Page 11 of K'Vella

"K'Vella," I call her name in the hopes of getting her attention before my inner need decides to join her in her nest without permission. Not that I'd ever actually do that. I may have left my planet early, but I still know how to treat a female.

K'Vella finally looks at me, really looks at my face and the need that must be pouring out of me. I'm desperate for her, and I don't have the power to mask the longing in my features or the desire burning through me.

"Oh, gods, are you okay?"

She crawls over to me, her top two arms reaching up to cup my face between her hands. It's the sexiest thing I've ever seen in my life. A female working hard to give me a perfect nest to muss as she worries over me. The only thing that can make this better is if she's naked while she's doing it.

"Invite me into the nest," I growl.

The authority in my voice seeps into my words even though I don't mean for it to. Thankfully, K'Vella isn't Rytharian, and she isn't my mate, so my commands won't have much of an effect on her. No, if she's going to follow my lead, it'll be by her own will, which means it'll be even better when she submits.

"I didn't make a nest," K'Vella says, her eyes giving me a concerned look when I let out a soft chuckle.

She doesn't see what I see. She cared for the bed and placed all the materials I provided her with in the exact spots she wanted. She was making a nest and didn't even know it.

Varons must have done it long ago, and the pull to provide a safe place for herself and our babe would've called to her when she saw everything I provided her with. I only wish now that I had even more furs, pillows, and blankets to offer her as gifts for treating me so well.

"I made a nest." She leans back on her heels to examine her work, and her hands fall from my face. "Is it any good?"

She looks up at me for approval, and I have to fight the urge to bare my teeth at her in displeasure. How could she not realize that this is the most amazing nest that's ever been made?

"It's perfect."

I hope we're getting close to the part where she invites me in, and I attempt to impregnate her. I'd hoped to get to know her a little better before the rut made it impossible for me to do anything but think about being inside of her. Maybe I could've made her dinner or watched a movie with her. Instead, I've sent her inappropriate videos, purred at her, and that's it.

"Okay, good, that's good." She sounds flustered like she isn't sure if I'm just being kind.

No, maybe the compliment affects her more than she's trying to let on. Maybe she's a female who enjoys praise. I'd be more than willing to praise her for anything, everything. I hope she'll ask me to join her in the nest and let me tell her how much I love it while touching her body.

"You don't look so good." K'Vella looks up at me, still not asking me to join her in the nest.

"Rut," I say, again failing at not growling the word out.

The only thing softening how tense I look or how I bite my words is the purr still filling the air. The sound that I'm hopingwill help keep her calm long enough to decide to let me into her nest and, hopefully, try to fill her with young.

"Oh, right now?" Her eyes go wide. "Like right now? I thought we had more time."

"We did," I say, rubbing the back of my neck to keep at least one of my hands busy so I don't reach out for her and drag her out of the nest so that I can get my hands all over her. "When I found you sleeping in the nest with the video playing, it shortened the waiting period dramatically."

K'Vella moves to cross her arms over her chest, a move that Alik and Jovi frequently do to hide the flush that shows up there when they're embarrassed or aroused. I'm wondering if K'Vella's chest is deep violet. Maybe the coloring extends to her breasts. I clench my jaw hard to keep myself in line.

"Okay, I can do this. It's just sex, right?" K'Vella asks more to herself than to me.

I don't answer her question even though the answer is very obvious. Yes, this is just sex, but it'll be much different from whatever she's used to from Varon men because I'm about to keep her trapped in this room for the next three days, at least, until the beastly part of myself has decided I've probably succeeded in getting her pregnant.

"I can do this," K'Vella says, her three dark eyes looking up at me, hard like she's set in her determination. "Do you want me naked? Do we need to do anything special?"

I fight the smile that's trying to pull at my lips because I don't want to embarrass her. I'm surprised it's me having to be reassuring since this is my first coupling and not hers. My male ego swells at not floundering in this, and I let my instincts guide me so I, hopefully, don't make a fool of myself.

"First and most importantly, I want you to invite me into your nest, K'Vella."

Her arms tighten around her chest even more, and I wish I'd told her to get naked first. I'm too invested in knowing what the borders of her flush look like and how far I can get it to go. She hesitates for a second, and it has my mind racing, thinking she's going to deny me now that it's too late for me to do anything but wait out the rut, which isn't a good time.

K'Vella's posture turns playful as she gets back on her hands and knees and moves toward the middle of the nest, further away from my grasp. She looks up at me and gives me a soft, innocent look—the same look she gave me last night when I'm pretty sure she was teasing me about how to learn about Rytharian ruts.

"Are you not allowed in here?"

I swallow hard, my purr stuttering as a growl fights for control.

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