by Mary Auclair
She didn’t budge.
“My authority is not to be questioned, even by you.”
He stepped closer, his tall frame bending over her, his head lowering just enough that his breath reached her lips. A deep, slow shiver ran down her spine and settled low in her belly. The memory of the kiss they’d shared rushed through her mind, and Ava stiffened.
Like my life isn’t complicated enough as it is? Nope, I won’t do it. I’m not falling for Big-Blue-And-Mighty on top of everything else.
“Knut made me. He literally manipulated the genes that built me.” Her anger got the best of her, fueled even more by the stubborn arousal that seemed to awaken inside her whenever Arlen got close. “In the end, even he didn’t have control over me. What makes you think you will?”
Arlen closed in on her, trapping her between the door and his big, powerful body. Ava’s breathing was fast and shallow, and she suddenly needed to brace herself against the closed door. She tried, but she couldn’t look away from Arlen’s pale eyes, which were gleaming with the same lust that ran through her body.
Or maybe she was fooling herself. What did she know of him? She didn’t understand anything anymore.
“I forbid you to endanger yourself ever again.” Arlen’s voice was heavy with the promise of retribution.
It didn’t matter.
“Do your worst, Big-Blue-And-Mighty.” She spoke right back to him, ignoring the persistent tingle of fear coursing through her limbs as his stare turned deadly. “I’m not as easily cowed as your big brawny idiot warrior, and I’m not Jonah.”
He was so close and from the look he was giving her, she wasn’t sure if he was going to wring her neck after all.
Or kiss her… again.
The tingle became a roaring need, threatening to take over. But she couldn’t, she had fought too hard, for too long, to give it all up.
Ava turned her head away. The next instant, she slipped to one side to get away from Arlen’s hovering body. She needed to put distance between them. The more, the better.
It wasn’t that easy, of course. Arlen followed her every move, his movements fluid and easy. His hands closed on her waist and he pulled her in. She tried to resist but her body betrayed her and she stepped closer, her feet moving of their own accord. Then their bodies touched, the heat from him spreading over her skin like wildfire, igniting things she’d always refused herself. His fingers dug into her flesh almost painfully as his fully erect sex pressed against the supple flesh of her stomach. His eyes slid to her lips, then lower down her body, still clad in the synthetic cotton uniform. There was no denying his intent, the male hunger that twisted his features into a mask of pure lust. Need raged through her, spilling moisture between her legs as her core clenched with the desire for a male.
And still, Arlen didn’t kiss her. There was a sense of control about him as he watched her. It was just under the surface, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Like he was controlling himself, but not quite completely.
He stared at her for a long time in silence, his hands on her like a brand, his breathing deep and slow, hot air on her lips. Then, slowly, like he was forcing each movement, he took a step back, his hands leaving her body. The sudden distance washed over Ava, the cold spreading over her skin, making her want to bite the inside of her cheek.
“I am not looking to start a fight with you.” His voice was pure ice, flowing in a controlled, indifferent tone that made her want to scratch him. “If it is that important to you, I will assign guards to keep you safe during your work until your replacement comes.”
Rejection stung like the bitch it was, and Ava was glad she didn’t have to answer, because she couldn’t have.
Instead, she nodded, once. Then she watched as he walked away from her, a knot in her stomach that she couldn’t explain.
7
Ava
Anger coated her body like a second skin, but Ava forced herself to nod politely as Dr. Yrakan took his leave. The Relany doctor was calm and kind, and Ava knew he would take his mission to care for her patients seriously. And that her patients would take to him easily. In fact, most of them would be happy to have him care for them instead of her.
The sting of rejection made her turn around and stomp down the hall as soon as the door closed on the Relany doctor. As she passed him, an Eok warrior eyed her cautiously, stepping to the side as if she were a rabid animal.
Which might have been the wisest thing any of the big blue idiots had done in a long time.
She stalked the hallways of the mansion without any particular direction in mind, walking fast to vent feelings she could no longer contain, but it didn’t work. Every inch of those hideous walls made her angrier, and it wasn’t long before she was fuming, stomping alone down the hallways on her way to nothing.
It’s not fair. He had no right to do this.
It had been three days since she’d last seen Arlen and one day since Dr. Yrakan had arrived on Aveyn with a small team of medical technicians. Even then, Arlen hadn’t come to see her, giving some Relany officer the privilege of telling her she was no longer needed in the medical clinic.
It had stung. It had stung like a big, blue bitch, but Ava had swallowed her pride and accepted it.
After all, Arlen was the Commander of the Eok forces on Aveyn. He had no real reason to have any contact with her.
Yet, as she pictured his cold, disciplined expression, a twinge of pain burrowed between her ribs and anger flared inside her. She knew it was pointless. Arlen had every right to replace her with a doctor whose credentials actually checked out without needing to threaten her professors, who would actually have her patients’ trust, and who wouldn’t be a security risk as soon as she stepped outside the walls of the clinic.
A doctor who wasn’t an anomaly in and of herself, whose very existence wasn’t forbidden by the laws of the Ring.
An abomination.
Her eyelids burned and Ava fought the tears that threatened to spill. She should be focusing on what mattered—on Uril, whose heart was still weakening every day. In a spike of frustration, she closed her eyes and slumped against the wall, trying her best to control the spiral of emotions that refused to die down inside of her.
Yes, she had lost all that had made her old life what it was. But she hadn’t lost everything. Uril still needed her. Now that she didn’t have to care for the other patients, Ava could focus on retrieving the Exo-Heart. Then, as soon as Uril was strong enough, she would leave Aveyn and all those living on it.
It would be just Uril and her, somewhere far in the Ring where no one would come find them.
As calm returned to her, Ava opened her eyes and then gasped in shock. She had been wandering the halls of the mansion without realizing where her feet were taking her, and now she stood right in front of the door to Knut’s personal apartments. As she stood there, alone, her pulse accelerated until all she could hear was the blood flowing through her veins.
Of all the places she could have ended up, it had to be here.
Her mouth became dry and her palms clammy in cold sweat. She tried to swallow, but her throat was closed and she ended up coughing instead.
Maybe it was time. Maybe she was just crazy.
Ava’s feet moved of their own accord and before realizing what she was doing, she stepped inside the room. Everything was as she remembered. The walls were ostentatiously golden and pink, priceless artifacts displayed on stands at every corner.
Ava made her way through the sitting area and stood there. To her right was the bedroom with its larger than life wooden four-poster bed, and in front of her, the balcony overlooking the garden.
Like he never left.
But that wasn’t what made her stare as tears filled her eyes. The portrait Knut had commissioned of her was on the wall, the most expensive work of art in the entire mansion, displayed in the place of honor right where he could stare at it, sitting on his sofa. Ava looked at her own face, the memory of wh
at she’d felt as the artist painted her with pigments worth more than a dozen lives came back, biting as strongly as it had a decade ago. She had posed there, amidst the flowers, had hated every second of it, and yet, she had obeyed. Because Uril had just been born, and Knut had agreed to let her train in the medical field on the condition that she behave for him.
My perfect little toy.
Ava shuddered as she heard it in her head. That was what he had called her, to remind her that she wasn’t a person. That she was just a toy, a pet built to satisfy a man’s desire. That her life meant nothing.
A noise made her turn around and she stared, horrified and yet hypnotized, as Arlen stepped out of the cleansing room with a piece of cloth wrapped around his waist. His glorious torso rippled with muscles, tapering down to a narrow waist and hips, water making the marks on his skin more visible. Beneath the towel, his legs were strong, muscular. Ava stared, transfixed, at his male body, so powerful and perfect, as a strange twisting in her gut spread lower.
“Ava.”
Arlen spoke her name and her head snapped up. Fire seared her cheeks as he lifted an eyebrow. He had seen the way she’d been gawking at him. Shame made her turn her back to him and her mind raced to find something to say. Anything.
“What are you doing here?” She regretted asking as soon as the words left her lips. “I mean, I didn’t know you’d taken his private apartments. I should have known. They’re the best, so it’s only normal they should go to the Commander.”
Arlen didn’t answer her, but she heard him moving behind her. He was surprisingly silent for a man his size, but then, Eoks were predators. They moved without alerting their prey—until it was too late.
“Why did you come here?”
There was no hostility in his voice, no anger. It made her want to answer. To make him understand what being here made her feel like.
“He used to take me up here to look at it.” Ava pointed to the portrait. “Do you know what he used to call me? His perfect little toy. That’s what I was to him.”
“Did you love him?” The question hurt, more than it should have. Because there was truth in it.
“When I was very young, perhaps,” she admitted with a shaky breath. “He was all I had. The servants who took care of me hated me, all of them. I never understood why. But not Knut. Knut was the only one who loved me. Or so I thought. He dressed me in the best clothing, gave me the best food, had tutors teaching me all day. It was a long time before I understood what he wanted from me.”
“There never was any buyer for you, was there?”
Ava closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her chest to keep the pain at bay but it was no use.
“It’s just like he said.” She shook her head, then forced herself to open her eyes. The portrait looked down at her with its sad, angry eyes. “I was his perfect little toy.”
She had never told anyone, not even Uril.
“But you resisted, didn’t you?” Arlen’s voice was a velvet blade, just behind her. The heat from his body radiated through her back as though he were embracing her from a distance.
“Yes, I did. Every day. Until he cast me out, along with Uril. I’ve been caring for the humans as their doctor ever since.”
“It takes a lot of strength to resist something like that.”
Arlen’s hand closed on her shoulder, and Ava turned to meet his gaze. He stood just behind her, still only clad in the small towel. His flesh was like a magnet for her eyes, and she caught herself staring at his chest again.
“So many.” She reached out and her fingertip brushed the marks on his bicep. As her skin came into contact with his, Arlen inhaled sharply through clenched teeth, but didn’t flinch away. She shivered just thinking about the ungodly amount of pain it must have caused, and the willpower it must have taken to keep going, to keep hacking at his own skin like that. Cut after cut, blood pouring and yet not stopping until every inch was covered in raw flesh. “Why would you do something like that to yourself?”
His face was impassive as she touched his skin, her fingers becoming bolder, her touch less and less light.
“An Eok warrior has to master pain if he wants to survive.” The answer was matter-of-fact, and it chilled her soul even more. “Pain is just another sensation, a shadow, once you learn to embrace it.”
Her hand closed around his arm to feel his strong muscles rippling under the thick skin. She was surprised at her own boldness, and no matter how much she tried to make herself stop, she couldn’t. It was like her body craved Arlen’s touch and she was powerless to stop it.
“It must be good, to never hurt,” she said in a dreamy voice. “To never be afraid.”
Arlen’s hand closed around her wrist, but instead of pushing it away, he held it fast.
“I didn’t say I don’t feel it.” Something deep and wounded clouded his eyes, but his expression stayed impassive. “There are many ways in which an Eok can be hurt. Physical pain just isn’t one of them.”
Ava inched closer as though pulled by an invisible string. Their bodies were almost touching now and, as she looked up, Arlen stared down at her. His features weren’t stiff and expressionless anymore. Hunger and pain were evident in his eyes and there was something vulnerable there. Something that made her want to take that pain away.
“You lost someone, didn’t you?”
Arlen closed his eyes like he’d received a blow, then opened them again. He didn’t answer, but he bent down. His nostrils flared like he was smelling her breath, his mouth just above hers. Ava was paralyzed at the closeness of him, at the idea that he was going to kiss her again.
“If you knew what was good for you, you would stay away from me,” he warned her even as his right hand splayed over the small of her back and he pulled her in. “Because Midnight God help me, I can’t seem to be able to stay away from you.”
Then his lips closed over hers. His kiss was desperate, like he was drowning in her touch, in the taste of her mouth. Ava answered his passion with passion, his tongue on hers, melting together like they were always meant to be. A rush of erotic desire spread through her, blindsiding her. All of a sudden, she melted in Arlen’s arms, her body emboldened and a raw, imperious need flowing between her legs in a gush of wetness.
She had never felt like this before—like she didn’t control her own body anymore. Her hands ran over Arlen’s naked chest as the push of his erection dug into her stomach. His hands roamed over her body, leaving her panting and breathless.
She wanted him. She wanted him now, so hard it hurt.
Arlen’s hands closed around her thighs and he lifted her in one smooth, strong movement, parting her legs on each side of his hips until she straddled him as he stood up. The push of his erection against her pussy drove her mad and she kissed him with a renewed fervor, her lips trailing down his neck, her tongue licking along his skin. She wasn’t a woman anymore, she was a beast of pure erotic desire, her mind gone blank with need.
Arlen answered her lust with a male hunger of his own, his teeth closing suddenly around her throat, sharp fangs pressing against the delicate skin of her jugular. His tongue massaged her skin and need screamed in her pussy, need for hard, male flesh, for a rough possession that would leave her breathless. He pressed only slightly with his fangs, and a sharp pain shot through the site of the bite.
Terror shook some sense into Ava and she froze.
“What are you doing?” Her voice sounded small and defenseless in the room. “Are you going to bite me?”
Her question seemed to bring Arlen back to reality and slowly his mouth opened and he freed her throat. He breathed against her neck for a few more moments, then he brought her down, pushing her away firmly with his hands on her hips.
“You should go.” His voice was a throaty rasp and as she stared at his face, a shudder ran down her spine.
He looked nothing like the stoic commander he’d been before. His features were twisted with lust and his eyes glittered with a savage
intent. As he pursed his lips in a silent hiss, terror filled her veins and she took a step back.
“Go!” Arlen snarled again, this time with fury deforming his entire face.
Ava twisted and ran. She didn’t turn back.
Arlen
“What did that sofa ever do to you?”
Khal’s mocking voice came from behind, and Arlen spun to meet the challenge.
At the sight of his brother, Khal took a careful, hasty step back, but didn’t retreat. “You’re in great spirits, I see.”
Khal’s ever-mocking grin made Arlen’s jaw clench harder and the coppery taste of blood registered on his tongue. His talons shot from his fingertips, stabbing his palms, the pain only contributing more to the instinctual response of his body.
“I’m fine.” Arlen heard his own voice, or what was left of it. It wasn’t a voice anymore, more an animal’s rasp. “Leave.”
Khal took a tentative step forward, then stopped when Arlen let out a savage growl. He kept his eyes on his brother as he inched to one side, to the open space in the living area that wasn’t littered with the remnants of Knut’s furniture.
“Talk to me, Arlen.” There was not a trace of mockery left in Khal’s face or voice. Instead, a sharp, open pain painted the younger Eok’s features as he lifted his palm to calm his brother. “You shut us out, all of us, and we let you, because we knew you needed time. But you can’t keep me from being there for you.” Khal made a wide gesture to indicate the ransacked room. “This isn’t normal. This isn’t you.”
Khal’s words bounced off him without making an impact, but his pain reached through the fog. Slowly, Arlen stared at his talons until they retracted inside his fingers, leaving only bloody imprints behind. Khal was his little brother, the youngest of the family. It had been Arlen’s job to care for him, to protect him during the long years when Karian and Kamal, the oldest brothers, had been gone.