The moment was so intimate it felt to Tyff as if she had a firm grip on his soul and wasn’t about to let it go. He was genuinely touched that she could see so far into him that she forgave him for anything.
He kissed her hand. “Sleep, my love,” he murmured. “Tomorrow we will talk more. I feel my heart opening already.”
“You liar.” She laughed. “I’m in your mind, remember? I appreciate the words, though.”
She curled up and he covered her with a blanket. He watched her sleep for a short time and didn’t even notice his own head drooping as he fell into his own dreams.
They were waiting for him, far more vivid than he had ever had before. He was in those fields around her home, hearing the insects chirp as the sun went down. He could smell the fresh grass and the dry ground. The wind tickled his face, and he felt a book between his hands.
His dreams slid along the tracks of her memory, showing him her early days at school and how her loving and simple nature enchanted everyone she met. He saw the looks on her family’s faces when she said she wouldn’t go to college. He understood her teachers when they voiced their disappointment, but from his place in Renay’s heart, he knew she wouldn’t have been happy there.
He came up from his dreams slowly, sensing danger. He did not want to wake. He was enjoying seeing Renay grow right before his eyes. He honestly believed if he could maintain the connection he could find the trap around his heart and release it.
But something was wrong.
As he struggled to open his eyes, he heard faint sounds of conflict. It took him a moment to realize it was the TV in the corner of the room they had both forgotten about. He blinked several times, trying to understand what had woken him.
Finally, he focused on the images on the TV. Multiple news reports were being cast, Sasha on one of them.
The resistance camps were still exploding with violence. Even with Radoo and Lane building a new Preor free zone, it wasn’t enough. Some people wanted the Preor gone, and they thought the only way to do it was to keep hurting their own people.
If we left, they would keep hurting each other! They don’t need to use us as a reason. They have plenty, and if those aren’t enough, they’ll invent some more!
He was so angry he had to take a step back from the bed. He knew his mate was not like that. He knew it! She was sweet and kind, thoughtful and generous.
But the trap around his heart closed even tighter. He had seen so much reprehensible behavior from humans and far too much of it had been right here, on this ship, from the parents of the females. His mind quickly provided the memories from the dreams, showing him that Renay’s family were loving and supportive. All the logic in the world wouldn’t help him now, though.
This was an unreasonable fear. It was too difficult for him to admit that he felt fear at all! It was almost as if he shamed his position as war master by admitting he was afraid.
No, my love, he heard Renay’s voice in his mind. Fear doesn’t make you weak. Fear makes you strong. Fear shows you how to protect what you love.
She stirred in her sleep and he brushed hair from her forehead, wondering how she had connected to him while she was still asleep. He was beginning to accept the wonder of her, the complete magic of the fact that she had been made for him, even though they had been born star systems apart.
He took her hand again, wishing he could make everything simple. He was beginning to understand that having a mate was not simple, not at all. The one thought that gave him hope was that if he had to work harder to win her, their love would surely be stronger for it.
Chapter Twenty
Renay drifted in the Preor skies, but this time her mate was with her. His wings stroked the air, so close to its color she could barely see them at all. They shifted and shimmered around her, dropping her into a magical, peaceful world that sighed around her to the rhythm of his wing beats.
She could feel the heat emanating from his scales, the eternal fire that lived beneath his skin. The act of flying was thrilling in and of itself, but being so close to him added shivers of pleasure throughout her entire body. This was so far beyond any excitement she had ever known that it literally changed her world. She finally understood why people risked their lives jumping out of planes or going on violent carnival rides. It was about the thrill.
That’s the difference between them and me. I need to know I’m safe, or I can’t fully enjoy the danger in it.
She reached out a hand and stroked his scales, feeling him move under her touch. As she twisted to press her body against his, she woke herself up and remembered where she was. Her eyes widened in surprise.
Tyff was lying stretched out beside her, their bodies very close. He was watching her face with wide, serious eyes and a little smile on his lips. She reached out and stroked his bare chest, feeling pleasure shiver through her.
“Good morning, my love,” she whispered. He shyly turned his eyes away.
“Good morning, Renay.”
Her heart trembled at the way he said her name. She knew he loved her, even without the Knowing joining them together. He just couldn’t fully give himself over to her, and she understood why. She knew they had been brought together for a very special reason because she felt a deep and urgent need to reassure him, to comfort him, and her own feelings were not hurt.
“I do want you,” he whispered, his eyes trailing over her large, soft breasts and one hand caressing the rounded edge of her proud, generous hips. “Being this close to you is like torture, but I cannot. Please don’t think it’s because I don’t desire you—”
“Oh, Tyff.” She stroked his cheek softly. “I know. I do. Every day that goes by I see more of your heart. I know you don’t see into mine, but that’s okay. I can tell you everything that’s inside me until the Knowing strikes for you.”
“You aren’t… offended?”
“No, my love. I can see the look in your eyes and sense the heat in your touch. I know our bodies desperately want each other. That’s the whole point of being ‘mated.’ Isn’t it?” She grinned mischievously.
He leaned over and kissed that smile, returning it with one of his own. “That, and a family.” His voice was somewhat pained. “Dragonlets, a fine aerie. All the things I thought I could never have.”
“What stands in your way, Tyff,” she asked, seriously. She knew, but she wanted him to put it in his own words.
“I feel like it is my duty to lead the Preor,” he said, simply. “I know it’s complete arrogance, and maybe I’m taking on too much. But I see the complete destruction of our ways if I turn from the army and the ship the way my brothers have done. Just like those resistance humans say, we need a place of just our own.”
“But you are here now.” She stroked his tousled hair back. “Our cultures are one. No matter what the resistance think, the Preor are here to stay, and within a hundred years, it will simply be how it has always been. Humans live short lives, and they forget fast. A hundred years is nothing to the Preor.”
“Well,” he answered, “on Earth we may have altered lifespans. We really don’t know yet.”
She nodded, understanding.
“I see your heritage, Tyff. I can see your father and grandfather. It’s true that all the mated Preor had strong ties to the military, but all of them truly preferred a mate and family deep within their hearts.” She placed a hand on his chest.