Page 46 of Avery

Avery's following along well enough, and I see when it clicks because horror washes over her features. "Oh, I'm sorry." She turns to Skia, who looks at us like this is a boring conversation. He quirks a brow at me that almost seems to be an affirmation.

"No apologies necessary," he says. "Your heat's coming, right?"

Avery drops her face into her hands as though that can somehow trap all of her thoughts in her mind. I wrap an arm over her shoulder, hoping to make her feel better. What I'm trying really hard not to focus on is the fact that I'm not actually Avery's mate and that— Shit.

I dart my eyes up to Skia's, and he shrugs. Okay, so he gives no care to the fact that I'm not supposed to be here.

"Are you going to hurt her?" he asks. My body recoils like I've been slapped, and he says. "That's what I thought. Now, heat? When?"

"Two days, maybe. It could start tomorrow," Avery says, peeking through her fingers to look at Skia, which only has her cringing again and curling into my arm even more.

Okay, so maybe I don't mind the Sombran being here. Sure, Avery's trying to hide against me even though her thoughts are blaring out to the Sombran across from us, but still, she thinks I can protect her from that, and I'm not about to tell her I can't.

"I'll let the prosecution know they can expect us available for testimony in nine," Skia says, standing from his chair and grabbing his comm. He flicks his eyes up to us and then back down. "Your room is there." He tilts his head to the side to a door just off the living room. "I'll be here."

"Wait, like right here?" Avery asks.

Skia's response is another grunt, and she's flushing again. She buries herself so close to me that I can't help but laugh. Whatever she was thinking couldn't have been that bad. Even if it was, it's not like she was purposefully thinking about it to traumatize the Sombran.

I'm sure he's seen worse if he's been doing this for any length of time. He grunts an affirmation, and I feel my lips kick up again.

"Come on," I say, helping Avery to her feet, not letting her bask in her embarrassment for very long. "We have a show to watch."

Skia's head snaps up, his eyes narrowing for a moment. I hold up the comm Alik gave me before we left the ship. "It's gutted except for two seasons of a reality show we've been watching. No internet access, no location services, and for all intents and purposes, it's broken beyond repair except the screen."

Skia stares at me a moment longer, and I feel him prying into my mind. It has my stomach tightening into a lead ball of bile as tendrils of something warm and probing skate over my mind, touching, touching, touching, and then it's gone just as fast as it happened. I suck in a deep breath as the feeling subsides, and Skia gives me a soft nod.

"What happened?" Avery asks as I nudge her toward the bedroom. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I kiss the side of her head, casting Skia a warning look as I guide her into the room. My thoughts are focused on one thing, and it's that he better not ever do that to Avery. If he does, I will kill him. I don't know when or how, but I will get it done.

He grunts the same sound as before as I close the door and I take it as him accepting my request.

When I shut the door, Avery's hands are tangled. Her eyes are wide saucers as she looks over my shoulder at the closed door.She scampers over to me, whispering in a rushed tone, "I'm so sorry I didn't know."

I laugh quietly, and then it deepens into a long, hard laugh. "He can still hear our thoughts even if the door's closed. He knew you were going into heat when he took the job. I'm sure he mentally prepared himself to see some things he might not want to during this job."

"Phial!" Avery hits my shoulder and I grab her hand, pulling her close to me so I can press my lips to hers.

"No point in putting it off, Avery," I whisper as I nip at her soft earlobe. "You're going to need my come soon anyway. Just go ahead and let yourself not care. So long as you aren't trying to force it on him, I doubt he'll mind."

"I'm just nervous," she says, breathy and flushed. I kiss her again to get her mind to stop thinking so much. "What if?"

I kiss her again, this time not stopping until we're back against the bed. Avery makes a soft whine in the back of her throat, and I reach into my back pocket and pull out her necklace. I hold it up to her as I start to drop kisses down her neck, over her collarbones, wanting to unbutton her top until the swells of her breasts are available for my licks and kisses and soft nips.

She clicks the necklace to green, and I smile up at her, my fingers playing with the buttons on her top. She slips the necklace over her neck, and then her hands are on mine. My smile drops the tiniest amount for a moment before I straighten and go for her mouth again. She stops me, though. Stops me as she starts to undo the buttons herself.

I stand with my feathers all out of place as she kicks her shoes off, works the buttons of her top, and shimmies back until she's sitting on the bed. She watches me as I admire her beauty, waiting in anticipation for her to finally show me all of her.

It's not that I wouldn't be okay with continuing what we've been doing, but I very much would also love to see her breasts.She keeps them hidden most of the time, but I know they are more than can fit in my hands, and I just know I'll love having my hands and mouth and cocks on them.

She keeps the two halves of her shirt close together as she works all the buttons and then holds it closed in front of her for a few breaths.

"I'm proud of my body," she says, eyeing me warily. I don't know why she's telling me this, but I'm also very proud of her body. I'm proud I can point at her and tell others that she's the female who has chosen to be in my bed and in my life. Am I not the most blessed male? "I jiggle in places, but I'm soft and sexy. Okay?"

Oh, I see what's happening. She's proud of her body and loves herself, but she would very much like me to think she is the most delectable female to have ever graced my presence. She easily is, but she needs words right now. And I can sometimes be good with those.

I kneel on the bed, causing her to wiggle back further and further until she's stumbling, falling back on her forearms, her hands releasing the shirt and revealing a strip of her softness from the waistband of her skirt all the way up to her shoulder. I hiss as I look down at her, my palm finding that strip and exposing more of her as I grip her waist between my hands.

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