The male had his nipples
pierced.
His.
Nipples.
Pierced.
Stars save him. It was
the sexist thing he’d ever seen. Laken still wore the same cobalt blue sarong,
and matching sandals graced his feet. He also was holding a tray that had
several steaming containers.
“Neo might not be as
nice reinserting all that a second time.”
He forgot the IVs. They
could wait. Torin licked his lips. Something smelled wonderful, and his stomach
growled in agreement. He honestly couldn’t remember when he’s last eaten.
Laken’s gaze dropped to
Torin’s mouth, so Torin ran his tongue over his lips again. The scent of the
ocean suddenly strengthened in the room. So that hadn’t been a drug-induced
hallucination. Laken really did want him.
That knowledge
triggered something in him. He wanted to throw the male over his shoulder and
carry him off. He’d lock him away, guard him jealously from attack. Care for
him. Use his body endlessly and kill anything that came near them.
His heart rate rose,
sending the machine next to him beeping faster. Laken cocked his head and
stared at the monitor before glancing at Torin. Quickly Torin took a deep
breath, and the monitor calmed. He might not be able to get hard, but he still
responded.
Star fucked meds.
So, his desire to
capture and protect the male wasn’t some strange reaction to whatever drugs
they were giving him, either. Interesting.
“What is that?” Torin
asked, inhaling deeply. He pulled himself into a sitting position. There was minimal
pain from his abdomen. That was reassuring.
“Final meal.” Laken
placed the tray across Torin’s lap. “You’ve been asleep for a day. It’s evening
now. Neo came by and looked in on you also. He said if you woke and were hungry,
you could have some—”
“Soup?” Torin snarled
down at the liquid that Laken uncovered. “Soup? Are the Tah’Narians
trying to finish off what Ogill started by chance?”
Laken rolled his eyes. “No,
they aren’t, and yes, it’s soup. I know it’s not what you normally eat—”
“Meat. I normally eat meat.
I like meat.”
“—but you just had
surgery.” Laken swallowed heavily.
Torin wanted to smack
himself. Had he frightened Laken?
“I like meat too.”
Laken’s gaze dipped briefly down, then jerked back up. He cleared his throat.
