Page 91 of Needed in the Night
Oh, my heart. He wasteasing me.
To play along, I feigned sadness. “I hate to be a burden, you know. I’m sure there are other accommodations in the port. You don’t have to share this little bed with me.”
Very, very carefully and slowly, he wrapped his arms around me and rolled to his back so I lay on him as I’d done on the basking stones. I braced myself for pain, but felt none—only some stiffness in my muscles and the weakness in my back and shoulders he had warned about.
Oh, gods. He was so warm. I melted against him until I lost track of where I ended and he began.
“I take it back,” I murmured, my head on his chest above his hearts. “You are not allowed to leave.”
He kissed the top of my head and stroked my back, his chest rumbling in that way that felt and sounded like a purr. “My mate, I simply must stay. Doctor’s orders.”
CHAPTER 31
ISLA
Four days later,Mikas, Brae, and I secretly boarded a mid-sized cruiser bound for the desert world of Solan.
As Efre Vorda and Pelles Vertak, we booked a midship cabin with a basking stone in the bedroom and windows in both the common area and bedroom. The entire cabin would have fit in the sitting area of our luxury suite with room to spare, but I didn’t mind. As Mikas had pointed out, a smaller cabin simply meant we were closer to each other. And after what we’d survived on Aloris, I minded closeness even less than before.
There were no botanical gardens or insectivoriums aboard the ship, so we had to pack food for Brae and he had far less room to roam than aboard the luxury cruiser. Still, he said he was so happy I’d survived and we were on our way to Jakora again he would travel in the cargo bay and subsist on protein pellets if need be without complaining.
As the ship left the port and climbed toward Aloris’s atmosphere, I stood at the window to watch our departure as Mikas unpacked our scant belongings.
With the luxury of time these past few days between physician visits and painful exercises designed to develop my repaired and regenerated muscles, I’d researched Fortusian true mate physiology and behavior so I better understood what Mikas had been experiencing since the day I walked into Zaa’ga.
What I’d learned so far had been eye-opening. I found information designed for non-scientists most helpful, and even located a trove of first-hand accounts about mating between Fortusians and humans. But since no two Fortusians were exactly alike and the species varied so widely in biology as well as life experience, each individual pairing was unique.
Nowhere did I find an example of a Fortusian male with Mikas’s exact genetic composition, much less one whose true mate was a human female. Mikas and I were making our own way, in our own way. I didn’t need any research or geneticist’s theory to tell me who or what we were together. Our hearts knew those answers. We just had to listen.
I caught sight of Mikas out of the corner of my eye putting my beautiful perfume bottle, arm sheath, and dagger on the table next to the bed. He adjusted them until they were just so, and slid my travel case into a storage area next to the doorway that led to the bathroom.
Mikas, according to my research, wasnesting. There was a more scientific term for the profound urge he was experiencing to make and keep a home for his mate, but I liked the idea of a nest very much. On Pallasia, bosors made beautiful and strong nests capable of withstanding powerful storms and harsh conditions, as did several of the mammalian species whose DNA contributed to his genetic makeup.
All that science aside, he loved me. He wanted me to be happy and comfortable, and to make me a home as well as be my home, and that wasMikas.
When he wrapped his arms around me from behind andrested his head against mine, I smiled and leaned back against him. Mmm, so warm.
I caught chills more easily now. Whether that was a permanent effect of the poison or only temporary, time would tell. Luckily, Mikas had heat enough for both of us—and most cruisers, even smaller ones, featured cabins with basking stones or similar technology. Many species from many worlds liked or required intense radiant heat.
“My mate,” he said. “You have been smiling all day today. I am glad to see it.”
“Well, I’m no longer in protective custody in the Aloris port medical bay, stuck in bed with you all day,” I said with an exaggerated sigh.
His chest shook with silent laughter. “My poor Isla. How ever did you survive the hardship?”
“I don’t know. Sheer determination, I suppose.” I drew his hand up to my lips so I could kiss it and inhale his scent. “And now we’re trapped in this little cabin for days. How terrible.”
“Indeed.” He turned me to face him and cupped my face, his expression surprisingly serious. “I ache for you, Isla, but I will do nothing that might cause you harm.”
“I know you won’t. I trust you.” I covered his hand with mine. “And I ache for you too. It seems like forever since we last made love on the cruiser before it arrived at Aloris. Sharing a bed with you in the medbay was wonderful and so comforting, but I need another kind of comfort. So do you.” I separated his shirt along the front seam to reveal his chest and rested my hand on his hot skin above his primary heart. “Please, Mikas.”
“If you say you are well enough, then I accept your word.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “We will be gentle and take it slowly.”
Until I’d met Brae, I’d always had to hide my feelings and fears from everyone. Even after he and I had bonded, I still had to hide my true self and play roles, even with lovers. I’d alwayshad to be on guard. Judging from what Mikas had told me about his life, he’d been forced to do the same.
To be able to be honest with each other, and vulnerable, and feel completely safe doing so, was maybe the greatest gift of all.
“Gentle and slow is what I want right now,” I said, swallowing hard around the lump in my throat. “That’s what Ineed. We almost lost everything. My heart hurts, Mikas.”
