by Kelly Goode
Philip looked up at her. ‘I think that’s an understatement. How could you do this to me?’
‘Do this to you. What are you talking about?’
‘You posed for this…this pornography.’
Helen wanted to laugh, but embarrassment kept her quiet.
‘It’s hardly pornographic,’ she said but Philip grabbed her roughly around her upper arm.
‘You’re sitting naked on that fucking couch with a smile on your face, what else would you call it?’
‘Art.’
He obviously didn’t find her quip amusing, as he squeezed her arm hard enough to make her wince.
‘Let go of me,’ she said, struggling to get away from him but he held tight.
‘No way. No fucking way. Who painted this?’
‘That’s none of your business.’
‘Of course it’s my business. Are you in love with him?’
Helen’s eyes were once again drawn to the portrait. She’d initially denied knowing the woman staring back at her, but now realised that Viktor had captured her feelings perfectly. She was hopelessly in love with him.
‘By your silence, I assume you are. Does he love you too?’
Philip’s eyes were wide and he looked genuinely outraged that she would want to pursue a relationship with someone else.
‘I don’t know,’ Helen replied. ‘He’s different.’
‘To me?’
‘Yes.’
‘How?’
Helen tried to pull her arm away again.
‘What does it matter, Philip? You ended our relationship. You have Melissa now.’
‘I kept Melissa around for fun. You were the one I was supposed to end up with. I still love you, Hell Bell.’
She laughed. ‘You don’t love me.’
‘I do.’
‘No, you just don’t like the thought of someone else having me. You’re a selfish, manipulative prick and I’m just sorry that it’s taken me this long to figure out that I’m worth more than you were ever prepared to give.’
Philip’s face turned an alarming shade of red and a vein throbbed in his temple. She’d never spoken to him like that and she felt empowered. That was until he grabbed her hair and tugged at her scalp so she was looking up at him.
‘You’re nothing without me,’ he roared, as spittle collected in the corner of his mouth. The only time she’d seen him this angry was when he’d been deep in debt and needed money from her to score some drugs.
‘I’m a successful doctor.’
‘Do you really think your career fast-tracked so quickly or so easily without me orchestrating the moves? I groomed you, Hell Bell. I groomed you to be the perfect girlfriend, my perfect connection to the ISCU, and you don’t get to fuck that up when I’m so close to what I want. You owe me.’
‘She doesn’t owe you anything.’
Viktor’s words cut through the room and Philip released his hold on Helen’s hair. She jerked away from him and ran to Viktor.
‘Who the hell are you?’ Philip asked, as he made a show of smoothing down his hair and straightening his jacket.
‘I’m the artist.’
48
‘I wasn’t sure if you were coming back,’ Helen said, as she slid her arms around Viktor’s waist and pressed her head against his chest. Her small body trembled against his and the need to inflict harm on the person responsible for her fear caused a tremble of his own – this one full of pure rage.
‘I’ll always come back to you,’ Viktor replied, as he eyed the man she’d called Philip over the top of her head.
‘I’ll hold you to that.’ She tilted her head back and looked up into his eyes. ‘You said you got rid of the paining.’
‘I lied. I’m sorry. It’s one of my finest pieces. I couldn’t destroy it, but thought you should keep it. I didn’t know you were expecting company or else I would have hidden it.’
Helen’s brow furrowed. ‘Don’t apologise. The company was uninvited.’
‘And unwelcome?’
She nodded and Viktor moved her so she was standing slightly behind him while he squared up to Philip.
‘I suggest you say sorry to Helen,’ Viktor said, surprised that his voice sounded far calmer than he felt. ‘Then leave.’
Philip’s mouth opened and closed a few times as if he was unaccustomed to being told what to do.
‘I have nothing to apologise for, and I’m not leaving until I finish what I came here to say. Helen, tell him who I am.’
Helen ignored him.
‘I know who you are,’ Viktor replied. ‘I heard enough of your conversation to understand that you were once involved with Helen. For that, I want to kill you, but I also heard her tell you it was over, so you need to go.’
Philip tried to engage Helen again.
‘Helen, look at me,’ he said. ‘Tell this mountain lout who I am. Tell him that we’re getting back together.’
Helen touched Viktor lightly on the arm as she stepped forward.
‘It’s over, Philip,’ she said firmly. ‘Please leave.’
‘No.’
‘You’re delusional. Leave now or I’ll call the police.’
‘Do you think I’m scared of the police? I own the police.’
Viktor had heard enough and he straightened to his full height and advanced towards Philip.
‘Are you scared of me?’
Philip tried to stand his ground, but Viktor allowed his eyes to briefly elongate to those of a jaktten. He wished he could fully transform and really scare the bastard, but that small gesture did a good enough job and he swallowed deeply.
‘Leave,’ Viktor growled. ‘While you still can.’
This time, Philip didn’t try to appeal to Helen as he half-walked, half-ran out of the room. The slam of the front door confirmed that he’d taken Viktor’s threat seriously and Helen’s shoulders sagged in relief.
‘Are you ok?’ Viktor asked.
‘I will be. I never realised how toxic our relationship was. He ended it, and then waited for the moment when I didn’t need him anymore, to want me back. I don’t understand men.’
Viktor gathered her into his arms.
‘Some men are simple. They know what they want and they take it.’
She smiled. ‘Like you?’
‘You’re forgetting that I’m not a man.’
‘But you took me.’
He pressed his lips lightly against hers. ‘True, I knew I wanted you from the first moment I saw you. The fact you were human just made it harder to admit it.’
‘And now?’
‘I heard what you said earlier, about not knowing where you stood with me.’
‘I just said that to Philip, I don’t care what-’
He silenced her with another kiss; this time harder and with more intent. He couldn’t get enough of this woman and he needed to be honest with her, and with himself.
Viktor pulled away and smoothed the pad of his thumb across her swollen lips.
‘I love you, Helen.’
49
‘It’s crazy, and I don’t know how we’re going to make this work, but I love you too.’
‘Enough to pose for more portraits? We could start a collection and organise an exhibition.’
Helen looked at the canvas on the table and felt her cheeks flame as she remembered Philip’s reaction. There was no way she would display a naked portrait of her anywhere but in the privacy of her bedroom, where the only man who would see it, would be the artist himself.
‘Maybe I’ll paint you next time,’ she challenged and Viktor laughed and gathered her into his arms.
‘Deal,’ he said, sealing it with a kiss that made her melt like a snowman in the summer sun.
‘What do we do now?’ she asked, as they broke away to catch their breath. Her bones felt like liquid beneath her skin and she was sure it was only his embrace that was keeping her upright.
‘Got any tequila?’ he replied huskily.
‘No.’
<
br /> ‘Shame. I was looking forward to tasting my favourite drink from between your thighs.’
‘There are more important things than sex.’
Viktor raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and she had no choice but to concede.
‘Ok, if we wasn’t in the middle of an alien war, then I’d happily spend the day in bed with you, but I promised Carson that I would surrender the microchip this morning, and I haven’t even looked at the data yet.
Viktor released his hold on her and pulled a flash drive from the pocket of his jeans.
‘I copied everything onto this device while you were asleep.’
‘Did you look at it?’
He nodded. ‘I needed to see what data your dead doctor had on my colony.’
‘Understandable. What did you find?’
‘Doctor Malone was obsessed with formulas and jaktten DNA sequences.’
‘That sounds interesting.’
‘To someone like you, maybe. To me, not so much. I did watch some video files from his secret laboratory where he was studying jaktten behaviour. It looks as if the main focus of his research was jaktten saliva and why it is dangerous to humans.’
Helen jolted, as heat once again blossomed on her cheeks. ‘Say that again, because I’m sure I’ve swapped plenty of saliva with you these last few days.’
Viktor laughed as he kissed the side of her neck.
‘Don’t worry. You’re safe,’ he said. ‘Unless I get carried away and bite you.’
He nipped at the sensitive skin beneath her jaw and she jerked her head away.
‘Don’t do that.’
‘I would never hurt you, Helen. Jaktten saliva has powerful healing elements, but when absorbed into a human’s bloodstream, mutation can occur. I think the doctor was onto something. Something you should explore further with the backing of ISCU.’
‘That’s only if Chief Melman doesn’t brand me a traitor for stealing the microchip in the first place.’
Viktor took Helen’s hand and placed the flash drive into it.
‘Keep this somewhere safe as an insurance policy. Give the microchip to Carson and make it clear that if anything happens to you, a copy will be released into the public domain. No one at ISCU wants that happening.’
‘Thank you.’
His blue eyes narrowed slightly, before he composed himself again. He cleared his throat and stared into her eyes.
‘It should be me thanking you, Helen. Since meeting you, I feel as if I can actually start living on Earth rather than just surviving. I want that for the rest of the colony too.’
‘You’re a great leader, Viktor.’
He sighed and rubbed his chin. ‘Not everyone feels like that. I have conspirators close to home that I need to deal with. Will you be ok going back to ISCU alone? I can come with you if you need me to.’
Helen imagined the look on Carson’s face if Viktor was to walk into HQ with her. The scene played on in her head and ended with the agent shooting him between the eyes.
‘You have important matters to deal with at the colony. I’ll be fine on my own. Can you drop me to Carson’s house on your way home so I can collect my car?’
‘Of course.’
‘Great, just give me a few minutes to get my things together.’
Viktor nodded as Helen found some duct tape beneath the kitchen sink and secured the flash drive to the inside of the wooden frame of the canvas. She took down the London skyline print that was hanging on the wall of her bedroom, and replaced it with her portrait.
‘If anything happens to me, make sure you do something with this information,’ she said to Viktor who just shook his head and squeezed her hand.
‘Nothing is going to happen to you, Helen. I forgot to mention that once a Jaktten mates, they mate for life, so you’re stuck with me. And we protect our own. No one is going to hurt you. Not now and not ever again.’
50
Viktor tried to ignore the heat from Helen’s hand as it rested innocently on top of his thigh while he drove. If they had more time, he would pull over and recreate one of his favourite sexual positions using the bonnet of the car for leverage. He didn’t want to admit to Helen just how obsessed he was with sex for fear of revealing his inexperience. He’d waited a long time for his perfect mate, and now he had her, he was smitten.
Viktor looked across at Helen. Her red hair was lit up by the sun’s setting rays, making it appear as if she was surrounded by tongues of fire. She caught him staring and smiled at him. He was about to tell her he loved her again when his phone started vibrating inside his pocket.
Viktor pressed the button on his dashboard in order to connect the call so he could answer on speakerphone.
‘Yes?’ he said and there was the smallest inhale before the caller spoke.
‘I am sorry to contact you like this, my prince.’
Viktor exchanged another glance with Helen, this one more troubled, as his hands tightened on the steering wheel.
‘Hetti, is that you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why are you calling and not Manu?’
Manu was an able and loyal elder and Viktor had arranged for him to act as communicator for the colony until he replaced Jared and Brandon, although that task was proving difficult as no one seemed to measure up to his faithful bodyguards.
‘Manu is unable to speak.’
‘Why?’
‘Someone cut out his tongue.’
Helen made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a squeak, as she pulled her hand away from his thigh and clasped it over her mouth.
‘Who would dare do something like this?’
‘Erik.’
That one word caused an equal amount of horror and fury to churn inside Viktor’s stomach.
‘Where is here?’
‘He showed up at the manor house, but before we realised what he was doing, he managed to segregate anyone loyal to you from the rest of the colony. Manu caused a distraction, so I could escape and make this call, but that cost him his tongue. Erik is trying to start a revolt and I fear the younger male jaktten are listening to him.’
‘I’m facing mutiny from my own people. Why now? Why question my authority at the very time that the desquamaters are growing bolder and attacking us in our own homes?’
‘Don’t be too harsh on the youngsters. They have never ventured outside the safety of the grounds. They don’t understand the sacrifices you and your father made to secure our safety on Earth. They also don’t understand your recent tolerance of humans.’
Viktor hit his hands against the steering wheel, feeling his frustration engulf him like a giant wave against the shore.
‘Find somewhere safe to hide and I will be there shortly,’ he growled. ‘I need to drop Helen to her car first.’
‘Is Helen there with you now?’
Hetti’s voice suddenly sounded hopeful and Helen’s brow furrowed.
‘Hello, Hetti. Yes, I’m here.’
‘Hello, my child. You should come with Viktor too.’
‘No.’
Viktor’s reply was sharp, but Hetti ignored the warning tone.
‘Erik is stirring up the colony with tales of your relationship with Helen.’
‘All the more reason for her to stay away.’
‘All the more reason for the colony to see the two of you together, as I did. It will help them to understand that humans are not our enemies as they first thought.’
‘No, I won’t allow it.’
Helen cleared her throat. ‘You don’t speak for me, Viktor. Hetti has told you that your colony is in trouble and you need to go to them as quickly as possible.’
‘And as quickly as possible involves a slight detour to drop you at your car.’
She shook her head and Viktor knew from the steely determination in her eyes that she wasn’t going to listen to reason.
‘Hetti, do what Viktor said and stay safe. We’ll be there soon,’ she said, and then leaned over and pressed the button on t
he dashboard to disconnect the call before he could say anything to the contrary.
‘Taking you with me is a bad idea,’ Viktor said, as he indicated to make an illegal U-turn and join the traffic going in the opposite direction.
‘Even if it’s a bad idea, it’s still the right choice. Your colony needs you.’
‘Damn stubborn Earth-women,’ Viktor mumbled under his breath.
‘I heard that.’
‘Good. When we get there, stay close to me and whatever you do, don’t speak to Erik.’
‘Who’s Erik?’
‘The only council member left alive.’
‘What happened to the others?’
‘They were killed.’
‘By whom?’
Viktor clenched his jaw, as he remembered the façade of Erik’s wounds and the blame he’d placed on Blake’s shoulders.
‘By Erik.’
51
Helen didn’t have time to admire Viktor’s impressive home this time, as he drove past the entrance and parked next to a separate building further into the grounds, which resembled stables or a guest house. The sun was dipping below the horizon, casting shadows on ground.
‘Are you sure I can’t persuade you to wait in the car for me?’ Viktor asked, and she shook her head.
‘We’re in this together,’ she replied. ‘If Hetti believes I can make a difference, then I’d like to try.’
‘Fearless,’ he murmured, before kissing her. It was a lingering caress of lips against lips that made her heart ache inside her chest.
‘That felt like a goodbye kiss,’ she said, when Viktor finally pulled away. The fact he didn’t deny it made her stomach clench with apprehension. He got out of the car and she followed, mindful of not making too much noise, as everywhere around her was unnaturally silent. No birds or bees. No scampering rabbits or squirrels. Carson had been right earlier. The wildlife knew something she didn’t, and they were smart enough not to venture into jaktten territory.
‘Where is everyone?’
Viktor took her hand and led her towards the building, which on closer inspection were stables, although not working ones. Behind the stables was a path that led through the lush gardens and past a pond, which glistened in the last glints of sunshine.