Ka'Cit's Haven (Riv’s Sanctuary #3)

Every breath she took caused her small frame to rise and fall against his, and it was definitely getting a more even rhythm.

A few moments before, it had sounded like every breath was raking against her windpipe.

Now, every breath was a deep inhale followed by an even deeper, smooth exhale.

That alone urged him to continue even though with each note, memories he’d locked away came flooding back.

Memories of when he’d been innocent.

Memories of times past.

The Before.

Before he’d had to run away.

It was hard keeping above the surface of those memories and he fought to concentrate, choosing the present lest he get locked into the past.

The human.

Focus on the human.

She needs you.

Slowly, the human’s body stopped heaving as much and he began to prepare himself, erecting those mental walls, for when she awakened from her fit and threw herself away from him.

…But…she wasn’t letting him go.

Minutes passed and she still held on.

Not that he minded it, but now that they weren’t in direct danger and she seemed to be calming down, he could see that the way he was holding her was quite…intimate.

Her thighs straddled his and he was holding her against him, his arms wrapped around her, the roundness of her ass cheeks in his hands.

Her head was still against his chest, her face buried into him, and her hands were still fisted in the front of his tunic.

Phek.

This was not the time nor the place, but, along with the general trouble they were in, he seemed to have a problem brewing in his trousers as well.

Ka’Cit squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

It was a blessing his mask prevented him from sniffing her scent. His mask was already brushing against her strange hair, which stood up and away from her head instead of falling down her shoulders, and if it weren’t for the mask, his nose would be pressed into the curly strands.

He hadn’t intended it and he knew it was inappropriate, but this was intimate.

Looking down at her, it dawned on him that this was what his friends, Riv and Sohut, had.

Every. Single. Day.

Their mates were the same species as this female.

Did they fear the dark too?

Heights?

He imagined La-rehn shrieking and running toward Riv when she happened upon a random ladder on the Sanctuary grounds.

Did his friends’ mates seek comfort from them like this when they felt threatened or scared?