Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3
Page 18
“Oh my God,” Lily moaned, resting her head back against his shoulder and running her palms over his arms, still banded across her front. “That was amazing.”
His purr rattled through him again, and pride expanded his chest. He licked and kissed the slowly healing punctures on her neck, marveling at how right they looked. “Did I hurt you?” He didn’t think he had, but he needed to be sure.
Lily chuckled. “Only in the best way. I should’ve known you’d be a little rough.”
He gently slipped out of her and nipped her lobe. “I’ll be anything you want me to be.”
***
The words replayed in Lily’s mind, and she wanted to believe them. Really, she did. But how could they be true? She squirmed to be released. Verakko rumbled a deep sound of disapproval but gently pressed a wet kiss to her ear that made her shiver, and opened his arms.
She faced him. He looked so happy and relaxed. His bright-green eyes watched her with such contentment. A wistful grin transformed his features as his gaze settled on the part of her neck he’d bitten.
Lily thought back to the night before and recalled he’d mentioned bites were reserved for mates and wives. If he bit her, that must mean he had hope she’d become one of those things. Right? Or was she just fooling herself again?
When they’d first met, he’d told her mates were a couple married for life. It was the type of relationship Alice was in now. Could she see herself staying with Verakko for life? She didn’t know.
If this afternoon had taught her anything, though, it was that losing him had scared her more than anything she’d ever experienced. The thought of not seeing him, arguing with him, laughing with him, threatened to level her even now.
Lily smiled to herself as Verakko waded to the edge of the pool, his devastating teal body glowing brighter in the neon-blue light from the bioluminescent moss. If an emotion like that wasn’t enough to give a lifelong commitment a shot, she didn’t know what was. Still, if they could start with something less permanent and go from there, she’d feel more comfortable.
He rummaged through a large trunk mounted onto the floor near the edge of the pool and produced a small bottle, grinning brightly. “Soap,” he said, raising one dark brow at her.
Lily gasped and splashed over to him, uncaring of how desperate she must look.
“What’ll you give me for it?” He chuckled, holding the bottle out of reach.
She stood back with her hands on her hips and tried to be annoyed. Her scowl cracked. The boyish look of delight on his face was enough to break any woman’s resolve.
She gave him a sly smile and straightened her shoulders, pushing out her breasts. His gaze snapped to attention. She sauntered over to him through the water, reveling in the hungry way he eyed her movements. “Well, maybe if we get really clean all over,” she purred, running her hand slowly down his rock-hard chest, then beneath the water and over his firm stomach, “I might be willing to kiss you in some other places.” He jerked when she gripped his still-hard shaft, making her intention clear.
His eyes widened in disbelief. “You’d do that?”
Lily snaked her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts into his chest and grinning. “I think you’re vastly underestimating how much I enjoy being clean.”
He lowered the tube, and she snatched it. Then he dipped his head, a deep chuckle rumbling through him, and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
Lily let out an embarrassingly loud moan and leaned into the touch of her alien.
Chapter 15
Today is the day. I need to tell her everything. Verakko scrunched his chin and peered down at Lily, sleeping deeply, sprawled on his chest.
He ground his teeth. The haze of unprecedented joy that had overcome him the night before had worn off as the night had stretched on. After she’d fallen asleep in his arms, he’d finally searched his hands, frustrated to find them still mark-free.
But it didn’t matter. His eyes had changed, which meant he’d recognized her as a potential mate. Potential. He scoffed, knowing deep in his bones that it was only a matter of time before his stubborn marks appeared.
His marriage contract with Ziritha no longer bothered him either, now that he could get out of it easily by claiming Lily as his mivassi. No, the worry that had slowly seeped into his mind during the night concerned her acceptance of the bond.
How would she take the news that she was unequivocally his and he hers? That neither of them would ever be with anyone else? That the longer they were together from the time his marks appeared onward, the harder it would be for him to survive on his own?
He could keep his distance from her for a while, give her time to adjust. But once his marks appeared, it would be incredibly difficult to give her space, or so he assumed based on all the accounts of mating he’d ever heard. No individual lived happily once their mate was gone. Not a single one. There was no way of knowing how the mating bond would affect him, seeing as Lily was human. Would the bond be weaker? If his feelings for her now were any indication, no. Would he have the strength to stay away from her if she refused to accept the bond?
A slice of anxiety, different from the constant worry that had plagued him all night, hit as a thought occurred. What will my mother do if my marks do show up, but Lily refuses to make a commitment to me? Verakko swallowed. Would she force Lily to remain with him? And if she did, would Lily come to resent him?
Maybe I shouldn’t bring her to Mithrandir. He ground his molars and clutched Lily to him a little more tightly.
Lily made a small sound of discomfort, and he loosened his grip. She roused, yawning and stretching against him in a way that felt indescribably right. She gazed up at him, sleep still clouding her eyes, and smiled.
Fuck! Verakko inwardly cursed over and over as he looked at her. Couldn’t they just stay here? Pretend like the rest of the world didn’t exist?
Her eyes grew instantly worried. “Is everything okay?”
Verakko forced a smile and nodded. “Yes. I’m not looking forward to the rest of the journey, that’s all.”
Her gaze turned confused. “Wait.” She took in their position on the ground near the pool, and a crooked smile spread across her face. “Did I fall asleep?”
Verakko grinned despite himself. “You did.”
“Oh no.” She chuckled, releasing a sigh and propping her chin on his chest. “Well, I guess us both getting some sleep for once is a good thing.”
Verakko gave a noncommittal grunt. He hadn’t slept at all.
She tried to lift off his chest, but he hauled her back down.
She laughed again. “Don’t want to get moving?”
“Don’t want to go back to the world,” he said quietly.
Her fingers, which had been brushing up and down his stomach, paused, and she stared at him again with a sad smile. “We should talk, shouldn’t we?”
His stomach turned sour. More than you know, mivassi.
Lily released a sound of resignation and planted a soft kiss on his chest. “We’d better start moving soon, or I’m never going to be able to get myself to leave.” She ran her lips up the column of his throat, eliciting a low purr from him.
“Why?” he asked when she finally stopped.
She yawned again. “Anxiety-spiking pitch-black tunnels, or warm, well-lit room with a hot spring and a handsome, naked man? I need to force myself to leave now before I fully wake up and my sense returns.” Lily draped an arm over her breasts and peered around her.
Verakko nodded toward the far side of the room. “While you were sleeping, I washed and laid out our clothes, but they’re likely still damp from this air.”
As she rose to inspect the clothes, he studied the flare of her waist and the delicious curve of her ass. How long would it be until he’d see this again?
A lump formed in his throat as he watched her hop awkwardly from one foot to the next, trying to drag the damp fabric of her pants up her body. What if she doesn’t want me for a mate?
“What’s the biting about anyway?” Lily grinned at him as he dressed. “I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it…” She padded over to him and curled her fingers around his neck, scraping her nails through his hair.
“I’ll explain on the way,” he said stiffly. Before he pulled away, he brought one of her soft palms to his mouth and kissed it.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lily looked at him quizzically. “Your eyes are black again.”
He covered up the strangled sound that burst from his throat with a cough. Instead of answering, he gripped her nape and pulled her in for a deep kiss. Could he ever live without this?
It took Lily a moment to open her eyes after he pulled away. He finished dressing, helped clean the small room, and waited by the door. She made a face of disgust as she slipped on her shoes.
At his questioning look, she explained, “Still wet.”
A smile tugged at his lips, and he opened the door. Lily frowned, shivering as a blast of cold air flooded through the opening, then rushed out of the room with balled fists. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes. The mellow scent of fear wafted from Lily and scraped against Verakko’s senses like sandpaper. As the mating bond strengthened, her unrest became his. How much worse would it be once his marks showed up? He now understood why his aunt Yerew was always in such a bad mood whenever she fought with her mate, and also why their fights never seemed to last very long. It made him physically uncomfortable to know she was anything less than happy.
He studied Lily and watched her eyes continue to dart around the black tunnel, unseeing. She curled her arms into her body and hunched her shoulders, leaning into his side as he guided her through the passage.
Realization dawned on him. “Is it the size of the tunnel?”
“Is what the size of the tunnel?”
“I can smell your fear.”
She let out a small sound of agreement. “Well, yes and no. I can’t really see how big the tunnel is, but I keep imagining it’s small, and that apparently is enough to make me claustrophobic.”
“How can I help? he asked, voice tight.
“You’re helping. Just keep talking to me.” She scanned the space in front of her again. “Tell me about the biting.”
Verakko couldn’t suppress the flood of happiness he felt at her mention of his bite. “It’s something we do to make sure the female has our antivenom.”
“Antivenom?” Lily blurted, appearing startled. When he only stared at her, unsure what to say, she continued, “You put…injected me with antivenom? Why? Are you planning on biting me with venom at some point?”
Verakko chuckled and guided her forward again. “It’s for procreation. Each Swadaeth’s venom is a little different. All are deadly, but they aren’t all exactly the same. We can be harmed by one another’s venom if bitten, although the reaction would be more akin to a severe cold than death, as it would be in a non-Swadaeth. Since a child will have half the male’s genes and half the female’s, we inject antivenom to make sure the female doesn’t become ill from the child’s developing venom as it grows in her.”
He knew they were getting close to the exit because it was becoming warm, the dry heat from the Dakuun desert permeating the tunnel. Lily gripped his forearm as she shuffled through the dark and wiped sweat from her brow. How much of her current state was because of the heat and how much was a reaction to the meaning of his bite?
“So, you could get me pregnant?” she asked with an odd look of confusion mixed with something unreadable.
Verakko shrugged, feeling brief joy at the idea before a nervous fear settled in. Hadn’t she known that? “I thought you knew it was a possibility.”
An awkward twitch of her shoulders was the only response Lily gave for a moment. Then, she worried her bottom lip and said, “I guess on some level I know we’re the same species, but I never put two and two together. You’re just so different from me. It’s baffling that I might be able to have a…blue?—I don’t even know what color—baby.” Lily shook her head in disbelief and wiped her forehead with her shirt again. “It’s a good thing I have an IUD.”
Verakko scanned her body, not recalling any superficial device. “Where is it?”
She chuckled, her eyes still a bit wider than normal. “It’s inside me. A type of birth control.”
Verakko remembered Jade had been sure of her Earth-given birth control as well. Should he tell Lily her IUD might not be as effective as she thinks? “One of the humans, Jade, became pregnant while on a form of Earth birth control. I didn’t look into it, but it may be that your IUD is…ineffective.”
Lily’s steps faltered. She stared into the darkness for a moment, then gave a deep sigh and shrugged. “Well, shit.” She laughed. She threw her hand in the air in a gesture that said the new information was just a grain of sand on an ever-growing dune. “I guess we’ll see what happens. I can’t imagine it won’t work, though. It isn’t like the pill.” She pointed, or attempted to point, accusingly at him and grinned. “But you’re wrapping it next time.”
Wrapping it? Verakko mulled over the odd phrase before the words next time registered, and his shaft twitched. The end of the tunnel came into view ahead. She’d taken the news that she could become pregnant pretty well. Maybe she’d take the news that she was his mate well too?
As soon as they got outside and she could look him in the eyes. He’d tell her then. His heart jumped in his chest with every step closer to the exit they got. Neither of them had eaten last night, and he was thankful for it, knowing his stomach was ready to turn at any moment.
When they finally reached the exit and stepped out, Verakko expelled a large pent-up breath. He pulled Lily through the door and watched her take in the first sight of his homeland.
Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung slightly open. He peered at the scenery and tried to see it through her eyes. They were standing a few hundred feet away from the base of the black mountains. The tunnel had deposited them far from the mountains to ensure the crumbling sides, which often collapsed after heavy sandstorms, didn’t block the tunnel.
The blazing sun was high overhead, shining down on a sea of glittering black sand. Towering dunes formed farther away from the mountains, barely blocking out the view to his city, only a day’s walk away.
“It’s beautiful,” Lily whispered. She gulped and gave him a forced smile. “And a little bit terrifying, to be honest.” She reached out and clasped his hand in hers, tugging him along as she trudged forward up the nearest dune. The small gesture was so natural and affectionate, it made his breath hitch.
“It can be quite dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.” He stared back over the rolling hills of sand, recalling the days and nights he’d spent out here while serving in his city’s infantry. “It may not look like it, but the desert is alive. Watching where you step is the most important thing to keep in mind. If the sand looks anything other than smooth, tell me immediately.”
Lily raised her brows and scanned the ground anxiously. “Yep, that’s gonna give me all sorts of nightmares.”
As they came to the top of the dune, a glint in the distance caught his eye, and he pointed toward it. She spun, shielding her eyes.
There it was. Mithrandir. The new city, with its towering buildings, was visible from a great distance.
“Wow,” she breathed. “It almost looks like a forest. The buildings are weird. Why are they so wide and flat on top?”
With a resigned sigh, Verakko slid behind her, twining his arms around her waist and breathing into her hair. “They only look flat. They’re actually sloped inward and lined with solar panels. The mist and rain collect on the roof and are guided down through the center of the building and into large filtering systems underground. Then the wate
r is pumped up to the top, where it falls back down again.”
She scrunched her brows. “Why? Isn’t that wasteful?”
Verakko chuckled. “No, not wasteful. The water is used as needed, and if there’s a shortage, the water is managed better. It’s an unnecessary luxury. The architect designed the building to be self-sustaining, but he also took into account my people’s penchant for extravagance.” He gestured grandly to the buildings, pretending to speak as though enraptured. “When visitors come to our desert city, they’re awed by our lush gardens and never-ending waterfalls in the center of every building.”
Lily chuckled. He shook his head, having always found the feature to be pointless and ridiculously opulent. Although the water was all used, he felt it could’ve been utilized more efficiently. A flash of excitement raced through him again. If he wasn’t marrying Ziritha, that meant he wouldn’t need to move back to Mithrandir either. He could stay in Tremanta with Lily, where technology was prized above gaudy displays.
She rested her head against his chest. “I can’t wait to see the city.”
With great effort, Verakko slipped his hands from around Lily and turned her until she was facing him. “We need to talk before we go to the city.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck.
Lily nodded slowly and glanced to him with worried eyes. “I agree.”
“I’m not sure you should go to Mithrandir. I think Tremanta would be a better place for you right now.” This thought had come to him repeatedly last night, but he’d ignored it, knowing it would mean he’d have to be apart from Lily for a short while. But the more he thought about it, the more honorable a decision it appeared to be. “I don’t know how my city will react to humans. They may not even be aware of your existence yet, and the Queen of Tremanta is giving humans certain liberties that my mother may not.” Like the right to choose not to be with me, he thought, wincing as though a knife had sliced into his gut.
Lily’s eyes shot back and forth, digesting the information, before landing back on him. A shy smile lit her face. “But what about you? Will you go to Tremanta with me?”