~excerpt from Bound by War. No release date as of yet
Torin snorted. “Got a good look earlier, did you? Good. Yes, it’s sort of like body armor, except it never comes off.”
“I—huh?” Since when were feet sexy? He dragged his gaze upward.
“Remember saying that Neo was damn impressed with my anatomy?” Torin’s smile was positively lethal as he slowly advanced toward Laken. “As I’ve said, Blishue are damn hard to kill.”
The slow walk had a sudden air of menace to it. It was an unhurried, rolling gait—a predator whose attention had been caught but was in no hurry to move in for the kill. Laken’s breathing accelerated, and he edged back a few steps.
Torin tracked Laken’s every movement. “What that means is my anatomy is redundant and supernumerary; most of my organs have a backup, including an extra set of kidneys, an eight-chambered heart, a third lung, a secondary brain stem, as well as an extensive and hardy skeletal structure—thus the ridges you saw on my body.”
Butterflies took off in Laken’s stomach as Torin prowled closer. “That’s… that’s helpful.” Laken took a few more steps back. Torin copied him, moving forward, and goose bumps rose on Laken’s arms. Torin was stalking him… and he liked it.
“Yes, it is. It’s also helpful that our insanely rapid metabolism allows injured Blishue to heal extremely quick.” Torin continued to move closer, herding Laken toward a nearby wall. “All of this makes us tremendously resilient and difficult to kill. Which is fortunate since we’re so aggressive. We’re resistant to physical trauma, environmental exposure, and illness.”
Laken’s back hit the wall, and his eyes widened. It took a few unit seconds, but his brain finally caught on. “You… you mean you would’ve been okay even if Neo hadn’t operated?”
“Most likely, but I probably would’ve gone into a hibernation-type state to heal, which would have left me incapacitated and vulnerable.”
The thought horrified Laken.
“The sleep might’ve taken quite a while, considering the state I was in, along with a possible raging infection. I do appreciate him operating, though.” Torin brought his arms up, slapping his hands on either side of Laken’s head, effectively caging Laken.
“Oh?” Laken swallowed. This was so hot. Why was this so hot? “W-why?”
“Because that act brought you to me.” Torin tilted his head and breathed deeply, his chest expanding in then out. “Mmm. I smell your arousal.” He lowered his head and stared into Laken’s eyes. “I’m going to kiss you, Laken.”
Guess that answered the question of Torin’s sense of smell. He licked his lips, thrilled to see Torin’s eyes dropped to follow the motion. “O-okay.”
Torin leaned closer, practically plastering his body against Laken’s. “I wasn’t asking permission.”
