Tempted by Celestial Bodies

Chapter 2

chapter two

eacus

Color. I could taste color.

I took a deep drag, trying to drown myself in the incandescent taste on my tongue. The blood was metallic and earthy, but at the same time floral, the bottled sunshine taste of summer wine—the kind made from my family’s vineyards on the Entari homeworld. I wanted to get drunk on it.

The source of the taste twitched, and my hand shot up to hold it in place, my fingers wrapping around a slender wrist. An arm…

My eyes shot open, and there she was.

If her intoxicating blood flooding my mouth hadn’t been enough to convince me that the creature I fed from was a perfect match in a mate, then my first look at her face would’ve been all I needed.

Waves of dark brown hair fading to a startling purple near the ends framed a pale, round face. Her pink mouth hung open in shock, her eyes also wide. Even as distracted as I was by the strength of her blood filling my veins, awakening my xigia, her eyes caught my attention. One was brown, the same as the roots of her hair, while one was solid silver, whirring in completely separate movements from the rest of her expression, which seemed to be frozen in shock. A scar bisected the socket with the silver eye, running from cheekbone to brow.

My xigia shuddered to life at the combined sight and taste of her, and a shuttered-out part of my mind opened. I took a mental step toward it as I latched my lips around her outstretched wrist and sucked. Her flavor exploded on my tongue once more, strengthening the warmth I felt growing in the newly discovered recesses of my psyche: the consciousness of my mate.

Suddenly her brows furrowed, and she wrenched her wrist out of my grasp.

A pained groan ripped its way from my lips at the loss, but it was drowned out by the fizzle of distress coursing through my mate’s newly established presence in my mind.

I sat up so suddenly that the female lurched back and nearly tumbled to the floor. I caught her though, my tail wrapping around her leg as my hands came to cup her face. Her lovely eyes widened in wonder, but she didn’t pull away. My wings flared out and came to wrap around us in a protective cocoon. I hadn’t yet identified what had caused her distress, but already my instincts drove me to shield her from whatever would seek to harm her.

A shining red glow lit the dark enclosure of my wings. The female’s eyes flickered to my chest, and she gasped. My markings glowed a deep crimson. While they had been black all my life, they would now glow every time I fed from my mate.

“You have awakened my xigia, ” I murmured in awe.

“Your…” she started, only to trail off with a frown. “I understand you, but you aren’t speaking basic.”

I nodded. “The xigia bonded us. Over time, we will not even need to speak to understand each other.” I hoped she would still speak to me even then. Her voice was lovely: smooth and melodic, lacking the rough rasp of my own.

She shook her head, and her already pale skin took on a ghostly tone. I knew aliens came in all different colors, and some could even shift hues at will, but this pallor didn’t seem natural to her. Perhaps I had taken too much of her blood, although the growing connection between us should strengthen her, helping replenish her supply.

Still, I flared my wings to let in more light and get a better look at her. The motion caused her to gasp, those perfect pink lips falling open. My gaze caught on them, but I refused to let myself be distracted from her wellbeing, studying her face carefully, discovering signs of distress in the furrows between her brows.

“Bonded?” she echoed.

I cocked my head. Perhaps her species were not blood drinkers—and perhaps she did not know the significance of such a feeding.

“When I drank your blood… that is how the Entari forge our mating bonds.”

Her eyes went round, the silver one whirring in circles so fast I was afraid she might be dizzy. The bitterness of panic bloomed on my tongue, a taste of what my mate felt as our psychic bond blossomed.

“ Mating? But—but the database said you needed it for nourishment. You were hurt , and I was just trying to help you—” Her words came more rapidly, as if in mounting distress, but I hummed gently, stroking her cheeks with my thumbs, and pushing reassurance into the edges of my mind where she had taken up residence. She stiffened against the foreignness of my psychic touch for a moment, but then softened.

“Hurt?” I echoed. I hadn’t even taken a moment to think about how I had ended up here—wherever here was. From the moment consciousness returned to me, all I could think of was my mate.

“I found you in an escape pod,” she explained, her words rushed for reasons I did not understand.

Images not from my memory passed through my mind—from her thoughts—a crashed ship, a stretcher carrying me to an empty medical bay. For now, they were just fragmented pictures.

“My ship encountered an unexpected asteroid field that knocked me off my trajectory while I was headed home from a diplomatic mission to the Intergalatic Federation,” I thought out loud as memory returned. “I didn’t have time to strap in safely before my escape pod launched. I must have hit my head.” My gaze refocused on her still-bewildered expression. “You saved my life.”

If the taste of her blood alone had not assured me that this female was meant for me, then her selfless actions would. Not many pilots answered distress calls these days. Most wouldn’t have even considered doing so.

“And somehow bonded yourself to me? I don’t even know your name!” Her words were breathless.

“I am Eacus, ambassador of the Entari. But you may call me whatever you wish.”

“Natalie,” she replied, all but panting the word, though seemingly comforted by the ritual of a simple introduction.

A smile toyed with the corners of my lips at the exchange of names, which nearly seemed superfluous given that we were beginning to share thoughts. Although with how little she reached into my mind at this point, I had to assume her kind had no psychic abilities. Perhaps she didn’t even realize the connection.

She licked her lips, looking hesitant. “How do we undo the bond?”

I tried not to bristle, but my wings flared at the idea of severing our connection anyways. Once again, Natalie startled, jerking out of my hands that still cupped her face.

“It cannot be undone,” I admitted, gently as possible. “Entari mate for life.”

Her mouth fell open. “You drink somebody’s blood once and it’s permanent? How do you survive if you need blood for sustenance?”

“We don’t need blood the same way we need food. We eat the same as most other creatures. But sharing blood is the source of our psychic powers. It helps us access our ability to forge mental connections. Thus, we only share blood with our immediate family…and our mates. Drinking from our mates awakens our bond with them, and for some—like it has for me—it awakens our xigia, the source of our abilities. A true psychic connection.” I gestured to my chest, the whorls and swirls that decorated my body still glowing, but with slightly less intensity than they had when I first awoke. “You can tell by the markings.”

Natalie’s eyes fell to my chest. I didn’t miss the way her gaze lingered on my pectorals and shoulders, and I puffed out my chest for her to admire.

“But I… I didn’t mean to. I can’t— I have a life .” Natalie deflated before my eyes. Her obvious worry and reluctance quickly doused my pride in my physique.

“Then I shall follow you wherever your life takes you.” I grabbed one of her hands in both of mine. My fingers dwarfed hers, enclosing hers completely. “Whatever it is you are called to do, I shall do it with you.”

The words were unplanned but rang true. While Entari largely preferred not to leave our homeworld, I had willingly taken on a role as ambassador that would take me into space often. The galaxy had called to me, as if I was searching for something that could not be found in my life among the Entari. Perhaps it was my mate who had called out to me, even from across the stars.

Her throat worked as she swallowed, but she did not immediately rebuff my offer. Carefully, I scooted closer to her on the narrow cot where we both sat. My tail, still wrapped around one of her legs, gently rubbed up and down, the tip tracing her upper thigh.

Her breath caught in a tiny gasp, and I smiled.

“Would having me as a mate be the worst thing in the world?” I asked.

She didn’t answer right away, but the trail her mind traveled down was clear in my psyche. There was curiosity in her as she took in my muscles and my wings—and my fangs. I widened my smile, letting her get a better look at them, and didn’t miss the responding shiver.

Under her curiosity was a hunger. I mentally pushed against that hunger and found that she ached, as if she had not been touched, even by herself, in far too long. And right beneath that ache was an endless well of loneliness. Her longtime solitude echoed so dark and bottomless that I nearly snarled at the isolation my mate had endured.

“No,” she said, and I started, nearly forgetting I had asked her a question. “It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”

Her response came directly to my mind, but I was glad she had said it out loud. The words on her lips made the glowing tattoos on my chest shine brighter for a moment, and Natalie’s gaze traveled over them, admiring.

“Would you…” she hesitated, the curiosity in her clearly battling with the part of her that still seemed shocked that she had admitted I might make a good mate. “Would you have to drink more of my blood?”

“Have to?” I repeated. “No. But… feeding can be for more than just healing. It can strengthen the bond. And it can be… quite enjoyable. For both parties.”

A tiny gasp caught in Natalie’s throat as her gaze traveled back to my fangs. I itched to steal the rest of her breath by leaning forward and scraping my teeth along her collarbone, which had been left exposed by the slightly opened zipper at the top of her flight suit. I ached to let my tail inch even further up her leg, towards her hips. The flesh there was ample, and I was sure it would fill my hands as I pulled her towards me. In fact, she looked like she would be soft everywhere, and I would make a point to investigate everything about her, every secret place, leaving bitemarks to stake my claim.

The tiniest whimper escaped Natalie’s lips, and I tensed. One part of the mating bond I hadn’t mentioned was the wave of arousal that normally followed a new pairing, born of the psychic bond and amplified by the feedback loop of shared feelings. I myself had thought the claims to be exaggerated, tales told by new couples who just wanted an excuse to stay in bed together for a few days.

I was happy to be proved wrong.

Natalie leaned forward, her face drifting closer to mine. I clenched every muscle in my body, using every ounce of my warrior training to stay still and let her approach me. She had initiated this bond by accident, and as sure as I was that I accepted it, this was her chance to accept it too.

Her breath fanned over my face, and my mouth watered at her smell, already craving more.

An alarm blared, and Natalie reared back, nearly falling off the cot for a second time. I swallowed a snarl as she pushed free of my tail, stumbling to her feet.

“I need to check on the ship,” she explained hurriedly. “You just—you stay there and rest. I’ll be right back and then we can…um, talk.”

Before I could say another word, she turned and left. My mate was gone as quickly as I had found her.