Page 64 of Devin
“I’ll go get the other one,” Goru said, nearly tripping over his own feet in haste.
“Fine,” Bright said. She turned and looked Val right in the eye. “I put you in a crate for hours. Surely you have enough anger to give me a good solid punch.”
Devin wrapped his arms around his mate protectively, but she seemed to be in no mood for violence either.
“You rescued me. Why would I want to punch you? I mean, it wasn’t the most comfortable of rescues, but I have a feeling it could have been a lot worse,” Val said.
“No one is going to punch you,” Grena said, stepping in. “The warlord is correct. The risk of you going back is too great. If the captain had trusted you, he would have let you go alone.”
“Besides,” Grena said, linking her arm with Bright’s, “I hear you have grandsons to coddle back on Etlon 2.”
“Etlon 2? Is that what they are calling it now?”
“Yes, my son renamed it. He is the architect. You should see the city. It is so grand. I bet we can talk him into giving you one of the penthouse suites. You are, after all, the only full Etlonion that will be living on the planet. I love your hair, by the way. Can you truly do any color?”
And with that, his mother silenced any more talk of punching Bright in the face. They were on their way to being fast friends. Devin was not sure if that was a good thing or not.
Goru came back with the third Neder draped over his shoulder. They would put them in cold storage pods until reports were filled out and they could be returned to the Neder government in accordance with the treaties. Pirate or not, the Mahdfel would not leave their bodies to be covered in dust and forgotten.
“I’ll fly the other ship out of the atmosphere. It will be easier if we link them up. At least faster,” Kave said as he exited, closing up the hatch behind him.
“Are you going to keep standing there, holding me? Don’t get me wrong. It’s nice, but I’m sure you have other things to do,” Val said.
“Actually, I have nothing else to do. I have accomplished my mission,” Devin said.
“To rescue your mother,” Val said.
“To rescue my mate. My mother is perfectly capable of rescuing herself.”
“But I’m helpless?”
“No. But you are mine to protect, and I failed.”
“You could have just let me go. You didn’t want me anyway,” she said.
Devin wanted to continue this conversation, but this was not the place. He scooped her up again and carried her into Clover’s quarters. On the way here, they had remained empty, an unspoken promise that he would need them when he reclaimed his mate, safe and sound. They were the most comfortable and had the biggest bed. The rest of the Mahdfel had bedded down elsewhere, determined to be alone and miserable without their mates, so that they could look forward to bedding them soon after returning home, if they were in any shape to do so.
Once Kave and Zenik connected the two ships, Zenik would press the ships to top speed in order to get home hopefully before the birth of their sons.
A happy little chirp sounded from the bed.
“Nivy!” Devin put Val down and she immediately crossed to the fluffy creature that had apparently made itself at home in Clover’s quarters. Devin had known it was aboard and several times seen the other warriors leaving food out for it, but he had not actually laid eyes on the creature. How it had followed them aboard was the real mystery, but his mate didn’t seem to care about any of that. She just went to stroke the fur of the creature. Val picked it up and they began cooing at each other.
His mate was pleased. His mate was pleased and safe and that was all that mattered. Her scent was strong. Val had not showered for days and the scent of her was not making it easy to ignore the tent of his cock. But he would, because his mate was happy.
“I never could have a pet growing up,” Val said. She put Nivy down on a carpeted shelf near the bed. “Too much trouble and money.”
“You may have all the pets you like,” Devin said, and he meant it.
“No, I think Nivy is all I need, though I think he likes you better,” Val said.
“Zenik has been feeding him a nutritional meal called cat food. He likes it well enough. I will take him hunting again when we return home, so that he will not lose his skills.”
Val drew closer to him and Devin forced himself to stay rooted to the spot. His mate was probably exhausted and needed a shower, and all of his thoughts circled on being inside her.
“You should shower,” he said, trying to refocus on her needs instead of his.
“Are you trying to get my clothes off?”
