Page 10 of Bound By the Vori

Glancing over at his mate, he smiled contently. Despite the fact that he had utterly failed to talk her out of wearing the black skirt wrapped and knotted around her lower body with the green top that flowed off her shoulders, he still privately loved the fact that she had insisted on wearing his color. It clung to her legs even as the hem of her top brushed in elegant ripples over it. It was just one more thing that he adored about her. Of course, there were getting to be a great many things on that list that made him cherish his mate. Perhaps because of that, he had very much enjoyed the last several days with her.

Not only did he continue to crave her sensually from their mutual exploration, but she was also a fun and witty companion who did not mind if he was not the most clever and playful of males. That she showed no greater favor toward Sijhord who embodied all these things was something that he adored her for even more.

Kim’s gaze slid to him, and an answering smile curved her lips as she turned toward him. “What’s that look for? You’re looking pretty pleased about something.”

“Only because of you,” he rasped as he bent down low and brushed a kiss on her brow. “If I smile, it is always because you are in my thoughts.”

“Aww,” she crooned happily as she hugged his side, making his hearts warm with delight. “You and Sijhord always bring a smile to my face as well.”

“Of course we do,” Sijhord yawned from just behind them. He rubbed his eye and gave Kim a flirtatious smile. “You’re insatiable and are pleased you have two lusty mates.” He paused for a moment, his head tilting in consideration. “Which also happens to be why we are smiling. So it is as you humans say… win-win.”

She snorted with amusement and shook her head at him. “You know that you love all of this. If it were only the sex, you wouldn’t be cuddled around me the rest of the day,” she teased.

“Naturally,” Sijhord commented and grinned playfully in response, but the moment their mate turned her attention to the colorful bag she carried, he shot Rykaal a confused look.

Rykaal shrugged. He did not fully understand the concept of human love in this context either, so like Sijhord he was not entirely sure how to react to Kim’s words other than to affirm his delight and adoration of her. He was not alone, however. He did not think any male on Vora truly understood how humans perceived love. Due to how mating worked among their kind, males rapidly grew infatuated and filled with adoration after mating. He suspected that it was a chemical reaction, but he was no doctor, and he really did not care enough to analyze the matter any further than that. At any rate, it did not matter. This was love for Vori.

Except in few very extreme cases where a female had to be forcibly separated from her mates for their welfare, a male spent the rest of his life mated—presumably happily as far as he ever heard. There was one thing that every mated male hoped for: the time when he felt completely connected to his mate, for his hearts to beat in time with hers, and for them to be so entangled to the point where he could not live without her. To know his mate and be hers even more. This was the greatest expression of love between mates for Vori.

It would be a curse to know all of that and have it not returned, even if it was rare for it to happen. Usually that deep of a bond did not occur without sharing that depth of affection and closeness with the female. That was what made it sad and shocking when it did happen.

For those males it was often due to a case of fixating on what they perceived as a deeper level of bonding from their mate that was not happening. In other cases, it was a mystery. What he did know, however, was that males ran the risk of deep bonding without it being returned by their human mates. Every male who sought a mate from Earth was cautioned and took counseling to prepare themselves for the possibility so there would not be any repeat of the tragedies that occurred some revolutions ago after the first initial flood of human females. Males murdering nestmates out of bewildered jealousy or committing suicide had been a rampant problem in the handful of cases when the female simply did not bond to her male as thoroughly.

That dark time made him want even more to whisk his mate back to their nest with the hope that, with enough time and affection, she would come to demonstrate this human love for him and bond as thoroughly with him as he hoped to bond with her. It was selfish, and for a moment he allowed himself to luxuriate in the fantasy before firmly setting it aside.

Sadly, the real world did not allow such luxuries. Even if it did, he wanted his mate to know more of his world and find her place in it. That was not going to happen if he kept her within his coils. Besides, he had his duties, and they gave him a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment that was different than the one he felt with his mate. He was certain that Kim also needed that same sort of satisfaction that he could not provide. Although she was obviously nervous, there was an excitement to her flavor he found entirely captivating.

Of course his mate would want more than to simply be indulged within their nest. It was clearly not in the temperament of any of them to simply remain in one place. No one spoke of it, but there was a certain restlessness as their reprieve ended that only came from a desire for productive activity. There were more places he could and would show her, but with the gleam in her eye, he knew that she was looking forward to whatever awaited her. He liked that strength. As much as he would have been happy to allow her to remain within the nest in all the days following after meeting the Matriarch, had that been her desire, he admired her determination to make the life she wanted on Vora rather than just settling comfortably in whatever he provided.

And so, as much as he would have loved to continue spending day upon day wallowing in their nest with Kim, part of him was simply happy to be returning to the regular activity of his duties and helping his mate get her start in her new world. It was not without its anxiety, however. There was a certain trepidation that came with the idea of introducing his mate to the Matriarch, but there was no avoiding it. He had received communications from Esheb just that morning that she was eager to meet the human after receiving a detailed report on her.

Rykaal was not surprised that the Matriarch knew everything that was readily available to know about his mate. He suspected that she had all the details in her hand before Kim had ever come within the palace walls. Perhaps well before she even arrived on Vora.

Sijhord yawned again and scratched his side, and he regarded the pair of them with sleepy amusement. “Are you bound for the throne room?”

Rykaal nodded. “We have been summoned.”

“Are you not going?” Kim asked, raising her brows, but Sijhord shook his head with a raspy laugh.

“I will enjoy hearing of it later, but my plan is to straighten the nest a bit before returning to sleep.”

Their mate frowned with concern as she stepped toward him and brushed her fingers across his chest. “Are you not feeling well? It seemed like you were up and down all night.”

Lifting her hand from his chest, Sijhord kissed and nipped playfully at her fingers until she laughed and drew her hand away. “I am shifting my sleep schedule so that one of us is always here at the nest with you,” he explained.

Kim crossed her arms over her chest. “I hope that doesn’t mean that you plan on keeping me shut up in here.”

Though Rykaal balked and scrambled to find something to say that would adequately soothe their mate, his idiot nestmate chuckled and grinned like a nestling.

“I suppose our company could get tiresome after we have tried every sexual position and watched everything new on the Intergalactic Web,” he agreed cheerfully. “Though I am shocked that you do not wish to indulge endlessly with all of this,” he added, hissing her teasing words from just moments ago into her ear before brushing a kiss along her jaw.

Laughing, Kim pushed the male away and straightened her clothes. “Don’t get me all rumply now. Remember, I still have to meet the Matriarch and I want to look my best.”

“You look exquisite,” Rykaal put in, his throat bobbing with the sincere weight of his emotion.

Kim peered up at him, and her smile widened as her eyes softened and danced in a way that made him feel weak in the tail. “Thanks, handsome.”

Taking one last look at herself, she threaded her arm through his and drew in a deep breath before slowly blowing it out. “Well, I think I’m ready.”

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