Page 44 of Soren

The sound of the port’s great airlock hissing open catches my attention from across the harbor and I break into a sprint. My first thought is intruders — for who else but the sand pirates would try and make the journey in this weather? But as I grow closer my senses fill with something very different.

And very familiar.

Roses and honey, all wrapped up in the most sensuous, feminine aura I’ve ever smelled in my life. I’ll never forget that scent as long as I live.

It’s her.

By all the stars and planets, it’s her!

It’s the strangest sense of deja vu as I push myself faster. The sleek dome of the transport ship glides into view and begins the docking protocol. Sure enough, the monitor spells out the words I’ve been dying to see for the last three months:

Incoming transport from planet: Earth. Please stand back.

The hull is splattered with dust and mud, but I barely register it. It’s nearing the end of the stormy season, but it’s still not safe for travel out there. How this little ship made it through unscathed astounds me.

If something had happened to her…

I put on another burst of speed and I’m on the elevated metal walkways surrounding the hangar bay. The ship’s still powering down, and already I can feel her presence. Her scent. Her spirit.

I’m scanning the unfamiliar architecture of the shuttle, trying to find out where she’ll come out. I’m about to leap in there and rip the door open myself to get to her, so strong is the feral urge rising within me.

This is worse than the first time I saw her. It’s the same possessive call to mate, to devour, but this time there’s more to it. It’s not just a raw primal need to reproduce — we’ve already done that — but my heart’s on the line as well.

My mate. My Lara. Three months of empty days and emptier nights. I can’t wait another second. I need her in my arms. Now.

Luckily for the ship, the gate opens and connects to the gangway before I start tearing things apart. The door opens…

And there she is, round with child, face flushed, looking around the spaceport with the same awe I fell in love with at first sight.

I throw myself over the walkway and land hard. The floor shakes and the railings rattle, but my eyes are trained on only one thing.

And at the sound of the commotion I’ve made, she sees me too. With a cry that sears itself into my heart, she starts running too, and I’m lost in her arms.

Her soft, warm body collides with mine and all of the pain and guilt and grief dissipates, just like that. She’s here. She’s mine. I bury my face in her neck and draw in a long breath, again and again. I kiss her neck, her ears, her cheeks, her forehead. She’s giggling, breathless, and flushed an even deeper shade of red from my advances. I can’t help myself, I’m just so happy to see her.

“Soren!” She manages to get out between kisses. “Yes, yes, I’m all right!”

My hand goes to her belly, round with my child. She’s positively glowing, and I think my heart might burst at the sight. Visions of her with my young in her arms, pregnant again while our children run and play in the vast fields of Aesir fill my mind. This time, I’m not letting her leave.

HOMECOMING

LARA

Soren’s hands and lips are everywhere the moment I step out of the shuttle. It’s like he’s trying to make up for lost time, but I can’t say I’m complaining.

The entire trip back to Aesir I wrung my hands and tried not to think about the impending reunion. A small, sick part of me wondered if he’d forgotten about me. If he’d run off with some alien girl and moved on.

So many nights I laid awake wondering if he thought about me half as much as I thought about him. And now that I was here in his arms once more, I had no doubt about that.

My heart flip-flops with joy in my chest, thundering so loudly I can barely hear anything else. The universe narrows in that instant to just the two of us. To his huge, muscular body embracing mine, slotting us together like two perfect puzzle pieces. We were made for each other, he’d told me.

Destined in the stars.

There were a few nights back on Earth when I woke to a strange fluttering in my chest. I could have sworn I heard his voice. But every time, I was back in my bedroom on Earth, Janie and Iris sleeping peacefully next to me.

This time, I feel the fluttering again, and I finally realize what it was. It was him checking up on me all along. The feeling rises from my heart and spreads down my spine, tingling through my arms and legs. It’s him. It’s always been him.

I didn’t understand what he meant about heart-mates at the time, but now I think I do.

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