Page 75 of Calico Descending

Smiling, I turn my gaze to see him staring up at it, too. “If only we could hop inside a spaceship and fly away together.”

He rolls over my body, caging me beneath him, and tips his head forward for a kiss. “Cramped space. No gravity. Total blackness. You wouldn’t get sick of me?”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I giggle at that and tug him to me for another kiss. “Never.”

“Then, I better get started on that ship.” His lips find mine again, and he dips his tongue, deepening it, while I lie beneath him. We kiss like this for a while, exploring every corner of our mouths, every flavor.

His kiss, this place—it’s heaven in the thick of hell.

And yet, a twinge of sadness aches inside my chest. As if he can sense it, Valdys tips his head, brows knitting with concern.

“What is it?”

I hesitate to tell him what’s troubling me, for fear of ruining this moment, but the nagging feeling won’t go away until I do. “Cadmus. We can’t leave him in that box.”

Huffing with exasperation, he pushes off of me until sitting beside me, and rests his elbows on his knees. “He can’t stay with us. I can’t risk that he’ll … hurt you. I will kill him, if he tries.”

“Valdys, I know you question my sudden concern for him but--”

“I don’t question it.” He keeps his gaze from me, his voice holding a somber tone. “I know why you feel that way.”

“You do?”

“You were never meant to be mine alone. You were made to bind with all three of us.”

Frowning, I shake my head at that. “No. No, Doctor Ericsson said I have your blood. It’s why I crave your scent.”

“You have Alpha blood. You crave my scent because they made it so, but it doesn’t keep you from sharing a bond with the other two.”

I chew on his words for a moment, and maybe that’s why I don’t crave them the same as I do Valdys. “They told me that, while in isolation, some Alphas have committed suicide, or tried to hurt themselves. They get so lonely that--”

“I know.” He offers a quick glance and nods. “I know what Alphas do in isolation.”

Of course he does. Valdys was no different when I first met him. Cold. Hard. Cruel, even. “I want to try to … help Cadmus. Maybe I can calm him.”

“Absolutely not. I won’t allow him near you.”

“He’s still in there somewhere, Valdys. I saw it. When those men … “ I swallow back the disgust churning in my stomach at the thought of them. “When they tried to hurt me, I called out to Cadmus. I saw a flicker of something in his eyes.”

“You set off a trigger. The same trigger Neela set off.”

“No. This was different. He didn’t hesitate. He went straight for the men attacking us, and he never once came after Neela and I afterward.”

He rubs the top of his head, and I hate that I’m backing him into this position. I hate that I’m forcing him to contemplate the consequences of if I’m wrong, but I can’t lie here beside a beautiful waterfall, beneath a gorgeous multicolored sky, and pretend that everything is perfect. Not when the man who fought on my behalf sits trapped inside a dark box.

“Let me try to calm him. To try to reach him.”

“What you’re suggesting is dangerous, at best.”

“Then, be there, in case something happens, but I need to try, Valdys. If you decide to kill him, or set him free, and he dies out here alone, I at least want the opportunity.”

“If you do, if it’s a success, he’ll want you for himself. That’s how it works.”

Setting my hand against his cheek, I smile. “You were mine from the beginning. You’re mine now. He can wish and want, but it’s you I choose. It’s you who has my heart, Valdys.”

Eyes closed, he huffs and shakes his head. “Let’s get this over with.”

Chapter 33

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