“I love you with all my heart, too, Varnog,” she said with a tenderness filled with a serious undertone that slightly took me aback. “Our mission is over. We are here in this hideaway, surrounded by friends and allies for the next almost three months. I think it’s time for us to truly be together.”
My breath caught in my throat as understanding dawned on me. I wanted to shout ‘yes’ as much as I wanted to say ‘no.’ So many terrible scenarios coursed through my head. What if things turned bad? What if she hated what our complete union would do to her?
What if I die?
“You know there is nothing I want more,” I said cautiously. “But we do not have to rush. What if…? what if…?”
I couldn’t say the words. Thinking that she could possibly grow to resent me and my DNA changing her was horrible enough. Saying it out loud was beyond me.
“What if nothing,” Linette said forcefully. “I have spoken with Lekla.”
I froze and stared at her in shock.
“I know being together will change me. She has no idea how far those changes could go, but never beyond what you personally are,” she explained. “However, the standard has never been more than five to ten percent based on previous experiments of various types.”
“But even ten percent... What if it’s the ten percent you don’t like?” I asked, my arms tightening around her.
“You silly man,” Linette said shaking her head at me as if I’d said something dumb. “There’s nothing I dislike about you. You are perfect in every way. My Vanguard sisters mated to Warriors and Dragons strut around proudly showing off their mantle. Do you think I would be any less proud to show off whatever part of you becomes a permanent part of me? Whatever token told the whole world that you and I are one?”
“But… but what if you lose your hair?” I asked, feeling a little silly for saying it, even though she had mentioned how much she would hate that.
She chuckled in that purring way of hers that I loved so much and rubbed the scales on top of my head. “I’ll probably kick your ass, and then I’ll get over it. I don’t care about this superficial stuff,” she said with a sincerity that moved me to the core. “I love my hair because I’ve always had it. And if bonding with you means it’s got to go, then so be it. I will love however bonding to you changes me. Read me.”
I slightly recoiled upon hearing those last two words, my heart leaping in my chest.
“Read me,” she insisted. “I want you to know just how I see you, and why giving me a part of you is the greatest gift, not something to fear or be ashamed of. You are my man, and I am your mate.”
My throat painfully tight, I timidly opened my senses to let her thoughts flood in. I had hungered for that for so long, and now I was terrified. There would be no hiding anything. But just as my insecurities almost drove me to back out, my little Firefly pushed her thoughts at me. They crashed into me with a violence that left me reeling. Seconds later, tears welled in my eyes and then poured down my cheeks. I had never cried in my life, despite many pains and hardships. I was mortified, and yet I didn’t waste any effort to try and stop them. I was drowning in the mesmerizing whirlwind of love from my woman.
No one had ever looked at me… or rather looked inside of me the way this little human had. No one had ever seen me in the light she did. I did not understand it. I couldn’t rationalize it. But I didn’t care. Even if the entire galaxy decided to see me as nothing more than a monster, it no longer mattered. Her love, her belief in me had confirmed I was worthy. As long as I drew breath, I would do everything in my power so that she forever sees me this way. I tightened my arms further around her as she kissed away the tears on my face.
“My mate,” I whispered, my throat so constricted the words were barely understandable. “My beautiful Linette. My little Firefly. You are my soulmate. You are my everything.”
Our lips met again, and as our tongues mingled, I poured every ounce of my devotion for her into our kiss. While carrying my woman to our bed, I began lifting her uniform dress. She helped me rid her of it before I threw it away and settled Linette on top of the mattress. She kicked off her shoes while I swiftly discarded my clothes. As I crawled onto the bed, she slowly backed away towards the center.
Catching her ankle, I dragged her back towards me. It made her giggle, the musical sound divine to my ears. I loved all the different ways my Firefly laughed, be it her purring chuckle, her throaty laughter, her almost girly giggle, or the way she hiccupped when she was dying of laughter.
Then again, I loved everything about her.
And right now, I was loving the way she was responding to my lips brushing against her ankles. I had been memorizing all the sensitive points of my woman. Gentle caresses along her ankles, the soft skin behind her knees, the inner wrists, the line of her shoulders and crook of her neck—especially on the right side—and her nape always turned her into a puddle. While she enjoyed getting her breasts fondled, she’d been a little self-conscious about them being very humble—by human standards. Janaurian women—which were my reference—had flat chests like us males. So, to me, my Linette’s breasts were just perfect.
As I explored each of her sensitive points with my hands, my mouth, and my tongue, the intensity of my responses to her own reaction threw me for a loop. And then I realized I was still reading her. I froze for a second, and immediately started shutting her out before stopping myself. I wanted to know how she felt and not just guess.
“I am still reading you,” I confessed. “Not your thoughts, just your feelings and responses to my touch. If you wish—”
“Don’t stop. I have nothing to hide from you,” she interrupted, her consciousness gently entering my psychic void.
I welcomed her, letting myself be infused with her very essence. Over the past couple of weeks since we first became intimate, discovering how my woman liked to be touched had been magical. But being able to feel her response this way transcended words. Such subtle nuances, even simply the strength of a touch: from too much, to not enough, to just right.
Her left nipple was more sensitive than the right one, and the edge of her areola gave her more pleasure than the little bud itself. She loved my claws raking harder over her belly and her thighs, but preferred a gentler pressure on her arms. Each discovery was a little wonder that I filed away in my memory as I slowly brought her to the edge.
I didn’t need to touch her sex to do so. Nevertheless, I crawled between her legs, both as a personal treat and to see how she responded to my touch there. I barely brushed her engorged little nub than Linette shouted my name and came undone. I had expected it, but not that her pleasure would smash into me with such force that I nearly spilled my seed. It took all of my willpower to keep control as I licked and lapped at her delicate folds while she rode her climax.
Crawling back on top of her, I felt dizzy from the strength of her pleasure coursing through me. I wasn’t feeling it the same way she was experiencing it, but more like its diffused intensity. Linette spread her legs wide, her arms possessively wrapping around me as she gazed lovingly at my face with her midnight blue eyes darkened by pleasure.
“You and me forever,” she whispered in response to my unspoken question.