Chapter 11
Sofia
Sofia woke to find Zaraq gazing at her, his deep purple eyes lightening as she tilted her head up to look at him. The morning sun made his silver-gray skin almost shimmer, and his sleek black hair, usually tied up, framed his face now and spilled across the pillow.
Against the white hotel sheets, still carrying a slightly purple tinge from his Gorian disguise, Zaraq appeared otherworldly. That is, more otherworldly than usual.
“How long have you been awake?” Sofia asked, stretching to shake the sleep from her bones. As she moved, she felt her naked body pressed up against Zaraq’s and a thrill ran through her as she remembered the previous night’s lovemaking.
Because that’s what it was. Wasn’t it? An outpouring of the love that was growing between them?
“Hours,” Zaraq replied with a grin. He brought his hand up to brush a strand of auburn hair from her face, lingering to stroke the soft skin of her cheek.
“Have you been staring at me the whole time, creeper?” Sofia joked, but beneath her sarcasm, the thought of him watching her made her giddy.
“Uh-huh,” Zaraq admitted without an ounce of self-consciousness. “You’re beautiful when you’re asleep.”
At this, he smiled, and Sofia could see the adoration clear in his gaze. It wasn’t something she’d seen before, and it made her both deliriously happy and painfully self-aware.
“Sorry to have ruined the effect,” she replied, trying to ease that tension in her. But despite her words, her hands came up to caress Zaraq’s bare chest, and her voice was soft.
“You’re even more beautiful when you’re awake.” Zaraq gazed at her for another moment and then leaned forward and kissed her. His soft lips sent a wave of pleasure crashing over Sofia.
As they kissed, Zaraq pulled her closer to him, and she felt suddenly safe in his arms. His strength comforted her, and like the night before, she felt his protectiveness. It was as though he didn’t want to let her go—not into the streets of Rikuus, not into the dangerous underworld, and certainly not into Vexis’s company.
When he pulled away, she saw the adoration in his eyes replaced by the same worry that had clouded him for the last several days.
“I’ll be okay,” she assured, without him needing to speak.
She wasn’t sure if she completely believed her own words, but there was nothing more she could say or do. Their plan was already in motion, and stopping it now would only put them all in more danger.
Zaraq seemed to recognize this and instead of arguing with her, he simply nodded, letting his fingers trace the curve of her jaw again.
“I know I’ve told you to be careful a thousand times, so I won’t say it again,” he told her, letting his fingers curl around the back of her neck. The sensation was comforting to Sofia. “But what I haven’t told you yet is that I think I’m falling for you.”
In Sofia’s chest, her heart suddenly did somersaults, or maybe it was bursting into a thousand butterflies, or possibly even melting and exploding at the same time. Whatever it was doing, Sofia had never experienced anything like it before, and it took a long while for her to find the breath to answer.
“Me, too,” was all she could muster when she finally found her voice again.
For someone who usually had no issue churning out a tirade of words on command, the act of being made speechless was another new experience for Sofia. The words she’d uttered sounded, to her, entirely inadequate to describe what she was feeling toward Zaraq, but judging by the grin that spread across his face, she’d said exactly the right thing.
He pulled her into another kiss, this time passionate and deep, their bodies pressed against each other in some sort of desperate fervor. Neither of them said it out loud just yet, but it was clear something other than longing lingered in their kiss, in their touch. It was fear.
They spent the morning in bed, kissing, cuddling, and then making love again. Their bodies were becoming attuned to each other, and they came together in a grasping frenzy as if it might be the last time. That was something neither of them could bear to say out loud, but the impending threat of their plan hung over both of them.
When they lay together after making love again, panting in unison, Sofia turned to Zaraq. She draped herself over his chest and whispered in his ear.
“I’m coming back,” she told him. “I promise.”
At this, Zaraq stiffened, wrapping his arm around Sofia’s waist. He shifted so he was looking her in the eye, and Sofia saw a heaviness that hadn’t been there before.
“I know you can’t promise that,” he told her solemnly. “You managed to trick him yesterday,” he added, holding up a hand to Sofia’s protests. “But this guy is mean. If he really did kill Ryka, he’s dangerous and probably unpredictable. Please don’t underestimate the danger you’re putting yourself in.”
Sofia took a deep breath, letting his words sink in.
“I know,” she told him, and she meant it. “But it’s worth it for you. Besides, he might be an alien man, but he’s still a man. You’re not the only one charmed by my feminine wiles.”
She shot him a grin, hoping the joke might help lift the mood, but Zaraq only smirked.
“Hopefully, he’s not too charmed,” Zaraq answered, some of last night’s jealousy flashing in his eyes again.
Sofia could tell he was torn about her flirtation with Vexis, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek to comfort him.
“Don’t worry, you’re the only alien I have eyes for.”
With that, she sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and wrapping herself in the sheet. Her body craved some breakfast to re-energize after the unexpected morning sex.
“Hungry?” she asked, pulling the room service menu onto her lap. Behind her, she felt Zaraq shift. A moment later, he was wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing her neck.
“Insatiable,” he joked, moving his lips up and sucking softly on her earlobe.
Sofia laughed, leaning into him. “You know what I mean.”
Finally, they managed to order breakfast, and while Zaraq showered, Sofia got dressed. For now, it was her usual cargo pants and her favorite shirt—a Ghostbusters tee she’d had since she was a teenager. She knew that night she’d be slipping back into some skimpy outfit, though. She just hadn’t yet figured out which one.
Nevertheless, the thought of flirting with Vexis again made her tense. When someone knocked at the door, she almost jumped out of her skin.
By the time Zaraq was out of the shower, Sofia had laid their breakfast out on the table and was picking absentmindedly at the meal.
“I thought you were hungry?” he said as he emerged from the bathroom, tousling his hair with a towel. At his waist, he’d wrapped himself in another towel, leaving his chest bare and glistening with water. It was almost enough for Sofia to pull him back into bed for round three, but she knew they had to focus.
“Do you have a blaster? I saw one in your pack that day in the catacombs,” she said suddenly. A half-eaten piece of toast, or what passed as toast on Rikuus, was suspended over the table in her now-still hand.
Zaraq looked taken aback but recovered quickly.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he said, abandoning his hair-drying and sitting down in the high-backed chair beside her. “I figured it was better to keep that sort of thing away from you for as long as I could.”
Sofia thought for a moment, watching her breakfast spread drip slowly to the side of her toast. She finally decided this latest lie of omission fit into the same category as his other lies—forgivable because he intended to protect her. Right now, though, she needed something more tangible than ignorance to keep her safe.
“Can I take it with me tonight?” The piece of toast was beginning to get soggy, drooping in her hand while she waited for Zaraq’s answer.
It was clear he was battling with himself as he mulled over the question.
“You’ve used one before?” he asked finally, one eyebrow raised.
Sofie nodded and quickly shoved the piece of toast in her mouth before it disintegrated entirely. The alien jam, or whatever it was, was actually pretty good, and Zaraq’s question was slowly reviving her appetite.
“I can handle a weapon,” she told him after swallowing the mouthful.
“Only use it if it’s absolutely necessary,” he told her with a warning look that made her want to scoff. “Pulling out a blaster is liable to get you shot if you don’t—”
Sofia reached across the table, stopping him in his tracks. With a sigh, he turned his hand over, clasping her fingers in his.
“Sorry,” he relented. “I know you’re more than capable. I just don’t want you to get hurt. I really care about you.”
Sofia felt those exploding butterflies in her chest again and squeezed Zaraq’s hand.
“I care about you, too,” she told him, turning her body toward him so they were gazing straight at each other. “That’s why I’m doing this. And that’s also why you need to give me your blaster.”
At this, Zaraq mustered a smile. “Do you always get what you want?” he teased.
“I told you, feminine wiles.” Sofia ran her free hand over her curves for Zaraq’s benefit, and this time he laughed.
“I guess I can’t argue with that.” He pushed his chair away from the breakfast table and strode over to the bag he’d stashed in the corner of the room. Within a few seconds, he’d fished the blaster out and held it up for her inspection.
The small black weapon had a silver barrel, exactly what she’d caught sight of in the catacombs. The blaster was no more than six inches across, but she knew from experience not to underestimate it. She’d seen one of these pack a punch when necessary, and she didn’t envy anyone who had to stare down its barrel.
“Thank you,” she said as Zaraq placed the gun on the bedside table next to her purse.
When he came back to the table, she grabbed a piece of unidentifiable alien fruit. It dripped with a rich syrupy juice that reminded her of honey.
“Want some… honey fruit?” she asked, leaning forward while the fruit syrup dripped over her fingers.
“Jasfora,” Zaraq corrected with a smile. “And yes.”
Sofia returned the grin, holding her other hand beneath the jasfora to catch the drips. She brought the fruit to his mouth and fed it to him, letting him lick the syrup from her fingers. The warmth and wetness of his tongue had her body buzzing with endorphins all over again.
“Now your turn,” Zaraq replied. “Have you tried any laki yet?”
He gestured to a box of what looked like baklava, only white. Sofia shook her head, hoping Zaraq was about to return the favor, and to her delight, he did.
Only she wasn’t quite as graceful as he had been when eating the jasfora. She immediately managed to cover herself in a fine dust of snow-white crumbs. Worse still, some of them went up her nose.
“Achoo!”
Her sneeze sent the remaining crumbs billowing into the air, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that Zaraq was staring at her with a look somewhere between amusement and utter confusion.
“What was that?” he asked, baffled.
“What, the sneeze?”
“Is that what you call it?” Zaraq raised his eyebrows, clearly fascinated.
Sofia laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t tell me aliens don’t sneeze.”
“None that I know of.”
Sofia thought about it. Now that he mentioned it, she didn’t think she’d ever seen Arccoo sneeze, or any other alien for that matter.
“Well, I guess it’s just another one of those weird human things,” she told him with a grin.
“One of those endearing human things,” Zaraq corrected, pulling her out of her seat and into his lap.
For a moment, she thought Zaraq was going to start feeding her breakfast again, but instead, he just held her close. She could feel his breath against her, his arms warm and tight around her.
The gesture was heavy with meaning, and Sofia was forced, all over again, to think about what might happen if her date that night didn’t go as planned. And it wasn’t just her own safety that was at risk.
She’d tried to push the thought from her mind until now, simply focusing on her own part of the plan, but now, as they sat silently in each other’s arms, clutching each other, Sofia finally acknowledged that Zaraq was risking his own safety that night, too.
“You’ll be in and out quickly, right?” she asked now, running her fingers up the shimmering skin of Zaraq’s bare biceps.
“As soon as I can find what I’m looking for,” Zaraq answered, and she felt his breath warm on her shoulder. “That bastard has to have it somewhere.”
“What if he doesn’t?” she asked, fear finally tinging her voice.
“Then I’m doomed either way.”
The words hung heavily between them, filling the silence with a kind of dread that made them cling to each other even tighter. The thought that they wouldn’t get through this had barely crossed Sofia’s mind, but now, on the brink of it all getting very, very real, the possibility made her heart ache.
The tension was suddenly broken by a knock at the door. For a second, Sofia and Zaraq froze, expecting the worst, but when Elena’s voice called out, they breathed a sigh of relief.
“Coming!” Sofia called, motioning for Zaraq to hide just in case.
When she opened the door, though, Elena was alone except for a stretch of black fabric she held in her hands.
“I think we landed in the right part of town for skimpy dresses,” she announced, barging into the room without asking.
“Sure, come right in,” Sofia joked, shutting the door.
Elena stopped in her tracks when Zaraq stepped out of the bathroom. He was still clad in only a towel, and it took a second for Elena to snap out of it.
“Uh, well, I can see you’re busy,” she said, turning to Sofia with a knowing grin. “Just wanted to give you this for your, uh… date.”
Elena held up the black dress—a sleek, figure-hugging piece with cutouts designed to reveal Sofia’s waist. In the background, Sofia could see Zaraq’s skin flush blue. She could only imagine the jealousy he was feeling, knowing she was wearing this dress for someone else.
“I guess I’ll leave you to it,” Elena muttered, giving Sofia’s arm a squeeze.
When it was just her and Zaraq in the room again, they gazed at each other for a long moment. This time, they didn’t say anything. Sofia knew as well as Zaraq did that in a few short hours they would both be risking their lives for Zaraq’s freedom.
Sofia’s throat tightened a little at the thought, and though she wanted to speak, the words stuck in her throat. Finally, she simply stepped forward and folded herself into his arms, breathing him in.
She couldn’t say it out loud just yet, but she knew if they made it through this, there were three words she needed him to hear.