Adira's Mate by April Zyon Page B

She tightened her hand on
his. Taking a deep breath, she shifted and moved closer to him. “Because I want to keep you, forever. I happen to really
like you, Fintan . A great deal.”
    He pulled her onto his lap when
she stood to move his way, his arms wrapping around her to hold her close. “You
have me forever. We still have many things to go over between us, but we will
get there.” Fin pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Let me tidy up the dishes so whomever brings the clothing can take all this away for us.”
    “ Okay. In the meantime can I go
ahead and have a shower? I can get cleaned up while you take care of what you
need to take care of?” So that it would give him time to clean up and also talk
to his friend without her there.
    He shook his head, squeezing her
closer. “Wait for me,” he said softly. Stroking his fingers over her arm
gently, he nipped at her ear. “If you wash my back for me, I’ll wash yours. But
if you want to get undressed now, I won’t argue. Stay in the sleeping room,
though, if you would.”
    “ I will.” She hesitated only a
moment and grinned. “Please hurry? I have a powerful need to see if you are as
beautiful as I thought you were when you dropped your clothes on my craft.”
    “ I should be slightly less
bruised, at least,” he muttered. Giving her another squeeze, Fintan helped her off his lap. Once she was up he started
to pile everything back onto the tray. “I will be there as soon as the clothing
arrives.”
    “ Thank you.” She moved away from
him and into the sleeping quarters. The door slid closed and she took a deep
breath, then began to undress. Once she was naked she
settled onto the bed and watched the door, waiting for him.
    She heard the door chime again,
then the low hum of voices speaking for a time. A few moments after it went
silent the door to the sleeping quarters slid open, and Fintan walked in with an armful of clothing.
“They found you a few things to wear, from pants to a couple of skirts that
should work if you get a little creative. Our home world is warmer than yours
is, so the clothing is a little different than what you’ll be used to. Unlike
the uniforms which cover most of our bodies, the personal wear is less
restrictive.”
    She looked at the clothing that
he had put into her hands and frowned. “These?” she asked and tried to figure
out what it was that she was seeing. “They don’t cover a great deal, do they?”
She held the clothing against her body. “I don’t understand how these would go
on me.”
    When she glanced at Fintan , his lips were curled up slightly. “I’ll assist you
in figuring that part out,” he said. “For now, though, we should have our
shower. Then we’ll get you into one of the outfits and we can figure out our
contract.”
    “ Good idea.” The contract made her
nervous. She was worried she would make bad choices in helping him create the
contract that would help guide them through the rest of their lives.
    With a little effort and a lot of
grunting, Fintan wiggled his way free of the shirt.
Tossing it aside, he glared at it before he pushed the too short pants down his
legs. Straightening, he stretched his arms over his head slowly with a groan, then headed for the bathing room. “ Adira ,
are you coming along?”
    She just stared at him, her mouth
suddenly dry and nipples rock hard. “Yes. I will be coming along very shortly,
I hope.” She touched her hand to the middle of his back and stroked him gently.
“God, I have this deep need, this burning desire to have you making love with
me.” Blunt and to the point.
    He shot her a look over his
shoulder. “We shouldn’t until we have our contract settled. I’ll admit, though,
I’m having a hard time remembering why exactly, especially when you are
touching me.” Stepping into the shower stall he started the water, made an
adjustment, then held a hand out to her.
    She stepped into the shower with
him and moved in closer. “What exactly will