He had crossed a line.
He started to step back to look elsewhere for a blanket, but as his eyes roamed the room, he was shocked at the gigantic size of her nestbed. It was nearly the size of the whole bedroom and had enough bed slots for fourteen nestmates! That was unheard of... he could not fathom how a nestqueen would want or be able to handle enough nestmates to fill this nestbed.
Then his eyes fell on two silver blankets on the central sunken bed.
He scanned the room again, but no others were in sight. He willed himself to walk up the stairs of her sacred nestbed—knowing violating this space could create a rift between them if she was offended. He was not a part of her clan.
Oh, Fates have mercy on him.
He scooted up the stairs, grabbed one of the silver blankets, and hurriedly left the room. As he reentered the common room, he stopped in his tracks.
Selena was sitting up, leaning over on the couch with one hand on her slightly round stomach, the other on her forehead. She glanced up when she heard her bedroom door close.
He rushed across the room to her and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. “Are you all right?”
“How did I get here?” She rubbed her eyes and blinked.
“You fell asleep while I was performing and would not wake up. I carried you here. Xylo should be here soon.”
She pulled the edges of the blanket tighter around her shoulders and smiled up at him. “I’m sorry. This pregnancy seems to have begun taking its toll. We’ve been wondering when it would happen.”
“Is there anything you need?”
She paused for a long moment, looking at him, then bit her lip.
“You.”
Odelm blinked several times, trying to make sense of her statement. He refused to allow the dangerous leap his thoughts had taken. He must just be thinking that because he had been thinking along those lines while he played...
“Umm... what?”
She stood, allowing the blanket to fall to the floor and cupped his face with both hands. She lifted herself on tiptoe, licked her lips, then leaned into him.
Her lips covered his.
Shock ran through his body at the contact, and his eyes closed at the flood of emotions and sensations. Selena’s lips were soft against his own.
He gasped as the hollow in his mind filled—her emotions flooding into the void. He felt the courting bond form and saw its golden thread link them together.
Caring. Acceptance. Thankfulness.
She leaned into his body and slid her arms around his shoulders. Odelm opened his eyes and raised shaky hands to caress her cheeks as his tentacles instinctively wrapped tightly around her, holding her to him.
He leaned his head away to stare into her unusual eyes.
“Why?”
She searched his face as she stared back at him in wonder.
“It hurts me knowing what you have suffered through no fault of your own. You can’t control how you look any more than I can control how I do. You’ve been there for me since I arrived though I’ve had no right to expect it. Odelm, you’re a caring person and deserving a nestqueen. And I wanted you to be healed, to erase the hollow feeling you’ve described. Even if we never fall in love with each other, you are my friend, and I wanted to help.”
She leaned back against his tentacles and slid her arms from his shoulders to place her hands on his chest.
“I’m sorry I did not ask you first. I should never havemade such a decision for you.” Selena looked down from his face to his chest. “I’m often too impulsive. I didn't think to give you a chance to decide whether or not you wanted another nestqueen. Even if you did, whether you’d want me—a human—to be yours."
A flood of doubt, fear, and sorrow overwhelmed him. She thought he would be angry or hurt by her actions.
By her gift to him.
