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They watched the rest of the movie cuddled together on the couch. Despite wanting to find out what happened at the end, Abbey found herself getting more and more sleepy. It had been an incredibly long day packed with a lot of intense emotions. She’d been kidnapped, taken to an alien spaceship, and nearly drowned. And somehow she was now cuddling with her captor on the couch, feeling perfectly safe and contented.
But he’s not really my captor—he’ll let me go back to Earth if I want to, she reminded herself. And though he had kissed her so sweetly, he hadn’t used it as an excuse to grope her or do anything else she didn’t want. Against all odds, she felt safe with the big Monstrum—safe and protected and cared for.
I really like him. I never would have believed I could like or trust anyone male again. But the Monstrum seem to be different from human guys…
It was her last thought before drifting off to sleep, cuddled against Solon’s side.
19
SOLON
Solon realized towards the end of the vid that his curvy little human bride had fallen asleep. He turned off the screen and looked down to study her.
Abbey was curled trustingly against his side, her face pillowed on his chest and her arm wrapped around his waist. Her lovely face was relaxed in sleep, her long lashes like fans against her high cheekbones.
The sight of her resting against him filled him with tenderness and longing. It told him that Abbey was beginning to trust him, despite her earlier fears and her Shadowed past.
Please, Goddess—let me be worthy of her trust, he prayed, reaching down to brush a long strand of her dark brown hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear. Let her come to me and give me wisdom to know what she needs and how to give it to her.
More than anything in the universe, he wanted Abbey’s trust and love. She was his fated mate—the one female in the world the Goddess had chosen especially for him. He wanted to cherish her and pleasure her—to provide for her and protect her and most of all to hold her in his arms like this forever.
Solon was under no illusions, though—he knew that he had both his Bonding Scent and his Chimera ability to give and receive emotions to thank for Abbey’s acceptance of him. He hadn’t told her about his ability yet but he would need to soon. He didn’t want her to feel like he was manipulating her. He just had to find the right way to tell her.
But for now, he would hold her as she slept and just enjoy the feeling of her soft, curvy form resting against him.
20
ABBEY
Abbey had the strangest dream that night. In it, she could see clearly again and she was looking down at herself as though she was looking through someone else’s eyes. Then a large hand covered lightly in short, dense fur reached down to stroke her cheek.
“So beautiful, lelka,” a deep, rumbling voice murmured. “I wish you could understand how beautiful and precious you are to me…”
Then she watched as the one whose eyes she was looking through lifted her sleeping self and carried her into another room—a bedroom, she realized. He placed her gently on a huge bed which was covered in tiny, white flowers.
“Sleep well,” the rumbling voice said. “Have pleasant dreams, lelka.”
The dream faded but Abbey was left with a sense of being cherished…of being loved by someone who longed for her and wanted to be with her because he thought she was the most wonderful and beautiful woman in the universe. It was an amazing feeling which followed her down into a dreamless sleep…
In the morning, Abbey woke up in a strange bed—she could tell because it felt different from her mattress at home. It was denser and it seemed to cradle her body in a way no mattress ever had before.
But the mattress wasn’t the only thing that was different. She was partially resting against something big and warm and firm. Something that moved slowly and evenly and was covered in short, dense fur, she realized as she ran her hand over the warm, breathing thing.
“Mmm, lelka that tickles,” a deep, sleepy voice rumbled somewhere over her head.
“Oh!” Abbey stopped petting the furry thing at once and sat up. Suddenly she remembered where she was—on board the Monstrum Mother Ship with Solon, the Monstrum warrior who had claimed her!
“Are you all right?” he asked, sounding concerned now. “Your eyes are wide and I can feel that you’re surprised.”
“You…you can?” Abbey asked, frowning. “How can you tell that?”
“Because I’m a Chimera Monstrum—it gives me the ability to feel emotions. I’m sorry—I should have told you that yesterday,” he rumbled.
“Can you feel everyone’s emotions or just mine?” Abbey asked, fascinated despite herself.
“Only the emotions of those I’m attuned to and only when we’re touching—as we are now.”
Abbey realized that she still had her hand resting on his side and she pulled away abruptly.
