Technical talk for “we don’t know, and will have to wait and see.”
Sure, Adryel found this big, horned red humanoid attractive. Pretty much.
But was it attraction, or just general appreciation for the fact that he treated her like a person who mattered? The committee was still out on that one.
Not that she had really expected any kind of mating to work with anyone. She just wanted to get off of Kerde, and as far away from the Rhysgarrds as possible.
He did pull her close to him as he guided them to a very trafficked area.
What he was up to, she had no idea. First he was in a big hurry, now they were holding up the foot traffic in the middle of the market?
What was his plan? Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a couple of their followers. They were matching their pace.
He stopped, and turned, so he faced her. One of his hands, he placed on her shoulder.
"Trust me," he whispered, before he leaned down, his hand moving from her shoulder to the side of her face.
He raised her chin, and pressed a kiss on her lips.
In the back of her mind, she started logically following what he was doing—making a scene, a demonstration that they were mated.
That was the logic in the back of her mind.
That logic disappeared when his lips parted. She followed his lead, and the taste of him hit her hard.
A touch of the wine from before. But that was overpowered by him.
The taste of him.
Man. Sensual. Raw.
Whatever it was, it engulfed her immediately.
Overwhelmed her, was more like it.
She grabbed onto him, and he pulled her so close that she felt his heartbeat. It pounded as hard as hers did.
Or maybe that was just hers. It didn't matter.
Nothing mattered, not right now, anyway.
Stron wrapped his arms around her, grabbing her hips, and lifted her in the air. He growled something about traffic, and they were moving backwards. Sideways?
She wasn't sure. She just clung to him for a few breaths, until she hit something hard. Part of the cave wall, she guessed, and his lips attacked hers again. This time, it was even more intense than before. They were pressed against each other, she held onto him, and his hard body pinned her against the wall.
Their lips danced around each other as his fingers meshed into the tangles of her hair. She should have been annoyed by that, but she wasn't.
Her hand slipped into the inner fold of the cloak—Baba's cloak, with its hidden pockets. Her fingers found the small pouch she'd tucked there. The data chip. Everything she'd heard in that club. Every name, every deal, every crime. Her insurance policy that had become her death warrant.
She didn't plan it. Didn't think about it. But suddenly her fingers were working on instinct, pulling the tiny chip free. Her other hand found the heavy family crest pendant hanging against his chest—that ornate piece he wore with such pride. She felt for the back of it, where the metal scrollwork created ridges and patterns.
The magnetic clip snapped into place with the softest click, hidden against the decorative metalwork where no one would ever think to look.
She didn't know why she was doing this. Why she trusted him. She barely knew him. But pressed against him like this, feeling his heartbeat thunder against her palm, his lips claiming hers like she mattered—she knew. If anyone in this galaxy could keep it safe, it was him.
It felt right. It felt true.
It felt?—
