Then his eyes fell on two silver blankets on the central sunken bed.
He scanned the room again, but no others were in sight. He willed himself to walk up the stairs of her sacred nestbed—knowing violating this space could create a rift between them if she was offended. He was not a part of her clan.
Oh, Fates have mercy on him.
He scooted up the stairs, grabbed one of the silver blankets, and hurriedly left the room. As he reentered the common room, he stopped in his tracks.
Selena was sitting up, leaning over on the couch with one hand on her slightly round stomach, the other on her forehead. She glanced up when she heard her bedroom door close.
He rushed across the room to her and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. “Are you all right?”
“How did I get here?” She rubbed her eyes and blinked.
“You fell asleep while I was performing and would not wake up. I carried you here. Xylo should be here soon.”
She pulled the edges of the blanket tighter around her shoulders and smiled up at him. “I’m sorry. This pregnancy seems to have begun taking its toll. We’ve been wondering when it would happen.”
“Is there anything you need?”
She paused for a long moment, looking at him, then bit her lip.
“You.”
Odelm blinked several times, trying to make sense of her statement. He refused to allow the dangerous leap his thoughts had taken. He must just be thinking that because he had been thinking along those lines while he played...
“Umm... what?”
She stood, allowing the blanket to fall to the floor and cupped his face with both hands. She lifted herself on tiptoe, licked her lips, then leaned into him.
Her lips covered his.
Shock ran through his body at the contact, and his eyes closed at the flood of emotions and sensations. Selena’s lips were soft against his own.
He gasped as the hollow in his mind filled—her emotions flooding into the void. He felt the courting bond form and saw its golden thread link them together.
Caring. Acceptance. Thankfulness.
She leaned into his body and slid her arms around his shoulders. Odelm opened his eyes and raised shaky hands to caress her cheeks as his tentacles instinctively wrapped tightly around her, holding her to him.
He leaned his head away to stare into her unusual eyes.
“Why?”
She searched his face as she stared back at him in wonder.
“It hurts me knowing what you have suffered through no fault of your own. You can’t control how you look any more than I can control how I do. You’ve been there for me since I arrived though I’ve had no right to expect it. Odelm, you’re a caring person and deserving a nestqueen. And I wanted you to be healed, to erase the hollow feeling you’ve described. Even if we never fall in love with each other, you are my friend, and I wanted to help.”
She leaned back against his tentacles and slid her arms from his shoulders to place her hands on his chest.
“I’m sorry I did not ask you first. I should never have made such a decision for you.” Selena looked down from his face to his chest. “I’m often too impulsive. I didn't think to give you a chance to decide whether or not you wanted another nestqueen. Even if you did, whether you’d want me—a human—to be yours."
A flood of doubt, fear, and sorrow overwhelmed him. She thought he would be angry or hurt by her actions.
By her gift to him.
Cradling her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he forced her eyes to meet his so she could see his sincerity.
“No doubts, Selena... your kindness astonishes me. Thank you for honoring me with this blessing. I will not fail you nor make you regret your gift to me.”
Chapter Twenty-Five Selena
“You aren’t angry with me? For what I did?” I murmured, feeling my eyes welling up.
“Angry? Absolutely not. I will be honest and say I am surprised. I never expected you even to consider me.”
He slid his hand from my chin, cupping my cheeks with both hands. Using his thumbs to wipe the tears from my eyes, he looked at me like he could see my soul and whispered in his light tenor voice, “I never considered I would have a second chance, nor did I want to have to deal with another nestqueen, fearing they would only reject me again.
“When you complimented me, I thought you were just like all the other females. I was pretty to look at but not good enough to have. When you came to talk to me and offered to be my friend, I was skeptical and thought it was some sort of trick. But as I got to know you over the last few days, I realized how wrong I was. I started thinking how wonderful it would be to have you as my nestqueen. My instincts to protect you kept nagging me. It frustrated me because you were not mine.
“I convinced myself it was all because I was a severed male, my body punishing me for never giving my bonding spores away. I refused to let myself even consider it might be because of you. Selena, please believe me when I say, you have honored me beyond measure. If you decide to make this bond permanent, my mind will be at peace—even if we remain no more than friends, and I never become one of your Favored.”
I closed my eyes and leaned forward, resting my forehead on his chest again. He wrapped his arms back around me with a sigh.
“Odelm, I want this to work out. If I’m going to accept your bonding spores and make our bond permanent,
