Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
She stepped away from him, turning to retrieve her pack and that ridiculous, cumbersome weapon she’d been lugging around. For the shortest, sweetest moment, he’d connected with her, vowing he would keep her safe.
Unable to resist, he’d reached out to brush his gloved fingers against the smooth skin of her neck, and he’d been pleased when her body reacted.
She’d tried not to show it.
She was trying to be professional, but he knew. She couldn’t hide it from him.
He’d seen the ripple of pleasure that had coursed through her, raising fine bumps on the luscious skin of her neck.
Sweet, soft, human skin. He wanted to put his lips there.
He wanted to break her skin with his fangs and leave his mark.
For one brief, glorious moment, their eyes had met, and for the first time, he’d seen a crack in the ice.
Then she’d turned away, all business and efficiency as usual. Rykal stood in the center of a cavernous hall housing thousands of humans and watched as the female who’d captured his attention bent to retrieve her belongings.
He’d become slightly obsessed with watching her. He’d watched her from his vantage point in the ceiling as she’d decked that big, stupid human male. Seeing her fight had brought his raging erection back. She was magnificent.
He stole another look now as she turned away from him.
Her fitted black suit stretched around the curves of her hips and her toned ass as she moved, and Rykal exercised all his self-control to hide his lust. His arousal was a wild, fierce thing.
Its intensity was akin to the fierce killing intent that had consumed him back there when that silly old human had pointed a missile at him, risking Arin’s safety in the process.
It had come upon him like an atmospheric storm, swift and sudden and unexpected.
Lust and violence. He realized now that the two were connected. They came from the same deep, savage place.
It had taken Rykal so long to learn self-control, much longer than the others. He’d taken more beatings from the general than anyone else.
Now, his hard-won self-control was threatening to unravel. He wagered it would only be a matter of time before he got the dreaded Mating Fever.
“I’m going to put in a call to the Federation,” Arin informed him, “but I need to go somewhere private, where I can access a secure line. Not here. Follow me.” She slung her pack over one shoulder. The long missile-thing rested on her other shoulder. Both items appeared heavy and bulky.
“May I assist?” Rykal hovered by her side, gesturing towards the launcher-thing. It didn’t seem right that she was carrying all those heavy things when he had his hands free.
Unexpectedly, Arin snorted in amusement. “You want me to hand over an EI rocket launcher to your scary-looking ass in full view of everyone? That would not be a good look, soldier, but thanks for the offer.”
He had to admit, she had a point.
“I’ve humped heavier loads than these over much rougher terrain, so relax. We’re just going up to the communications room, anyway.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you have any more Xargek to kill?”
“Not right now.”
“No rowdy humans to guard?”
“They’ve been surprisingly well behaved ever since…” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
“No take-over-the-world secret strategy meetings to attend with your boys?”
“We’ve figured out our plan. We understand one another. There’s nothing further to discuss.”
She regarded him with an odd look as they passed rows and rows of empty cargo containers, shaking her head slightly.
Humans occupied some of the empty containers, which sat on long metal tracks.
Strange smells reached Rykal’s sensitive nose.
There was the typical slightly unpleasant human-smell.
It combined with the aroma of roasting food and the lingering scent of processed metal.
Hushed whispers followed them, uttered in strange, exotic tongues.
It took a great deal of walking, but they finally reached a wide elevator. Its doors slid open as Arin touched her hand to a panel beside it. The panels didn’t work for Rykal and his team. They had to make do with the labyrinthine stairwells and hidden passageways that riddled the freighter.
They stepped inside the elevator, and the doors slid closed. Arin stood in one corner, staring straight ahead and keeping a slight distance away from him as the elevator groaned and started to ascend.
“You were excellent,” Rykal said, admiration creeping into his voice.
“Excuse me?” Arin turned to him, looking slightly perplexed.
“The way you controlled the situation, asserting your dominance. When that big oaf tried to disrespect you, you smacked him down. You are not one to waste time.”
If she was at all moved by his praise, she didn’t show it.
“We have a time-bomb on our hands,” she said quietly.
“Any dissent has to be stamped out quickly. It’s been a while since I’ve had to manage a full-scale riot, but as time goes on, those people down there are going to get more and more volatile. ”
“Sounds like it’s time to go,” Rykal said, moving closer to her. “We’ll use that human transport to enter Earth; the one you returned on.”
Arin shook her head. “You do what you want. I’m not leaving here until every last person is off the freighter.”
“Oh?” Rykal paused, trying to understand her mindset as she turned away from him, her expression stony.
With the exception of Arin, he didn’t think much of the humans he’d encountered so far.
The idea of selflessly sticking around to ensure the safety of a bunch of humans was something he never would have considered, but Arin seemed to be protective of her people.
Her scent was taunting him again. As Rykal clenched his teeth, his fangs broke the skin of his lower lip. The bitter taste of his own black blood filled his mouth. Arin looked away, staring at the wall, refusing to make eye contact with him.
Why don’t you melt just a little bit, my ashika?
They were alone inside this primitive metal box. Rykal had been alone with her before, but this was the first time they were confined together in such close quarters.
What was he supposed to do now?
A hundred possibilities ran through his mind.
He could disarm her, restrain her, strip her naked, and make her his.
Physically, she was no match for him. He would claim her body and make her experience the greatest pleasure she’d ever known.
Surely humans possessed the same pleasure centers and erotic zones as Kordolians.
She’d crave only his touch. She would beg for it.
After he was done with her, she wouldn’t be able to even look at another male.
The thought had crossed his mind more than once.
It was the Kordolian thing to do, but subjugation had always left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“I like you, Arin,” he blurted instead, affection swelling in his chest. He smiled, licking his lips to get rid of the aftertaste of blood.
The elevator shuddered, lumbering slowly upwards on the crude mechanism that propelled it. A strong, rapid thudding sound reached his ears.
It was the sound of her beating heart.
She slowly turned to face him, and her lips were slightly parted, glistening with a trace of moisture. “Rykal,” she said in a serious voice, “are you flirting with me?”