by Anna Argent
*****
Talan stood in amazement as he watched Zoe slide into an almost trancelike state. Each movement she made was beautifully fluid, with no wasted effort. Pieces of metal built up, the fit precise and perfect.
He’d seen Builders work before, but now he knew why his people wanted Zoe back so badly. She wasn’t just any Builder. Her speed and skill were apparent even to his untrained eye. He’d never seen anything like it.
As much as he wanted to continue staring, he forced himself to look away and find her father’s safe.
It was hidden behind a painting on hinges, built into a recess. There was an electronic keypad as well as an oddly shaped keyhole. He tried to slide the key they’d found into the lock, but he could see instantly that this key was not a match.
Talan didn’t even try wasting time guessing the code. When he searched the desk and found no key, he pulled one of the spoked metal disks from the chain in his ear and fed it the energy it needed to activate. He inserted it into the keyhole and waited while he heard a series of metallic clicks.
When the noise stopped, he turned the lever, and the door to the safe opened.
Smoke poured from the keyhole, telling him his lock pick had been destroyed doing its job, but at least he had the result he wanted.
Inside the safe was a stack of papers, passports for both him and Zoe, and a few colorful drawings made by a child. At the bottom of one, Zoe’s name was scrawled in awkward handwriting.
Talan smiled as he set all that aside and searched behind some bricks of cash. There was nothing behind them but a few misplaced pieces gutted from Imonite technology. They’d been stripped down so far he couldn’t even tell what device they’d come from.
Pinned beneath the cash was the name of a bank and a safe deposit box number with a note saying, Find the key.
“The sphere isn’t here,” he said. “But I think I know what the key is for. This bank box might hold the data sphere.”
Zoe didn’t respond. She hadn’t even twitched or given any sign that she’d heard him.
If Krotian were to come for her now, she wouldn’t stand a chance. She probably wouldn’t even hear him coming before he got his claws into her again.
Talan wasn’t going to let that happen, so he took his place at her back, guarding her from attack from behind while he watched the window for signs of approach from the street. If anything wanted to come for her, it was going to have to get through him first.
Every few minutes he would scan another section of the room in the hope that the sphere might be setting out in the open.
No such luck.
Hours later, her trance seemed to end between one second and the next. She sat a completed machine down on the table in front of her and sagged on a sigh of exhaustion.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I think it’s used to access data.” She handed him the device.
The whole thing was pretty in an odd kind of way, with a balance of both texture and color in addition to whatever function it served. He opened it up and inside was a deep, concave recess. “You know, that’s just about the right size to hold a data sphere. It doesn’t look anything like the readers I’m used to seeing, but I’ve also never seen a combination of human and Imonite technology, either.”
“But why build a reader? Wouldn’t my dad have known what was on the sphere?”
“Maybe not. Then again, maybe he wasn’t building it for himself. Maybe he wanted you to see what is on the sphere.”
She looked up at him, and he could see shock spark in her eyes, as if she’d never considered the possibility. “Maybe that’s why he laid the pieces out in my spot. But why make me go to all of this effort? He could have just told me what was on the sphere.”
“In my experience, some things have to be seen to be believed.”
Zoe shivered and hugged herself. It was all Talan could do to keep his hands to himself and not offer to warm her, but if he did that, he knew he’d want to keep touching her. He also knew that it was well after midnight—approaching dawn—and she was exhausted.
“My father knew he was dying,” she whispered. “He didn’t tell me right away. Not until it was too late. He wouldn’t let the human doctors treat him. He worried that they’d figure out he wasn’t human and it would put me at risk.” A deep shudder shook her frame. “I don’t even know what killed him. His body just deteriorated over the course of a few weeks until it simply gave out. I still wonder if human medicine could have saved him.”
Talan couldn’t stop himself from touching her now. He had to offer comfort, no matter the cost. “He loved you too much to take that chance.”
She nodded. “I never once doubted his love. But I would have been okay with the consequences of him seeking help. We would have found a way to make it work, even if we had been discovered as aliens.”
“How? Run? He couldn’t have received treatment if he didn’t stay in one place. And being sick and weak, the idea of living on the move would have seemed like a nightmare. You would have had to walk away from everything you knew. Again. And he would have had to leave this home behind, including the key and whatever it unlocks.”
“I don’t care. I would have traded anything for more time with him.”
Talan stroked her hair. He felt helpless to ease her suffering, but she wasn’t fighting his embrace, so maybe it was some small comfort. She clung to him, her legs shaking. Finally, he couldn’t stand her weakness any longer, so he gathered her up in his arms and settled in a big, leather chair with her on his lap.
The furniture in here was sized for her Loriahan father, and fit Talan’s big body well. There was plenty of room for her to curl up against him, with her head resting under his chin.
Time seemed to stretch out. His pulse slowed, and a deep sense of rightness sank into him, warming his very cells. He was tired, but it didn’t bother him. The simmering heat of arousal hovered just under the surface, but he was able to ignore it. There was a kind of magic in the simple act of holding her. It soothed him in a way he hadn’t even realized he needed until he felt his body relax. He knew she was safe. He could monitor all entrances from where he sat. His weapons were close at hand.
It was as close to happy as he’d been since before the war started.
Zoe’s body softened, going limp as she drifted off to sleep. He knew she had to be exhausted. Today had been filled with too much stress and fear. She wasn’t used to such things, and if he got his way, she never would be.
He’d make sure she was placed in a safe compound. Somewhere deep underground where the Raide wouldn’t find her. He’d insist that she had a set of personal guards, no matter how many favors he had to exchange to make it happen.
The sun would be up soon. The bank would open. As soon as they found the sphere, he’d have to send her home. Chances were he’d never see her again after that. These precious few minutes were all he was going to get with her. Come dawn, they’d have to go. They’d find the sphere and she’d leave within hours—as soon as the next window opened.
Whisthrala. Balance. The tipping point between holding Zoe and never seeing her again.
The idea shouldn’t have seemed so desolate. He still had work to do here. There were still more of the Taken waiting to be found.
None of those he’d found in the past had ever given him the same sense of peace that she did, and he was certain that none of those he found in the future would, either. Zoe was an anomaly, and if there was one thing he’d learned through a life spent in a time of war, it was to enjoy comfort and pleasure for as long as it lasted. There was no guarantee he’d ever encounter it again.
*****
Krotian greeted his new war slaves as they exited the window. There were four of them, including only one Dreg. It wasn’t enough. Not against armed Loriahan warriors.
He flattened his palm on the communication pad integrated into his suit, and sent a message back to Force Dimas headquarters. I need more.
There are
no more to spare. If the shipment is not adequate, terminate the mission and return home.
No. To walk away now, a failure, would set his career back years. There would be no warm, tropical planet for him to rule. He’d be assigned some other distasteful mission, likely on the frozen Cytur home world.
Rejected. I will complete the mission.
The communication stream terminated with a sudden jolt, leaving Krotian to face his new beasts of burden.
He looked to the Dreg. “I need you to find a scent trail and lead me to a Loriahan woman.”
The lumbering beast blinked his huge, orange eyes, tipping his fleshy head in acknowledgement.
The trio of Cyturs was seething with the need to hunt and kill. Their chitinous black hides clicked as they twitched with anxiousness. Of all the races his kind had conquered, the Cyturs had made the best war slaves. They reproduced fast, and in huge numbers. They were easy to control so long as they were allowed to fight and kill. All Krotian’s kind had to do was point them in the right direction and let them go.
“You,” he told the Cyturs, “are to kill anything that gets in the way of me finding the woman.” Namely the Imonite warrior who’d ripped her from Krotian’s grasp earlier tonight. Once that man was out of the way, the rest would be easy.
There was something in that woman’s mind that he needed—knowledge of the research her father had stolen. He hadn’t had time to take all of the information he needed from her, but he would. Whatever she held in her mind was important. He’d gotten enough of a glimpse to determine that much. All he needed was the woman and a little time in her head. And once he got there, he wasn’t going to stop until he’d ripped every last thought and memory from her.
Chapter Twenty
Zoe had drooled all over Talan’s shirt in her sleep.
Embarrassment bubbled through her, shoving her from deep sleep to complete wakefulness in the space of two groggy blinks.
She pushed away from his chest, feeling her face heat. She wiped her mouth and stared at the dark spot she’d left on his shirt. “I’m so sorry.”
He gave her a smile that warmed her from the inside out. “You think having your saliva on me would bother me? Hardly. Though there are places on my body where I’d enjoy the wetness of your mouth a whole lot more.”
Just like that, her mind went there, and an answering rush of excitement had her pussy growing hot and slick. Without any panties on, the cool air of the room was too easy to feel on her labia, reminding her just how easy it would be to straddle him and let him fill her up. He was already hard. She could feel the insistent bulge against her hip, ready, eager and willing to serve.
The idea was more than a little compelling, but sunlight was now creeping in from behind the curtains, telling her it was time to get moving. They’d pressed their luck enough by staying here as long as they had.
He must have seen her decision in her face, because he let out a long sigh of resignation. “You’re right. We should go.”
“I need a shower, but I’ll be quick. You can use the one down here if you want.”
“I’m not leaving your side.”
“You want me to shower with you?”
“I do, but we don’t have time to linger. And if I get you wet and naked in my arms again, I’m definitely going to want to linger.”
That sounded like the best idea ever, even if she was sore from last night. He was the kind of man who could make her forget all about a little soreness.
“You’re tempting me,” he said, his voice a low warning.
“I didn’t say anything.”
His finger moved over her brow and along the line of her cheek until he was stroking her mouth. “You don’t have to. All those delicious thoughts of yours are right here for me to see.”
“Maybe I should wear a mask.”
“Never. Covering your beautiful face would be an unforgivable sin.”
She shivered in delight at his compliment, completely unable to hide her smile. “If you’re this sweet when you’re not trying to get laid, I’d love to see you when you are.”
A shadow of something flickered in his pale green eyes, making the dark blue ring seem to expand. She couldn’t tell what it was, but his demeanor changed from languid to tense. “Come with me. We don’t have much time. We should have left hours ago as it is.”
“Where do we go? I still have no idea what the key is for.”
“You didn’t hear me last night while you were working, but I found a note in your father’s safe telling you to find the key.”
“A note? What else did it say?”
“It had the name of a bank and a safe deposit box number.”
“The treasure might be in there. We should go.” Excitement lifted her spirits. Finally, a solid lead where to go next.
“We will. As soon as you’re packed.”
She rushed upstairs to her room, eager to be on to the next clue. Talan nodded to the attached bathroom. “Shower quickly. I’ll be right behind you.”
She did as he asked, rushing through her morning routine. She pushed back the shower curtain, and he was standing there, naked, watching her with hungry desire.
He handed her a towel. “Cover up before I change my mind and drag you back in there with me. And I promise that when I’m done with you, you won’t be clean anymore.”
Her insides jumped up and down, cheering at the idea. She swayed toward him, grabbing the wall to hold herself steady.
This man had power over her she didn’t understand. She was far too attuned to him, far too aroused by something as simple as the sight of his naked body.
Then again, if ever a naked body was built to please, it was his. Dense, functional muscles glided easily beneath his skin. Not even the scars he carried had the power to distract her from his masculine beauty. And those intriguing tattoos of his? Totally hot.
He helped her step out of the shower, waiting until her knees solidified under her before he got in and started the water.
The Imonite markings on his skull continued down his neck, tracing the length of his spine, all the way down to his firm ass. For a moment, she stared at the script, marveling at the fluid grace of each line. The words seemed to shift as he moved, their meaning changing so fast she couldn’t understand any of it. As bad as she was with the written language of her people, it would take her hours to interpret those words, and she knew that if she had his naked body at her disposal for hours, reading would be the farthest thing from her mind.
He washed fast—so fast that she was still staring at him past the partially-closed curtain when he finished.
His erection thrust out toward her, thick and hard. Water drops glistened along his skin, making her mouth go dry with thirst.
Talan gave her a look hot enough to scorch the tiles under her feet as he reached past her for a towel. “We don’t have time for this, but if we did, I would lay you out on your bed and make you come until you couldn’t stand the pleasure any longer.”
Her stomach jumped, and a hot, fluid ache built low in her abdomen. The towel began to slip from her limp fingers. Talan seemed to start reaching for it before she’d even realized she’d lost her grip.
He pulled it back around her damp torso and tucked the ends closed. “Get dressed now. Before I lose my self-control and we end up getting attacked in bed, too oblivious to even see the Raide coming.”
That thought was enough to douse her lust with fear and get her moving. She pulled on clean clothes and rubbed her hair as dry as she could with the towel.
By the time she was done, he had a carry-on suitcase of her clothes zipped and ready to go.
She looked at the suitcase dangling from his big hand. It seemed so small and innocuous, but she knew what it represented.
She might never come back here again. It had been her home for nearly twenty years, and she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
He moved, forcing her to look up at him as he closed the distance between them. With a gentl
e hand, he cradled the side of her face. “When the war is over—when we’ve defeated the Raide—I’ll bring you back if that’s what you want.”
“It won’t be the same.”
He said nothing, only stared at her with compassion so intense it verged on pity.
Zoe didn’t want that. She was a big girl. She would do what she needed to do—what her father had wanted her to do. It was the only way she could think to honor his memory.
“Let’s go,” she said. “I have work to do on Loriah.”
*****
Radek leaned his hips against the truck and watched as Talan escorted the woman from her house. The instant he saw them, he knew they’d had sex.
There was a protective vibe about Talan—one that ran so deep it changed the way he moved. He’d always been watchful, but his vigilance went beyond that now, all the way into a hyperawareness that was almost creepy.
Her body language had shifted as well, and rather than being worried and mistrustful, watching Talan’s every move as if she expected him to strike her, she was now watching him for an entirely different reason.
Soft heat radiated out from her. Her movements possessed a languid kind of slowness as she dragged her fingertips over his arm. She walked close to him, and he shortened his stride so she could.
The two were more in sync than they’d been before, and there were few things that could affect such a startling change literally overnight.
Talan saw Radek and gave a small nod of greeting.
Radek had come here early, dragging with him a man who could replace the busted windshield. The repairman had been groggy, but Radek had paid him enough cash to perk him right up.
The neighbors had watched him warily, peeking through their curtains until he’d felt obliged to put on a shirt to ward off their worried stares. The fabric blocked his ability to easily feel the heat of another body approaching from behind, but it beat the hell out of being arrested for some lame-ass crime because the natives were freaked out by him.
Zoe was huddled inside a winter coat. Her hair was damp. There was a sad, almost fragile look about her that told him she knew she wasn’t coming back.