Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
F’lor cocks her head. “Wait, I thought the fruit cave was full of bats?”
“Bats?” A’tar looks confused. He glances over at me, and I shrug. “No, no bats. Just leaves and nothing else. No Tia or R’jaal, either. I have searched high and low for them. I even circled the valley from above, but there is no sign of either of them. Perhaps they did not wish to be found. Still, I feel they would have told us something if they wished to sneak off together. That is the part that concerns me.”
“Do you think it was resonance?” I ask. I know the moment F’lor and I resonated, we immediately went to the closest cave and attacked one another with enthusiasm. Perhaps T’ia is doing the same to R’jaal. The thought does not upset me. Instead, it fills me with relief. If T’ia is happy with a mate, then I no longer have to worry that F’lor will think I want the other female.
A’tar shrugs. “If it was, why would they not say anything to us? We were sleeping nearby. It would have been a small thing to alert us that they were leaving. But they left all their gear behind and said nothing, and this concerns me.” He gestures. “So I am out here searching, and instead I find you with twenty newcomers. Are they Daisy’s friends?”
“Fifteen,” F’lor corrects, a thoughtful look on her face. “And no, I don’t think so. Niri dropped them off. They’re all apparently illegal clones.”
“Ooof, that’s rough,” A’tar says with a shake of his head. “I’m guessing they hid them here so they won’t be euthanized?” When F’lor nods, he brightens. “Well, I am positive they will be welcome here. There’s always a friendly helping hand to be found.” He pauses. “Has anyone told the Croatoan chief?”
I grimace, imagining V’tal and his reaction. He will not be happy. He likes things neat and tidy and every new person on the planet fills him with stress. He will not take this well at all. “He will learn soon enough. Our priority is getting these people a khui and bringing them back to the beach.”
“No, that’s my priority,” F’lor says, glancing over at me. “You should probably go help look for Tia.”
I frown at her, confused as to why she thinks I would abandon her when she is in need. “Why would I go look for T’ia?”
“Because you love her? And because she might need you? If she’s in danger?” F’lor gives me a determined stare. “You should go. I’ll handle things here.”
I run a hand down my face. Again with this? A’tar pretends to examine his claws, avoiding looking in our direction.
Marching over to my mate’s side, I put a hand on F’lor’s arm. Part of me wants to grab her and shake her until she talks sense. Instead, I lean in and wait.
She blinks up at me, confused. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you to kiss me.”
“Why?”
“Because it will remind you that you are my mate, and you are my priority. That you are mine and I am yours,” I continue, my voice even and calm. “And that if you think I am going to leave you alone with a bunch of males and females who are worse at survival than D’see and expect you to take care of them, you are very, very wrong.”
F’lor glares up at me. “Because,” she hisses. “You love T’ia—”
“I. Do. Not.” I bare my teeth at her. “How many times must I make it very clear that you are my mate? That when I am with you I am complete? That I lack for nothing because you are everything I have ever wanted? That the thought of touching T’ia now, when you are nearby, makes me want to chop my own hands off?”
Her mouth twitches, and I see my strong words are getting through to her. “You’re full of drama, you know that?”
“I am full of love for my mate,” I tell her. “No one else.”
“I just…I don’t want you to feel like you’re making a mistake. Or you’re cornered by being with me. I know I’m not a cute young thing like her. I’m older and—”
“You are mine. If T’ia was being attacked by sky-claw and you had a splinter in your finger, I would let them chew freely upon her because your hand comes first.”
F’lor looks up at me, her skepticism fading. Then she sighs. “Why did that sound so romantic?”
“It is because you love me and you carry my kit.” I slide closer and press a kiss to her brow. “You want to spend your nights in my furs and your days at my side.” I kiss her nose. “You love my cock. You love my spur. You love my tongue.”
“The rest of you is kind of annoying,” she mutters, but she loops one arm around my neck and brushes her lips against mine. “But as long as you’re sure.”