CHAPTER 4 #2
My eyes widened at the bare, gray feet parting the mist in front of me and the deep male voice speaking with Lara. My nostrils flared when he kneeled before me and tenderly wiped my hair from my face as if he cared.
“Unbelievable,” he crooned, sliding one finger over my cheek.
I licked my lips nervously.
“I’m going to lift you off the floor, Alexa.”
“You know my name?”
“I know everything about you,” he said gently, continuing to caress my face as if he traced a map.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“No, Alexa,” he reassured, sliding both hands under me and scooping me off the floor into powerful arms. I knew these men were physically superior to men on Earth after seeing their leader on television, and he lifted me as if I were light as a feather.
The Sanctarian leader never stayed long, but he’d been on the planet many times. Warm breath skimmed my chin and mouth, and heat from his bare flesh seeped through my clothing. I wondered if they were warm-blooded, and now I knew the answer.
“Look at me, Alexa.”
My gaze slowly lifted, curious to see him in person for the first time, but afraid of what I’d find.
“My name is Naraq.”
Black eyes stared at me, luring me into whatever secrets they held, just as they had behind a television screen.
They all possessed black eyes, but Naraq’s seemed a deeper shade in person and this close.
Long white hair, glossy and tamed, surrounded the silvery gray of his flesh, inviting my fingers, but there was no way I’d touch him even though he’d touched me.
The angle of his jawline was sharp, and his cheekbones almost pointed, but otherwise, they weren’t so different from humans in their appearance except in stature and coloring. He was the largest man I’d ever seen, standing at least seven feet tall with the muscular physique to match.
“Naraq,” I breathed out. “I saw you on television.”
With ease, he turned and carried me to a padded table where he laid me down before grabbing an odd-shaped knife with a jagged turquoise blade edged in silver. “What are you doing?”
“I’m removing your human clothes.”
I wanted to resist or fight, but couldn’t in my drug-induced state.
“Germs, viruses, and bacteria all cling to human fabrics.”
“For a superior race, you sure are concerned with human diseases.”
The hint of a smile lifted the corners of his full, gray lips. “We exist in a stable, sterile environment on our planet and ship. There are many who would die from something you see as inconsequential.”
“Why aren’t your people immunized?”
“There was never a need.”
“But you’ve been on Earth many times?”
“I’ve received an infusion of your antibodies.”
I knew our history, and I knew he probably did too, so what he said made sense if they lived in a closed society. “So, we’re leaving Earth?”
“Soon.”
“Why do you need us?”
“My people are dying, including our children.”
“Why haven’t I seen more Sanctarians?”
“No need.”
“Will they hate me?”
His enigmatic eyes shifted from my clothing to me. “No, they won’t, and it doesn’t matter if they do. I am Ruler Supreme on Sanctum.”
“How did I match with you?”
“DNA, genes, all kinds of things I don’t understand. You also have Sanctarian DNA, Alexa, from your father’s line.”
“How do you speak our language?”
“I prepared. Sanctarians speak every language on your planet.”
Grandmother’s ramblings made complete sense now, along with the lack of information from my supposed human father’s side that my parents claimed was an error.
“Lara traced your DNA back to one of our scientists who came to Earth to gather information.”
“So, you’ve been studying Earth?”
“Yes.”
“My grandmother said my mother met a man in the desert, a man who didn’t look human. She said my mother continued to meet this man, or being against their wishes. Once the man left, she never spoke of him again, but within a few weeks showed signs of pregnancy.”
“Our fetuses develop slightly faster than humans.”
“My mother said the story wasn’t true, and that I was conceived with her boyfriend, or my human father, before they were married. She lied to me.”
“Consider your mother’s situation, Alexa.”
My eyes drifted to Naraq. “You think it’s okay to lie?”
“I think your mother did what was necessary to protect you.”
“Then my human father must have known.”
Your human father was a valiant man to raise and love a child that wasn’t his own.”
“Is he still alive?”
“Who?”
“My real father?”
Naraq’s lips thinned into a frown. “Yes, he’s still alive, but at the end of his lifecycle.”
“Lifecycle?”
“Our way of calculating age. A decade is one lifecycle. I have seen almost four lifecycles. Your father has seen eight.”
“Will I meet him?”
“If we arrive home in time.”
“Why didn’t he come back?”
“Your father was a scientist who spent much of his life traveling the galaxy. After his mission to Earth, the previous Ruler Supreme canceled his program.”
“Why would your ruler do that?”
“He felt the mixing of species was inadequate.”
“But you don’t?”
“I’m here.”
“So, my father didn’t want a mixed child?”
“He didn’t know, Alexa. Sanctarians never leave their companion once they’re bonded. It’s an incredibly painful existence to know your companion but not be with them.”
“He could’ve stayed.”
Naraq sighed deeply. “When he met your mother, it was forbidden to bring humans to Sanctum. For him to stay would’ve caused more problems. Consider what my arrival has done.”
“Does my father know now?”
“Yes.”
I licked my lips, watching Naraq’s every move. “What happened to your previous ruler?”
“His lifecycle ended, and I was next in line to lead.”
“You didn’t want to become Ruler Supreme?”
His eyes flashed at me. “No, although I’m incredibly grateful to have met you.”
“Anything else?”
Naraq smirked but continued. “You also have musical aptitude, high intelligence, and an obviously compassionate spirit.”
“I was a piano teacher, but all my students canceled their lessons when you arrived.”
“I apologize, Alexa. We didn’t mean to disrupt your life.”
“I’m tired of hearing about me. What are you like? Why didn’t you want to become Ruler Supreme? What did you do before?”
“You will know me with time,” he said before sliding the knife up the leg of my shorts.
Embarrassed and uncomfortable, I wanted to cover myself when he finished discarding all my clothing, tossed them inside some type of container, and stepped from the table, staring at my body.
“Stop it,” I demanded. “I’m not a lab rat.”
“Why? You’re a beautiful human/half Sanctarian woman, and my companion.”
Tears leaked from the corner of my eyes when I squeezed them shut, only to have his fingers slide up my cheek.
“Salty,” he commented, bringing one finger to his tongue.
My eyes snapped open. “Why taste my tears when you crave my blood?”
“I will taste every part of you…your tears, your mouth, and your blood, and you will taste me.”
“Could you be any blunter about it?”
His face tilted. “Blunt. The human word for frank, open, or forthright. Are not these amenable qualities in a partner?”
“Some things are better left unsaid, Naraq.”
“Why?”
“Uncomfortable.”
“You’re only uncomfortable because you don’t know me.”
“What if I don’t want to know you?”
“Impossible,” he commented, trailing one hand along my thigh. “We are most compatible.”
“Compatible? What about feelings?”
I inhaled sharply when his hand slid higher.
“Do you feel me now? Because your body responds to me.”
“I can’t move, so this is unfair. Whatever was in the mist hasn’t worn off.”
“Lara.”
“Yes, Naraq.”
“Administer the antidote.”
“As you wish,” Lara answered.
Within seconds, another mist settled over me from vents in the ceiling, and I could move. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he practically purred, continuing to caress my thigh. “Now answer my question.”
“I feel you,” I breathed out when his hand cupped my pussy and began a slow massage, never having experienced such an intense response to anyone.
“Your heart races for me, and your muscles tense with my touch.”
“It’s too soon,” rushed out as I grabbed his hand.