Chapter 13

"Mate?" Constance asked again.

Kalpar sighed and finally looked up from where he was bathing her tender folds with a cool cloth.

"A bond between a male and a female."

A bond? Did he mean something similar to a marriage? Her heart skipped a beat.

"A permanent bond?" she asked carefully.

"It can vary from species to species." His eyes blazed white. "For the Catari it is permanent - but we were always taught that it would only exist between two Catari. And there is another component."

He parted his lips to reveal that his canine teeth had lengthened into small sharp fangs.

"You didn't have those before."

"No."

"Does that mean you want to… bite me?"

The thought sent a shiver down her spine but it was not entirely from fear and his eyes dropped to her nipples as they stiffened at the thought. He ran his fingers lightly across the sensitive peaks, a thoughtful look on his face.

"This excites you?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "Does it hurt?"

"It is supposed to enhance your pleasure, but of course I have no actual experience."

"Enhance it? I can't imagine it getting any better."

He chuckled and bent down to press a quick kiss to each breast. He sat back just as quickly and she pouted at him.

"Your body needs time to recover, sweetheart."

He was probably right - there was a definite ache between her legs. She sighed, and returned to the previous subject.

"So without the bite it's not a permanent mating?"

"Opinions differ." She was quite sure there was something he wasn't telling her but he gave her a final pat with the cloth and rose to his feet. "Shall we camp here tonight?"

"That sounds nice. It's so pretty."

"Beautiful," he agreed, but he was looking at her rather than their surroundings.

She blushed and sat up, reaching for her dress.

"I'd better get dressed. Otherwise you won't get anything else done today."

His low laugh sent a thrill of pleasure down her spine and she realized that she'd made him happy.

"I'm very tempted to take you up on that. But I want to set up camp before dark."

She nodded and pulled the dress over her head.

"Is there something I can do to help?"

"You can gather some of the smaller branches on the ground for use as kindling. The pond is too small for any large fish so I'm going to set a snare."

They both went to work and by the time night fell, they were sitting in front of the fire again as he turned two birds over the fire on a long branch. He had a pan of chopped tubers cooking below the birds and succulent juices dripped down into them. Although she'd averted her eyes while he prepared the birds, they smelled delicious and when he announced they were ready, she eagerly demolished her share of everything.

After they ate, she convinced him to tell her a little more about Catar and the female who had been such a major influence on him. He also told her some outrageous stories about his childhood escapades that she suspected were only half true but he kept her laughing until he decided it was time for bed. He carried her into their shelter and even though he refused to penetrate her, he used his mouth and hands until she was limp and happy and she fell asleep in his arms with a smile on her face.

The next morning she almost persuaded him to make love to her but she couldn't hide a slight flinch when he tested her channel and he shook his head.

"This is like showing me a feast and then only letting me have one plate," she muttered and he laughed.

"I promise you can feast tonight."

She smiled happily, then went to help break camp. After one last look at the lovely spot, they set out. The woods had thinned so they could see rolling hills beyond them but Kalpar decided to stick to the woods and their more abundant water sources. They stopped again at midafternoon in a pleasant little dell. He dropped the pack then caught her in his arms and kissed her until her knees went weak.

"I promised you a feast," he murmured, "and intend to deliver as soon as we get everything set up - in case we're still feasting at nightfall."

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed breathlessly.

He gave her another quick kiss and went to gather wood. Her body hummed with anticipation and she was so busy anticipating what was to come that the mocking voice caught her by surprise.

"Did you really think you could escape me?"

Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest as she whirled around to find Vexian standing behind her, flanked by two large, brutish humans. She looked around desperately, praying for the reassuring sight of Kalpar's tall purple figure. Instead, she saw his limp body half-hidden in the underbrush at the edge of the dell.

"Kalpar!"

She tried to go to him, but Vexian caught her wrist in his claw, not so careful with her this time. He looked even more terrifying in full daylight, the sun revealing the oily sheen to his skin. A sob caught in her throat but she refused to give him the satisfaction of her tears.

"W-what did you do to him?"

"For now I simply rendered him unconscious. I have more… interesting plans for him later. For both of you." He clicked his mandibles, his tongue flicking out. "I am really most disappointed that I am not to have the pleasure of breaking you in, but at least it means I won't have to be as careful with you."

"I don't want to marry you!"

"Oh I'm afraid marriage is out of the question now. But your father assures me that you are still capable of bearing my clutch."

Bile filled her stomach, threatening to overflow.

"No…"

"Oh, yes. I have already signed over my plebanium mines to him." He laughed. "He doesn't realize that they are worth very little, but then neither are you anymore."

"No," she whispered again, casting a despairing glance at Kalpar's position.

His body was no longer there.

She snatched her eyes away from the spot before Vexian could notice, her mind whirling. Had he regained consciousness and slipped away, abandoning her? No. He would never do such a thing. If he had left it was only so he could gain the upper hand against Vexian and his henchmen - which meant that she needed to keep him talking and distracted.

She lowered her head, doing her best to look limp and defeated.

"How did you find me?"

"I am tempted to say it is due to my superior intellect but I'm afraid it is far more pedestrian. There is a tracking chip in the necklace you were wearing - the one you were foolish enough not to discard."

Her stomach churned. That must have been how her father's men had found the warehouse as well. How could she have been so stupid?

"And now, time for your first lesson."

As Vexian drew her inexorably towards him, she desperately scanned her surroundings, hoping for some sign of Kalpar. Where was he? What was taking so long?

Doubt tried to creep into her mind but she shoved it away. She had to believe Kalpar would come back for her. The alternative was too terrible to contemplate.