Chapter 10
TEN
Sevik stared at the holographic display projected from the aetherkey on the coffee table. The message onscreen stared back at him tauntingly— Seeking Connection .
Seeking fucking connection.
How long had it been? Twenty minutes? Thirty?
He rested his elbows on his knees, ground his teeth together, and bowed his head. He knew there were complex processes at play right now. The aetherkey was trying to link to a network on Vabos, a universe away, through hundreds, maybe thousands, of proxies across galaxies to obscure the origin of the signal. And he knew the universe was a big place.
He’d crossed it while recovering from the injuries he’d suffered at the hands of that coward Brekker, and he’d felt every inch of the journey.
But that knowledge didn’t ease his impatience.
“Fucking storm,” Sevik growled, glancing out the living room window.
An endless torrent of huge snowflakes dominated the view, whipping wildly through the air. Wind battered the cabin’s exterior and howled across the lake. Not that he could see the lake through the heavy snow.
He couldn’t even make out the deck railing that stood ten feet past the window.
Last night’s quiet flurries had escalated into a blizzard while Sevik slept the day away. Though he’d shoveled off the deck since waking this afternoon, several inches of fresh snow had already accumulated atop it.
The weather must’ve had something to do with the delay in connection.
He couldn’t know that for sure, but having something to blame made the inconvenience just a tiny bit easier to tolerate.
Unwilling to let this ruin his night, he picked up the book from beside the aetherkey and opened it to the marked page. The book’s scent filled his nose when he inhaled—paper and roasted coffee, with just a hint of Mina’s sweetness.
Heat coiled low in his belly. The smallest trace of her fragrance was enough to rouse his hunger, the intensity of which could distract him from almost anything.
Distraction or fucking obsession?
He refused to answer that question.
Keeping the aetherkey’s display at the edge of his vision, Sevik resumed reading about the incubus and his mate. He couldn’t help but see some of the differences between korasi and humans echoed in the differences between incubi and humans.
Sevik traced the helix of his ear to its point, then swept his hand along the hard, curved length of his horn. He felt faint vibrations through the appendage as his fingertips brushed over its ridges.
What would Mina’s hands feel like on his horns? Would she be unsettled by them, or intrigued? How would she react to his fangs, his claws, his pale skin and white hair? What would she make of his lyros , the bold black markings on his neck, back, and hips?
On Vabos, Sevik had dealt with many alien species. People of all shapes, sizes, and colors. People with skin, fur, or scales, with feathers or carapaces. He’d done business with some, had fought a good few, and had rutted his fair share. He’d seen the differences—and the similarities—between alien species.
He didn’t know if incubi were real or a fantasy, nor did he care. The incubus in Mina’s book was teaching Sevik a great deal, particularly about how to pleasure human females.
He intended to discover firsthand whether that information was factual. The list of things he wanted to try with Mina was growing longer and longer… And he hadn’t even finished the book yet.
“ Zekt’al .” Leaning back on the couch, he slid a hand up his thigh to cover his groin, pressing down on his sweatpants as his cocks bulged and throbbed behind his slit.
What scant preparation he’d undertaken for living on Earth had come during the journey here, while he’d still been limited by his injuries. But he’d made sure to study basic human anatomy as he’d traveled; it was essential to know the differences between his kind and humans if he was to hide amongst them. He’d garnered enough knowledge to make him believe that he would be compatible with female humans despite the two-to-one cock-to-cunt ratio.
This book confirmed that belief beyond what he’d imagined.
Human females only had one cunt, but their asses could also be used for pleasure.
Would Mina enjoy that? Would she enjoy him filling her that way, with both his shafts buried as deep inside her as they could go? Would she delight in the feel of his hands on her body, firm and unyielding, guiding her every movement, even as they worshipped her soft skin?
Would she beg him to caress that little nub at the apex of her slit? Her clit ?
His cocks pushed forward, parting his slit to hit the barrier of his pants and the hard palm atop them. Sevik groaned, tipped his head back onto the headrest, and set the book on the cushion beside him. Heat roiled through his veins.
His free hand settled on his belly, and his claws grazed the bare skin of his abdomen.
Stroking himself early this morning to thoughts of Mina must’ve dulled his appetite far less than he’d thought.
Control. Maintain control.
But his body didn’t seem keen on obedience. What harm would it do? He was alone, isolated, cut off from Sullford—from Mina—by this blizzard.
The clit fascinated him. To have the source of Mina’s pleasure so easily accessible…
Korasi females had no such part; their pleasure came entirely from within, from the slide of a male’s ridged shafts. Only because of this book had he realized that his thumb must’ve brushed over her clit that night in the café, when he’d teased her cunt through her dress.
He’d seen the reaction that small touch had elicited. A little more pressure might’ve been enough to make her come undone. He wanted to touch her there again, wanted to see the pleasure on her face, wanted to make her lose control with a few strokes of his fingers.
Or his tongue.
How hot would she burn for him? How brightly would she shine?
Had his thoughts continued along that path for even a moment longer, Sevik may well have shoved his pants down, taken his shafts in hand, and brought himself to another climax right there on the couch.
But an alert tone sounded from the aetherkey, quiet but demanding, and called his attention back to the display.
Connection established. Data acquisition in progress.
He drew in a ragged breath through his gritted teeth. The program was automated; he didn’t have to stop what he was doing, didn’t have to restrain himself. The aetherkey would disconnect when it was done, and it would sort through the data it obtained to present anything worth his attention.
But the alert reminded Sevik of what the program was doing and why.
It reminded him of Brekker.
That reminder fanned the flames of his passion into an inferno of anger.
Every time Sevik ran this program, he risked detection. Even if Brekker had convinced everyone that Sevik was dead, he didn’t believe it himself, and he was still searching. Were these intrusions ever discovered, it would only be a matter of time before they led straight back to Earth.
Part of Sevik welcomed that. Let Brekker come to finish what he’d started.
Sevik would not hesitate to stain the Alaskan snow with korasi blood.
Regardless, the risk was necessary. Brekker had seized control of Sevik’s organization, the Kanthor Syndicate. Anyone else who’d held any sort of power within the syndicate had already been replaced by people loyal to Brekker.
Sevik needed to know what Brekker was doing, needed to know if Brekker had picked up his trail, needed to know when it was the right time to return and strike. The aetherkey was his only way to gather that information.
Because whatever the risk, Sevik would have vengeance. He would reclaim what was his.
All of it.
The couch’s wooden frame creaked as Sevik sat forward. He fixed his eyes on the display and waited. Outside, the wind continued wailing, the snow continued falling in dizzying swirls, and countless lightyears away, Brekker continued leading the organization Sevik had built…
Sevik’s neural transceiver injected a silent alarm message into his view. The security system he’d installed on the property had been triggered.
His heart quickened, and fresh fury flooded his muscles. If the time had come, if he’d been found, Sevik would make Brekker wish their business had ended on Vabos.
Sevik was already on his feet and striding into the kitchen as he accessed the holo recorder feeds through his transceiver.
A car was rolling down his driveway, toward the cabin. The heavy snowfall and bright headlights made it difficult to determine the color and shape of the vehicle.
Brekker wouldn’t drive up to my front door so directly. He’ll know I’m watching…
But Sevik knew better now than to put anything past his old friend, didn’t he?
Still, this was probably just a human from town. Not that Sevik could guess why anyone would be coming here, after dark, during a blizzard.
He tugged open one of the kitchen drawers and retrieved the plasma pistol hidden in the false bottom before moving to the laundry room doorway, where he pressed himself against the wall. The car continued its approach in the security feeds.
Snow crunched beneath tires outside as the vehicle stopped behind his truck, its rear end jutting past the car port roof.
Back in the living room, the aetherkey chimed another alert. Probably stating that had acquired the data and disconnected.
Sevik raised the pistol, watching through the transceiver as the vehicle’s door opened…
And Mina emerged.
Sevik’s heart stopped. For an instant, everything was silent. Then another thunderous beat of his heart shattered the preternatural quiet.
“ Shit ,” he growled, eyebrows angling down. He clenched his jaw and squeezed the grip of his weapon.
What the fuck is she doing here?
She could’ve gotten into an accident. Could’ve gotten stuck out there, freezing, in the middle of a storm.
She could’ve been harmed…or worse.
That last thought sank into Sevik’s gut and coiled around his insides, pulling them tight. Death had been a regular occurrence in his life. He’d known it from a young age. But very few of the deaths he had witnessed—or been involved in—had affected him.
Just the thought of Mina’s death made his throat constrict, his chest burn, and his fangs ache.
As Mina trudged through the snow toward the cabin door, Sevik shoved away from the wall. He returned the pistol to the drawer, then rushed into the living room to grab the aetherkey, glimpsing only one word on the screen before he powered it off.
…aborted…
Storm interference had probably broken the connection.
No time to speculate. Worry about it later.
Sevik pulled up the loose floorboard near the fireplace, stuffed the aetherkey in the hole beside his small cache of spare weapons and security devices, and dropped the floorboard into place. He kicked the rug over the spot and stalked back toward the cabin’s entrance.
His muscles were tense, his movements were stiff, and opposing instincts warred within him.
He’d yearned to see Mina again, to smell her, to touch her. And now she was here. She had come to him, as if in answer to his silent yearning.
But she’d endangered herself in doing so.
Anger and desire swirled inside him to create something fierier and more intense than either.
Good luck maintaining self-control now, Sevik.
Just before he dismissed the holo feed from outside, he saw Mina on the doorstep, lifting a fist.
A quick, soft knock sounded from the door, followed by another that was louder but more hesitant.
His cocks twitched behind his slit.
Pressing his hand over his pelvis, Sevik took a deep breath. If nothing else, at least he was wearing pants. He reactivated his holoshroud and padded into the laundry room.
Mina was visible through the door window, looking over her shoulder at the torrential snowfall. She was holding a cardboard box in her arms and had the straps of a canvas bag hooked over her shoulder. Despite the shelter of the carport, the wind swept away the little puffs of breath emerging from her nose and whipped through the short, curly locks sticking out from under her hat, making them brush her pinkened cheeks.
Foolish female.
Sevik turned on the light and opened the door. Though he was only half dressed, the frigid air that blew into the cabin did not cool him.
Mina jerked her face toward him and smiled wide. “Surprise!” When her gaze dipped to his chest, those big brown eyes widened, and her smile faltered. “Oh…”
Oh ? What the fuck was he supposed to do with oh ? Did that mean she liked what she saw, or that she was unimpressed?
How could that tiny fucking word trigger a thousand questions in Sevik’s mind?
Barely holding back a frustrated growl, Sevik asked, “Why are you here, Mina?”
Her eyes snapped back up to his. “Um, well, I…”
A strong gust of wind battered Mina with snow and cold. She squinted and turned her face away from it, shivering as she clutched the box tighter to her chest.
Ah, fuck. Fucking...fuck.
Sevik grabbed her shoulder and dragged her into the house. Mina gasped but didn’t resist. Once she was clear of the door, he forced it shut, battling surprising resistance from the wind.
Surprising? It’s a fucking blizzard out there.
He clenched his jaw, drew in another deep breath through his nostrils, and turned to face her. “Why are you here?”
“Hold this,” she said as she pushed the box against his chest. “Careful with it.”
Sevik’s hands came up reflexively, catching the box just before she let it go. He blinked down at the unmarked brown cardboard. “Mina…”
“It’s freezing out there. I swear it feels colder every winter.” She unzipped her coat and shrugged it off her shoulders, passing her bag from one hand to the other as she tugged her arms from the sleeves.
Reaching up, she hung her coat on one of the empty hooks on the walls before toeing off her boots. She wore a thin, light brown, off-the-shoulder sweater, tucked into a darker, semi-transparent skirt adorned with lacy floral patterns.
Sevik stared at her exposed shoulder. His teeth ached with the memory of her delicate skin against his lips, of its pliancy beneath his fangs, ached with the need to bite her. “Mina, what are you doing?”
Mina unwound her scarf and pulled off her hat, stuffing them into her coat pocket. She shook out her curls as she stepped into the kitchen. “It smells great in here.”
Smells much better now that you’re here.
He followed her, transfixed by the subtle bounce of her hair, the skirt swishing around her legs, and the gentle sway of her hips as she walked. An ache in his pelvis echoed the one in his fangs.
Mina stopped beside the dining table and placed her bag atop it. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
Before he could respond, she took the box from him and set it next to her bag.
Brow knitting, Sevik tilted his head. “Yes.”
She cast him an innocent, apologetic look. “Sorry! But I have just the thing to make up for it.”
Slipping her hand into the tote, she pulled out a bottle and handed it to him with a bright smile. “You open this. I’ll get the cups.”
The instant he accepted the bottle, Mina walked to the cabinets, opening one after another.
What the fuck is happening here?
Sevik looked down at the bottle. It was green glass, with golden foil around the neck and a label that marked it as champagne . An alcoholic beverage. Earth seemed to have an endless variety of them.
“Where are your— Oh!” Mina pulled two mugs down from the cupboard. “These will do.”
Enough of this .
He put the bottle down hard on the table and stalked toward her. She flinched when he snatched the mugs away and set them on the countertop. Catching her wrists in his hands, he backed her against the counter and pinned her with his body.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” he demanded, glaring down at her. “This is a blizzard, Mina. A fucking blizzard. If anything had happened, if you had slid off the road or taken a wrong turn, you could’ve frozen to death before anyone found you.”
Mina stared up at him, searching his eyes as her own glistened with gathering tears.
Sevik’s heart lurched, and his chest constricted.
“I know,” she said, voice cracking. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she bowed her head.
No, don’t do that. No tears, val’syra …
That tightness crept down into his belly and up through his neck, tensing his jaw and making him grit his teeth. The bestial instinct at his core snarled and lashed against the walls of its flimsy cage, demanding freedom. Demanding to rip this world to shreds until the sources of Mina’s pain were destroyed and those tears ceased flowing.
“I drove slowly, and I was careful, but I…I know it was stupid,” she continued quietly. “I just…”
“Why are you here?” he growled through his fangs.
“It’s my birthday.” Mina shook her head and laughed humorlessly. “That’s even more stupid a reason to risk driving in this storm, huh?”
“I don’t understand.”
“I turned thirty today. And after spending the last seven birthdays alone, I…” She pressed her lips together and sniffled. More tears ran down her cheeks, gathering at her chin before falling. “I thought that since you were alone too, I could celebrate it with you, and then…then neither of us has to spend tonight feeling so lonely.”
Mina’s emotional pain struck Sevik like little else ever had, and it fueled an impotent rage within him that only exacerbated his existing anger.
He was angry at her for risking the storm. Angry at himself for feeling her sorrow. Angry at his instincts for demanding even now that he take her, rut her, drown the two of them in pleasure so they could snuff out their loneliness for a little while.
Her analysis had been right—he was lonely.
But Sevik knew one time would never be enough when it came to Mina, because his instincts weren’t merely urging him to fuck her and move on. Why would it be that simple? No, his instincts demanded that he imprint on her.
And he would not do that. For his sake…and for hers.
Sevik released her arm, took hold of her chin, and tipped her face up toward his. “It was stupid to come here.”
Her lips quivered as fresh moisture welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to?—”
He pressed his thumb over her mouth, silencing her. “No. No more apologies. No more crying.”
Mina quietly held his gaze.
Sevik moved his face closer to hers. Her tears smelled of salt, a subtle but unmistakable scent that made something deep within him stir. He parted his lips and extended his tongue, catching a teardrop falling down her cheek. Mina sucked in a sharp breath.
That saltiness blended with the sweetness of her skin, stoking his craving.
His tongue trailed along her jaw until his mouth was beside her ear. “Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Mina whispered against his thumb.
“Good,” he rumbled. Straightening, he let go of Mina, stepped back, and picked up the mugs. He handed them to her. “Go sit.”
Mina brought the mugs to her chest and stared at him with wide eyes. “I?—”
“Sit.”
Biting her bottom lip, she hurried to the table.
Sevik nearly groaned. He wanted to be the one to bite that lip. For years, he’d simply reached out and taken whatever he wanted. Having the object of his desire right in front of him but being unable to seize it was torturous.
He turned away from her and braced his hands on the counter, squeezing his eyes shut. Though his life wasn’t in immediate danger, he was playing a dangerous game with this female.
Where the fuck is your control, Sevik?
He’d maintained control the first time she was here. Even having stripped off most of her clothing with his own hands, he’d resisted temptation. All through that arduous night, he’d been painfully aware that she was right upstairs in his bed, yet he had not succumbed.
And he wasn’t going to now.
After everything he’d seen and done, the challenges he’d overcome, the blood he’d spilled and sacrificed, keeping his fucking cocks in his slit should’ve been effortless.
He couldn’t make her his.
No matter how much he longed for her.
Dismissing those thoughts, Sevik opened his eyes, pushed away from the counter, and walked to the table.
He snatched up the champagne bottle and tore off the foil seal, revealing a cork held in place by thin wire that wrapped around the neck. His attention flicked to Mina. She was intently watching his hands.
Ah, the things I would do to you with these hands, val’syra.
Mentally cursing himself, he turned the bottle to find a loop where the wire had been twisted together.
“Where I am from,” he said as he pinched the end of the loop and began unwinding it, “we do not celebrate…birthdays.”
“You don’t?” Mina cocked her head. “Where are you from?”
When his gaze met hers, she smiled widely. A glimmer of mischievousness in her eyes belied the innocence of her expression.
“Far away from here.”
Her smile dropped, and Mina wrinkled her nose. “So secretive. Even if you don’t celebrate birthdays, when were you born?”
With the wire loosened, Sevik braced his thumb on the side of the cork. “Thirty-two years ago.”
“You’re only two years older than me! What day? What month?”
“Always with the questions.”
“I’m just trying to get to know you.”
“Is it really possible to know anyone, Mina?” Sevik pushed on the cork. After a brief resistance, it burst free with a loud pop . The cork launched across the table, passing only inches above Mina’s head, and struck a decorative plate on a shelf over the counter. The plate fell, bouncing off the counter’s edge before shattering on the floor.
Mina jumped and turned on her chair to look at the porcelain shards.
Brows low, Sevik stared down at the bottle. Fizzy liquid bubbled from the opening, running over his hand and dripping on the table.
The cork had nearly hit Mina. It could’ve hurt her. He could’ve hurt her.
Why the fuck did humans seem so determined to make everything dangerous?
Would I care if it was anyone else?
He lifted his gaze to Mina. She’d turned back to him, her rounded eyes locking with his. He’d almost fucking hurt her, and now?—
Mina laughed.
It was soft, brief, but that laughter pierced the tension in the air and deflated it.
“I didn’t realize how dangerous you are with a bottle of champagne,” she said. “Remind me to stand behind you next time.”
Just like that, she’d laughed it off.
A ball of heat coalesced in the center of his chest, making his heart stutter and his breath falter.
I could fall in love with this female.
Where the fuck had that come from?
He set the bottle down in front of her. “Pour.”
Sevik walked away without allowing her to respond. His thumping pulse echoed throughout his body, impossibly strong, impossibly loud. He tried to ignore it as he washed his hands at the sink. Tried to ignore the deep ache in his groin as he scrubbed away the moisture with a hand towel. Tried to ignore her scent pervading his senses as he moved to the entry room to retrieve a broom.
But he couldn’t ignore the press of his cocks against his slit. All he could do was will them to remain inside.
He didn’t allow himself to look at her as he swept up the broken plate. The clinking of porcelain shards only emphasized the silence—which in turn made the noise inside Sevik seem all the louder.
She’s mine.
But I can’t have her.
Just need to take her…
Aggaan sin thar , fucking control!
Control… If he did take her, he’d have no chance of controlling himself. Especially now, with this new feeling roiling within him, with this new layer to his desire.
Sevik dumped the shards in the trash and returned the broom to its place. He stepped back into the kitchen to find Mina standing next to the table, waiting for him with a drink in each of her hands.
Mina offered him a mug. “I…hope that wasn’t something important to you?”
As he accepted the offering, his fingers brushed hers, adding even more weight to her gesture. A wild urge sparked at his core—he would offer her the fucking world. “The plate?”
She nodded.
“No. This place was furnished when I bought it. The plate was already here.”
“Oh, wow. That must’ve saved a lot of trouble. It’s not always easy getting new furniture out here.”
His eyes dipped to her slender neck, following it to her bare shoulder. That delicate skin begged for a caress, for the graze of his claws, begged to be marked by his fangs…
Sevik’s tongue slipped out, trailing over his lips before he forced his gaze back up. Mina was staring at his mouth. Was she thinking back on their kiss? Because he was, and he wanted nothing more in that moment than to capture that pretty mouth again and ravish it.
Fuck .
Needing something else, anything else, to focus upon, he raised the mug and drained the contents in a single large gulp.
Fuuuuck.
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, and he was less sure of what he was tasting. There was a sweetness to the champagne, but it was overpowered by wince-inducing sourness, the two flavors compounded by stinging bubbles that made his nose burn. None of that hid the distinct taste of alcohol.
Sevik turned his face away from Mina and coughed; even the air he expelled stung his throat.
There were drinks from hundreds of worlds and cultures on Vabos—drinks to alter the mind, to take off the edge, to plunge into blissful oblivion. Not all alcohol, but similar enough.
He’d never had anything this…confusing. This unpleasant.
These humans enjoy suffering.
Mina placed a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
Not even the champagne’s lingering effects could diminish the power of that soft, warm touch. He inhaled, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and nodded. “It is…not like the drinks I am used to.”
She chuckled. “It’s kind of meant to be more sipped than chugged.”
Mina picked up the bottle and refilled his mug.
It was no different than her offering him another drink.
Zekt’al.
As the golden liquid poured, he swore the fizzing bubbles were laughing at him.
“Thank you,” he said through his teeth.
“I ordered this months ago and saved it just for today. I’m glad I won’t be drinking the whole thing all by myself.” She set the bottle back down and raised her mug with a smile. “A toast?”
Sevik tilted his head. “Don’t have any bread.”
Mina laughed and shook her head. “No, no. Not that kind of toast. The kind of toast where people drink together in honor of something.”
“What are we honoring?”
She grinned. “How about we toast to you not kicking me back out into the storm?”
He frowned and raised his mug. “Or…to your birthday.”
Her grin softened. “To my birthday, and to not being alone tonight.”
She clinked her mug against his, brought it to her mouth, and drank.
Sevik took a sip of the champagne. In a smaller amount, it was more tolerable, though the flavors were still overbearing and the bubbles still made him cringe. Bad enough that he could smell the stuff so strongly, but now that taste was lingering too.
Yet a glance at Mina made her enjoyment clear. This was special for her, something she’d bought in advance, something she’d saved for months. That tempered the champagne for him, if only a little.
Mina peeked at him over the rim of her mug and quickly looked away, her cheeks pinkening.
“What must we do to celebrate your birthday, Mina?” he asked.
She lowered the mug, grasping it between both hands. “Are you sure this isn’t too much of an inconvenience? I know it’s late, and I just popped in on you out of nowhere…”
He hooked a finger under her chin, guiding her face back toward his. The words emerged before he could fully consider them, but he didn’t regret saying them aloud. “You were already in my thoughts, Mina. Now you’re here.”
Her blush deepened. “You were thinking of me?”
Sevik slid his thumb up and brushed it beneath her lower lip. “Hard to think of anything else lately.”
Her lips parted, and it took every bit of Sevik’s restraint to prevent himself from claiming that mouth, from doing something from which there’d be no return.
But the temptation remained…
He dropped his arm, needing to sever physical contact with her. “You didn’t answer me.”