Stee-vee pushes my chest, silently begging me to step back with her wide worried eyes. I do, even if it stings my chest harder than any blaster ever has. As I look over my shoulder, I find that her friend Meg-ham is watching us with glowing surprise.
“We were just—”
“About to get it on?” She makes a suggestive face, and purses her lips teasingly. “Don’t let me stop you, girl. Climb that man,please. I want to live vicariously through you.”
Stee-vee flushes red. “Megan!”
“Should you not find your own male to climb?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest. I wish not for my Stee-vee to become upset.
“I didn’t even know climbing was an option until right now!” She cheers. “I kind of figured our equipment wouldn’t mesh well, ya know?”
“Hu-nims and Aprixiansmesh,” I report, using her silly word. “Perhaps you’d like to go choose one toclimb? Elsewhere?”
“Oh hell yeah.” She turns around and runs inside without another word.
I move to touch my little blossom once more.
Her eyebrows pull down. “How do you know?”
“What do I know?”
“That humans and Aprixians can…?”
“Oh,” I say, breathing out. “Because we are mates.”
Her eyes become big and odd. “We’rewhat? We are?”
“My soul has shown me that we are mates,” I tell her. “Can we resume touching now?”
“I… Oh, what the hell,” she says, tugging me close. “But just kissing until you explain what the fuck being mates really means.”
Kissing, this is what she calls the presses of our mouths and the twisting of our tongues. I enjoy this word. I shall give her many morekisses. As many as she allows.
This time when our mouths find one another, it is Stee-vee guiding them together.
* * *
Stevie
I’m kissing an alien. No that’s stupid, I’m kissing Marrec. Marrec my fast friend, my protector, and the big softy who is all hard on the outside. Andgod, for a virgin, this man sure knows how to kiss.
Panting, I ask, “Can we go back to your room now?”
He tosses me into his arms without hesitation. “Yes.”
Despite the ship being a short walk away, we stop three separate times to kiss some more, each time growing hotter than the next.
Somehow, we’re able to let the desire to maul each other’s faces fizzle out slowly as we approach his chamber. There are things we need to talk about—questions to be answered.
Finally getting inside of his room, I sit on his bed while Marrec stays standing, looking fondly down at me. I try to flood my brain with all that I’ve learned about matehood while talking with Sarah and Rem. It all happened so fast that logistics weren’t truly on my mind in those moments. I was so focused on fixing those two up, that I didn’t exactly digest the situation entirely. And then speaking with Marrec after dinner, I was honestly still a bit flustered by his apparent jealousy of Rem being alone with me. I guess I understand why now.
After a minute, not much comes to me, my head cloudy with an overwhelming amount of emotions. “So, we’re mates?”
“We are,” he agrees, stroking the back of his fingers down my cheek, as if seeing me for the first time all over again. “It is the greatest of gifts, to have my soul glow for yours.”
“Gosh.” I swoon, my stomach fluttering. “You’re just a big sweetie, aren’t you?”
“I am whatever you wish for me to be,” Marrec tells me.