“Your bodies were built with a natural form of birth control, only you can’t control it.”
“Exactly.” I shrugged. “The older generations don’t have the same problem, but they can only reproduce with the species whose DNA they carry. That’s why there are no children on Destima other than Selena’s cubs.”
“Why were you keeping this secret?” Qran asked. “Were you afraid that I would reject you as soon as you told me?”
“Qran,” I sighed, licking my lips. “You are Quaww.”
He flapped his bare wings. “I know, everyone keeps reminding me.”
“I know how Quaww males treat their females,” I hissed. “You keep telling me that you want me to be a part of your flock. You want to become my flockmaster.”
“And?” he challenged, his pale-green eyes hardening. “Flocks are the fundamental social unit of my species.”
“Well, I don’t want to be just another female in your flock, Qran,” I shouted, shoving his hands off my legs. “I know how important fertility is for your species; females who can’t deliver get tossed to the side as pleasure fodder for the lesser males in the flock. I feared how you would feel once you learned I can’t give you the offspring you yearn for? Do you want to know why I keep resisting you? I don’t want to be just a number in your flock. I don’t want you paying attention to any female other than me!”
“B . . .” he muttered, his eyes softening as he reached for me.
I shook my head. “No, Qran. I am not Selena, nor am I Circuli. I’m a jealous person and possessive of what’s mine,” I snapped. “You could blame the Quaww in me, but that isn’t the problem. I shared everything in my sad excuse for a life before Z found us. I don’t want to share you with another female, nor do I want another male. I don’t want anyone else to come between us.”
“Me neither,” he mumbled. “I have always said I want you and only you. No one understands me as well as you do . . . at least, I thought you knew me. After hearing how you expected me to react, I’m not so sure.”
“You know that isn’t fair, Qran,” I begged, cupping his face, tracing his angular cheekbones with my thumbs. “You are a gorgeous male, intelligent, and full of life. I can’t understand why you would be willing to limit yourself to only me.”
“I could say the same thing to you, B,” he sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned into my hand. “You could lead a harem of males completely devoted to you, and yet here you are, declaring that you only want me but are too afraid to commit due to a function beyond your control. If only you had told me sooner . . . we wouldn’t have wasted all this time.”
“So, Oeta was right after all, huh?” I tried to laugh but only managed a strangled cough. “We would’ve ended up as miserable as Selena and my brother eventually. Both afraid to confess, fearing rejection.”
“Some assassins we are,” he muttered. “Fearing such a simple action.”
“I can blame my fear on how I was raised,” I chuckled.
“If you’re blaming your upbringing, then I’m allowed to blame my instincts.” He rubbed his beak along my wrist. “How many times have you rejected me? Yet here I go again, begging for another chance.”
“I believe I’ve rejected you fifteen times, unless you count that show you put on while dancing with Selena—then it’s sixteen.”
“You still doubted my intentions after sixteen rejections?” he feigned a gasp. “How have I persevered without dying from a broken heart?”
“Your heart is incapable of breaking,” I said gently, scanning his bare body. “It must be since you’re lying happily before me as if nothing traumatic has ever happened to you.”
“I stuck it out because somehow, deep down, I knew that you would one day accept me. I just had to persist until you fell for my charm.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I want nothing more in my life than for you to join my flock. I would wait until my feathers regrow and groom them to your liking; whatever it takes to convince you to wake up in my arms every morning like today. Earning your love drove me to fight for my life, and I will wait as long as you need. I’d travel the stars to be with you.”
Tears flowed from my eyes, blurring my vision.
“You already have my love,” I sobbed. “I’ve just been too afraid to give it to you fully.”’
“Are you still afraid?” he whispered, his melodic voice like a gentle caress across my skin.
Shaking my head, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. “No, not anymore.”
He gripped the back of my head and surged forward, smashing our lips together. He drilled his tongue into my mouth, twirling it expertly around mine like a mating dance.
His hands fell to my sides, guiding me backward until my back hit the bed. Placing his knee between my legs, he ground it against my juncture.
Pulling his mouth away, he combed back my hair and stared deeply into my eyes.
"Tell me, B," he begged. "Tell me that I am yours, that you will join my flock. You are the only female I want to treasure for all time."
"Yes, Qran." I nodded, tracing his face with my fingers. "I love you and only you. There’s no one else I want by my side for all time."
"I love you, B, and I'll do anything to prove that to you."
Nine
Qraniebi
I was the happiest male in existence.
Nothing could ruin this moment. I would forever remember her declaration of love and pledge to join my flock. Our flock would only hold us two until Kaica developed a fertility cure for her sisters. Then we could grow our flock with as many
