Cody doesn't stop. He carries me through it, slowing his rhythm but not pulling away, drawing out every last wave until I am trembling and boneless beneath him.
Then his control breaks. His rhythm turns ragged and urgent, his breath coming in harsh bursts against my neck. I hold him tighter, wrapping myself around him, wanting to feel every moment of his surrender. His hips snap forward once, twice, and then he buries himself deep and goes still. My name tears from his throat on a low growl, his body shuddering above mine.
He stays there, trembling, his face pressed into the curve of my neck. I feel his heart slamming against my chest, his ribs expanding with each ragged breath. I run my fingers through his hair and hold him while he comes back to himself.
After a long moment, he lifts his head. His blue eyes are hazy, his expression so open it makes my chest ache.
"Mates," he says. It's not a question; it feels like a sacred vow.
"Mates," I whisper back.
He kisses my forehead, then rolls to his side and pulls me into him. I settle across his chest, my cheek resting over his heart, my legs tangled with his. He tugs a blanket over us both, and his fingers find my hair, stroking through the strands in slow, lazy passes.
The storm still rumbles somewhere far above us. The springs glow beyond our shelter. Cody's heartbeat is steady beneath my ear, slowing as his breathing deepens.
"Hey, A'Vanti?" His voice is drowsy, barely more than a murmur.
"Hmm?"
"Best sandstorm ever."
A smile curves my lips. I press a kiss to his chest, too tired to form a proper response.
His fingers continue their slow rhythm through my hair, and the last thing I am aware of before sleep takes me is the steady beat of his heart and the warmth of his arms around me, holding me as if I am precious.
CHAPTER 14
Cody
Iwake up slowly, which is unusual for me.
Normally, I'm a zero-to-sixty kind of guy. The alarm blares, and my feet hit the floor, with my brain booting up after I'm already on the move. Years of military life have drilled the lazy mornings right out of me.
But this morning, I surface gradually, awareness seeping in layer by layer. The first thing I am aware of is heat. A deep, pervasive warmth that has nothing to do with blankets and everything to do with the body draped over mine. A whisper of breath brushes over my collarbone, slow and rhythmic.
A'Vanti.
My arms tighten around her before I'm fully conscious of doing it. She's draped across me like I'm a body pillow, one arm slung over my chest, one leg hooked over mine. Her hair spills across my shoulder in a river of gold, and her face is pressed into the hollow of my throat.
I've never woken up next to anyone like this.
That's not entirely true. I've woken up next to people before. But never like this. Never with this feeling in my chest, this quiet certainty that the person in my arms is exactly where they're supposed to be. Like every wrong turn and hard choice and lonely night was the universe's way of steering me here, to this cave on an alien planet, with this woman tucked into my side.
I press my lips to the top of her head and commit this moment to memory
She smells like the mineral water of the springs, slightly metallic with an undertone of sweetness that is uniquely her. I noticed it the first time she let me get close enough to catch it. It's not perfume or soap. It's deeper than that, a scent so enticing that defies description. Pheromones, maybe. The Cerastean mating bond is supposed to be partly biological. Something about scent triggers that rewire neural pathways.
I don't know if that's what's happening to me. I don't know if human biology even works that way. But I know that the scent of her has burrowed into some primitive part of my brain and set up permanent residence, and I wouldn't evict it for anything.
A distant rumble shakes through the stone beneath our makeshift bed, so faint I feel it more than hear it. The storm must still be raging above us.
I should care about that more than I do.
Instead, I lie still and watch the play of light across the tent ceiling. The lanterns we set up last night have dimmed to a muted glow, but the springs themselves provide a steady, otherworldly illumination. Pale blue light shimmers, reflected off the water's surface, making the whole cavern look like a fever dream. Or a fairy tale.
A'Vanti stirs.
It starts as a small shift, a tightening of her arm across my chest, followed by a subtle shift in the tension of her body. Thenshe makes a sound, low and questioning, like she's not sure where she is. Her fingers curl into my skin, exploring, and I feel the moment awareness returns to her.
