Before I could respond, a loud snort sounded, and I closed my eyes. Oh no. Suddenly, a tiny human with pale skin, black hair, eyes so dark they nearly matched his hair, and sharp cheekbones sat in Dontilvynsan’s lap. My cousin curled his arms around Vince’s waist while the human glared at me.
“You bother him, Donny?” Vince snapped, his eyes narrowed. “Unlikely.”
Vince wasn’t the calmest person I’d ever met, to put it lightly, but he was viciously protective of Dontilvynsan and kind to him, so that endeared him to me, even when I found his personality grating.
“Vince,” I greeted.
“So what bug climbed up your ass?” he demanded. “And why are you being rude to Don?”
Even without NAID’s translation, I knew “ass” meant butt. Vince liked to swear. A lot. I replied, “Nothing is wrong.”
“That cannot be true,” Dontilvynsan said, his chin hooked over his mate’s slim shoulder. The sight of the two of them twisted my gut. Wyn was larger than Vince, but he had the same delicate appearance, and Dontilvynsan and I were nearly the same size.Nine cycles separated them—a greater than usual distance, much like Wyn and I. I wanted what the two of them had, but with my Wyn.
“Wyn kissed me,” I said in a rush.
Vince broke into laughter. “Finally.”
I blinked. How did he even know of Wyn?
“Haven’t the two of you been dancing around this since Kal, that fucker, kidnapped Seth?” Vince asked. His hatred of Kalvoxrencol knew no bounds.
“Little Warrior,” Dontilvynsan whispered, then he looked at me. “But Vince is correct.”
It had begun long before that trip. “Something like that.”
“This is a good thing, then,” Dontilvynsan said. “You must be pleased.”
“I am.” Those were far too shallow words for what I felt.
“Then we should let you go so you can chase him,” my cousin said with a slight quirk of his lips.
Vince was still laughing. “Wait until I tell Seth.”
“Please don’t.”
He shot me a glare. “Why not?”
“Wyn should be allowed to tell Seth in his own time.”
Vince opened his mouth, likely to complain, but he glanced toward Dontilvynsan, who stared at him. They were Crystal-bound mates, like Seth and Kalvoxrencol and Caleb and Zoltilvoxfyn, and as such, they could communicate telepathically. Vince frowned and crossed his arms. “Fine, but you owe me, Donny.”
“Anything you desire.”
I fought to contain an eyeroll. I didn’t need to witness their flirting. “I need to get ready.”
“Go get Wyn,” Vince ordered. “Seth will like having him in the family.”
I finally did roll my eyes and ended the session. Cincin had woken up, so I snagged her and headed to my quarters.
After I’d found my knees again, I’d raced to the ship. I hadn’t found Urgg or Seth again and had instead sent a note that I’d suddenly become unwell before hiding. Either could’ve found me with a simple question to NAID, or probably Edith, who was still slowly infecting all of theAdmiral Ven’ssystems, but they didn’t. They had either taken my note for the truth, or they understood something had happened between Monqilcolnen and I, and were giving me the space I needed to think.
I didn’t do much thinking, or well, not useful thinking.
My thoughts went round and round, replaying the kiss. I’d never enjoyed a kiss that much in my entire life. It had been revolutionary. Also—not that it seemed to matter at the moment—I didn’t really care for touch or physical affection outside of sex. I loved sex and had it frequently. Fucking was a central part of who I was and I needed it. Physical affection such as kissing, hugging, or touching? Not so much.
Monqilcolnen was different. I had an instinct to touch him, consume him, claim him. If I wasn’t careful, I would form a mate bond to him very easily. That wasn’t wise, because I highly doubted this would go anywhere permanent.
We couldn’t become something permanent, for all of Monqilcolnen’s promises.
