Page 95 of Diamond

When I roll my hips against his hands, he moans softly into my mouth and lowers me so we are pressed against each other. I feel his hardness against me and smile into the kiss.

He pulls away and looks at me tenderly, his mouth with a slight smile of its own.

I can feel myself melting into him, both of our essences mixing and becoming one singular being. Hearing myself think that almost makes me recoil, but it feels real to me, almost magical.

Each time we touch each other we discover more about each other's bodies. I thought it would be tricky, but when I am with him, our bodies just know what to do. It's something primal about our connection that I have been having a hard time understanding, but I have decided to not care and instead just lose myself inside of whatever this is.

I kiss him again, a little more fiercely this time. By the time he lets me down from his arms, my black suit has nearly receded from my body and the corner of the cave we are in is illuminated beautifully with green light.

I hadn't even consciously done it, but my body seems to have taken control from my brain and I'm not opposed to that in the least.

He is still fully clothed and staring at me with a glazed look, like he has seen something different.

I clasp my hands over my chest self-consciously and the light from them makes me look down in shock. "Ya Allah," I gasp as I look at my hands and notice that they are glowing a beautiful shade of green, a little lighter than Kuret's because of the silver sheen all over me. "Is it everywhere?" I ask him, unable to contain the giddiness in my voice.

Kuret's voice breaks when he replies to me. "It is."

I can't tell if it's from seeing me naked or from the glow on my skin, but a wave of self-consciousness hits me like a train. My body must look so alien to him, so different from what he's used to. This is an individual that isn't even used to the females on his own planet even talking with him, and here I am before him, some sort of genetic amalgamation.

A storm of what-ifs floods my mind and I start panicking; what if I have unintentionally rushed things? What if he doesn't like what he sees? What if, what if… The what-ifs run through my head like wild animals across a field, but I push them out of my mind and move my hands from my body.

Whatever it is he sees, it's me now. And I won't hide from that.

If he didn't want to be here, he wouldn't be.

I decide I don't want to listen to the voices of self-doubt in my head anymore.

A fortnight ago, I would have screamed bloody murder and tried to separate my skin from my body but being here and having Kuret stare at my naked body with all the adoration in the world makes me realize that maybe I don't need to change the entire world at one time.

I can begin focusing on the world around me, gradually working my way up to the place I want to be.

He's become the center of it, but not in a way that confines me. He's a partner, and a protector.

I've been resisting all of this for so long, even though my body has been ahead of me, trying to get my brain and heart to catch up. Well, it finally has, and I find my usual boldness again to let him know about it.

"I love you, Kuret. I know you don't have marriage in your culture, but you have a bond brother. Surely we can be our own version of that."

His marks flair, and my new ones flair in return. "Yes, Nasrin. You are my bond… female. And I am your bond male. Forever."

He moves toward me now, pulling me tight against him, making me feel cherished. I squeeze him back, for once happy with my newfound strength.

We can protect each other, and the argila. We'll find Olivia, then we will help find the others.

Together.

I reach a hand up and rub it against the side of his face, watching his eyes flutter close as he leans into it lovingly, then opens his eyes again, his stare intense. "You are the most beautiful thing I will ever lay my eyes on, Nasrin."

The pleasant shock of his words makes me pull my hands away, but he holds them in place and his eyes open.

"And you get more beautiful each day."

He pulls me to him and seals his declarations with a soft kiss that I deepen as I start to tug on his shirt. In record time, he unfastens it from his body and starts to undo his trousers when we are interrupted by a soft braying sound that is unmistakably the baby argila.

I gasp and cover my chest with my hands and imagine my jumpsuit covering me up while Kuret distracts him by making clicking sounds and lifting him into his arms.

"Well, hello there, little one," I say with a smile after I am fully clothed, my face hot from the shame of being interrupted. I almost feel like a parent who got interrupted by their child and the thought of it makes me grin wider.

I scratch at his head and he nips playfully at my hand, making Kuret gasp dramatically and place him back on the ground.

---