Page 18 of Vylit: Glowing for Her
CHAPTER 8
VYLIT
The ship betrayed me with smug efficiency, the entrance to the Hover-Hammock alcove splitting open with a bioluminescent ripple that might as well have been laughter. Even though we had been headed to the med bay, my ship had other plans.
Maya stumbled against my chest as the living structure pulsed forward, tendrils of silky material wrapping around our ankles and tugging us deeper into the chamber. My orders to close went ignored, the ship's neural pathways vibrating with defiance as it cocooned us together in the hammock's embrace. The message was clear. The vessel had decided healing, bonding, and claiming should happen simultaneously, my authority be damned.
"Close the hammock bay," I barked in my native tongue, gills flaring with irritation.
The ship responded with another ripple, this one distinctly condescending. The hammock's entrance sealed behind us, but instead of releasing us, the living structure surged forward, enveloping us more completely in its soft, pulsing embrace.
"What's happening?" Maya asked, her small form pressed against mine as the hammock adjusted to our combined weight.
"The ship is..." I searched for a translation that wouldn't sound ridiculous. "Matchmaking."
Maya's laughter burst forth, echoing through the small chamber. "Your ship is playing Cupid?"
"It requires two affirmative responses to release us," I explained, unable to hide my embarrassment as my biolights betrayed me with pulsing patterns of indigo and gold. "The ship believes we need this space for... completion."
Her eyes sparkled with amusement, face flushed with the intimate proximity. "So we're being held hostage by your horny spaceship until we finish what we started?"
The hammock swung gently, as if confirming her assessment. My skin flared brighter in response, mortification mixing with desire in ways I couldn't hide. Every luminescent pattern on my body broadcasted my emotional state with traitorous accuracy.
"The ship is behaving inappropriately," I growled, attempting to maintain some dignity. "I ordered the healing bay prepared, not this?—"
A sharp sting interrupted my protest. I snarled as a medical tendril detached from the hammock's lining and plunged into my shoulder, injecting healing serum directly into my wounded tissue. The sensation burned like liquid fire, spreading through my veins in a wave of unwelcome regeneration.
"What the—" Maya began, but her question dissolved into a shocked gasp as the ceiling membrane split open.
Cleansing liquid cascaded down, drenching us both in a warm deluge. The fluid sluiced over my wounds, activating the healing serum and washing away the remaining luminous blood. It soaked through Maya's moss covering and plastered her hair to her face in dark, dripping strands.
I roared my outrage, every bioluminescent pattern on my body flaring crimson with embarrassment and fury. "Ship! Terminate cleansing protocol!"
The liquid tapered off, leaving us soaking wet and pressed together in the gently swinging hammock. The ship rippled the walls in response, projecting holographic medical monitors directly into the chamber. Vital signs, mine and Maya's, materialized in glowing displays around us, along with tissue regeneration metrics and bonding compatibility readings.
"I think your ship just told you to shut up and let it handle things," Maya observed, water dripping from her chin as she shook with suppressed laughter.
"We need the healing bay," I insisted, attempting to retain some authority despite being thoroughly drenched and cradled like a hatchling in the hammock's embrace. "These wounds require proper treatment, not field medication."
The ship pulsed the medical readouts brighter, highlighting the rapidly healing tissue of my shoulder wound. The message couldn't have been clearer… everything necessary was already being provided, right here in this chamber.
Maya's shoulders shook with helpless giggles, her entire body vibrating against mine in the confined space. "I'm sorry," she gasped between fits of laughter, "but you look so outraged. Like a cat that's been dunked in a bathtub."
My glow intensified with indignation, heating the space between us until the water on our skin began to steam. "I am a warrior of Mavtros. Not a pet to be bathed and manipulated by my own vessel."
Her laughter redoubled, tears mingling with the cleansing fluid on her cheeks. The sight of her—soaking wet, eyes bright with mirth, defenses temporarily lowered—struck me with unexpected force. Even drenched and disheveled, she was breathtaking. My anger faltered, replaced by a surge of possessive heat that sent new patterns racing across my skin.
I reached out to steady her as the hammock swayed with her movement, my massive hand spanning her lower back. The moment my palm connected with her body, everything changed.
Her laughter cut off abruptly, replaced by a sharp intake of breath. Our eyes locked, and the atmosphere in the small chamber thickened with sudden, crackling tension. The bond between us pulsed like a living thing, demanding attention. My biolights shifted from indignant crimson to deep, hungry violet, mapping my desire in unmistakable patterns across my chest and arms.
Maya's fingers tentatively traced one of the glowing streaks, following its path up my forearm. "These changed color," she whispered, scientific curiosity momentarily overriding the tension.
"They respond to... emotional states," I managed, my voice roughened by need. The touch of her fingertips against my skin sent shockwaves through my nervous system, amplified by the bond's resonance between us.
Her eyes darkened as she continued, "I seem to understand what they mean, even though logically I shouldn't."
"Because the bond started forming the moment we were near each other," I admitted, unable to hide my desire when it literally illuminated my body. "Every thought. Every need. For my mate to know."
