POV: Lyra
Orion kept stroking my hand, neural sparks flowing between us as he said, "That first night. You had a reason. I don't blame you. I didn't understand it at that time but after you told me about your past, I understood why you said the things you did. And uh…the Jewel Station incident."
He sighed, his pathways dimming to regretful purple before saying, "It really was my fault. I didn't realize until after I'd finished…yelling at you that I actually really wanted to yell at myself. I made a promise to the cosmos the night before that I would protect you and make you happy. When I saw you there, wounded, drained and exhausted after the battle, I just…I felt like I had let you down."
I insisted firmly, "You didn't, Orion! Why would you even think that? It was all the Rogues' doing. You saved me. If you and Christian didn't arrive with the fleet, everyone in that sector that day wouldn't have survived. I thought you knew this. You said so yourself in your speech."
His voice exuded regret through our bond, "I know but…" he sighed, "I can't help but feel that I should have done more, that I should've just…been better."
I didn't know he was still blaming himself for what happened the other day. But I understood where he was coming from. When I had to watch my squadron die in battle, I felt helpless. I would mourn their deaths and wonder why I couldn't be there for them, why I couldn't…be better.
None of us spoke for a moment, then I lifted his hand up to my lips before pressing a kiss at the back of Orion's hand like he always did for me. The neural sparks intensified at the contact. Orion thanked the cosmos that he had just docked the transport pod outside the dining facility when I did that. His shock at my initiative would have taken all his attention away from the navigation controls. Then again, knowing my match, I would've taken our situation into account before I decided to kiss his hand.
His shocked purple eyes locked with my affectionate ones as I said clearly and firmly, "You're more than what you think of yourself, Orion, believe me."
Orion's pathways brightened with emotion, glowing almost white at the edges. His eyes glistened. My voice must have reached him through our bond, through the deepest parts of his consciousness, creating that warmth I could feel radiating from his neural patterns. He'd told me once that he thought he wouldn't experience this kind of connection again after the passing of his mother and aunt.
"You're more, really." I repeated sincerely, firmly and convincingly.
He kissed me deeply with all the love he could channel through our neural connection, our pathways syncing completely, and whispered, "Thank you, baby."
Orion then buried his face in my neck, his consciousness seeking mine through proximity. For once, I didn't stop him. His psychic signature—that familiar acacia wood and Terran forests—soothed the anxiety we both felt through our bond. After a while, I whispered softly, "Orion, we should go in now."
"Mmm…okay." He pressed closer, and kissed my neck deeply, sending neural sparks cascading down my spine. An involuntary sound escaped me—something between a gasp and a moan—which made his pathways flare bright violet with desire. Through our bond, I felt his thought: That is the sexiest thing I have ever heard.
Apart from his own arousal flooding our connection, something else shifted between us. My psychic signature was changing, my usual jasmine and butterfly pea mixing with something new—something that only happened when Kaelari were truly aroused. The pheromonic shift in our neural chemistry was unmistakable.
Orion had a suspicion but needed confirmation. Without warning, he pressed his lips against mine, the neural connection between us intensifying to an almost painful degree. When I let out a second involuntary sound, my psychic signature shifted completely, confirming his suspicions. My arousal was changing my entire neural pattern, and through our bond, it was affecting him too. His self-control was vanishing with each sound I made and the changes in my consciousness. His tongue found mine as he savored not just the physical sensation but the psychic connection deepening between us. His inner Lyrokan was ecstatic that they'd finally gotten their match aroused.
I pushed his shoulders away gently, my skin cycling through pink and purple as I said with dazed eyes, "W-We should g-go in…w-while we're still in control."
"Mmm…losing control isn't all bad, baby." He started kissing along my jaw, his own arousal signature filling the small space of the transport pod—ozone and dark spices mixing with his normal scent.
With both my hands, I held the sides of his head to push it away from my face, fighting the neural sparks that wanted to pull us closer. "Orion, please."
"Say yes." He said in a husky voice as he took my hand from the side of his face to press it over his lips, kissing my palm and sending deliberate pulses of neural energy through the contact.
Still trying to come out of the psychic daze, I stuttered, "T-To what?"
"A date, Lyra."
After averting my gaze and blinking my multifaceted eyes a few times to bring myself out of the neural fog, I scoffed and my lips curled into a smile before I said, "I was already going to say yes when you first asked anyway."
I let go of his face and opened the transport door to get out, leaving Orion in the pod with his pathways glowing so bright they lit up the entire interior like a purple star. He was smiling like he had just won the galactic lottery, and maybe he did. My arousal AND my agreement to a date—that was two victories in one day.
As I walked toward the dining facility, I could still feel his joy through our bond, bright and warm like a sun. My skin kept shifting through happy colors—silver to gold to that embarrassing bright pink—betraying exactly how affected I was.
Void help me, I'm actually falling for the Emperor.