I blinked. Mated. Like it was done and settled, but I still didn't know what it meant. I reached down between us, my breath catching as I stroked the head of his cock against my clit, and then moved it to my opening. Khell's throat flexed as I sank onto his length.

"A little," I admitted. "But you can make it up to me now."

Khell purred, his beautiful, hard face solemn, and he drew me forward for another kiss, every tendon and muscle relaxing in me with the brush of his lips on mine.

* * *

I woke in the middle of the night, just as I had for weeks now, a heavy but comforting weight over my waist. I wasn't frustrated this time, though. My heart wasn't hurting. And while my sex was warm and slightly throbbing, it was undeniably from satisfaction, rather than a lack of it.

Still, it took me a moment to orient myself. I was in my bed, and the great lumpy mountain of muscle I was embracing was Khell. My Khell.

My…mate.

I could guess the meaning of the term, but Khell and I hadn't taken the time to really discuss it in depth yet.

Mine.

The word echoed in my head, a mix of both our voices.

I fumbled my hand over to my bedside table and found my phone. It was after five, and I was fairly certain Khell and I had collapsed in the sheets before midnight. Six whole hours of uninterrupted sleep in one night? Not bad.

I rolled in the cradle of Khell's arms, my pillow stuffed in his armpit for me to rest my head there. He was flat on his back, spread out over the majority of the queen bed. I bet even his feet were hanging over the edge. My gaze was studying the profile of his sleeping face, my hand sliding over his chest to find the tail of his braid, twisting it around my hand. His tusks were bright in the dark, his lips slightly parted and breaths heavy.

For the first time in weeks, I was comfortable. I was wide awake, my thoughts still cataloging everything that had happened last night, and Khell was fast asleep. His cock was half-hard, tenting the sheet we were under, and I was pretty confident that if I took him in my hand, Khell would be more than happy to meet my demand.

It was a tempting distraction. But also for the first time in weeks, I wasn't jittery with desperation. It was like finally having ownership of my body back.