Chapter 12 #3
She eyed him with exaggerated disbelief before following him to the door, which he opened and stepped through.
She didn’t allow herself any hesitation in crossing the threshold; it was a bit late for second-guessing her choice, and damn if that lick alone wouldn’t have been enough to convince her to go anywhere with this azhera.
She raked her gaze over Drakkal’s delectable backside and swaying tail.
And he already promised to eat me.
She barely kept herself from moaning out loud as her core clenched in need. She really had to do something about that soon…
The corridor they entered wasn’t what Shay had expected—not that she’d really known what to expect to begin with.
Its aesthetic was an odd blend of industrial and tasteful luxury.
Concrete and exposed ducts, pipes, and conduits were all over the walls and ceilings, but the plush carpet was wine red, divided by thick, rectangular black borders and thin white lines that cut directly across it from one wall to the other.
Rectangular panels mounted on the walls at regular intervals provided the light, which had the faintest red tint to it.
“Interesting choices on the interior design here,” Shay said.
“My partner has an affinity for a particular style that even his female cannot shake him from, even though her taste is objectively better than his,” Drakkal replied.
They passed several closed doors, and when they reached the first intersection, they turned left into a similar hallway.
How big was this place? How many people worked for Drakkal and his partner?
What am I getting myself into here?
But the misgivings she should’ve had were absent.
Nothing about this reminded Shay of her past experiences on the wrong side of the law, and Drakkal was nothing like the criminals with whom she’d once associated.
Hell, so far, this seemed more legitimate than anything she’d been involved in since she was a teenager.
Finally, Drakkal stopped in front of one of the doors and turned to face her. “For the record, most of these people work for me, but I have no control over them.”
Shay arched a brow, but before she could ask what he meant, he pressed the control button beside the doorframe. The door slid open with a quiet whoosh, and Drakkal entered without another word.
Frowning, Shay followed him into what she could only describe as a break room.
There was a small kitchen area, complete with what looked like a refrigerator, in one corner, a couple round tables each with half a dozen chairs, and a pair of couches positioned in front of a huge holographic display screen.
She spent only a second or two taking it in before her attention was caught by the diverse group of people gathered inside the room, all of whom had turned to watch her enter.
They were gathered around the tables, some sitting and some standing.
Three cren, two of whom had the same blue-gray skin and navy-blue hair.
The third, who was taller and broader than the others, had slate gray skin and snow-white hair.
There were two vorgals seated beside each other, one with brown skin and the other with green.
Both sported red tattoos on their right cheeks—she knew thanks to her father that it was an indication of rank in the Vorgal military, though she didn’t know the specific meanings of the markings.
The vorgals were accompanied by a female ilthurii with vibrant green scales.
Shay’s eyes finally settled on the couple at the counter.
Despite his casual stance, the sedhi was clearly tall and athletically built, with long black hair and bright yellow eyes that matched the faintly glowing markings on his gray skin.
He wore a silky red robe that revealed the upper portion of his chest—and all four of his limbs looked like prosthetics similar to Drakkal’s.
A female sat atop the counter beside him, one leg drawn up with a tablet on her knee.
A human.
For a moment, Shay was frozen by surprise. It had been so long since she’d seen another human that she’d wondered if there were any in Arthos at all—but here was one now.
The woman lifted her head and met Shay’s gaze. Excitement sparked in her eyes, and a bright smile spread across her face. “You’re here!” the woman said, setting her tablet down on the counter.
A booming, sputtering cough cut off anything else the woman might’ve said.
Shay looked to the source of the disturbance; the green-skinned vorgal had spit his drink across the table and was currently choking.
The other vorgal frowned, narrowed his eyes, and slapped his choking companion on the back.
“Fuck,” the choking vorgal managed. As his throat cleared, it became apparent what his coughing had been from the beginning—laughter. “This is the female that robbed you, Drakkal? You’re getting soft.”
Shay arched a brow as she regarded the green-skinned vorgal.
Half his head was shaved, and the black hair on the other side hung in several braids that reached nearly to his shoulder.
In addition to the tattoos, he had a few scars on his face—the worst of which was a big, jagged one on the shaved side of his skull.
“Says the guy who almost lost a fight with his drink?” she asked.
Looks of surprise spread across the faces of the others, and within a second, everyone was laughing.
“She already pushed you to the bottom, Thargen,” the blue-skinned cren with short, spiky hair and green irises said.
Thargen ran his sleeve across his mouth, wiping away alcohol and spittle. His laughter still hadn’t quite died down. “I like her, Drak.”
“Think you found a keeper, Drakkal,” said the other blue-skinned cren, who had yellow eyes and a long ponytail.
Wait. Do they all think…?
“Anyone who can put Thargen in his place the first time they talk to him is worth having around,” the largest of the cren said.
“You have found a good female for yourself,” said the ilthurii.
Fuck, they do.
Drakkal glanced at Shay, meeting her gaze briefly. His expression spread more of that fuzzy warmth through her—it said, Yeah, she’s a keeper, and she’s mine forever. She didn’t understand how that simple look could say so much, but there it was. And she liked it.
“You’re cleaning that up, Thargen,” the sedhi said in a deep, smooth voice. His eyes were on the vorgal—save for the third one on his forehead, which lingered on Shay.
Weird.
Drakkal turned back toward the others and cleared his throat, calling their attention to him. “Everyone, this is Shay. She’s one of us now.”
The human woman hopped down from the counter and approached Shay.
She was wearing a loose tunic and leggings, and had long, wavy brown hair and big brown eyes.
Even wearing boots, she was about five centimeters shorter than Shay.
The woman had a sweet, shy air about her, as though she’d rather sit unnoticed on the edge of a crowd.
She held her hand out to Shay. “I’m Samantha, but you can call me Sam.”
“Nice to meet you,” Shay replied, grasping Samantha’s hand. Once she released it, she shot Drakkal a glare. “You didn’t tell me there was another human here.”
“Didn’t tell you there were three cren, two vorgals, an ilthurii, and a sedhi here, either,” he replied. “I’ll make sure to compile a list next time.”
She gave him a droll look. “I think there being another human here would’ve been noteworthy. We’re not exactly common here, are we?” Turning back to Samantha, she smiled. “Sorry, it seems Tiger here was a bit forgetful. It really is nice to meet you, Sam.”
“She’s got some claws,” Thargen said with a delighted hoot. “I really like her.”
“So do I, Thargen,” Drakkal growled, “so don’t get any ideas.”
The female ilthurii hissed soft laughter, eyes narrowing and mouth curling into a grin. The small spines on the top of her head laid back. “This will be better than Razi’s dramas.”
The sedhi stepped forward—though sauntered might’ve been the better term, as he moved with a grace that might’ve been comical had it not been so overtly sensual.
He offered Shay a roguish grin and settled one of his cybernetic arms over Sam’s shoulders.
“I’m Arcanthus. A pleasure to finally meet you, Shay. I’m—”
“He’s my secretary,” Drakkal said, “though I let him drive the car sometimes.”
“If I recall,” Samantha said with a grin, “it’s you who always drives the car, Drak.”
“Well, would you trust Arc at the controls?”
“Not really.” Samantha cleared her throat, and her cheeks pinkened. “He can’t seem to keep his hands to himself.”
Arcanthus bent down and tipped his head to rest his cheek atop Sam’s hair. “It’s not my fault. Three eyes simply aren’t enough with which to admire you. To not touch would be criminal.”
“You are a criminal.” Samantha, fully blushing now, smiled and leaned against Arcanthus’s chest.
Shay flicked her gaze back and forth between the tall, confident sedhi and the small, shy human. They were of two different species and two wildly different, opposite personalities. And yet they meshed like two halves of the same whole.
Shay had absolutely no question of how deeply and truly they felt for one another. Was it possible for her to have that sort of thing? Was it possible to have that with Drakkal?
“Don’t mind him,” Drakkal said, pulling her attention away from the couple. “He’s like that most of the time. He manages to do surprisingly decent work when he actually sits down to do it. Enough about him, though…”
Drakkal introduced her to everyone else one at a time. The ilthurii was Sekk’thi, the blue cren were brothers, Kiloq and Koroq, and the brown-skinned vorgal was Urgand. Drakkal presented the big, white-haired cren last, calling him Razi.
Despite his intimidating size, obvious strength, and three-centimeter-long tusks, Razi’s smile was warm.
“So, who is your partner?” Shay asked Drakkal.
“Let her guess,” Thargen suggested. “More fun that way.”