock, wincing, as though looking at me could be enough to make him come. Which, I reflect with a self-satisfied glow, is exactly what happened not so long ago.
“Back at your house?” I ask, trying to decipher what he’s saying.
He shakes his head. “Roan’s house.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Roan has more arsenal than a solider preparing for battle, and some of it isn’t even Human compatible. Still… “It’s not your worst idea,” I confess, and Killan is clambering to his feet with me in his arms before I’ve fully comprehended what he’s planning.
I laugh, startling myself with how normal I sound. Almost like my old self. Which possibly is proof that I should’ve surrendered weeks ago to the inevitability of never returning home. I’m happier now, I think, that I’ve given up fighting in my one-person war against the universe.
“Put me down,” I order, still giggling. “I’m not walking back naked.” And I gesture at my clothes. My bra has made quite an effort to float away but hasn’t gotten far.Same, girl.
Which has me wondering if I’m going to wake up tomorrow morning, lust sated and full of regrets. Am I going to change my mind when Killan and I are back in his house and I’m surrounded by constant reminders that so much of my life is beyond my control?
Just because I’m not scared to admit that Killan and I have feelings for each other, doesn’t mean I suddenly like the fact I have to rely on him for basic necessities. We might be on the verge of fucking, but tomorrow morning it’s still going to be me who has to ask for permission when I want to surf the web on his tablet. I’ll still be eating his food, drinking his water, and flushing his toilet.
Something in my eyes must betray the direction of my thoughts, for Killan puts me down as gently as if I’m bone china. He does this complicated tucking motion, and his cock is suddenly hidden from sight. Then he reaches into the water and grabs my floating bra.
“I’m fine,” I tell him, turning my back to him so I can get dressed without having to see the soft way he’s looking at me.
I can’t believe I used to think that his constant scowl meant that he was always grumpy.
Dressed, I bundle the rest of my clothes and our food into my duffle bag, loop the straps over my shoulders and indicate to Killan that I’m ready to follow him.
He gives me another long look, and I meet his gaze.
The cut on his forehead has scabbed over, and he doesn’t sway on his feet as he heads toward the cave exit, but when he tries to carry my bag for me, I twist out of his reach.
“I’ve got it,” I insist, with a glare. “You were injured yesterday.”
“Stubborn female.”
Always.I roll my eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? This is me attempting to take care of you.”
Chapter Twenty
Lydia
Killan’s route back to the house is a lot longer than mine. His size means he can’t fit in a lot of the smaller cracks that I squeezed through, and he has to take long detours in completely wrong directions for hours at a time to end up back at the beginning.
Quickly, it becomes clear that he knows this place inside out. He leads me from natural cave to natural cave, and while I try memorizing the route, I inevitably lose track of the twists and turns, mainly because the circle of light created by my stolen sconce is only about fifteen yards wide. For the smaller caves, that’s manageable, but for the larger ones it’s impossible to see where we’ve come from and where we’re going at the same time.
The hike is filled with a building sense of anticipation, as if now that we’ve finally decided to have sex, all the weeks and months of arguing, of trying to avoid each other, of sleeping side by side without touching have crashed together in our very own recreation of the Big Bang. The birth of the universe. Or, more accurately, the birth of my new life.
Sometimes I catch him looking at me, and he’s scowling, but it’s aI can’t believe this is happeningscowl. And then sometimes he catches me watching him, and I’m annoyed to say I’m probably giving him that exact sameI can’t believe this is happeninglook. So I suppose we’re being soppy idiots together. Which is kind of nice.
When we finally reach one of the farm caves, we’re practically running, my feet tripping over each other, the result of the strange combination of urgency and tiredness. We must’ve been walking for most of the day, having stopped only a few times to eat and drink.
Together, we toss my spare clothes on a drying table, hoping that will kill any bacteria that might’ve been enjoying damp fabric, and Killan sets the temperature tolowso they won’t singe as they heat. Then he dumps what little remaining food we’ve got on the workbench, with the intention of coming back for it another day. I open my mouth to protest (the baker in me never wanting to abandon food, even temporarily). But Killan wraps all four of his arms around me, lifting my feet off the ground and kissing me senseless.
For a guy who only recently learned about kissing, he’s getting depressingly good. “Depressingly” because I’ve already forgotten what I was about to scold him for, as I instead melt against his chest, my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.
