might have said it when my mouth was on your cock earlier," I pant, biting at the pad of his thumb when it moves closer to my mouth. "But I was distracted and don't remember."
"Then I will say it again." He leans in and gives me the lightest, tenderest kiss. "I am the luckiest male on this planet to have been gifted a mate such as you. No one else has a mate as lovely and strong and brave."
Brave? I let out a shaky laugh, even though his words thrill me. "I think you have me mistaken for someone else. I'm the one that hides, remember?"
He shakes his head slightly, leaning in and rubbing his nose against mine. It's the strangest position, him leaning over me on all fours while I sit up on my elbows underneath him, but it feels…intimate. Sweet. Right. "Everyone feels fear from time to time," T'chai says, then gives me another light, fluttering kiss. "But I remember on the beach when you tried to come for me, even though it was dangerous. I remember the strength in your eyes when I lay dying. You took my hand and smiled at me, and you told me with your eyes that everything was going to be all right. That you weren't going to let me die. I do not remember much about those days, but I remember waking up and you were always there with me. You never left my side, even for a moment. You never gave up on me." He presses a kiss to the tip of my nose. "You have faced down everything to protect me when I was helpless. So tell me again that you are not brave, and I will tell you once more that you lie."
The words are achingly sweet. Of all the things I expected T'chai to see me as, brave isn't one of them. For some reason, it makes my eyes well up with tears, and I cup his face in my hands and kiss him, my lips hungry on his. I want to show him all the things I'm feeling in this moment. I want him to realize how much I love and adore him.
When I was dropped on this planet, I didn't give much thought to resonance. It was just another danger lurking around the corner in a strange, inhospitable new world that was terrifying in all ways. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be tied down to another person when I was still trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do with myself. But…even if I could choose again, I'd still pick him. He's everything I never realized I needed—patient and strong, kind and protective, and with a wry sense of humor that sometimes rises up when I least expect it. He always makes me feel beautiful and special and understood.
He's perfect.
"I love you," I whisper as I kiss him over and over again, quick presses of my lips against his. "I love you so much."
"Let me show you how much I love you, my mate," he murmurs, rubbing his nose against mine one last time before moving down to kiss along my cheek, and then my jaw. "Let me cherish you."
Cherishing me sounds pretty good. I nod and remain still as he kisses along to my ear, leaning over me. His hair, long and thick, glides over his shoulders and falls onto my tunic like a cascade of dark water. His horns rub against my skin as he nips at my ear, and when he nudges me onto my back, I go, reaching for him even as I do. I'm going to need to touch this man at least a dozen times an hour for the rest of my life, just to make sure that he's real.
T'chai gazes down at me, a hint of a smile on his lips, and he reaches out and touches my jaw, caressing it lightly before stroking my hair. He fans it out around my head, studying me as if I'm the most gorgeous thing he's ever seen. The sheer lust in his eyes makes my pulse pound, the sensation focused between my thighs. It feels as if it's keeping time with my frantic khui, the song between us so loud it permeates the air.
My mate reaches for the ties on the front of my lovely new tunic and considers it. Instead of the normal laces, it's got big, fat, decorative knots that run down