his fingers with his Match and they flared their wings out, a hollow place in Solan opened up a crack.
He couldn’t look at Lena. If he did, there would be far too much emotion in his eyes, something he didn’t want her to see.
The technician took the stylus and it shot off sparks. Emily went first. She let out a gasp as it touched her skin, but in a matter of seconds a design of lines and swirls began to bloom. He’d heard it could hurt, but nothing on her face showed any pain. Oz was next, and he did wince, but by the time the design was laid on him he was smiling so broadly that it was clear any pain was only a memory.
Solan yearned.
He wanted to care for someone as much as his friend cared for his Match. He wanted someone to want him in that way. All he had to do was reach out to the woman beside him and let it happen. She wanted the Match. Would she really be able to deny all the emotions that went along with it?
The ceremony ended before he could answer any of his questions and the yearning subsided, a momentary madness.
Then the party started.
Solan decided not to worry about what the Match meant or what the thing between him and Lena might develop into. They were at the bonding ceremony to celebrate their friends and to have fun. So for one night he would.
Drinks flowed freely and he was feeling good. So good that when the music played a song he liked, he tugged on Lena’s hand. “Dance with me.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m not much of a dancer.” Was she blushing?
“Come on,” he said, tugging a little harder. “Just once. If you don’t like it we can stop.”
Her eyebrows rose sky high. “I’ve heard that before.”
He wasn’t sure what she was talking about, and the music was insistent. “Dance.”
She relented. For the first dance Solan held her close, guiding her body with the rhythm of the music. But whatever she thought of her skills, she was born to dance. Their bodies moved together in perfect sync, and he could swear that even their pulses were aligned. He wanted more. Wanted to take her out of this crowd and lead her back to his bed where they could continue the dance without their clothes in the way. She wore a subtle perfume and he breathed deep, as if that would be enough to satisfy the craving growing within him.
One song dissolved into another and Lena didn’t walk away. Not for the next slow song. Or the fast one after. And when they swayed together again she’d clearly forgotten her reluctance.
“You know how to dance,” he murmured, lips brushing against her ear.
Her eyes darkened and she swiveled her hips, arching up against him and then spinning back. “I never said I couldn’t. Just that I didn’t.” She clutched his shoulder with one hand and ran her fingers down his other arm, unconsciously tracing over where a Matching mark would go. It wasn’t something Solan wanted to think about, not when he had a beautiful woman in his arms and no reason to care about anything else until morning. Trouble could find him then.
Night didn’t fall naturally, but a large automatic canopy came up overhead and blotted out the sun, leaving them dancing under the soft light of the decorative bulbs inside. His own skin had a natural iridescence to it, but he’d never realized a human could glow like Lena did in the soft light. The gold of her dress and skin made her into a living flame, one he couldn’t hope to tame.
It would burn him up from the outside in. And he wanted to be consumed. His house was only a minute away; they could sneak away before anyone missed them.
The setting was romantic and intimate, and Solan was having more fun than he could remember. He looked down at her and licked his lips. It would take no effort to kiss her, to lean forward and take a taste. To see if they moved as well when their lips were pressed together.
Lena stared at him, eyes big and brown and wondering what he’d do next.
He wanted to kiss her almost more than he wanted to breathe. He’d known temptation before, but nothing like this. Nothing like her.
But he couldn’t.
This thing between them wasn’t like that. It couldn’t be. If he kissed her now they could steal away