That’s an unexpected reaction.
I started awake, pulse pounding in my ears, sweat covering me, and bile creeping up my throat. My breath harsh, I shoved away from Serlotminden and sat up. My arms curled around my knees as I hugged them to my chest. I took a deep breath and tried to banish the nightmares of burnt bodies and sightless eyes chasing me, dragging me away, taking revenge, but every time I closed my eyes the ghosts were still there, haunting me.
I’d never used to dream on Xome, but here, I’d had nightmares every time I slept. Why now? Why couldn’t the past stay where it belonged?
Probably because I deserved whatever punishment the universe doled out.
Something snaked around my forearm, and I yelped, falling over as I tried to get away. No. Please, no.
“Bartholomew. Teddy,” a wonderfully deep voice said, and I released a long breath. I looked over, but the darkness of the tent didn’t allow me to see anything. Mindy’s tail tugged me closer, and I fell against his chest. “It’s cold,” he said, arms surrounding me. “Stay close.”
My heart clogged my throat and a sudden wave of comfort crashed over me, making me feel so damn safe beside him. I laid an arm on his stomach and whispered, “Don’t leave.”
His chest rumbled in laughter. “Where would I go? Go back to sleep.”
I hoped he was telling the truth, because I liked being right next to him.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked, chewing on my nail. He tugged my hand away from my mouth and held it to his chest, rubbing the back over his sternum where his heart vibrated. We’d been crash landed for three days at least by now, and the gesture had become normal. Mindy never stopped touching me. A tail around my ankle or wrist. Pulling me tight against him. Grabbing my hand. Perhaps drakcol were a physically affectionate species. I didn’t really mind. He was warm, and it was cold even inside the tent. “I have to walk. I’m not going to rebuild my damaged muscles with the slight shifting I do to relieve myself.”
God, I was thankful he hadn’t needed my help with that. I would have. I wasn’t a dick, but I didn’t want to. “Alright.”
“Help me, please.”
“First, you need to put on warmer clothes, or more clothes I guess.” I tugged on one of his pairs of pants over my jumpsuit, and his deep green eyes glowed as he watched, tail thrashing. I grabbed another pair that were soft and stretchy, like sweats and leggings had a baby. “Ready?”
“I like you in my clothes,” he said in a deep voice as his tail slowly curled around my leg, coiling up my calf to tickle the back of my knee.
“Okay.” That was odd, but whatever worked for him. “Ready to put on some more clothes?”
I pulled the pants over his ankles—feeding his tail in through the hole—then slid them up. When I reached his hips, he arched, and my mouth went bone dry while my cock twitched. He groaned and his face scrunched from the movement, and I had to breathe through a sudden wave of want.
What the actual fuck?
He was hurt and in pain, but Mindy’s groan was turning me on. Me! I didn’t get turned on very often. Sex and people rarely interested me. Romance, yes, though I hadn’t indulged in that either. But when his lean hips lifted, it made my pulse skitter. In the past, my hand had been sufficient to meet my needs whenever the mood struck, but now, it was like something unfurled in my chest and stuck to my ribs. I wanted Serlotminden.
Of course, I wasn’t attracted to someone reasonable. No, my cock was into an unavailable alien. Par for the course.
Teddy, I scolded myself, then shook my head.Bartholomew Reginald, he is hurt and has a boyfriend. Calm the fuck down. I took a deep breath. It would go away eventually. I would ignore my attraction to him until it vanished.
“Perfect,” I forced out as I attempted to regain control of my traitorous body.
“Give me a moment,” he said, tone laced with pain.
I moved before I’d even thought about it to stroke his cheek. Serlotminden leaned into my touch, pushing his nose against my palm, inhaling. He seemed to do that a lot—smelling me. Then he rubbed his forehead against my palm and wrist before smelling me again; he did that often too. It was weird, but I didn’t say anything. It comforted him, and it didn’t bother me.
“Take as much time as you need.”
“How kind.”
I smiled. Fuck, I’d smiled more in the last three days than I had in I don’t know how long. Something about him brought it out. I’d also talked more than usual as well. I wasn’t a talker, but whenever Mindy asked me a question, I had a hard time ignoring him.
After he’d relaxed, I placed his arms around my neck, then leaned back with him in my embrace. Mindy groaned, burying his face against my neck and making his silky hair tickle my cheek.
“Breathe,” I told him.
Nose in the crook of my neck, Mindy practically huffed me as he held me with trembling arms. His nose and forehead rubbed against the column of my neck as well as my shoulder while jagged pants escaped his lips.
I smoothed a hand over his back to comfort him, but paused when I felt two lumps on his shoulder blades. I had no idea what they were, but they didn’t matter at the moment. Easing the pain from his tense muscles was more important, so I stroked his back. He had to hurt. His stomach had been pierced by a sizable piece of metal. That would’ve kept me out of commission for far longer, if it hadn’t killed me.
