“Are you mating me now?” She asked, her head cocking. Like the careless way she asked if he was letting her out. As if this was all something completely separate from her.
That, more than his own misgivings, cooled his ardor. If he was claiming a female, he wanted her to burn for him as much as he did for her. Never again would he let a female turn from him despite everything he’d done for her. His instincts demanded he claim her, but her own equanimity halted him in his tracks.
“You were in my trap,” he said. “That is the mating trigger of my people. I have to claim you within my nest to seal the bond.”
She hummed thoughtfully, her foot bouncing in the air, before nodding once. “Okay. Doing it now?”
“Do you not understand what I’m telling you? Mating is permanent. It’s something that binds us together endlessly, for the rest of our lives.”
She shrugged. A human gesture that meant nothing specific but was meaningful in its ambiguity. Not a gesture that should be associated with mating.
“Can I be fixing?” She asked, brightening. “If mating?”
Ah. She thought it was a way out. He clenched his teeth at the realization and set her down. Though she was back on her own feet, he couldn’t bring himself to let her go.
“You are our prisoner only because of the information you have that we need,” he said firmly and slowly, making sure she understood. “I am not holding you captive to make you agree to mate me. I would not do such a thing. You have knowledge we need from you. That is all. Understand?”
She was looking up at him, her face serious, and nodded. “I understanding. I am not speaking well. I am knowing this. But I am understanding well. But I am no telling you how I do. My secret.”
He rather admired it. That stubborn set of her chin. That hardened look in her eyes. She didn’t speak fluidly, but that didn’t mean she was unintelligent. She was obviously ver intelligent and capable, or she wouldn’t be here.
But that didn’t mean sheunderstood.
“Why are you asking me to mate you then?”
She cocked her head. “Is that not the right thing to doing? Is that not what is suppose to being?”
“Yes. That’s what it means forme. But you’re human…”
She shrugged. Again, such a meaningless, meaningful gesture.
“Do you even want me?” He asked, voice rough. “Are you attracted to me, or are you just saying this because you think you should?”
Chapter 6
Haven
Haven was confused. Was this not what she was supposed to do? From what Haven had observed from the aliens of the Coalition, when someone had their mating instincts triggered, the other or others would fall in line and let their own instincts be triggered in turn – if they hadn’t already. No one really questioned it. No one fought it. The universe or the gods or fate or whatever you believed in had decided that was your person, so why play the hard to get game? Why pretend like it was going to be anything other than what it was?
The captain had decided that she was to remain locked up until she divulged her secrets – which was rather what she expected. And exactly what she wanted. It meant that she got to stay on the Humility. The punishment was her goal.
Sure, not being able to go anywhere wasn’t super fun, but the nest itself was comfortable, and she was having a lot of fun poking at the Big Guy. The nest also had everything she needed, including a little privy to use and wash up in built into the back.
Vytln was grumpy and focused and he was obviously having an issue with her. Because she triggered his mating instincts bycrawling into his trap. He was resisting the urge to claim her, and she wasn’t sure that he had to.
And if he wanted to mate her, and being his mate meant she got to stay on the Humility, then why bother fighting it? Sure, she didn’t know him that well, but he was interesting. And she really loved the Humility. She could go along with it if it meant getting all the benefits that came with it. If she wouldn’t have to leave.
To her surprise, however, Vytln didn’t immediately jump at her offer.
He should be excited, right? He should be making it happen. He was pretty big, intimidatingly large, actually. He was not only tall but broad and muscular. The glowing cracks all over his upper body, easily visible through the sleeveless black tank top he wore, only made him seem larger, more impressive. He could easily hold her down and take what he wanted. She admired that he wouldn’t. And admired his large figure.
He could definitely carry a heavy engine.
But her offer to let it happen seemed to cut off all that tension that had been winding him up since he found her in his trap. Now, though he had his arms around her, though she felt the pleasant heat pouring off him in waves surrounding her, his expression was closed off.
He asked-
“Are you attracted to me, or are you just saying this because you think you should?”
