Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Then Ravik made a low, broken sound and kissed him harder.
Severin’s control cracked. He lifted one hand to Ravik’s chest, feeling the heavy beat of his friend’s heart under his palm, and opened to him.
Ravik’s hand gripped the back of his neck—not forcing, only holding him there as though he was afraid Severin might vanish if he let go.
When the kiss finally broke, Severin was breathing as though he had been running. He felt like he was in the middle of a dream. Was his best friend really acknowledging that there was something besides friendship between them?
Cassandra was looking at both of them with shining eyes, one hand pressed over her mouth. Tears were still streaking her cheeks, but now she looked like someone who had seen the sun rise after a long, terrible night.
“Does this mean you’ll do it?” she asked softly. “You’ll help us make the vaccine?”
Ravik looked at her, then at Severin.
“Yes,” he said. “I’ll do it. I’ll help.”
Cassandra’s breath hitched unevenly.
“And…and if we all end up Bonded together?” she asked.
For a moment, Ravik’s old fear flickered in his eyes. Severin saw it and he knew Cassandra saw it too. But this time, Ravik didn’t run from it.
“Then it must be the Goddess’s will,” he said hoarsely.
Severin stared at him and saw Ravik’s mouth twist into a rough, emotional smile.
“She came to me,” he said. “The Mother of All Life. She showed me what happens if I leave. She showed me what happens if I stay. And I…” His voice broke for the first time. “Gods, Sev, I almost chose wrong. But if it’s not too late, I want to stay.”
Severin reached for him then—he couldn’t help it.
“Of course we want you to stay,” he said, his voice coming out rough. “Gods, Ravik—that’s all we want.”
Ravik met him, and suddenly Cassandra was between them too, all three of them tangled together in a tight, desperate embrace.
Severin held them both, his face pressed against Ravik’s shoulder and one arm locked around Cassandra’s back. Ravik’s arms came around both of them, huge and muscular, and Cassandra stood on her tiptoes and kissed them both.
For the first time since Visslick Prime, Severin let himself believe that things might be all right…if they could actually form the Triune Bond.
65
CASSIE
The strange piece of furniture arrived just as Cassie was beginning to believe they might actually have a moment to breathe.
She was still tucked between Ravik and Severin on the enormous nest-bed, both males holding her as though they were afraid she might disappear if they let go. Ravik’s return had changed the air in the suite completely. The tension wasn’t gone—not exactly—but it had shifted from sharp, painful fear into something warmer and more fragile. Hope, maybe.
Cassie was almost afraid to name it. She was afraid Ravik might change his mind—nothing was certain until they actually tried to form the Triune Bond.
Then the door chimed.
All three of them jumped slightly, which would have been funny under almost any other circumstances. Ravik immediately shifted to put himself between her and the door, while Severin rose smoothly and reached for the robe Cassie had discarded earlier, draping it over her with automatic care before he answered.
“Yes?”
The door slid open and Lipshill stood there, crest feathers fluttering madly with excitement. Behind him was a floating delivery platform carrying something large, padded, and deeply confusing. It looked like a cross between an expensive reclining chair, a medieval torture device, and something sold in the very back room of an extremely specialized adult store.
Cassie stared at it.
“What in the world is that?”
Lipshill’s crest flared brightly.
“Dr. Verityx sends his compliments and this specially configured Triune reproductive support chair. He said it should be useful for the required simultaneous positioning, pelvic support, and nectar-production alignment.”
Ravik made a low sound in his throat and the corners of Severin’s mouth twitched.
Cassie looked from one male to the other.
“What?” she asked. “Why do both of you suddenly look like you understand what that thing is?”
“Because I think I do,” Severin said quietly.
The floating platform glided into the suite and lowered the chair to the floor with a soft hiss. Lipshill chirped something cheerful about best wishes for a successful vaccine-grade output, then backed away before Cassie could ask any questions.
The door slid closed behind him and for a long moment, the three of them simply stared at the chair.
It was actually two padded seats facing each other, close enough that whoever sat in them would have their knees touching. The backs were high and angled slightly, with soft supports for shoulders and hips. Between the two seats was a lower, curved saddle-shaped support, obviously meant for her. There were handgrips on either side and adjustable stirrup-like rests that made Cassie’s cheeks heat when she realized exactly where her legs were supposed to go.