Nodding, he took her hand and twined his fingers through hers. “Ready to start our adventure?”
She smiled. “I’m ready.”
With their new furry friends leaping, swinging, and hooting above them, they headed away from the pod.
The inquisitive hooting mammals stayed with them as they trekked through the forest toward the hills in which Jak’ri hoped to find shelter. He quickly came to regret not applying the pain suppressor to Ava’s foot. Her limp gradually grew more pronounced and her winces more frequent as she tried not to put much weight on it.
Cursing himself, he helped her as much as he could.
Or as much as she’d let him. Ava was a proud female, reluctant to exhibit any weakness whatsoever. But Jak’ri didn’t think her weak. Even before her baffling transformation he hadn’t thought her weak.
Had he wished to protect her?
Of course. That impulse, however, had in no way arisen from a belief that she wasn’t strong. He had admired how she’d handled captivity, the way she’d conquered her fears again and again, the sense of humor she hadn’t abandoned in favor of despair. He’d been grateful for the reprieves she’d granted him from his own captivity in dreams, treasuring the moments of freedom they’d shared at Runaka Point. And he respected the intelligence she had repeatedly exhibited both back on the ship and here on this alien world.
He studied her from the corner of his eye. She’d pulled her long hair back in what she called a ponytail that slid this way and that across the top of her pack. Little tendrils had escaped and danced around her pretty face as a faint sheen of moisture glistened on her forehead.
Jak’ri’s heart thudded in his chest. Since becoming an adult, he had wondered periodically what having a lifemate would be like, if experiencing that depth of emotion and caring would change him in some way.
His parents’ union was a loving one, full of laughter, affection, and teasing. Throughout his life, his mother and father had shared a closeness that he’d begun to wonder if he would ever find himself, since past lovers had failed to engender those emotions in him.
But now he knew. Now he understood.
Because he was coming to feel for Ava what Purvelis felt for lifemates.
Ava slowed to a halt.
Jak’ri stopped beside her, his arm tucked through hers and lending support.
Turning to face him, she stared up at him.
He frowned as worry rose. “Are you all right? Do you want to rest a bit?” If her foot pained her too much, perhaps he could convince her to let him carry both bags by hand while she rode on his back.
Her slender throat moved in a swallow. “That isn’t how I’d like to ride you,” she whispered, her brown eyes acquiring a fascinating amber glow.
As the meaning of her words sank in, desire coursed through him and instantly rendered him hard and aching. “What?” he asked, voice hoarse.
“Did you mean it?” She studied him intently. “Do you really feel for me what your people feel for lifemates?”
As realization dawned, he swore. “You were reading my mind.”
“Yes. I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional. When I’m tired or stressed, it’s harder to block out other people’s thoughts and…” Raising her hands, she cupped his face. “I admit I liked what I heard.” She leaned her lithe body into his. “Because I’m falling in love with you, Jak’ri. I have been for a while now. Maybe even since our first shared dream.”
He had suspected as much from his perusal of her thoughts earlier, but hearing her confirm it and speak it aloud…
He slid both arms around her, tucking them between her pack and her back. “You’re supposed to go to Lasara,” he murmured. And yet he wanted desperately to take her back to Purvel with him.
Her slow nod made his heart sink. “I am. But the Lasarans promised to protect us. They told Seth they would keep all of us safe. And I’m thinking—or I’m hoping—that their failure to do that may make them more amenable should I… decide to live elsewhere.”
“You would consider that?” he asked, hope rising.
Her smile turned wry. “Even though I’m not a fan of camping, I would even consider living here on K-54973 with you if that was the only way we could be together.”
His heart pounding, Jak’ri ducked his head and claimed her lips in a fervent kiss that he hoped would convey everything he felt for her.
Looping her arms around his neck, Ava rose onto her toes and kissed him back with a passion that stole his breath.
“Love is what you feel for lifemates?” he asked. She’d used the word once before in much the same way Purvelis did, but he wanted to ensure he didn’t misunderstand as he trailed kisses across her cheek to the soft skin of her neck just beneath her ear.
“Yes,” she breathed, tunneling her fingers through his hair and sending a shiver through him.
Jak’ri returned his lips to hers.
Do Purvelis kiss with tongues? she asked telepathically, perhaps as unwilling as he was to break the contact.
He paused and drew back to stare at her. “With tongues?”
She nodded.
“No.”
“Okay.” She leaned in to kiss him again.
“Do Earthlings?” he asked
“Some do. Some don’t,” she said, a shrug in her voice, then tried to capture his lips again.
But he remained out of reach.
Brow furrowing, she loosed a huff of annoyance that made him smile.
“Do you kiss with tongues?” he asked.
She lowered her heels to the ground and stared up at him. “Sometimes.”
“It is something you enjoy?”
She hesitated. “With the right person.”
“Is it something you think you would enjoy with me?”
The amber glow in her eyes brightened, answering him before she even spoke the words. “Yes. With you, I think I would enjoy it very much.” And the husky tone that entered her voice affected him as strongly as a stroke of her hand would.
“Then show me,” he murmured.
Rising onto her toes again, she cupped his face. “Just follow my lead.” She spoke so softly it was almost a whisper.
He nodded, then dipped his head. Her lips were soft against his, once more inciting desire that paled in comparison to what he felt at the first brush of her tongue against his lips. Jak’ri sucked in a breath, stunned by the shock of need such a simple touch could inspire.
Ava swiftly took advantage of his parted lips and slipped her tongue into his mouth.
Fire shot through him when her tongue stroked his, heating his blood and rendering him rock hard. Groaning, he tentatively followed her example. More heat. More fire. Why the srul had he never tried this before?
Moaning, Ava wrapped her arms around him again and crushed him to her with surprising strength. You taste so good, she said telepathically.
Even that—her sultry voice in his head while her tongue danced with his and her body rubbed against him—made him burn.
More, he growled.
A heavy weight landed on his pack.
Startled, Jak’ri broke the kiss and staggered backward. What the drek?
Ava looked over his shoulder and gaped.
Oh drek. What was it?
His hand went to his blaster.
Her face—still flushed with desire—lit with a wide grin as laughter bubbled forth.