Chapter 17
GEMMA
“For you.” Zalis handed the horn to Gemma.
It was surprisingly lightweight, as if it had been hollowed out. That made sense. Niklas was an empty shell of a person with empty horns to match. She could have lived without hearing that scream, though.
“Thank you, but I don’t want this garbage.” Gemma tossed the horn at Niklas’ feet.
He scrambled to grab it, as if Zalis would snatch it away again, and clutched the broken piece to his chest.
“I’ll report you,” he threatened with venom in his voice.
Zalis squatted in front of Niklas, staring him down.
He said, “Empty threats. You will tell no one because if you do, your own crimes will come to light. I believe you are intelligent enough to know that if that happens, if you report us or retaliate, your time among the living will have come to an end.”
Niklas paled.
“You allow us a quarter of an hour to depart before contacting emergency services,” Zalis said.
Niklas inhaled deeply, like he was about to protest. Zalis casually cracked his knuckles, the noise loud enough to echo. His mouth slammed shut. Whatever he was about to say, it didn’t matter. What mattered was he scurried away until his back pressed against the wall.
Zalis stood, adjusted his jacket, and held out a hand for Gemma.
They did not speak until they were back inside the car.
“Are you well?” His shoulders brushed up against hers.
All the bubbling emotions inside Gemma finally burst, exploding as she twisted in the seat and grabbed his horns, pulling his face to hers. She slammed her lips against his. This wasn’t a timid kiss. It grew hungry and needy. Her lips parted as his tongue demanded entry.
Zalis growled, the rumble going right to her core. He scooped her up and sat her in his lap. The vehicle moved in traffic, jostling her. One hand braced her against the car’s roof and the other against his chest.
There were entirely too many layers of fabric separating them. She plucked at the jacket buttons, growling in frustration. She wanted skin on skin. Mouth on skin. Tongues on skin. Mostly she wanted that bulge that was underneath her. Needed it. The windows were tinted, right?
Another bump in the road and her cane bashed against her arm.
Maybe the car wasn’t the best place for this.
“You were so hot,” she said, pulling back for air.
“I found your performance highly attractive as well.”
“I think my panties melted.”
“Such a hyperbolic statement. I must verify.” His hand skimmed her waist, dipping between the waistband and her skin. Whatever he found, it warranted a low, throaty growl.
Being only human, she kissed him again, sinking into the feel of him. Hard muscles flexed under soft fabric. Silky hair twisted around her fingers.
“Tell me you wish to continue this,” he said when they pulled away. His normally stoic face and meticulously groomed image was in shambles. His hair was mussed, his cheeks flushed, his lips swollen and his eyes—they were stunning, dark and filled with such warmth.
Fuck it. The car was the place for this.
“I want you so much.” She grabbed his hand and returned it to her stomach. With a lick of her lips, she guided his hand, slipping it back to where it belonged.
He didn’t need more encouragement. His fingers rubbed against her soaked panties. He explored the edges, where skin met fabric, and pushed it aside. The cotton was tight, threatening to rip, and frankly, she didn’t care.
“Does this thing have cameras?” she asked.
“They have been disabled.”
“Then I can do this.” She rose on her knees and tugged down her pants and panties.
Zalis growled, clearly approving. He cupped her, a finger carefully stroking her folds.
She rocked against his hand, wanting more, wanting him to part her and explore her depths. This was nice but it wasn’t hitting the right spots.
She leaned forward, peppering him with kisses. “Please, Zalis. Don’t make me wait.”
His fingers parted her, rubbing from her clit to her core.
He went slowly, watching her reaction as if he were making notes.
Here? She shivered and moaned. If he circled her clit?
Yum. A little lower, dipping into her channel, and she clawed at the back of the seat.
Each movement was measured, like he planned to devastate her the next time.
Good. She liked a man with a plan.
Although he was doing a fine job of wrecking her world right now.
“So hungry for me,” he said, working her clit like a master.
Delight and desire coiled inside her, tighter and tighter. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.
“No.” The thumb from his free hand brushed against her lips. “Let me hear you.”
A finger pushed into her as deep as it could go, then another, stretching her. She gasped at the sensation. He worked them in and out, and then curled his finger, hitting that elusive spot.
A charge went through her, amplifying every touch.
Maybe it was dopamine from the last encounter making her thrum, or it was the payoff from their slow, careful courtship, or just the fact that Zalis was the kind of guy to use the word courtship, or just that it was Zalis—yeah, that. Just because it was Zalis.
He watched her with such devotion, such hunger.
Barely clinging to sanity, she grabbed his horns, using them to help lever herself up as she rode his hand. Because it was his hand. Because he gladly slept on the floor to keep the nightmares away.
Because he held her hand.
His mouth clamped onto the curve of her neck. She felt his teeth graze her skin, threatening to break through. On the cusp of another release, her entire body tensed. Pleasure rocked through her, and she cried with the relief of it.
Zalis withdrew his hand. Keeping his gaze on hers—hungry, so hungry—he licked his fingers clean.
Her smile felt wide enough to split her face in half. She buried her face against the fabric of his overly complex jacket. It was surprisingly soft.
His arms wrapped around her, cradling her.
“How are you? That was intense,” she said, reaching down to his member.
He grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “We’ll be at our destination soon.”
“Oh, you won’t be frustrated and bothered?”
He gently kissed her neck. “If we continue, I will mark you and you will always be mine.”
“And I’m going back to Earth.”
“Until you tell me otherwise.”
Past Gemma really cockblocked her.
Gemma leaned back, putting some space between them. He wouldn’t believe her if she said she had a change of heart so she didn’t bother trying to convince him. “I can respect your boundaries. How are you about that other intense thing?”
“I understand my function. You need a mate to protect you. I complied.”
That didn’t sound right. He didn’t sound like a man who just enjoyed spicy times in the back of a car. He sounded tired and dejected.
Gemma pulled up her clothes and shifted off his lap. Lust drained away quickly, and she regarded him more critically. He had the beginning of a bruise on his cheek. A dark spatter decorated his jacket.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“You chose me because you were afraid. I am the largest male and the logical choice. I know this. I wish I could make it so you were not afraid but I cannot. You deserve justice, not just vengeance, but that is all I can give you.”
“That’s not why I picked you,” she said. “I mean, yes, but not the only reason. I was afraid. Then you held my hand, and I wasn’t afraid anymore.”
He gave her a skeptical look. “We have shared this conversation before.”
“Maybe this time we’ll listen to each other,” she said.
“We also talked about honesty, right? You are big, a little… grrr… in the face, but that’s not what I saw at the warehouse.
You were calm, got right to work, and that made all of us calm.
Five minutes before you showed up? We were freaking out.
It was a long hot day with no water, no food, and no toilet breaks. ”
Something gentle and almost forgiving shifted in her chest. Enough time had passed that Gemma was able to reflect on her time in the warehouse without an immediate panic attack. It felt like progress. She wasn’t completely herself, but she knew that.
“Then the cavalry showed up. You could have barked orders. You could have not told us what was happening, but you took the time to talk us through it. That’s why I picked you, Zalis, and I’ll always keep picking you.”
Her words seemed to placate him, but he was tense for the rest of the ride.
When they arrived back at the station, little more than an hour had passed. It felt unreal to have done so much, to have her emotions swing so wildly, in such a short span of time.
“I can’t believe all the shady places you take me. You’re a shady man, Zalis Layneno,” she teased.
“Shady.” Zalis looked up at the ceiling, as if confused. “We are inside a building. There is no shade.”
“Not literal shade. You know, dodgy. Fishy.”
“Your examples are more confusing.”
“Suspicious. Spurious.” Then she saw the twinkle in his eye. It was a small detail, easy to miss, but it betrayed him. “Oh, is this you being funny? You know exactly what I mean.”
“Yes. It is distressing how long it takes you to notice my robust sense of humor.”
She laughed, and the weight of their very long day vanished.
“I will also add that my family name is Lay-ne-no,” he said, stressing the middle syllable.
“Shit, have I been saying it wrong?”
“Yes, your words are correct, but the pronunciation is like a fretti chewing a ball.”
“Still don’t know what a fretti is,” she said, not sure if she should be offended.
“Adorable and energetic. That is what a fretti is.”
How could anyone be offended by that?
The crowd flowed around them. He pulled her against him. She rested her hands to his chest. Under the station’s overhead lighting, the blood splatter gleamed against the dark blue jacket. She ran her fingers over it, like she could smooth it away.
“You must think I’m a monster,” he said.
There it was, the thing in the car, the thing he refused to talk about.
“I told you what I thought. My opinion hasn’t changed.”
“I mean today, with Niklas. I was cruel.”
She adjusted the cowl of his jacket before looking up to meet his gaze. He watched her so intently, his expression solemn, as if expecting rejection.
“I think you did exactly what needed to be done,” she said.
“Yes? You are not horrified? Appalled?”
“No. I told you, it was hot.” She stretched up on her toes for a kiss. “Once we get home, I think you should verify the status of my melted panties.”
“Yes?”
“Absolutely yes.”
A silence rippled through the crowd. A sensation like static washed over Gemma, prompting her to step back and get her bearings.
The massive screens in the station all played the same footage of a starliner. There were streaks of light, a small explosion, and then the screen went blindingly white. The ship exploded, over and over again.
Cruise ship Allure of the Stars destroyed in Suhlik raid.
“All those people,” Gemma whispered.
Fear sank its claws into her, digging deep. She had seen this before and she knew what would happen next: invasion.
An old meme sprang to mind. If she had a nickel for every alien invasion she witnessed, she’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it was weird it happened twice.
The silent war that Zalis had told her about was no longer silent. No one would be able to ignore this.