Page 43 of Bonded

That was an invitation enough for me. Instead of chastising Ruzan in his impulsiveness, I simply chuckled and followed suit.

Soon, we were a knot of limbs as we clung to each other. Hope and yearning clashed within me, and I prayed it would be the last time I would need to feel this level of uncertainty, though I knew that was impossible. The pod closed comfortably over us, and I allowed myself to lie in peace.

Vryek

Ihad a new standard for time. No longer did I measure it by seconds, minutes, or hours. Instead, it was the rise and fall of Priya’s breath. It was in the way she sighed and murmured. The flicker of her eyelids. The pulse at her neck.

As a flower unfurled its petals to greet the day, so too did Priya’s body relax and open. Her languid state soothed me as much as Ruzan. Color returned to her cheeks, so that she was more golden than ash pale. I would see them flush a burnished copper the way they did when she first asked us to link with her.

I grazed a fingertip along the fringe of her lashes. They were so full; they cast a shadow upon her cheek.

“What if she wakes?” Ruzan spoke into the silence.

“Then she wakes.”

“No longer worried she needs her rest, then?” Ruzan teased.

“Don’t be silly. Of course I would worry. But it doesn’t mean I need to let my worry impede enjoying what is in front of me.”

“I’m impressed. I half expected you to have a scheduled regimen of supplements to fulfill Priya’s nutritional requirements.”

I gave a rueful smile. “Only because I already noted her needs and adjusted her nutritional intake. Who do you think programmed the bots to chase her down with protein supplements and water?”

The laughing rumble in Ruzan’s chest reverberated in the pod. Instead of disrupting Priya, it simply caused her to sigh and wiggle her hips against Ruzan, who placed a hand on her hips to still her movements, hissing as if pained. “The feel of her is both bliss and agony.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “When she wakes, let’s hope she chooses bliss.”

“Do you think she will?” Ruzan’s expression was a curious mix of hopeful expectation and shielding against disappointment.

“I know she will. As I am learning to trust her to take care of her well-being, so, too, should you learn to trust her to take care of her heart.”

I chose my words carefully. Yes, I worried too much about all the things that could harm her. But Ruzan worried, too, in his own way. He worried she would reject us…reject him.

I might survive her rejection as a mate if she would still choose to bind us together. But Ruzan…he needed all of her.

I would trust the ship, and I would trust Priya.

A fragrant aroma bloomed inside the pod. Subtle at first, I inhaled deeply to identify what it was.

“Do you smell that?” I asked.

“I was just about to ask, too,” Ruzan said. “I feel I’ve smelled it before, but can’t place from where.”

“Whatever it is, it’s making my mouth water. I want to taste—oh.”

Priya’s eyes were open. The purple and brown in her eyes were thin rings encircling massive black pupils. Though she didn’t quite focus on me, a hungry, determined look stole over her normally soft features.

“What is it?” Ruzan asked. “Oh.”

Priya had reached out, placing her hand against my face. Neither of us moved. She skimmed along my cheekbones, then jaw. “Vryek?” she asked.

“Yes, Priya. Are you okay?” I asked.

She wrinkled her forehead as if my words were too much for her. She settled backward, wiggling against Ruzan. Tilting her head back, she asked, “Ruzan?”

A smile broke over his face. “Yes, my Priya.”

A whine started in her throat as she pouted. Maybe she was still asleep, and acting out in a half-dream state. I’d heard about things like that.

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