Page 34 of Monstrous Baby
“Or better yet, fuck each other.” Heat pressed against my back, solid and heavy. I knew without looking up that Kroktl had wrapped his arms around us both. “Don’t you want one of us inside you before you mark him?”
A raw sound escaped my throat, as alien and unfamiliar to me as the screech I’d let out to free Axxol. Only this sound was the growl of a very hungry predator. An answering rumble vibrated from Kroktl’s chest through my entire body. “Don’t tear up my favorite shirt.”
KROKTL
I lovedthat she knew my thoughts even before they registered in my own head. Focusing on my raptor, I forced the claws to sheathe back into the softer flesh of my fingertips so I didn’t accidentally injure her. Though I couldn’t resist pressing my mouth over my mark on her shoulder. I didn’t need to see it beneath the thin cloth to know exactly where it burned in her flesh.
Her back arched, her breath whooshing out on a low, ragged cry of release. Waves of pleasure cascaded through her body onto the grid. I gripped her hips and lifted her up higher between us. Snryx effortlessly adjusted his implements to keep her in place, though he made no move to touch her otherwise.
It wasn’t in his nature to take command—unless it was a medical situation. On one hand, I could appreciate his restraint. Not having to wrestle him for dominance or work to keep my own beast contained for fear of triggering his was a fucking relief. But on the other hand…
My mate loved him. I didn’t doubt that he loved her too—at least as much as we dyni could love anything. Emotions were a weakness that had been programmed out of us long ago.
Until we came to Earth and broke free of HQ’s command.
Now a wild tumult of conflicting and confusing sentiments warred inside me. Inside us all. A dangerous situation if one of us ever lost control. Though at the center of that swirling tsunami burned the brightest solar flame in the universe.
“Surely you could manage to use your implements to remove her clothing without a single tear.”
Sn’s eyes narrowed to slits of shining gold. “I have implements delicate enough to perform the most complicated surgery without leaving a single barbaric stitch.”
A rattling purr rolled from my chest. “Exactly.”
His eyes flared with the realization that I was teasing him—not slighting the formidable tools he used to keep us all alive. Ofcourse I could simply pull the shirt over her head. Or better yet, tear my way into her shorts—because she hadn’t said she cared about the material on the lower half of her body. But Sn should feel more comfortable—and confident—in touching our mate. Especially intimately.
Two implements clipped to the bottom hem of her shirt and shifted the material up slightly, but then he hesitated. “Would you be more comfortable in the bedchamber with more privacy?”
She turned her head and glanced around the dining room as if surprised. “Oh. I forgot. I don’t really care, as long as Holly or Dr. Snyder don’t walk in on us.”
“Lohr and I are taking turns for patrol duties,” Rizan said. “Both humans have retreated to their respective rooms. If that changes, we’ll prevent them from entering.”
“Akylla is sleeping,” Lohr added from the opposite doorway which led to our bedchamber and nursery. “I just checked on her.”
Natalie looked back up at Snryx. “Wouldyouprefer privacy?”
He blinked slowly once, twice, before answering. “I have no preference.”
Her head cocked to the side, studying his facial expressions and body language. Her human eyes didn’t have my ability to see inside his body, but she recognized and understood his signals. Signals I wouldn’t have noticed before coming to Earth despite living on the squad together and sharing the grid constantly.
Yes, we’d all been connected, each of us a necessary part of a whole unit. But we hadn’t been individuals with feelings and preferences, hopes and fears.
She saw each of us as individuals first and squad second. She cared about Sn’s comfort and wishes. Something no one had ever even thought to ask him before.
:Thank you,:Sn said to me in a low, soft whisper.
:Thank her, not me.:
:I do, of course, but you could have killed us all to keep her for yourself. You could have simply disappeared with her and never called us in to help.:
:We would have died.:
:Very likely.:His implements slowly worked the thin shirt up her body and over her head, careful not to tangle in her hair.:But she would have been solely yours. You wouldn’t have had to share her attention with us.:
:I’d rather see her alive and share her than ever allow her to be harmed in any way.:
His implements brushed the curve of her stomach in a tentative test, checking to be sure she truly didn’t mind the alien touch of his sensitive instruments.:Which is why I love you too, as much as I’m capable.:
For a moment, I thought he’d wrapped his thickest implement around my throat. Tightness increased in my chest, my breath catching on sudden emotion. The squad had always been our top priority, our programming written specifically to perform as a cohesive unit.
