it? I shudder at the thought, rubbing my arms, but as I walk through the house again, none of the regular plants seem to be missing from their spots. I glance outside again…and notice that the air-sled is parked in a different spot than it was yesterday. Oh. That means he’s used it recently…but if that’s the case, then where is he?
A cold prickle of fear washes over me.
What if he went somewhere and…never made it back inside? What if he’s been hurt? What if he’s lying out in a field somewhere, unconscious? I race for the war room and grab my short sword off its place on the wall, and then run to the bedroom and slip on a pair of shoes. I head for the front door again, peering outside, and then when I see nothing, I open the door and tiptoe out as silently as I can.
A quick check of the air-sled doesn’t show him inside, but there’s an odd smell when I open the door that makes me pause. It’s familiar…and yet not. I glance around, holding my sword with a white-knuckled grip. “Nassakth?” I whisper. “Are you here?”
No answer.
Shit. I look at the fields stretching out around us. His homestead is massive compared to mine, each of his fields as big as my entire property. There’s no way I can check this all on my own, and I’m not familiar with his security programs. I’m not sure what—
I hear a low, distant groan.
Fear trembles through me. Oh my god. Nassakth—and he sounds like he’s in pain. “I’m coming,” I call, racing toward the sound. It was almost like it came from the barn, so I head in that direction. “Nassakth, I’m here!”
I slap my hand down on the security sensor and the barn doors slide open.
“Kim,” Nassakth rasps from somewhere within. “Go back…inside.”
“I’m here,” I say again, my voice firm. “Are you hurt? Where are you?” I hold my sword aloft, as if its mere presence can scare away any bad guys. “Nassakth?”
He groans again. “No, Kim.”
I step forward, and the lights in the barn flood on. I hear the gentle hum of bots activating themselves, and a distant bleat of a meat-stock animal roused from sleep. None of that seems important, though, because Nassakth is collapsed on the floor, his big body trembling, his back to me. He looks as if he’s covered in sweat.
“Oh god, Nassakth!” I race to his side. “What’s wrong? What—”
I choke on my words as I drop to his side and he rolls onto his back. He’s covered in sweat all right, sweat and something else. His trou are soaked in a way I’ve seen before, his cock outlined against the thin material. His tunic and his mane are damp, his face contorted in a mixture of pleasure and agony.
And there’s a fine dust of pollen everywhere. Noli pollen. That was the smell I recognized in the air-sled.
“Nassakth. Wh-what happened?”
He closes his eyes and rubs at his enormous erection with one big paw. “Go inside, Kim. You are not safe out here with me.”
I clutch my sword tighter, glancing around. “Because of bad guys? I’m ready to fight.”
“Because I am so full of need,” he grits. He reaches for me, and then curls his fingers back, sweat and strain on his face. “Go. I do not want to scare you.”
I take a deep breath. I watched him suffer through this once, but that was days and days (and feel like a lifetime) ago. I don’t like that he’s in pain, not when I can help him. “I’m going to get you into the shower and you’re going to tell me how this happened.”
I reach for him and he pushes my hand away, hissing. “No. I do not trust myself not to grab you—”
“Then grab me,” I say gently. “I am your mate…and I’m not scared. But I’m going to help you with this, because I don’t like seeing you in pain, Nassakth.”
No sooner do the words leave my lips than he grabs me by the waist and pulls me down against him. Our bodies roll on the floor and I let out a squeak as I find myself suddenly under a very big, very aroused praxiian.
42
KIM
The moment Nassakth has me on my back, I tense, waiting for the familiar panic to hit. It crawls through me, my skin prickling with awareness, but as he leans in to nuzzle my neck, the terror fades. This is my big, sweet praxiian.