Chapter 6 #2
“If you’re part Nefyrian, minutes,” Qylar said. “If you’re an unknown race, it could take hours for the system to run through potential genetic matches, and it still might come up empty.”
“I want to know,” Kenji whispered.
“Follow me,” Qylar said before pushing off the wall and entering the narrow passageway out.
He made it to the main corridor and realized Kenji wasn’t behind him. Spinning, he stalked back to the containment cell and found Kenji still where he’d left him.
“Do you need a minute?”
Tears shone in Kenji’s eyes. “I’ve waited for this most of my life… and now I can’t seem to move my feet.”
Qylar held out his hand.
Kenji stared for a few seconds, never moving.
He swallowed thickly before reaching out to grasp it.
Qylar drew Kenji into his arms and hugged him tight.
Kenji pushed away—at first—but it only took seconds before he melted against him.
Sobs wracked his body, and it nearly broke Qylar to feel the depth of Kenji’s pain.
It made his own—and his petty resentments—feel so trivial.
At least he’d known who he was. He might not have liked who his family was, but he had all the answers Kenji did not.
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” Qylar whispered, running a soothing hand over the back of Kenji’s head. “I can’t imagine facing all you have alone for so long.”
No wonder he’d been a ball of nerves. Not only had he been an orphan, but he’d had no one to help him understand his own strange nature. He’d likely lived in fear, scared he’d be found out and labeled a freak—or worse.
“I know I handled things poorly, but I want to help you find as many answers as possible,” Qylar murmured before kissing Kenji’s forehead.
Kenji backed away from him, uncertainty in his eyes.
“If I have the means, I’ll do whatever I can.”
Kenji searched his face. “Why would you offer that?”
Qylar met his gaze. “I searched for you for two months. Do you know why?”
Kenji shook his head.
“I sensed a connection I’d never felt with anyone on this planet or any other.”
Kenji’s lips parted, and his brow furrowed.
“Then you disappeared on me. You didn’t leave a message or a phone number behind.
I didn’t know your last name or where you lived.
I went back to the Eagle over and over again, hopeful, even when I knew you’d never been before that night and might never return, but there was a chance I might see your roommate there and it was better than nothing.
I scoured the city, visiting as many bars and restaurants as I could, hoping I’d find you, but no Kenji. ”
“Okay, stalker…” Kenji quipped.
Qylar huffed, grinning. “Maybe a bit over the top, but I had to see you again.”
Kenji wrapped his arms around himself, hugging himself tightly, and Qylar wanted to drag him closer again. He took a hesitant step forward and didn’t notice Kenji flinch, so he tried another, closing the gap between them.
Kenji held his gaze.
“I was crushed when I woke up to find you gone. Maybe subconsciously, I recognized you were like me. Not quite human.” He tucked his hand under Kenji’s jaw.
“Or I felt the loneliness in you… because it lives in me, too.” He caressed Kenji’s cheek.
“For the first time in my life, there was a man I yearned to get closer to—and then he vanished without a trace.”
“I hadn’t planned on leaving. Not without the wake-up sex and breakfast I was promised,” Kenji said. “I was looking forward to spending more time with you… but after losing control, I was terrified to stay. I didn’t want to ghost you.”
“You could’ve come back and knocked on my door once you regained control. Why didn’t you?”
“You’re this smooth, suave guy who was so out of my league. While you talked a good game, I didn’t think you really wanted more than a night of fun. Not with someone like me.”
“Someone like you?”
“A doubt-filled, unsophisticated bartender and secret mutant—now alien—who’s nowhere near as good looking as you are. You should be walking some runway at a Paris fashion show or on the red carpet somewhere, with some equally handsome guy on your arm.”
“I saw you standing in that bar and thought you were the most stunning man I’d ever laid eyes on,” Qylar said. “I have no desire for runways or red carpets, but I do have desire for you.”
Kenji’s breath caught.
“Hopefully, getting some answers might build your confidence and help with the doubts.” Qylar placed a gentle kiss on Kenji’s forehead, and an idea popped into his head. “Do you mean inexperienced when you call yourself unsophisticated—or the fact you haven’t seen much of the world yet?”
“Both, really,” Kenji said.
Qylar grasped one of Kenji’s hand in his. “Come with me.”
He strode toward the pilot’s deck, a smile widening on his face. Once they arrived, he pointed to one of the seats linked to a control console. “Sit.”
Kenji sat down, frowning. “What are we doing?”
“Just give me a second,” Qylar said, starting the engines. The ship hummed briefly before the movement was buffered by the magnetic field. “I want to show you something.”
“Are we going somewhere?”
“I promise we’ll be back in as little as a half-hour unless you want to stay longer.
” Qylar entered coordinates into the system before punching the throttle.
The ship rose toward the surface of the ocean.
Before they broke through, he scanned the vicinity for any craft and determined a route that bypassed anything that might see them.
Within a couple of minutes, they were orbiting Earth, just outside the ring of space debris.
Qylar opened the metal hull, exposing the crystalline alloy underneath.
The compacted crystal was cut smooth like glass and just as clear, but a million times stronger.
To Kenji, it probably looked like a simple window, but that was immaterial.
What was outside the window was what mattered.
He turned to eye Kenji. “There are few people who can say they’ve seen the entire world. Now you can consider yourself one of them.”
Kenji’s jaw dropped, his eyes wide. He slowly rose from the seat and crossed the pilot’s deck to stand in front of the window. “It’s… beautiful.”
Qylar smiled at the awe in Kenji’s voice. He ambled closer and stood a couple of inches behind Kenji. “It is a gorgeous planet.”
Kenji scoffed humorously. “I… I can’t believe I’m looking at Earth from space.”
“Believe it,” Qylar murmured. “There’s a great big universe out there I can show you, too.”
Kenji turned and stared up at him. “Slow down… I think we both have to earn some trust before you start offering me an entire universe.”
“Noted.”
Kenji turned back to stare down at Earth. “The oceans look so incredibly blue. Too bad they’re not like that for real.”
“Seriously,” Qylar said. “Humans have nearly destroyed them with pollution. You should see the waters on Nefyria. They’re unspoiled.”
Kenji looked over his shoulder, lifting a brow.
“That wasn’t an offer to take you, though I would if you asked.”
Kenji turned back to Earth and chuckled.
“I’ve never seen anyone swim as fast as you. I wonder how fast you’d be there.”
“An alien creature five times my size aggressively swam my way. You’re damned right I got the fuck out of there as fast as I could.”
Qylar snickered, but his smile soon faded. “I truly am sorry. It was a reaction born in fear for those I care about. I hope you’ll be able to forgive me.”
“I might be able to,” Kenji said, spinning to face Qylar.
“But you need to give me a minute to breathe. It’s been a really big day.
I was chased by an alien creature I thought was going to kill me, who also happens to be the guy who fucked me senseless a couple of months ago.
I was jailed, interrogated, and then released before being taken into outer space.
” He turned back around and eyed the planet again.
Qylar watched his reflection in the smooth crystal, not finding anger, but a smile. He couldn’t stop one of his own at the joy in Kenji’s face.
“From the things on your shelves, it looks like you’ve visited a lot of places down there,” Kenji said, his voice reverent.
“I have.”
“One day, I will, too.”
“Maybe I can help make that happen,” Qylar replied. “After, I earn your trust.”
“Maybe,” Kenji said, turning again to face him. “If you prove the red flags are false.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to do that.”
“Can we start with that blood test?”
Qylar nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Do we need to go back down to Earth to do it?”
Qylar shook his head. “Nope.”
Kenji grinned. “Good. I happen to like the view from up here.”
“We will need to go to the biolab briefly to take blood… and then we can come right back once it’s done.”
“Let’s do it,” Kenji said.
Qylar grasped his hand again and led him to the biolab, hoping the answer was what Kenji wanted to hear.