AARYN
They slept curled together in the furs.
Aaryn woke with her scent in his nose and for a moment he thought he was dreaming. Then all the events of the past day and night came rushing back. He lay there, one arm wrapped around her waist, and his nose in her hair, trying to convince himself it was all really true.
But the mating bond glowed in his chest. He could feel it, pulsing with his heartbeat—and the echo of it in her.
It was happening. It was really happening.
Of course, his body thought it was happening too. Holding her, trying not to wake her, was a very specific kind of torment when all he really wanted to do was roll her over and plow plunge into her.
He spent some time calculating rations in the event of an actual resource shortage, and remembering that time El had dared him to swim the waterfall pool in winter.