Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“No one can hear the Mother of All Life and feel her presence without believing,” Sylvan said gently. “And I believe that she is guiding the two of you together.” He looked at Torin. “I honestly believe that if you make the effort, the Goddess will make it possible for you to bond with the female she has chosen for you—to bond to Agent Sky’lar,” he said. “But it’s up to the two of you if you want to try or not.”
Sky looked up to meet her Giant’s golden eyes.
“Yes,” she said softly. “Yes, we want to try. Just tell us what we have to do.”
“Well…” Sylvan cleared his throat. “I’ll leave that for Torin to say—he knows what is necessary. But maybe you’d like to go back to your suite to, er, try the bonding,” he said to Torin.
“I think that’s a good idea, Commander. Thank you for your help.”
And Torin lifted her off the table and swung her into his arms.
“Oh! What are you doing?” Sky exclaimed. “I can still walk, you know!”
“Well, maybe I want to carry you, Darlin’,” he rumbled. “Come on—I’m taking you home.”
And he carried her out of the Med Center and deeper into the Mother Ship.
FIFTY-SIX
SKY
“So…you’re saying that every kind of Kindred bonds differently, but they all bond through sex?” Sky asked, raising her eyebrows at him.
“Exactly.” Torin nodded. “And I’m afraid it has to be traditional sex—the male penetrating the female, Darlin’. Not the other way around.”
“Well, since we’re having sex for procreation, I wouldn’t expect anything else,” Sky pointed out.
“Sex for procreation?” Torin frowned.
They were sitting on the large, overstuffed couch in the living area of his quarters or his “suite” as he called it. The lights were dimmed and there was a fireplace with blue and gold flames setting the mood. Sky thought it would have been extremely romantic—if they weren’t contemplating having sex to save her life. As it was, she was trying to remain calm and hoping that what they were about to do would either diminish or neutralize the poison.
Which brought them back to sex for procreation.
“Yes—of course,” she said to Torin. “Commander Sylvan told us that if we managed to create a new life—if you’re able to fertilize one of my eggs—we’ll be able to neutralize the soul-poison completely. Right?”
“Right, but I thought you weren’t, uh, ovulating yet,” he pointed out. “At least, you weren’t earlier. Which is why you got to fuck me instead of the other way around at the Shrine,” he added pointedly.
“Let’s see.” Sky reached into the side pocket of her uniform. Neen’ya had given her one of the cycle-predicting crystals as a parting gift and she was excited to be able to use it.
She drew the thumb-sized crystal out and showed it to Torin. It was pale blue when she cupped it in the palm of her hand but when she brought it down to her lower abdomen, it quickly flickered from blue to pale yellow to bright pink and began pulsing in time with her heartbeat.
“Wow…” Torin shook his head.
“I’d say that’s a pretty good indication,” Sky remarked. “I’m ready now—my body is ready to make a baby, Torin. Your baby.”
He looked at her, his golden eyes wide.
“And…you’re really okay with that? I mean, we haven’t known each other that long and it’s not like with the Serpentines. You don’t just get to lay an egg—you’re going to be pregnant for an entire solar year.”
“A whole year?” Sky had to admit she hadn’t considered the gestation time. Serpentines could lay a new egg every six months—she hadn’t even thought about the fact that Mammalian humanoids usually went a lot longer.
“It takes time for a Kindred baby to grow and develop,” Torin told her. “So yeah—a standard year is how long your pregnancy would last.”
“I didn’t know that,” Sky admitted. She cleared her throat. “Maybe…maybe we should just concentrate on forming the Bond.”
“Maybe so. Though if your body is ripe and ready and I’m filling you with my seed, there is a real chance you’ll get pregnant,” Torin pointed out. “How do you feel about that, Darlin’?”
“How do you feel about it?” Sky countered. “Would you stay with me if I got pregnant?”
“Of course I would!” Torin took her by the arms and ducked his head to look intently into her eyes. “Baby, I want to stay with you for the rest of our lives no matter what. I mean it—you’re the one for me. The only one. But we have to Bond if we’re going to get to stay together.”
“How do we do it, then?” Sky asked. “Do you just…penetrate me and release your seed in me?”
He made a face.
“Gods, you make it sound so fucking romantic.”
“Sorry.” Sky shrugged. “That’s how we talk about fucking for procreation on Portex Three. I guess it does sound kind of impersonal,” she admitted.