Page 70 of Warrior
“Everyone is fine.” Daisy’s full lips curved upward before she laid her head against my shoulder, the hand monitoring my heartbeat making small circles over my sternum. “Orzon is the best babysitter, but they miss you and visit every day. Of course, I can’t get George to leave med-bay, he idolizes Toovis.”
A chuckle rolled through my chest. As one of the Framaddi species, Orzon was uniquely qualified to take care of the children. His species served as artists, chefs, and nannies all over the universe.
“Khaion comes by to check on you every day too.”
Her words jolted me, not because of shock to find my chieftain checked on me—I’d be more shocked if he hadn’t. The jolt came from deeper, a question wrapped like a restrictive band around my heart. I could know the truth now, the answer towhether I could finally claim the precious treasure in my arms as mine and mine alone.
“I need to see the Chieftain.” My voice held conviction even though my body hesitated to pull away from her.
“Why? You just woke up?” Daisy raised her head, gazing at me with question.
“I need to debrief him about what happened on the moon.” It wasn’t a complete lie, I did need to inform my colleagues of the Aljani operations on Giezo, but finding whether I could claim Daisy as mate was tantamount in importance. I needed to know if this soft, warm body pressed close was mine to keep forever.
“Ewok already did that.” She grinned at me. “He gave Khaion chapter and verse on the mining operation. Remember, Ewok was on that moon a lot longer than both of us.”
The idea of Ewok preening under the rapt attention of the Chieftain brought a smile to my lips as well. I shifted on the bed, stretching to check the response of my muscles. The last thing I wanted was to rise and end up flat on my face.
“Good. But there is another reason I need to meet with him.”
“Whatever it is, can’t it wait?” Daisy pouted and playfully swatted my chest. “You just woke up from being dead for heaven’s sake.”
She threw a leg over my thighs, as though her tiny frame stood the chance of stopping my departure. The movement did serve to let me know my cock suffered no residual effect from being dead. Truthfully, just the feel of her in my arms was the most enjoyable of bindings. Her face was teasingly dejected, but there was strength in her gaze… and love. Valakana be damned. She was mine.
“It’s about you Daisy,” I swallowed hard. “About us.”
“Us?” Her features moved into an adorable scrunch.
“There is something I must know. Something only my Chieftain and possibly your friend can answer.”
The scrunch morphed into a smile. “Is this about the whole,if you claim me as mate I’ll die, thing?”
I blinked at her. Perhaps Emmy convinced her not to attempt the mating. It might be an ordeal she did not wish her friend to bear.
I gave a curt nod. “It is said that Khaion claimed Emmy as mate, but I will not risk you—even if it means I have to go the rest of my life without calling you mine.”
“Give me your hands.”
Daisy shifted into a sitting position, pulling my hand from around her waist and placing it in the center of her chest. Gone were the borrowed clothes she’d escaped in, replaced by a long silky caftan in pale yellow. Tiny fingers half the length of my grip, wrapped my other wrist to bring my palm to rest over my own heart.
She was smiling and the softness of her breasts under my fingertips made my skin prickle for an altogether different reason. I was so caught up in the feel of her, lust awakening from its drugged slumber, and I felt my heart quicken in pace.
Daisy smiled. Her gaze glued to mine. Expectancy danced across her features so strongly I opened my mouth to ask why.
I felt it.
The studder of her heartbeat under my fingertips, pace quickening until it matched the beat thudding in my own chest.
I felt the shock flicker over my face, which made her smile deepen.
“How did this happen?” I blurted, marveling at our hearts beating in perfect unison.
Daisy shrugged, giggling.
“When I got stabbed?” I didn’t remember speaking, but perhaps my last words had been to mutter the longing of my heart.
“No.” Daisy lifted my hand from her heart and kissed my palm before snuggling against my side. “I think it happened the night before we escaped.”
“When you said you loved me.” I remembered the words along with the lushness of her body, and how it felt to sheath myself in her warmth. “I felt my heart squeeze, but it was nothing like I’ve been told of the valakana.”
