Page 45 of Lorran
“Tiny.” He held up his thumb and forefinger to demonstrate the insignificance.
“And the guy? Um, I forget his name.”
“Ulrik?”
“Yes, Ulrik. Did we leave him?”
Lorran glanced down at the floor beneath his feet. “Mylomon retrieved the fallen one.”
Wyn paused, the comb not moving through her hair. “That’s where he is?”
“Stored in a controlled environment.”
“Morbid, but good to know.” She yawned. “Sorry. I think the day is catching up with me.”
“You should rest. We are en route to the decommissioned facility you discovered.”
“I didn’t discover it. I just found a piece of paper,” she protested, but her skin flushed, as if proud.
“It is the logical destination for the escape pod.” Plus, the base might have the parts necessary to repair the shuttle’s damaged engine. The shuttle was an older model, commonly used when the base had been active.
“Sleep sounds good.” She cleared off the bunk, then looked around in confusion.
“Here.” He moved to her side and lifted the mattress, revealing the blanket and pillow stored underneath.
“Thanks.” She took the items but did not move.
This close, he felt the heat of her body. A nutty, smokey scent tantalized his senses. He breathed deep. “What is that?”
She tugged on a curl. “Oh. My leave-in conditioner. It’s nothing special.”
Lies. Everything about her was special.
His gaze fell to her lips, full and lush. He wanted to know if they were as soft as they looked. If her skin was as soft as he imagined.
“You mentioned an Earth tradition,” he said.
She turned to face him, the collar of his shirt falling open to display her tender throat. Her pulse danced, and her heart thumped loud enough to drown out the ambient noise of the shuttle.
“We kiss at the end of a date,” she said. Her pink tongue peeked out for an instant, then disappeared.
Gently, he placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face. Her eyes sparkled, such a warm and deep brown. “We should honor the tradition of your ancestors. It is only right,” he said.
He lowered his face, their mouths nearly touching and sharing the same breath.
Wyn surged up, her hands on the back of his neck. The first soft touch warmed him, pleasant and sweet.
She pulled away slightly, lips brushing his. “Good, but we can do better. Traditional and all.”
Another touch, soft, and the kiss deepened as she opened to him. Awareness coursed through him, aware of her body pressed to him, of the heat of her tongue and the softness of her lips, and the way she melted in his arms. His fang snagged her bottom lip, and she moaned, the sound going straight to his cock.
His arms tightened around her waist, lifting her to hold her closer. Wyn squealed in surprise, then laughed and pressed her smiling mouth against his.
Yes, his mate was sweet, soft, and better than he imagined.
Reluctantly, he set her back down on her feet but did not pull away. “Sleep. Tomorrow will be a trying day.”
She licked her lip, eyes sparking with mischief, but she stepped back. “I don’t know how you expect me to sleep after that.”
