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me being afraid of you all of a sudden?
Because this time will be different from what has happened before. Ziang reached Shawn and
ran his hands up and down his back. Do you trust me?
Yes, of course, but you re scaring me, Shawn said as Ziang stripped off his clothes. Different
how?
Ziang pulled Shawn to the couch. When in rut I m focused squarely on you, which leaves me
vulnerable to attack, if there was an attack. Because of that, while I mate you, we will be&
protected.
Why did you hesitate before you said that word? Shawn asked as Ziang sat down and helped
Shawn straddle him. The conversation wasn t doing anything for his erection that had been
waning for the past few minutes. There was something Ziang wasn t telling him. Ziang?
As soon as they sat on the couch Ziang s tentacles reached for Shawn. Some wrapped around his
wrists, pulling his arms up around Ziang s neck. Other wrapped around his legs, trapping and
holding him close; nothing different about that except he was facing Ziang this time, which he
was glad of. Then the tentacles with openings, or mouths at the ends, appeared and Shawn
assumed he d be sucking on one soon. Again, kinky, but nothing new there, either.
He was wrong.
The tentacles, starting at their heads, spat a stringy rope-like web and quickly moved down over
their bodies. The strings were white, thick, and shiny. Each string attached to the couch on either
side of them. Soon the strings linked together over them. That was when Shawn figured out what
was happening. In a panic, he struggled in Ziang s arms. Ziang hands came up and rubbed the
back of Shawn s neck as the webbing encased them.
What is that? What are you doing? Shawn s voice broke on the last word as he struggled.
It s okay, Shawn. It won t hurt you. This is the protection I told you about, Ziang said, trying
to calm his frantic mate. You can breathe and have plenty of room to move. It s safe, I promise
you.
Shawn gasped as the strands thickened around them, trapping them inside. You re cocooning
us, aren t you? Let me go, Ziang, please!
Tears gathered in his eyes and rolled down his face. He shook in Ziang s arms and this time, it
wasn t with desire. He had a fear of being trapped. Unable to breathe, he fought Ziang for the
first time as rational thought flew out the window. All he knew was he had to get away.
Desperately, Ziang held Shawn while he tried to think around the pounding needs of his body, of
some way to calm Shawn. He searched the English language looking for something; a word, a
phrase, anything that would reassure his mate and help calm him down.
Angry at himself for causing Shawn such fear, Ziang missed the words that would get Shawn s
attention the first time through the memory word bank. Shawn was still pleading for release, his
voice broken with fear, when Ziang finally found the phrase again. Ziang could have tentacle
whipped himself, the words were different in his language but the meaning was the same.
Shawn
No! Ziang, no, please don t trap me in here!
I love you, Shawn.
Astonishment penetrated the fog of fear that ruled him. Of all the things Ziang could have said,
Shawn never expected to hear those words. Such loving emotions didn t fit what Ziang said
about his race. Shawn jerked back so hard the tentacles had to give him some slack or risk
pulling his arms out of their sockets.
What did you just say? Shock colored his voice.
I said I love you. I have for a very long time. You are my mate, my Prime. Ziang s hand
stroked Shawn s cheek as the cocoon finished encasing them.
Shawn s hands settled on Ziang s chest and his breathing slowed. Do you understand what
those words mean to us humans? What they mean to me? It s been a long time since anyone said
they loved me. Shawn glared at Ziang as another thought hit him. Don t you dare say those
words unless you mean them.
I mean them. Ziang was glad to see he d gotten through to Shawn.
Damn, can I just say your timing sucks? And as nuts as it sounds, I love you, too.
Ziang petted Shawn, using long gentle strokes to help ease him as the cocooning finished.
Curious, Shawn touched the threads. They were hard, smooth, and glistened. He tapped on them,
then hit the casing harder. Still nothing. He pulled his fist back with every intention of hitting the
threads with his best shot.
Don t. Zing grabbed Shawn s fist. You can t break the casing, trust me. That s the point of
having protection. Shawn, try to stay calm. I wouldn t allow anything to harm you, much less do
anything. Forgive me for not telling you sooner what would happen.
How& Shawn took a deep breath. How the hell do we get out of this then?
It ll dissolve, quickly, once we re done. It s like stitches that dissolve in the body after surgery.
There ll be nothing left to find.
Shawn closed his eyes as his tears died up. Ziang had certainly jolted him out of his hysteria.
Opening his eyes, he stared at Ziang. You can t do stuff like this to me. You hear me, Ziang?
When you spring freaky alien stuff on me like this, I tend to get a bit upset.
I know. It was wrong of me to hide this when I knew it would probably happen.
Then why did you? Haven t I proven that I m willing to be with you?
I was& For the first time, Shawn saw the big warrior nervous. I didn t know how you d
react. I was worried you might be disgusted.
Worried, huh?
Ziang wouldn t meet Shawn s eyes. That s unacceptable for me. A warrior of my station does
not& worry. But, I did.
And now you re ashamed, right? Shawn knew perfectly well what word they were substituting
for worried, and that was fear. Look, I know nothing about your species, but I know this. You
shouldn t be ashamed that you were worried.
You don t understand.
No, I probably don t. But I m guessing you aren t the only warrior to be worried about how a
mate from another world would react. I m betting others have dealt with this, too. Being all
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