But then he asked what she wanted in the future, and she had so many answers. She wanted to go skiing on pink snow. She wanted to swim in a purple sea. She wanted to sing in a place where her voice would echo back to her a hundred times. She wanted to dance among the stars. She wanted to get high on alien liquor, then make love until the sun rose. She had a hundred dreams, small but beautiful dreams. A life of adventures that would only bring her joy.
It was as she was listing everything that she noticed Sway staring at her, a strange look in his eyes, and she realized how childish it all sounded.
Sway was trapped in a survivalist mindset where he couldn’t see past the coming night, but she was describing how she wanted to bath in moonlight on golden desert sands.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed, cutting herself off, embarrassment making her cheeks burn.
Sway cocked his head. “Sorry?”
“It’s silly, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“All of that.” Her face burned. “I say I want adventure, but I really only want safe, touristy things. It’s stupid compared to what you’re going through.”
Sway frowned. “Don’t stop though.”
“Huh?”
“I want to hear it.” He pressed his forehead against hers, the softness of his feathers tickling against her skin as his glassy, black eyes filled her vision. “It is silly, but I wouldn’t call it stupid. I want to hear more. All of it. Every silly little adventure you want to go on. I can do those things. I can make those things happen for you. I want to.”
“You don’t have to. It’s not important.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just… I mean, it’s all so useless. Swimming in a purple sea? Moonbathing on desert sands? There’s no value in any of that.”
“Depends on what you value.” He swept his arm up her back. “I used to think like that as a youngling.”
Her face burned. “So, you agree. Itischildish.”
“It’s wonderful in the way of innocence possessed by younglings,” he corrected gently. “I’ve forgotten what it was like to dream the way you still do.”
“Sway…” She breathed, focused on his closeness as his lips hovered over hers.
“Will you let me borrow your dreams?” He asked on a whisper.
She shivered, stunned by the power in those small words. Her dreams were such little things. The aspirations of a rich girl with too much time in her hands with only vibes to chase. They brought her joy, but she understood that, in the grand scheme of things, they weren’t really that impressive or important. It made her happy, and that was the extent of it.
For him to ask to chase those dreams with her, to hear him plead for the chance like it was some great honor, made her heart race in her chest. Dancing in the rain in an orange forest wasn’t anything groundbreaking or exciting…
But if she imagined Sway there with her, dancing alongside her…
“I’ll make your dreams come true,” he breathed, his lips teasing over hers. “No matter how silly or small or ultra specific you can make them. If you just let me stay by your side, if you let me experience them with you, I would do anything.”
“Please,” she begged, running her hand up the back of his neck, into the large feathers of his crest. “I want you there. Explore the universe with me.”
“For the rest of our lives,” he vowed, closing that last distance between them.
Chapter 25
Sway
This kiss was different. There was heat and passion, certainly, but there was also something else that he couldn’t quite identify. A new closeness. A new intimacy. A harsh edge of desperation that made him want to cling so tightly she fused into him, and he’d never have to let her go.
There was a chance that, when he tried to mate her, it would go nowhere. Every species mated differently, and every species had their own triggers and seals to their bonds. Some were lucky enough to have a distinct and obvious trigger, meaning that sealing their mating was a sure thing. However, not every species had that. Some just had the feeling that theyknew. But it was easy to mistake that feeling, because until it hit you, there was no way of replicating or understanding it.
Sway came from one such species. There was always a chance, when courting and dancing and singing, that it was all an exercise in futility. That, when they reached the end, and he’d built her a nest and they’d made love inside it, no mate bond formed at all. That the feelings he was experiencing now were just attraction and that’s all they’d ever be.
