It was the dream, she reasoned.She was always horny and on edge in her dreams, but those needs were usually taken care of by dream Vikan…which he hadn’t taken care of in the previous dream.
“There is no shame in wanting your male,” she heard, his voice caressing her skin like dark velvet.
“You’re not mine,” she found herself whispering.
Vikan hesitated, but then said, “I am, female.You will realize it eventually.”
Taylor shook her head but knew it was pointless to argue with him.
“Let’s just go,” she said.She made it two steps to the entrance of the cave before dread filled her stomach.She remembered she didn’t have shoes.
Vikan swiped his shirt off the ground and before she could say anything, he ripped it in two, folding the material over a couple times until it was sufficiently padded.
“Wait here,” he ordered, placing the two pieces of shirt on the ground beside her.Taylor watched as he left the cave, veering the way they’d come last night.
And for the first time, as she listened to the hushed quiet of the cave, Taylor felt a sense of fear.What if he didn’t come back?What if something happened to him?She might clash a little with real-life Vikan, but it didn’t mean that she wanted him gone, especially since she was on a strange alien planet with no idea where in the world she was supposed to be heading.
Nibbling on the corner of her bottom lip, a nervous habit she never quite broke, she decidedscrew it, and walked to the entrance of the cave, her makeshift shoes in hand, before hopping down onto the impossibly soft sand.She sunk in to her ankles, but looked around for Vikan.When she couldn’t see him, panic set in.
Deep breaths, she told herself.She was being ridiculous.Vikan wouldn’t just leave her.She knew that, somewhere deep inside.
“Taylor,” she heard, but the voice sounded angry.Still, all she felt was relief and she cursed herself for being so impulsive.It wasn’t like her.
Doubting people, however, wasdefinitelylike her.She didn’t like that she was that way.But people she cared for, loved even, with the exception of her grandmother, had always disappointed her, to the point that Taylor almost expected it about anyone she grew too close to.
“I told you to stay inside,” he bit out, eyes darting from her to the beach to the long blades of sandpaper grass they’d travelled through last night.“It is dangerous!”
He immediately scooped her up in his arms—Taylor didn’t even protest—and brought her back into the confines of the cave.
His expression was pulled tight and his jaw was ticking.Without thinking, she reached up to touch his cheek and she murmured, “I’m sorry.I thought…”
Once they were safely back inside, it took him a moment to compose himself, even though he didn’t relinquish his hold on her.
“Anything could have—,” he cut himself off with a growl.His eyes glowed when he met her eyes.“Do not let its beauty fool you.We are not near my outpost and there are dangerous beasts that roam these shores.If I had not been there to protect you…”
Taylor felt his chest shudder against her skin and she knew she really fucked up.Despite that fact that Taylor still wan’t certain that she was his mate, he seemed certain about her, had told her so, despite the fact he’d told her he wasn’t happy about it.
She could see he was shaken and she hadn’t done much more than take a few steps outside the cave.
“I’m sorry, Vikan,” she repeated again, her fingers still touching his cheek.“I thought an ugly thing after you left.That you might not come back.”
Vikan’s eyes flared.“You know I would not leave you.Ever,” he bit out.“Even if you were not my mate, you are still a female.Luxirian males will never allow harm to come to a female.”
“I know,” Taylor murmured.“I know.I just…” she pressed her lips together, her fingers still clutching the pieces of the padded shirt he’d crafted for her.“I don’t trust people easily.I don’t know if I ever truly trust them, okay?A part of me knows that you wouldn’t have left me.The other part…well, the other part expects you to.”
It was the most honest thing she’d shared with anyone in a very long time.
Vikan regarded her for what seemed like centuries, but eventually, his muscles loosened and the rumbling growl that reverberated in his chest died down.
Taylor felt herself relax and slowly her fingers dropped from his face.
“We must be careful as we journey towardsLopixa,” was what he said.“Vow to me that you will not venture anywhere without me or disobey an order.”
Taylor said slowly, “I promise I won’t go anywhere without you.But I can’t promise that I’ll obey you.”
“Luxiva,” he rumbled warningly.
“It’s not my nature.I do what I think is best forme,” she told him.
