AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His mouth curled into a smile. "I hope I looked like myself and not an odd dream version."
“Stop joking.” He made me laugh, despite me being serious. "You know what I mean." I touched his hair and let the strands fall through my fingers before drawing back, surprised by how easy I found it to make intimate contact with him in ordinary moments. "When I had the first dream, I thought I ate or drank something I shouldn’t have too close to bedtime."
"Gator gumbo with Cajun seasoning?"
"Oh, no. That’s the good stuff. Anyway, I kept having the same dream for weeks after. It was always the same. I'd see your face, your wings surrounded by fire. Then I'd wake up." I rested my clammy hands on my knees. "After a month, I came to another theory.”
“You and your theories.”
“It’s what I do. Then I figured, maybe I do too much—too much work stress, the multiple deployments. What if I quit being a medic and go get a nice, safe job teaching at a med school?"
He laughed again. "I’m grateful you didn’t, or I might still be feasting on giant lizards in the backwaters of Treoid 5."
I was happy we could laugh about our misadventure through the woods now. "When the opportunity came to serve in the Wanderstar Fleet, I signed up fast. I figured the change of scenery would do me good." I fidgeted, my fingers curling in. I peered at Varus from under my eyelashes. "I thought I left the dreams behind on Earth, but they followed me here to you. Isn’t it wild?"
He stilled my hands by placing his atop them. "Not by Racopian standards."
"Were you contacting me? I mean, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but you wouldn’t believe how many people on Earth claim they see aliens. And that was before the Quareks invaded." I zipped my mouth when I saw his concentrating expression. "Am I rambling?"
"My kind has a bonding instinct. Those of us who are fated for a mate feel it when we first see them."
I took my time drawing a breath. "Face to face?"
"It’s rare to see them in a vision first."
My mind was everywhere, trying to make sense of this. "I’m fairly sure humans don’t have a bond instinct. Nothing like what you have."
"But you saw me. The bond isn’t only for Javorians. This is proof."
My scientific mind searched for a logical explanation I could put into words. I failed to come up with anything. "You can’t be sure."
The look on his face bore no doubt. "I felt the same way until I kissed you."
A tiny spark ignited inside me at the memory of his lips. The way he kissed me with no hesitation. My untried sex drive got a jolt from revisiting the memory. For a split second, I let myself entertain his belief that we were supposed to meet.
Varus put his hands on either side of the chair and leaned in. I didn’t pull away as his lips skimmed over mine. The featherlight kiss made an energetic buzz dance through my body.
I put my hand on the back of his neck and whispered against his mouth. "We should stop."
"One good reason." His low growl made me want to squeeze my thighs together to relieve the growing sexual tension.
"We’re not on Treoid 5 anymore."
His hands moved up to rest against my hips. "I’m not thinking about that place." He lowered his head down to my neck.
"You should. We should." His hair spilled onto my chest, tickling my breasts where the shirt’s neckline exposed the top of them. I bit down on my lip as my skin got goosebumps and other parts of my body began to respond to his advances. "What happens there, stays there, remember?"
"Let it stay there. I’m doing something new here." His lips grazed the side of my neck.
My body ached with a need I didn’t realize I wanted to fulfill. My mind raced as I tried to convince myself of the other things I—we—needed to focus on. "Dreams or no dreams, we still have work to do." As I spoke, my hands seemed to have a mind of their own, delving and exploring the defined muscles of his arms and back. "I have to help you."
"You are helping me. I found you after all this time."
I felt the tips of his fangs rest against my skin. The new sensation brought pleasure and excitement that I didn’t count on experiencing. My whole body seemed to release a strong pulse, going from my heart down below the waistband of my pants. The tiny moan I made gave my feelings away.
"Do you like that, Harper?"
I thought I would feel fear as his fangs were so close to penetrating. Instead, curiosity and daring went through me as I considered what he might do.
