“How?”
“The training protocol gives each Velerion the option to fail a mission. If we had not been compatible, we would have failed. Had that occurred, your mission would have ended, and you would have been required to begin again.”
My mouth fell open, stunned. “Start over? I would have had to make someone else.” The thought of losing Alex was even worse than before, when I’d thought he was just part of the game. Now I knew he was real.
“Not make, but choose someone else. Every fighter available in the training simulator is real.”
I thought back to the day I had created—or thought I had created—Alex. What he said made sense. I never had unlimited choices in the game. If I selected loyalty as my most important personality trait in a partner, I would then be asked for a second desired quality. Then a third. When I had answered at least thirty questions about my ideal partner, I’d been given the option of a male, female, or androgynous partner. Then size. Body type. Hair color. Eyes. The physical options had been last, but I’d taken one look at Alex on that screen and fallen in lust.
Now he was here, his hand on my skin, his heat sinking into my body, and his gaze fixated on my lips. “How many Velerions are in the training system?”
“Tens of thousands.”
“And I chose you.”
His smile made my heart hurt. “And I chose you in return. I have been watching you, Jamie Miller. Hoping. Waiting.”
I had no idea why that sounded sexual instead of stalkerish. I liked it.
He’d been watching me. All this time I’d lusted after him, he’d been—maybe?—lusting after me too?
“So that crest that you gave me in the game and showed me in my apartment?”
“Ah, yes.” He reached into his pants pocket and pulled it out. “May I?” he asked, looking to me and waiting for approval.
I reached my hand up to the back of my neck, remembering the prick, then nothing. I took a small step back. “You’re not going to jab it into me again, are you?”
The corner of his mouth tipped up. “No. This one is for your uniform. In your apartment I needed to mark you as a Starfighter in a bonded pair as well as inject the cipher nanoparticles so you would understand what was being said to you once we arrived.”
Nanoparticles. That was all over my head, but they seemed to be working since I understood him. “Wait a minute. I didn’t have this when you showed up. How did I understand you?”
“I learned enough of your language to communicate my message.”
“And then you kissed me so I wouldn’t see the really big needle? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I kissed you because I could not resist a moment longer. But it’s not exactly a needle. The injection of the implant and nanites that mark you can be painful.”
I froze, blinked. “Mark me?”
He turned his head so I could see what looked like a tattoo identical to the crest on the side of his neck. “The dark swirl alerts everyone who sees us that we are part of a bonded, Elite Starfighter pair. The nanoparticles that bond to our neurons will allow us to access and control our ship. The two of us and no one else.”
“I’m marked like that?” I raised my fingers to my neck but felt nothing.
He nodded, his gaze dropping to the spot. “As we’ve never had a human Starfighter before, I was not sure how your body would react. I wanted to kiss you because I could not hold off a second longer, but I also wanted to cause you no discomfort. Your body handled both very well. Even the soreness from the injection process should fade quickly.”
That was a relief. I wasn’t thrilled about what he’d said, but the kiss had definitely distracted me. He’d been thoughtful in that. And that had been one hell of a kiss. It had literally knocked me out.
I sighed because… that kiss.
He stepped close, raised his empty hand, and stroked my cheek. It was a gesture he couldn’t seem to resist. His dark gaze roved over my face as if learning it again. “I would never hurt you, bondmate. Ever. I protect you with my life.”
The deep tone of his voice indicated he meant every word. His words were just like the vow he’d given me in the game, but these were not scripted.
“We’re bondmates,” I said. “A bonded pair.”
“Yes.”
“It’s real.”