Page 24 of K'Vella

"I love it when you cry out my name."

Holoth steals my next moan with his mouth. Devouring my whimpers as my pleasure coils tight in my body. He only releases my lips right before I'm at my peak. He watches me with lust-hooded eyes as I come apart.

"Say it again." Holoth nudges my chin with his nose, his lips pressing a trace of a touch against my bottom lip. "Say my name, mate."

My skin burns against my wrists and neck, but it's a pain I've come to know when I'm with Holoth. It isn't a severe pain anymore, at least not with his purr easing the stressors of my body. It's the pain that distracts me from the last word he said.

I'm almost positive I misheard him. I heard what I wanted to hear. I must've. I'm in the peak of my climax, my wrists and neck are hot with pain, and Holoth is staring at me like I'm all he's ever wanted and it's too much for me to handle.

"Holoth!" I cry out his name, and tears begin to fall from my eyes.

He slides the last of his knot into me, sealing us together as he finds his release. He kisses my cheeks, alternating between sides to kiss away my tears. He kisses my nose, where my third eye leaves tracks down each side.

"Holoth," I whimper his name again as I come down. When he pulls away to look at me, I feel myself convulse with a sob.

Holoth wraps his arms around me and rolls us so he's on his back. He grabs a handful of blankets and furs and wraps me up tightly in them as I continue to cry in the crook of his neck.

My arms are wrapped so tightly around him that I'm surprised he can still breathe. His hand runs soothing strokes down my back, not rushing me, not silencing me, just holding me and letting me feel all my feelings.

"How are you holding up?" Holoth asks as his knot softens, and he begins to slide out of me. I hadn't realized so much time had passed, but Holoth doesn't seem to be in any rush.

"I'm good." I sniffle and lift my head from the crook of his neck. Holoth cradles my face between his palms, wiping at my tears. "Promise, I'm good."

"Your tears don't bother me," he mumbles, brushing the last of them away. "I just want to make sure you're not sad or upset."

"No, not sad or upset." I smile at him and lean my face down to press a kiss to his lips. "I was overwhelmed with a lot of feelings. It was a lot to take in at once."

Holoth nods, tangles one of his hands in my hair, and guides my face back down into the crook of his neck. He presses his nose against my hair and sniffs loudly. He lets out a frustrated sound before relaxing in the nest.

"I wish you could smell me," I murmur.

I know it's not fair of me to say. He wears the pheromone blocker because of how his body will react to Avery. It's not her fault she was experimented on to resemble a Rytharian female. It's also not fair of me to ask Holoth to put himself in the awkward position of not liking how I smell.

It would be awful if he took out the blocker and hated my scent. Even worse than that would be if he ever smelled a female who he liked the smell of more than me.

I researched it, and Rytharians scent match to form mate bonds. It's one reason I know I definitely misheard Holoth when I came. I can't be his mate because he's never smelled me.

"It's for the best." He runs his free hand down my spine and back up.

I let his words sink in, and I wonder if he thinks it's for the best because it won't put pressure on Avery or if he has the same fears as me. That if he takes off that blocker, he'll find out he likes howa different female smells more than me. I swallow hard at the thought and hope he never wants to remove the blocker.

nine

K'Vella

"What exactly are we getting ready for?" I ask the other females, who are all getting ready in Holoth's room with me.

"It's a surprise. The father of your children has already told you this," Essa says, flashing me her fangs when she smiles.

I've gotten over how scared she made me the other day when she found out who my sister is. It helped that she apologized profusely and then had Sloane talk to me to make sure I was okay. She cares deeply for everyone on this ship, and it's clear that she didn't mean to scare me as much as she did.

It helps that I read up on Havenths and learned it's just one of her natural reactions to being angry, scared, or threatened. She can't stop it any more than Holoth can stop his rut.

"Not the father of any children yet," I mutter under my breath before checking my hair to make sure my braids look nice and brush through any knots in my unbraided hair.

"Come on, it's going to be fun, I promise."

Sloane wraps her arms around one of my lower ones and tangles our fingers together. She's a touchy female, and in the time I've known her, I've gotten used to her shows of affection and now know she has no interest in me romantically. She just enjoys touching everyone, much to her mates' displeasure.

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