Vytln couldn’t help but smile as he ran her locs through his fingers. “Don’t apologize for that. In fact, let me be the only one who sees your tears. I want them all for myself.”
She giggled like he had said something silly, though he meant it with the fullness of his heart.
His mate was vulnerable. The fact that he had no trap to put her back into, to keep her safe, was an intolerable itch under his skin. Therefore, the only place she could be vulnerable safely was in his arms. Without a trap, it was the next best thing. Therefore, no one else should be permitted to see her vulnerability, her tears, except for him.
“You weren’t the one who was making me cry,” she said, sitting up, sniffling. “I just…”
“I know,” he assured her when words failed. “I understand.”
She blinked at him once before her expression softened. “I love you, Vytln.”
He chuckled. “Of course, you do.”
“Ah!” She struck him. “You are supposed to saying it back! Say it back.”
He laughed as he sat up and pressed a kiss to her cute little nose. “I do love you, Haven. And thank you, for coming to my rescue.”
She beamed at him. Her face all alight. And he wanted to keep that all to himself too. Her curiosity, her sadness, her joy – all if it was his. He needed to trap it again. Perhaps it wasn’t the mostimportant thing, but the urge to build a new one for her was rising, nearly impossible to ignore.
But even as he was enjoying her smile, it was fading away. Replaced by heartbreaking concern. And before he could ask her why she suddenly looked so sad, she was reaching up and touching the new scars on his face.
Medscanners could heal without scarring. But it wasn’t a skill that Goldie had yet. Even if she had mastered it, as he understood, the process was more difficult for his species considering how rock-like their skin was. So, she could only seal them as though they were wounds that had been healed for tendays. The scar remained and, like the others on his body, would always remain.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough,” Haven whispered, fingers moving over the new cracks that were split across his face.
“You don’t think it makes your mate look rather handsome?” He chuckled. Though that genuinely was the only concern he had, and he hadn’t had that concern until just now when he saw her expression. He was covered in scars, they’d never bothered him. But if they bothered her…
“Makes you look scary,” she said, and that simple statement brought awhole newwave of worries and concerns.
His face scared his mate? That was worse than her thinking him ugly! He couldn’t let that continue. He’d heal every mark on his body, he’d learn to run the medscanner himself if-
She smiled, a spark of excitement in her eyes. “I like it.”
And just as quickly as all those new fears rose, they were calmed again. He didn't know why he doubted his ferocious little mate would like his appearance. Even with the new cracks acrosshis cheek, across his face, she was still unapologetically herself, and of course that wouldn’t bother her.
“I bet I’d look really scary between your thighs,” he growled, taking hold of her.
But before she could do more than smile in return, someone knocked on their door. He glared at it even as his captain’s voice came through.
“Meeting in the mess hall,” Tanin called out. “And you need food. Let’s go.”
Vytln grumbled unhappily but he couldn’t argue. At least, not with the second part. They’d probably been in here for just short of a day. Haven needed to eat. It may be growing slowly, but she still had a youngling in her belly that needed feeding.
“Er,” Haven frowned, blinking at the door. “I heard that.”
“Yeah, we better get up and get dressed,” he said unhappily.
“No, I heard that,” she stressed, her face darkening.
“Yes?”
“Vytln! That did not coming through a speaker. I heard him through the door! Which meant they could hearingmethrough it too!”
“Oh, that,” he shrugged. “I figured they weren’t completely sound proofed when I heard the others fucking too. But I don’t care, and I doubt they-”
“Vytln!” She yelled, covering her face, embarrassed.
It was adorable and made him laugh as he held her in his arms. It was tempting to take her again, right there, but the captain had summoned them, and they had to go.
