“Thank you,” I say, a smile I cannot contain just about breaking my face.
“Move, you overgrown pup!” a new voice orders. It’s coming from behind Bash’s obliterative frame.
Bash applies our joined hands to my hip and his other hand to the small of my back to propel further me into the house, where he then sweeps me to the side, following me, backing me up using his body so that another Rakhii can enter.
The new Rakhii practically races for Jyzu and grabs her up tight enough that I wince for her.
She, though, is not wincing at all. She’s smiling. “My beloved,” she addresses the male. “Our ill-tempered son has returned.”
As if he can’t concentrate on her words, he rubs his horns up and down her sides, the movements looking rough—although Jyzu doesn’t seem to mind. She takes one of his hands, which is anchored to her hip, and holds it up, and his fingers seem to be trembling. She knits her fingers with his, holding his hand until it stops shaking.
He groans and hugs her harder.
Wow,” I breathe. The passion these two feel. It’s… beautiful.
“It’s the bonding,” Bash murmurs to me. “Until very recently, there was no way to lessen the effects on a bonding pair. And it’s particularly devastating to a male’s system to be separated from his female.”
“I think it’s wonderful,” I tell him.
“You think so now. You wouldn’t if I were away from you for so long I went mad from the loss of your touch.”
I give him an appraising look. “Sounds kind of sexy.”
“It’s not. It’s painful. Sometimes detrimental. If, say, a hob got between a male and the female he’s taken for his mate—”
The Rakhii has calmed enough to lay his cheek on top of his mate’s head, the inside of her horn digging into his chin, but he doesn’t seem to notice or care. He just holds her and cuddles on top of her and sighs, “Which one of our ill-tempered sons?”
“Our wayward one. And he brought a surprise.”
At this, the Rakhii is interested enough to peel himself away from his wife, at least a little.
And whoa. This Rakhii looks like a sexy, silver-quilled version of Bash.
“Wow,” I breathe. I bump my elbow into Bash’s ribs. “You are going to look so hot in twenty years.”
But everyone in the room hears—evident because the new Rakhii’s ears snap up and his head whips down. He’d been looking at his son, but now his eyes—his very surprised eyes—are on me. And he’s taking me in like…
Well. Like I’m an alien from another planet.
Jyzu hears me make the hot-remark too. I know the moment she does because her spines raise up high enough on her back that I see them crest over her head. Before, I barely noticed her small (for a Rakhii) pair of horns, but weirdly, as soon as I make the remark, my eyes are suddenly glued to the still quite formidable set of smashing-and-stabbing tools that she has at her disposal.
Her Chrysanthemum-pink gaze may not turn aggressive, but all of her attention is locked to me and the tip of her tail is now tick-tocking behind her.
I’ve seen Bash’s tail do this.
When Bash’s tail does this, it’s a warning. He’s about to strike.
What if he inherited this tail-tell from his mom?
While Bash may not entirely scare me, his mom is sort of having success without trying. “Hot means attractive,” I assure her quickly, my voice almost a squeak. “In a complimentary, chaste sense, in this case. Honest.”
To this, Jyzu sends me a serene smile. But she reaches for her mate’s bulging bicep—and lightning fast, she proceeds to drag her tongue up his neck.
Claiming him.
Bash’s dad’s eyes change, the pupils filling up with black. His focus is immediately redirected to his wife’s possessive display of affection. His nose makes a hollow thump-thudding noise. “Happy to be welcomed home, my yeoneen,” he growls, and he bites her throat. He also slides his hands to her hips, dips his head, and runs the base of his horns over her shoulder like he’s suddenly got an itch. He lets out a noise that makes me jump—but when the sound only seems to make Jyzu happy, I realize it’s not supposed to be a scary sound.
This is the Rakhii version of a very amorous sound, judging by Jyzu’s heated look at her mate.