I swallowed, licked my suddenly dry lips. “Yes.”
“Very well. We’ll go.”
“You don’t have to go with me,” I countered.
That earned me another grunt. “Yes, I do. At least for now. When you wear the cuffs, mate, I must be nearby or we will both experience extreme pain.” He angled his head toward my arms.
“What?” I scowled at the shiny metal circling both wrists. A few moments ago, I’d thought of them as pretty bangles, jewelry. More like a five thousand carat wedding ring than actual manacles. They were pretty, like Wonder Woman bracelets, although I doubted they deflected ion blasts. Tugging at them, my heart raced. I did not like to be trapped. Stuck.
Nyko’s hands settled over mine and I calmed. “It’s all right, mate. Once we are on Atlan, you may remove them. Until then, you must wear them to protect yourself and everyone else on this ship.”
“From what?”
“Me.”
That was the only explanation I got and I shrugged, following suit as Nyko donned his own armor and boots. He was ready before I was, which annoyed me almost as much as the un-removable cuffs.
“What about you? Can you take yours off?” If they had some kind of chauvinistic, Neanderthal double standard, these things were coming off. Now.
Chapter Twelve
Megan
“Never.”
I quickly glanced up and saw the dark penetrating stare that matched the sharp tone of that one word. My heart skipped a beat. He would never take them off? “Never?”
He stepped to me then, gently cupped my face in his massive palm. “Why would I want to remove them, Megan? They are a sign of your claim on me, the only thing that shows the others that I belong to you. They calm and reassure the beast that my mate is real, and near, and mine. Without them, I am naked and alone. Nothing. Another numb soldier just waiting for death to find me on the battlefield. Without them, my beast will fall into despair and go feral, wild with emptiness. The isolation will grow inside me like a disease until the fire of that pain is all I see and all I know, until I no longer recognize friend from foe.”
“I thought the fever was over now that we…um, you know.”
“That I claimed you?”
I nodded.
“Yes, the fever is broken, but that doesn’t mean my beast and I won’t go insane if you are not near.”
“Berserker.” I knew Mating Fever would eventually kill an Atlan male, but I’d had no idea that once his beast mated, so would being away from their mate. I had no idea it was so intense. And now I understood why mated Atlans always retired, taking their mates and going home to live out their lives as civilians. There was no deployment and return home to the little wife six or nine months later.
“I would have died if I hadn’t mated, but if you are separated from me, by choice or by force, I’ll lose control of the beast eventually. When you die, mate, I will go with you.” He lowered his head to kiss me full on the lips, a soft, slow, lingering kiss filled with a whole lot of emotions I couldn’t process yet. “I may have saved your life in that cave, Megan. But now, you have saved mine.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close because I had to. I had no idea this big and tough, stro
ng and fearsome male would have such soft, mushy insides. But Nyko did, and I knew I was the only person in the universe who’d ever see this side of him. It felt intimate, more intimate than having his cock inside me. This was personal. Real.
This Nyko I could love, and that thought made it hard to swallow past the lump in my throat.
I could have kissed him for hours, but I wanted to say goodbye to Seth, and I knew I’d never get another chance so I pulled my mouth from his and buried my face in his neck, surrounding myself with his scent. There was something so reassuring about the solid heat of him pressed against me. I didn’t want to analyze it, I just wanted to enjoy the feeling.
Nyko’s hands ran up and down my back in a slow caress that made me feel like I was almost dainty, delicate and special. “We have a very important meeting today, mate.”
I pulled back to look up into his eyes. The intense blue was focused on me, and completely serious. Butterflies fluttered through my stomach. What now? “With who?”
“Commander Wulf.”
“Why?” Warlord Wulf was the elected commander of the entire group of Atlans serving in the battlegroup. I’d seen him on the battlefield—heard him bellowing orders from nearly half a mile away—but I’d never met him.
Nyko lowered his forehead to mine. “The Commander has access to the Atlan data files. He is going to show us everything currently available.” His smile was contagious. “Today you get to choose our estate on Atlan.”