Her mind wasn’t back on yet. She was still floating in the lovely post orgasm haze, completely lost to herself and the sensations. She was able to watch and appreciate without a thought or care as Vytln picked up her ams so he could investigate her wrists. In contrast to his earlier touch, he was so careful and gentle with her now.
The skin at her wrists was dark where his belt had cut into them, but it would fade soon. It burned a bit, but it didn’t truly hurt.
Her heart stuttered and fell when Vytln brought them to his lips and kissed first one, then the other, with such tenderness. It hurt more than the rough way he’d just been handling her. Like he was breaking her with the sharp contrast of his treatment.
“Sleep,” he ordered, tone as gruff as ever. “I’m going to get something to clean you with.”
Haven made a sound deep in her throat that might have been agreement but was also part protest. She didn’t want him to go. She didn’t care that she was sticky and messy with the cum he’d painted on her that still felt so hot. She wanted him to stay.
She couldn’t bring up the energy to say so, and he was gone in a flash. She closed her eyes, just for a moment, only to rest them a bit, really…
But when she opened them again, he was back, like he had teleported. Only now, he was running a dampened rag over her body, cleaning her with such gentleness.
Like she was precious. Like he adored her.
“Stay with me,” Haven mumbled, putting her hand over his, eyes starting to droop again.
Vytln didn’t say anything, just kept wiping her clean. But when he finished, after tossing the dirtied rag out of the trap, he laid down next to her and pulled her into his side.
Haven let out a long sigh of relief. He was warm enough that she didn’t even need a blanket. She wrapped her arm around his torso and let her eyes close.
She didn’t fall asleep immediately, despite what happened just seconds ago. Instead, she just remained hanging in the middle somewhere in the darkness of sleeping and waking. Everything was dim and distant. She wasn’t even sure it was real.
But she could have sworn he said-
“You can’t regret it now. It’s too late.”
Chapter 21
Vytln
The rest of the relief aid delivery passed without incident. Though Vytln’s brother’s ship was there, there weren’t any problems between them at all. Vytln helped with offloading the deliveries when they were in orbit, then remained on the ship and out of sight when it came to picking up the next batch. He wouldn’t call what they were doing running or hiding. They were protecting their hard won peace by not confronting a problem they’d have to destroy if it came to it.
And it just happened to come with the benefit of being with Haven every time.
His little human pest was such a ball of high energy. He couldn’t imagine where it came from. He had to keep her entertained at all times or else she became restless. The best way to do so was to give her things to break apart or put back together. And to make sure she was always mentally stimulated. She was too smart for simple things to keep her attention, and sometimes she needed to be doing at least two, sometimes three things at the same time or she accomplished nothing at all.
Vytln was a busy person, but he did one thing at a time, completed it, and moved on to the next. He couldn’t imagine what bug had crawled in her brain that made her so hyper, but when he let her out of the nest, she was constantly moving and crawling over everything – including himself – and asking an endless stream of questions. Some of which didn’t even connect to each other.
It didn’t bother him. It took a bit to get used to, but actually he didn’t mind her constant pestering and nattering and chattering. He didn’t even mind when she used his body as a ladder and crawled all over him as she pleased.
The first time she took him by the hand and took him to a wall so she could climb up him to get something on a high shelf was a bit much, but it really just fascinated him how much hedidn’tmind her doing that. Anyone else would have gotten a fist directly to their face for even thinking they could take him somewhere.
Yet, for Haven, he was calm and practically obedient as he let that little female guide him around, holding onto two of his fingers because that was all her tiny hand could fit around. He actually felt a sense ofaccomplishmentfor being her stepstool.
Ridiculous. The mating instincts were making him ridiculous.
And somehow, even knowing that, hestilldidn’t care.
It was a good few days. Going back and forth between her and work. Imagining all the ways he could bind and claim her. Realizing he’d completely given up on fighting this and then not at all caring, because why should he fight this? He couldn’t remember a single reason he had for resisting the call she made to his very blood and bones.
The life he was protecting by avoiding his brother was the life he had with her. And it was better, he knew without a doubt, than anything he had left behind.
After the last delivery, they had to return to the supply depot to get final payment. It was another security measure, to make sure that all deliveries had, in fact, been delivered and that nothing had been stolen and no one from the delivery crews had remained behind. The planet was not doing well, and they had to make sure no one attempted to take advantage of that fact.
For that reason, Vytln had no choice but to come out of his room for the final inspection. They had to confirm he was there and verify his identity.
And they also had to present Haven to the peacekeeper authority.
