Page 34 of Caldar
She sat back, resting her weight on his legs. Hormones were flying around her body, but her mind felt clearer. “Did it work? I think I’m better.”
Sweat beaded his brow. His chest heaved. His cock was still thick. Sonia ignored all that as she carefully worked out the thorns with the back of the blade. Occasionally she’d glance back just to check.
Yup. Still hard. Was that a side effect of the drug? Or was a constantly hard dick just a fact of life for a Mahdfel? Oh, all the things she never thought to ask her bestie who married an alien but should have …
Finally, all that was left was his last bound hand. The area under the vines was nearly black. The toxin spread down his arm, a dark gray against his aubergine skin. She said, “I’m going to cut you free.”
“No. Do not. I am not in my right mind.”
“Caldar, your skin is nearly black. It’s an infection or reaction. It’s not good.”
He twisted his head to get a better look at his bound hand. “It is fine. I do not need—”
“If you’re about to tell me that you don’t need that hand, just cram it. No one is losing limbs on my watch, which is a thing I honestly never thought I’d have to say, but here we are.”
“If you cut me, I will not be able to control myself. The toxin has not been purged from my system. I will claim you,” he spoke slowly, as if each word were drawn painfully from him. “Mark you as my mate.”
He needed sex. Right there.
The idea didn’t horrify her. Oh, the circumstances were horrifying. None of her fantasies ever involved surviving an exploding cruise ship, being dumped into a labyrinth, only to be chased by monsters. All that could fuck right off. But her and Caldar? That seemed right. Inevitable.
They kissed—and it was amazing.
Sonia touched her lips, still tasting him.
The fog of lust and desire cleared. She was herself now, or approaching herself. She no longer needed him with mindless desire. If she climbed off him, she’d stay in control of herself.
But he would suffer, possibly die from the toxic thorns. If she cut him free, he’d claim her. He said as much. Caldar and his kind played for keeps. There’d be no going back if she cut the vines.
It was an impossible choice: keep control of her body and he dies, or save him and get claimed as an alien mate.
What would she regret more— at some future point, assuming they survived this— losing her autonomy or losing Caldar?
She couldn’t live with herself if he died.
Just like that, she knew what she had to do. Calmness descended over her. Caldar was far from perfect, but she liked— loved? — him. High pressure situations were far from ideal for making big life decisions, but nothing about the decision felt wrong. It felt right.
“It’s okay,” she said.
“No, it is not.” He tugged the restraint against his wrist. “I will be unable to control myself. I’ll have you and—”
“It’ll be okay,” she repeated. “I want you to. I want to.”
“Sonia,” he croaked, absolute desperation in his voice. “Not like this.”
“What happens if you stay like this? These vines are poisonous.”
He tilted his head back and groaned. It grew steadily into a roar. Sonia felt it, right down to the center of her being.
That… that should not have been so hot.
“I can smell you. Your arousal.” His expression changed. No, more than that. His face changed. She couldn’t describe it, but how he held himself, the set of his jaw, the pout of his lips, his brows—it changed like he had put on a mask.
Or removed the mask he wore, finally revealing his true nature.
He watched her with hungry eyes. Everything about his face seemed leaner, sharper.
She wasn’t sure untying him was the best option.
