Page 38 of Scars & Starlight
“We should spend a couple of days resting once we find your family and get them to safety,” he says. The change of topic surprises me until I look at him and see him biting his lower lip.
“Oh,” I gasp. “Right. Resting.”
“Exactly.”
“Sounds good.”
“I thought so.”
“And…” I hesitate. “How do Avaren… rest?”
When his eyes flash again, I know he’s comparing human and Avaren sex, and I want the Talon’s floor to open up and drop me onto the mountain peaks.
“It appears that humans and Avaren mostly rest the same way. Although Avaren males are better equipped to ensure a… more pleasurable rest for the female.”
I squeeze my thighs together.Yeah, I bet they are.
“And how often do Avaren rest?” I inquire, going along with the charade.
“Oh, we believe that one should rest as often as possible to ensure optimal well-being.”
I swallow back a moan. “I’m looking forward to resting with you,” I tell him, unsure of where this boldness is coming from. It’s just so easy with him.
“So am I,” he reassures me in a low voice. “I’ve been thinking of little else but resting with you since we met.”
Kiko’s head swivels from one to the other, and I wonder if he’s getting the subtext. He tends to chime in with facts by now, so he must know something other than resting is up.
Something ribbed for my pleasure, I think to myself with a smirk.
The Talon’s consoles beep, interrupting the lustful thoughts swirling in my head.
“What is it?” I ask Kairen.
“We’ve arrived at the border village where you said your family might have gone if they left their home,” he explains, no longer looking amused and playful. It doesn’t take me long to see why.
“Those aren’t normal people, are they?” I murmur, watching the figures below swarm.
“They’re infected,” Kairen confirms my suspicion.
“My grandparents could be there,” I say sadly. I thought maybe this remote area would be safe. Hope really is a bitch.
Kairen stands up and calls his exoskeleton in one motion.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I will ease their suffering,” he answers grimly. “Which is your grandparents' house?”
I point at the roof of the house where I spent so much of my childhood playing in and around.
He gives me a clipped nod and says, “Stay here.”
“I could help?” I offer. Though I can’t imagine having to… “No,” I answer myself before he does.
“No,” he agrees as his visor lowers, blocking out the incredible eyes I had gotten so used to these days. With a final squeeze of my shoulders, he walks out of the cockpit.
I hear the hydraulic hiss of a door opening and closing, and then it’s not long until I see him out of the large window, descending right into the thickest of the infected. I briefly contemplate the fact that I, too, could fly now, if I wanted to, but can’t entertain the diverting thoughts for long. I know what he’s about to do, and my grandparents are probably among those whom he’s going to do it to.
Rather than watch him do it from up here, I pick up my hangover smoothie and take it to the sleeping area, telling Kiko to wait for me. I take a long draw of the drink, enjoying the refreshing coolness despite the lack of flavor. Then I pull off my clothes and step into the small bathroom and toilet combination area. Pushing the buttons Kai showed me, I call up a mist designed to chase the last of the clouds from my brain. By the time I pull on a fresh T-shirt and finish off the drink, the prince is back.
