Page 20 of Silver Slayer

Strong arms caught me mid-fall, pulling me back against a solid chest, and the next thing I knew, I was half sprawled across Vennox’s lap, his grip firm and unyielding as the ship shuddered around us, metal creaking and groaning while dust and debris rained from the ceiling.

Chapter Seven

VENNOX

Quin landed sideways across my thighs, her hips angled so her flank was flush against my chest as if she belonged there. For a heartbeat, the world tilted, and I forgot how to breathe.

My arms tightened around her instinctively, holding her steady as the ship shuddered. I should have released her. I didn't. She shifted, finding her balance, and turned back to her device like my entire body wasn't on fire. Every point of contact burned, and her every breath sharpened the awareness riding beneath my scales.

I loosened my grip by degrees, forcing my hands into a touch that didn't look like claiming, even as every instinct within me screamed to do exactly that.

"Sorry," she murmured, eyes never lifting from the screen. "That tremor really rocked us."

I made a sound that wasn't quite a word. My tongue felt thick, my mind too scattered to form coherent speech. Having herweight against me was exquisite torture. With each inhale, her scent flooded my senses, shattering any remnant of calm.

"The tremors are subsiding," she said, the analyzer's glow washing her features in pale light. "The centipede creature is moving away."

I nodded, though she didn't notice. My hands hovered at her waist, fingertips grazing her hip. Neither claiming nor retreating.

"Good," I rasped.

She turned her head and peered up at me. "You okay?"

"Fine." I was anything but. My body burned with need, my mind clouded with desire so intense it bordered on pain. My ancillary heart hammered against my ribs, demanding I claim what was mine.

"Your scales are shifting color."

I glanced down. Silver-blue patterns rippled across my scales in waves of heat. The sight only intensified my discomfort. I couldn't control my body's reaction to her. Not when every instinct screamed at me to pull her closer, to give her what my body was already demanding, to release my essence and bind it with hers in a way that would leave no doubt she belonged with me. "It's nothing," I lied.

She didn't believe me. I could see it in the slight narrowing of her eyes, the way her lips pressed together. But she didn't press further, turning back to her device instead.

The ship creaked around us, metal groaning as it settled into its new position. The massive creature had shifted our vessel several feet, tilting it on a slight angle.

"Everyone alright?" Vala called from across the ship.

A chorus of affirmatives answered him. I remained silent, too focused on the female in my lap to form words. Her hair brushed against my jaw as she shifted again, the dark strands carrying her scent, sweet and earthy that made my head swim.

Darkness crept across the alien landscape as the twin suns sank below the horizon, their combined light fading until shadows stretched long across the clearing. The crystalline formations that had glittered with such brilliance now caught only the faintest starlight, their surfaces dull and lifeless.

Still, I did not move. Could not move. Not with Quin settled so comfortably against me, her body warm and trusting in my lap. Her attention remained fixed on the analyzer, her brow furrowed in concentration as if the readings displayed there were more important than her position against my chest. Her fingers traced patterns across the screen, cataloging, analyzing, studying.

My ears swiveled and cupped, mapping the world outside in sound while my eyes stayed fixed on the female settled on my lap. The subtle shift of soil as the creature moved deeper underground. The distant call of something alive out in the dark hurs, a haunting melody that rose and fell, strange and sourceless, unlike anything I had heard on Valose. The whisper of wind through the strange foliage on the ridge above our crash site.

Yet my focus kept returning to her. To the steady rhythm of her breathing. To the warmth of her body against mine. To the way her dark hair fell across her shoulders, catching what little light remained in the ship's interior.

The faint rumble of her hunger reached my ears. Barely more than a whisper within her body, it might as well have been a shout in the dark. Her need hit me harder than any threat I had experienced so far. Every protective instinct I possessed tightened hard and immediate. Protection surged, sharp and undeniable, startling in its intensity.

I had been taught by my sire what it meant to find a spirit mate. Nothing had prepared me for this. For the wild instinct to provide. To ensure she had what she needed before I even considered myself.

I rose to my feet in one fluid motion, lifting her with me as I stood. She gasped, her body tensing in surprise before her arms flew around my neck, clutching at me for balance.

"You might be injured, but you certainly haven't lost your strength," she said, her voice breathless against my ear, sending a heated shiver down my spine.

I held her for a moment longer than necessary, savoring the slight weight of her in my arms, the way her body fit against mine.

"I'll return with food," I said, carefully setting her on her feet. Her hands lingered at my shoulders for a heartbeat before dropping away.

“You heard that?” Quin's eyes widened as her feet touched the floor. A faint flush crept across her cheeks, though whether from surprise or something else, I could not tell.