(Caius)
She took my hand and I led her out of the office and down the corridor toward our quarters and neither of us spoke because there wasn't anything to say that the bond wasn't already saying louder than words.
I closed the door behind us and let go of her hand and put space between us immediately. Not because I wanted distance. Because what I was about to ask her required her to receive it clearly and that was harder when I was close to her.
She stood in the middle of the room and looked at me.
"Tell me what you need," she said.
That was Isla. No performance. No waiting for me to manage the moment into something easier. Just direct.
"There's something that will help," I said. "With the bond. With Vorak."
She waited.
"Scent marking," I said. "It's not the mark. It's not s*x. It
