I widened my eyes. “So to everyone, I smell like you?”
Kol nodded. “It’s just another natural defensive mechanism of my essence to tell other males that you’re claimed.”
I raised a brow. “Claimed, huh?”
His lips twitched. “Not the slavery kind of claimed. Just the Maji kind of claimed.”
I lifted my hands and placed them on his face, strumming my thumbs over his cheeks.
“You’re mine just as much as I am yours.”
“Yes, shiva. Always.”
With a confident smile, I said, “I’m ready to get off the Ebony and see my new home… and meet my new family.”
The smile that overtook Kol’s face caused my heart to skip a beat.
“They’re itching to meet you too. Killi, Arli, and Avri are saddened they scared you. They did not mean to.”
I shook my head. “They did nothing wrong. It was all me. I was so anxious about meeting them, hoping they’d like me, and I just… I just freaked out and ran away. Running when I’m scared is what I do.”
Running was all I knew.
Kol placed his hands on top of mine and stared deep into my eyes.
“Before, you were all alone in a dangerous world, but now, I’m by your side, and I will do everything possible to take your fear away.”
My lower lip trembled.
“You’re going to make me cry.”
“I’ve saddened you?” Kol frowned.
I shook my head. “No, you’ve made me feel safe, protected… loved.”
Kol eyes glowed brightly. “I do love you, shiva.”
My mouth fell open, and I was confident my heart stopped beating, but before I could even think of a response, my mate chuckled.
“Do not feel like you must say it back. Sera told me about how humans feel love at a different pace to us Maji, and that is okay. We have a lot of time together for you to love me.”
I inhaled and exhaled a deep breath.
“If you told me a week ago that I’d be mated to an alien prince and he would be declaring his love for me as we touched down on his home world, I’d have called you crazy.”
“And now?” Kol pressed.
My lips curved upward into a smile. “Now, I say it’s my reality.”
Kol smiled wide, and I noticed he had gold caps on his back teeth.
“Why do you have gold caps on your teeth? Mikoh and Thane have them, too, and your brothers.”
“Are you changing the topic?” he asked, grinning.
“Maybe.”
Kol continued to grin as he brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. “It’s just fashion.”
“Fashion?” I repeated, baffled. “Maji have fashion?”
“Yes.” Kol chuckled. “We have many customs that I’m sure will be bizarre to you, but do not worry. I will teach them to you.”
My heart fluttered, and my stomach burst into butterflies.
“Come on,” I said, taking his hand in mine. “I’ve waited days to see my new home.”
That brought a smile to Kol’s face, but his smile grew wider when his eyes trailed down my body.
“By the stars,” he hissed, sucking is a strangled breath. “You look like moonlight, shiva. Perfect.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
Kol licked his lips. Twice. “Maybe we should—”
“Disembark the Ebony,” I cut him off. “I agree.”
I began to walk and pull Kol along behind me.
“Wait, let me look at you,” he rasped.
“No,” I protested, “because you’ll want to touch me if you stare at me too long in this get-up.”
“I don’t know what a get-up is, but I want to stare at you in it.”
I laughed as Kol’s eyes dropped to my body once more, but this time, that sexy rumbling growl started at the back of his throat. I halted, and I looked down at my ensemble and looked back up at Kol.
“Do you think I’ll fit in?”
“No,” he rasped. “And I don’t want you to because you were made to stand out.”
A blush rose to my cheeks.
“My Nova, I have never seen such beauty.”
I ducked my head in embarrassment.
“You see Surkah all the time,” I commented.
“My sister’s beauty is very different to me, I assure you.”
I raised my head, my cheeks still aflame, and said, “Let’s just go before I turn any redder.”
Kol’s twitched lips, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he held out his arm and waited for me to take it.
“I cannot wait to unwrap you from that fabric later,” he rumbled.
He projected very explicit images of what he wanted to do to my body once the fabric was gone, and it made me shiver with anticipation.
My pulse spiked. “Easy, boy.”
This earned me a grin. Kol’s teasing set me at ease as we left our quarters and journeyed back to the exit of the Ebony where I had fled from not long ago. I removed my hand from Kol’s arm, instinctively reaching for his hand. When I made contact with it, I threaded my fingers through his and gripped his hand firmly.
“Calm, shiva,” he murmured. “I can hear your heart beat increasing. You have nothing to fear.”
I knew that—I did—but man, I was nervous.
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“They probably think I’m an idiot for getting spooked and running away.”
“They think no such thing,” Kol assured me. “They’re concerned for you. They wanted to make a good first impression, but they know they scared you and they feel regret at that.”
That made me feel worse.
“It wasn’t them. It was just the anticipation of meeting them. I got worked up, and when it came down to it, I ran. It’s my instinct to run when I’m unsure of something.”
“I’ve made them aware of that,” Kol continued. “But this time, I will be by your side, and with me there, running is the last thing you will want to do. I swear on my honour, shiva.”
I smiled up at him and squeezed his hand.
We didn’t slow down as we approached the large exit from the Ebony, and when I turned the corner, I saw Kol’s three brothers, his sister, and his cousin all standing in the same place I had left them when I ran away. For a moment, they reminded me of statues, and that mildly amused me.
“Brothers,” Kol said, his voice suddenly deeper as a vicious growl wrapped around his words at the same time his arms came around me. “This is Nova, my mate.”
A throat was cleared. Twice.
“Thanas,” one of his brothers grunted. “He is declaring her to us as if we’re just any males!”
“Calm,” another brother murmured, the silver-haired one. “It’s just instinct; he is newly mated.”
All three brothers sort of lowered their heads and never once looked my way or attempted to make eye contact with me. They remained that way, and as the seconds passed, Kol’s growling lessened until it faded completely. I stood there awkwardly in his embrace and resisted the urge to rock back and forth on my heels.
Am I allowed to say hello to them?
No, Kol instantly replied, his hold on me tightening. Mine.
I tilted my head and looked up at him, my brows raised.
“I know I’m yours, bossy. No need to be grouchy about it. I just asked you a question.”
I heard a snicker, but it stopped almost as instantly as it started.
“I cannot help it,” Kol replied, his voice still shockingly deep as a growl climbed up his throat.
“I’m your mate, big guy. I know it, and so does everyone else.”
Kol hummed in approval and dipped his head to kiss me. I smiled when his lips pressed against mine, and before he could deepen the kiss, I pulled away.