Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Lan’ara hugged her back, feeling the other woman’s genuine happiness to have her back aboard the Mother Ship. It felt wonderful to know she’d been missed but the joy of seeing her friends and coworkers again was considerably muted by the sorrow of knowing she would soon be parted from Nate forever.
Speaking of Nate, she could feel a complex mixture of emotions coming from her big human. Uppermost in his mind at the moment, was excitement to see his old friends. Simon and Oliver had come to meet them in the Docking Bay along with Commander Sylvania and now the three men were pounding each other on the back and shouting, which seemed to be the human male way of showing affection.
“You old son of a bitch! Never thought we’d see you again!” Oliver was saying as he hugged Nate.
“We thought you were gone for good,” Simon added, joining the hug.
“You boys oughta know you can’t get rid of me that easily,” Nate answered, grinning at them both.
But under his excitement at being reunited with his friends, Lan’ara could feel his concern for her and his worry about what would happen between them in the future. Even his mildly negative emotions made her feel drained—though not quite as much as before. Still, the fact was that being near him drained her, despite the time they’d spent filling her emotional reservoir when he tasted her.
Lan’ara wanted to hold onto that memory tightly—it had been incredibly hot and intimate. And it was doubtless going to be the last such encounter they would share, since they were headed to the Sacred Grove to get their partial Bond severed.
Shouldn’t have let him taste me, she thought ruefully. It only strengthened the Bond—which means it’s going to be that much more painful when the priest breaks it!
She’d wanted to go even further, though. Her throat was dry and aching and her tongue craved the taste of his seed. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Nate that female Kindred had a biological need to drink the cream of their men.
But if I had done that, I never would have been able to let him go, she thought to herself. Even if being near him killed me.
The call from the Mother Ship had come at just the right time—keeping her from taking Nate’s long, hard shaft in her mouth and sucking his cream right out of him.
Just the thought of that—of leaning over him and taking his shaft in her mouth as he moaned her name and stroked her hair made Lan’ara feel wet and hot all over again. She couldn’t help thinking how cruelly unfair it was that the two of them had turned out to be incompatible. She simply couldn’t withstand Nate’s negative emotions—they were too intense now that the Soul Bond had started to form between them. Lan’ara couldn’t imagine what they would be like if the Bond was complete. They would probably kill her.
Which meant there was no other option than to take Nate straight to the Sacred Grove and get their partial Bond severed as soon as possible.
“Will you excuse us?” she asked Commander Sylvania as she beckoned for Nate. “I’m afraid we have some urgent business in the Sacred Grove.”
“Oh? Is everything all right?” Commander Sylvania raised one eyebrow but didn’t try to stop her from going.
“I’ll tell you later…if I can,” Lan’ara promised.
“Very well.” Sylvania nodded. “I do have some news for you—about the human girl you asked me to look for earlier,” she added.
“Really?” Lan’ara’s heart jumped. “Is she well?”
“We’re not sure—but we are tracking her. I don’t have anything definite yet,” Sylvania admitted.
“Then let me know when you do, please.” Lan’ara sighed. “For now, we have to go.”
“Of course.” Sylvania squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. “I can tell you have a lot on your mind.”
“I do,” Lan’ara admitted. Then, with a heavy heart, she nodded at Nate. “Come—we need to go find a priest.”
“Coming, sweetheart.” Nate nodded at his two old friends and followed her towards the lifts.
Lan’ara kept her chin high as they walked, but inside she was in turmoil. She just hoped they could get this over quickly because she was afraid she was going to break down completely.
The thought of losing Nate was so awful she couldn’t bear to contemplate it—all she could do was forge ahead and try not to cry.
FORTY-EIGHT
NATE
“I see no need for the two of you to be parted—or for me to sever your Bond.”
“What?” Nate looked up, feeling a mixture of surprise and hope. The Kindred priest was a tall male with green streaks in his dark brown hair. He also had the strange green-within-green eyes which Lan’ara had told him was a sign that the priest had been serving the Kindred Goddess for a long time. A long white robe swathed his tall form and fell to his feet, which were bare.