It was impossible to imagine going cycles without seeing my parents, brothers, and cousin. Bartholomew’s family didn’t even know what had become of him and that he was alive. While I wished there was some way to tell them, I loathed the idea of being separated from him. Bartholomew was my friend, and I wanted the best thing for him, which was obviously staying right beside me. I would take care of him far better than anyone else.
But was it enough? Or once we were rescued, would he return to Earth? Would he abandon me?
I trailed my fingers over his face, lingering on his lips. Every once in a while, they quirked in amusement. He wasn’t very expressive, my Bartholomew, but then again, life had been far too unkind to him of late. He needed more moments to exist and observe the world, and I planned to give it to him.
Well, as soon as I recovered.
He grunted, throwing a leg over mine, and I slid a hand lower, resting right above the slight swell of his butt, to hold him close to me. I took a deep inhale and grinned when I scented myself on him. But it wasn’t enough. My instincts demanded more.
I rubbed my scent onto him, and it soothed the remaining tension from my body. His hand slid down my chest, lying over the injury to my gut. His light touch sent shards of glass through me, and I bit back a hiss of pain, teeth catching on my lip ring. I moved his hand over my soul, interlacing our fingers.
The feel of his palm against mine made me groan. I understood why humans and my brothers did this with their mates. It was nice. I lifted his hand and rested it against my mouth, enjoying the smoothness of his skin against the sensitive scales of my lips.
I wanted to kiss his knuckles, to trace the prominent bumps with my lips and then with my tongue. That was not allowed. To avoid the almost overwhelming temptation, I pulled his hand away, lowering it to my chest, right over my racing soul.
Kissing his knuckles was not enough. Not even close. My lips needed to press right against his. His breath on me, his tongue touching mine, and any noise he made mine to swallow. I craved it; I needed it, and I didn’t understand why.
We were friends. Weren’t we?
Perhaps I was in need of physical comfort? But Bartholomew didn’t want that. I drew his palm back to my mouth, unable to help myself. This, whatever this was, felt stronger than anything I’d ever experienced before. It was disconcerting. Of course, I’dnever rescued anyone like this before. He was mine to take care of.
My thoughts latched onto the word ‘mine.’ I liked it. A lot.
Taking a deep inhale of Bartholomew’s earthy fragrance, I wished my brothers were here to talk to. They would help me through whatever was going on. Of course, if they were here, I would be competing for Bartholomew’s attention, which I did not like the thought of.
Perhaps it was best we were alone. Once we were rescued, I would know how to keep his attention fixed on me. Completely and totally on me, where it belonged. I smiled, gathering him close, and fell asleep with his form pressed against my side.
Chapter 12
Apparently, sunlight is necessary.
“I need sun,” Serlotminden whined—an honest-to-god wheedling whine.
It had been a full-time job keeping him entertained, and he couldn’t lie on the floor of the cockpit or sit for long enough to work. I also worried about the sharp shards of screen and creaking rocks hurting him. When I told him no, he’d listened, which shocked me, but that meant he was bored.
“Is it life or death?” I asked, forcing a nutrition block into his hand.
He muttered darkly under his breath in his language, hauling me closer to his side, but he started to eat. “Drakcolneedsun. Don’t humans?”
Vitamin D was a thing, and I was probably in desperate need, but I hadn’t been sweating what vitamins I needed or not. It was safe to assume I was deficient on pretty much everything.
I shrugged with a grunt.
“If I can’t work on the beacon, I want to go outside.”
“Have you forgotten the huge nests that could be dangerous and the massive alien?”
“I haven’t.”
“Then we should stay inside.”
His bottom lip slipped out into a pout, and I rolled my eyes, though I started to soften. Mindy was working some kind of magic on me that I didn’t understand, but it was sure as hell effective.
He said, “I have recovered enough to defend you. Besides, I promised to keep you safe.”
I scoffed. I remembered, but that didn’t mean placing ourselves in unnecessary risk.
Mindy nuzzled me, chuckling. “You like to worry about me, my Teddy.”
