Page 35 of Temple

“So we are going to—”

“Begin. We are going to begin. I want to get you healing and our link to strengthen as rapidly as possible.” He walked to a door, and it opened at their approach.

“Uh, don’t break the suit. I don’t have anything else to wear.” She smiled weakly.

He looked at her. “Clothing you is in the clauses. I brought a selection of items for you to wear.”

“So, you were pretty confident.”

“I touched your mind once when I bit you, and I never let it go. You just needed time on your own to deal with what you felt when I touched you.”

“It wasn’t the touch; it was the kiss. Maybe the bite when you drank.”

He turned her to face him. “Will you run this time?”

“No. I am ready to deal with things. You.”

Symo nodded. “I will consider that your enthusiastic agreement for our first moment together.”

Bailey felt bad, but he bent and kissed her. Just as she had felt the first time, her toes curled, and her heart pounded. She felt careful hands at her neckline, parting the suit and slowly prying the seal open. She kept her focus on the kiss and the scent of him. Air touched her shoulders, back, chest, and he continued to ease the linked suit away from her body until he broke their kiss and knelt to let the suit slowly exit its connection to her orifices. The suit was designed for long-term usage, and it took care of all waste for her.

She felt it leaving and gasped when it was free of her. With Symo’s help, she stepped out of it and was in front of him with her skin soft from her swim.

Bailey murmured, “I should probably shower.”

Symo looked at her with his eyes in his black mask, swirling softly with stars in the darkness. “You were just in the pool. You are fine.” His lips quirked. “I would want you covered in the gore of battle if either of us wanted the connection.” He stroked her neck. “And I very much would.”

She shivered, and he pulled her gently against him. She whispered, “Why do you have to be so nice about things?”

He smiled. “I heard from one of my Terrans that killing with kindness was a phrase. She stated that you had issues due to your survival term. When your file explained the circumstances, I had to change my approach. Despite the attacks, you began with love and security and joy, and that was taken away, but it was what you clung to. You clung to joy while you were filled with rage. You wore sorrow like a cloak.”

“Well, it warmed me.”

He wrapped his wings around her and pulled her against him. “Keep the sorrow, but wear me as well. I will keep you warm until the sorrow fades to a whisper.”

Bailey sighed and leaned her head against his chest. “Why can’t you be a bully?”

“Because a bully wouldn’t have a chance to get close to you. I have to be calm and determined. It is a nice change.”

She slowly wrapped her arms around him. “I am still unsure.”

“I know. It is up to me to make you sure, but I can tell you that you are safer with me than with anyone in the universes.” He pulled her clasps and released her hair. It tumbled down her back, and he stroked her skin and smoothed her hair with his fingers.

He stroked her cheek and tilted her head up to him. “Will you let me prove it?”

Bailey swallowed. “I will let you try.”

He grinned, and she saw the fangs that were going to embed themselves eventually. He leaned in and kissed her, and she surrendered to him.

Symo lifted her and carried her to the sleeping platform.

She was held against him, wrapped in his wings, and his hands were slowly stroking her spine. He lifted her and kissed her. She felt heat curling through her. She closed her eyes and just felt.

The hands were different, the heat was different, and Bailey put her dead husband out of her mind for the moment. Symo deserved her attention.

Bailey put her hands on his shoulders, and their kiss increased until she heard a low vibration next to her. When he lifted his head, she realized he was growling.

Bailey panted, and he brushed kisses over her forehead, her eyelids, and her cheeks. The world spun, and he settled her on the bed. His fingers moved softly over her, and she was shifting slightly when he lifted her hips to his mouth, and heat rocketed through her. She cried out, squirmed, and his tongue circled her clit before delving deep and then circling again. Her orgasm hit without more than a tingle of warning. Symo continued to draw out more and more spasms, and at some point, he shifted, and then she felt the pressure that made way for him inside her.

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