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"You felt it, too, didn’t you? The tug in your chest?"
She pressed her lips together. "Could be anything. Indigestion because I haven’t eaten breakfast. Or lunch, whatever."
I grumbled at her determination to be hard-headed. "We are linked."
"We’re not a Wi-Fi. This bond instinct, whatever you call it, you can’t prove that it exists."
"Then you prove it doesn’t. You feel what I feel."
I felt her mix of emotions, roiling through her like a tide, each one wanting dominance over the other. I wished I had the explanation she wanted. I wish I knew myself. "I thought my bond instinct was broken when it never awakened me to a Racopian female. Now I know why it didn’t."
She touched her neck again. "You’re not broken, but I still need to cure you. Then we’ll see what you think about all this."
"Do you intend to cure yourself, too? The feral change and bond are two different things."
She brought her hand down and shoved her arms through the straps of her knapsack. "I intend to...eat some stew." She flung open the door with a strength I didn’t expect her to muster and slammed it shut. I heard her every determined footstep until she was out of the cavern.
Willful woman. Head hard as a rock. Speaking of rocks. Even though she was gone, my body didn’t forget the impression she left.
I marched into the bathroom and unzipped my pants. I had to handle this if I expected to get through the rest of the day without constantly thinking of her soft, slim body and warm, wet mouth.
I refused to look in the mirror as I seized my cock in my own hands. I closed my eyes and felt the protruding ridges at the base, intended for the sexual stimulation of a partner. How would Harper react to them? I didn’t know how the reproductive parts of males of her species were formed. Would she welcome my body? I wanted nothing more than to please her with it.
The thought alone caused me to unload. I let out a grunt as some of the sexual desire was relieved, but it was like opening a valve and only allowing a tiny bit of pressure to release.
I cleaned up and left the living space. It was easier for Harper to get on with the day. She displayed no visible evidence of sexual need. Although I could hear her pulse and blood flow increase when she felt desire for me. She could deny it all she wanted. It existed without all her attempts at a scientific explanation.
I walked out of the cavern to where soldiers gathered outside, waiting for their first day of training with me. They greeted me with salutes. I paid them the same respect as my brothers in arms.
My inner beast roared with approval at the idea of combat practice. It was the only thing that seemed to appease it: fighting or the annoying serum. Getting back into fighting shape and focusing on rebuilding my forces to defeat Isath was just what I needed to take my mind off this afternoon’s encounter with Harper.
At least, that’s what I hoped to convince myself.
***
HARPER
How did I manage toargue with Varus and want to put my mouth on him at the same time?
I certainly didn’t mind his mouth on me. I covered the bite mark on my neck, hoping it wouldn’t turn into some sort of vampiric hickey. I had to distance myself from him so I had a chance to think.
The afternoon sunlight and warm air hit me once I stepped out of the caverns. I enjoyed the calming feel of this galaxy’s sun on my skin. I wished it could do the same for my conflicting feelings stirring on the inside.
What were the chances I'd meet the same person who appeared in my dreams? Or what was even harder to process, how did Varus have visions of me, too? Several theories came to mind, and they all sounded like they came from a cheap supermarket tabloid. I had no way of explaining how we saw each other a year before we met face to face. The only thing that came close to making sense was the bond instinct Varus kept mentioning.
Fine. Javorians had a biological response to help them filter through to find a partner. It’d be nice if humans had it, too. It sure would’ve saved me from swiping right with the wrong, toxic guys on those ridiculous dating apps.
But we didn’t have it. Or did we? My mother met the love of her life at a dance party in the nineties. I was sure she imagined what my dad would look like and how he’d treat her, although I was willing to bet she didn’t see his actual face a year before they did the Tootsee Roll.
I paused from thinking about my mother’s generation of popular dances to consider the tasks I needed to complete. The most important was to get Varus the final dose of the serum. He had less than twenty days to get it or the effects of the treatment would wear off. I had to figure out how to replicate the ingredients while I was on this planet.
The second task was to find a way to contact HQ. The more time I spent away from the Wanderstar Fleet, the more feelings and wild thoughts had time to form within me.
I got curious looks from the other Racopians outside the cavern. A few nodded to me in greeting. I recognized the one male who brandished the big butcher knife days ago. He used it to peel a purple vegetable today. "Excuse me, do you have an infirmary?"
He stopped in mid-peel to assess me. "You don’t look sick."
"I’m not. I wanted to visit for research purposes." I struggled to carry my laptop and bag of notebooks, power cords, and chargers.
