Page 61 of The Alien Warrior's Vow

No flabby skin in sight.

Frustrated, Emma flapped back—as much as she could in the circle of Lans’s embrace—and stared at the ceiling. Lans was hibernating and the room had suddenly gone from cool to hot. With all of him pressing against all of her, she had no idea how she would escape.

Unless…

An idea dawned.

Maybe Lans subconsciously clamped down on her because he sensed she was trying to escape. Any other day, she’d call that a reach, but crazier things had happened. Plus the evidence was right in front of her. Whenever she made to get away, Lans found a reason to pull her closer.

All the other girls had spoken about the mate connection which, through their shared frequency with the zaptens, allowed them to read their mate’s emotions. It was possible that Lans had read her intentions and was responding to them while sleeping.

Or maybe she was slowly going crazy on this alien planet and none of that was true.

Either way, it was worth a shot.

Emma calmed her energy as best as she could. If Lans could sense her tension and unease, he would probably be able to tell when she was relaxed too.

If she could loosen up a bit, maybe he would follow her lead.

Stretching her arm slowly, she patted Lans’s chest.

“I’m not going to leave you,” she whispered.

His embrace slackened.

Just a smidge.

But it was enough to show her she was on the right path.

Hiding her excitement as best as she could, Emma rose on her elbows and planted a soft kiss on Lans’s cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

More slack.

She could wiggle around now without him trying to cut off her breath with his cuddling.

“I’ll be right here when you wake up, okay?” She caressed his cheek. “I’ll be right here next to you.”

His tail slid away from her waist.

Carefully, as if every move had the potential of shattering glass, she inched back. “I’ll just step out for a quick minute and see if Clavas—”

Lans’s arm tightened.

Sinewy muscle flexed as he yanked her back.

She flopped against his chest.

Back to square one.

Damn it.

Instead of being deterred, Emma kept a tight hold on her emotions and tried again.

“Alright now, don’t be so possessive.” She draped her fingers up his elbow to his shoulder and back down to his wrist. “You’re plenty enough for me. He’s just a friend.”

Still nothing.

Lans was not letting her go.