Free Tiva Boon: Heir of Abennelp (Tiva Boon Series Book 2) by Jenn Nixon Page B

injury. Tiva ripped into his right arm, the dark stain saturating the fabric of his uniform top.
    “You okay?” he asked calmly.
    Tiva nodded and lowered her blade.
    “That was close.”
    “Indeed.” She smirked slightly.
    “It seems we’ve lost our audience too,” he said, shaking his arm slightly.
    She limped backward and cleaned the blade with her tattered shirt. “It appears so. Thank you for allowing me to use your weapon.” She offered it back to him.
    “My pleasure,” he answered taking the blade and returning it to its sheath. “So, on a totally unrelated note, what’s your favorite color?”
    “Black, mostly…”
    “Not surprising. It’s the favorite color of many. But I’m sorry; I can’t easily pull that one off with my eyes.”
    “It is slimming...” She paused and met his gaze. “Oh, I enjoy it when they match my markings.” They blushed before an attempt to control them.
    “Sorry, but I have a hard time with pink too... It just doesn’t come naturally. Though I did get treated for it once.”
    She turned toward the door, trying to remain nonchalant, but more to calm herself. She was suddenly very aware of him, her body responded to him despite the fact that she did not sense him. The feelings he stirred in her were apparent, but she tried not to listen to them.
    “Hey, don’t look over there. The view’s not as nice.”
    “Pardon?” she asked, turning back.
    “I said don’t look over there, because the view isn’t as nice.” He moved closer.
    “Where should I look then?” She turned and tilted her head up slightly.
    “Right there’s fine.” He smiled once more, his purple eyes locking onto hers.
    Tiva felt her heart stop the instant his eyes changed. He beamed with delight, her markings weren’t responding to her pleas to return to normal, and they grew lighter.
    “White markings...What do those mean?”
    “No, that is impossible. It happens only with a potential or when the courting ritual begins, or if…” she said more for herself than to answer his question. Her fingers trailed over her moons. That was not meant to happen.
    “So in other words... It’s your telepathic powers stating the blatantly obvious fact that I’ve been trying to make you fall madly in love with me for quite a while now?”
    “My markings are responsive to my emotions not telepathic…Wait, you are attempting to court me?”
    “There’s an old Earth saying…duh.” Adam pulled out a small piece of cloth from his belt and knelt down. Before she protested, he tied it tight around her thigh. He glanced up, smiled, and when he rose, he was inches from her. He spoke softly and calmly, and despite being alone he whispered insuring only she could hear, “All I want right now...is you.”
    His words shocked her. Here stood a man not afraid to speak his intentions. He knew she could not sense him and could have kept them from her, instead, he confessed without hesitation. Tiva’s eyes widened. Adam’s stare was intense, his eyes shifting to a much deeper shade of purple than before. Again, she felt her markings go white and she turned away. Only the soft hum of the holo-images lingered in the room. She stopped breathing. What could she say to him? Her lack of connection to him mattered little; she knew he spoke the truth.
    “Adam...I do not know if or how I can do this.”
    “Does it really seem such a bad idea?”
    “No, but, you will outlive me and move on.”
    “I know...”
    “The potential is supposed to be the one that you will meet in the Eternal Lands and be with until eternity ends.”
“Is that the rule, or is that the story?”
    “It is what I have always believed...It is where my parents are now.” A painful sigh escaped her lips and a single tear fell down her cheek.
    Adam touched her cheek gently catching the tear on his finger.“Just because something usually happens...doesn’t mean it must always.”
    Tiva shut her eyes forcing the tears to stop. She was feeling too