Unintentional Addiction: Lotus Adaamas Series

by Stone, Layla

  Karr put his index finger to his lips to hush Zane. “I also saved your life. Shine’s too, if you want to know all the details. I made a deal with Wrin. Said she could burn it down, but she was not allowed to kill you.”

  “You can’t make a deal about my business.”

  “You’re on my island. Yes, I can.” Karr’s words were soft, but the warning was sharp.

  “You don’t own this island.”

  “Oh, yes I do. And you know it. And I’ll tell you more since you’re in a spitting-fine mood. I’m not going to let you retaliate against Wrin. You can’t kill her, and you can’t destroy her plantation.”

  Seth himself couldn’t stop Zane from destroying Wrin. “Watch me.”

  “Nope. You’re not. I’m cracking down on the extra violence.”

  Zane was so shocked at the hypocritical comment that he sputtered out a laugh. “Oh, really? Where were you when Triker was ready to kill me?”

  “I heard about that. Triker was after your mate. I didn’t have her on my watchlist.”

  His watchlist? Zane shook his head and walked down the steps to the front yard. He needed space from the insane male who clearly spent way too much time watching others.

  “We are not yours to keep. This is Adaamas, the free port planet. Even the Federation can’t make us do anything.”

  Karr followed him down the steps and hissed. “You live here. You’re mine! Everyone knows it. Time to get on board, Zane. And if you can’t take that, then I’ll do to you what I do to every Kirca scum. I’ll banish you.”

  “Banish?”

  “As in kill. But I like the word banish better.”

  “Do you even hear yourself, Karr?”

  “Do you recognize this planet from the one we grew up on? No, you don’t. It’s safer now than it ever has been.”

  “People still die every day.”

  “You’re right, people die, poor choices. Can’t stop that, but I can stop the Kirca and anyone else from coming here and trying to take over my island like it’s a planet to be conquered. No more bodies disappearing because a Kirca is punishing someone’s family and friends. No more of the Kirca’s influence here. We are Adaamas, and you need to decide right now if we are on the same side.”

  “You talk a big game, Karr, but you’re not here to get me on your side—which I will never be. Be honest, you’re here for the homner. But you’re not getting it until you tell me what it’s for. That’s my added price on top of the warehouses.”

  Karr’s anger was gone in the next second. A mock smile played on his lips. “Greedy Zane. Always good for getting as much as you can out of your negotiations. I respect that about you.”

  “I don’t care if you respect me or hate me, you will get the homner as soon as you tell me what you want it for.” Zane knew very little about Karr. But what he did know was that Karr never shared what he didn’t mean to. He was always secretive, gone for days and sometimes weeks at a time. And he hated all Kirca. So, Zane was going to push for something he knew Karr couldn’t give, making the deal null and void.

  “I’m not going to show you, but I will tell you it’s an underground place. Everything is set. I just need the power source. That’s where the homner comes in.”

  “Underground? Like a hidey hole?”

  “Like an entire city, but this one is not for the playground you get up top. This one is for the families that want to live in peace below.”

  Z was speechless.

  “I’ve promised someone that I will keep their little night-lights safe. I gave my word to keep them that way.”

  Zane had learned more about his ex-friend in those few seconds than he had in years. Pushing for more, he asked, “How big is this place?”

  “Spans the island and more.”

  Amazing. “I want to see it.”

  “Not a chance. I won’t have you making your connections and trying to sell them your pistols. No. Did you hear me when I said it’s a safe place.”

  Zane held up his hands. “No business at all. I’m just curious.”

  “No,” Karr said as if he were surprised that he even had to say it.

  Zane smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. “Here’s my deal…

  Karr’s eyes went wide. “You’re about to offer me a deal? So you can double-cross me?”

  “No, you double-crossed me in the last deal. You have to at least hear me out.”

  “I do?” Karr used his hand as if to say “go ahead, wow me.”

  “You show me this underground city, and I’ll introduce you to my pet.”

  A variety of expressions crossed Karr’s face. After a time, he said, “Fine. You can look, and I will escort you.”

  “Deal.”

  “Where’s the homner?”

  A moment later, Zane walked back inside and grabbed the homner from his home safe then walked it back outside. He handed it over. “One week. And I expect to hear from you and get that escort.”

  “Tell Adelia I look forward to meeting her.” Karr walked away, and Zane walked back into his office, not happy that he had used Adelia to get what he wanted. Inviting Karr to meet his mate would mean a level of trust that Zane didn’t have in Karr, but it was something.

  But if this underground city were safe from harm, then Zane wanted a piece of it. Wanted to have a safe place for his mate and his future kids.

  Then Z realized…he’d never told Karr the name of his mate. Yet the male had known.

  30

  Starting Over

  Zane snuck back into bed and pulled Adelia against his body. He loved to feel her skin against his. It was always better when he was touching her. When she woke up, he spent time just touching, rubbing, and being next to her.

  She was not a morning person. She growled and grumped like the Adaamas volcano, Reyna. It meant peaceful queen in Kirca. Only a Kirca would find a volcanic island in an acidic planet and think, I’m home, my queen.

  Then again, Zane looked at Adelia with the same admiration. That she was his volcano because she was a little hot-tempered, and yet at the same time, she brought him to life.

  His little volcano had erupted a few times that morning when he didn’t let her go home to change into clean clothes. He forced her to wear clothes he’d ordered for her while she was in the shower. He also ordered her a coffee so she didn’t growl while they were in the Daamas Rounder.

  Breakfast was quick and quiet. Adelia was quiet because she was hungry. Zane was too, but Shine had drunk half of his coffee and forked in his eggs.

  After breakfast, Zane walked them to the new warehouse that was on the other side of the road. Closer than his last place.

  The front door was not glass or fancy. He would have to get it replaced. Inside, though, he was pleased by what he saw. A lot of space. It was clean and standing firm. Newer than his old place.

  “You bought a warehouse already?” Shine whistled. “You are a fast negotiator. I didn’t even know these were available. How did you?”

  “I didn’t. Karr gave them to me.”

  Shine stopped and turned around. “Really? And what did he want in return?”

  “The homner.”

  “Figures. Probably could have made more if you sold it,” Shine remarked.

  “I told him that.”

  Adelia was in front of Z, walking through the large place. “Who’s Karr?”

  “A long story,” Shine said.

  She turned around and looked at him. “He gave you this place? It’s pretty great considering it’s bigger than your last one.”

  He double-checked, giving it another cursory view. She was right. “Yeah. He also gave me the one next to it.”

  “Why two?” she asked.

  “My lab,” Shine answered. Rubbing his mouth, Shine said, “Maybe it wasn’t such a bad deal after all.” They walked into the next warehouse and found it full of material. Shine was the first to check the contents while Zane held Adelia near the door. “I can work in here. This is actually really g
ood.”

  “Sometimes I hate him, and then he does something like this,” Z said.

  “What do you mean?” Adelia asked.

  “Karr told me he made a deal with Wrin. Said she could destroy my warehouse but not kill me.”

  Shine stopped moving. “He negotiated with Wrin not to kill you, but said she could destroy the warehouse? Wow, I am feeling the hate again.”

  “I know.” Zane continued. “And he told me I am not allowed to go after Wrin. I can’t destroy her crops or kill her.”

  Shine was surprised and then turned enraged. “And you told him to kick asteroids, right?”

  “No.”

  “No?” he yelled. “We’re not going to do anything? Are you even tapping into your Demon half?”

  Zane knew that Shine was pissed, hence the Demon comment. Either way, he was feeling too good to let it upset him. He was still riding his high. “Karr also told me that he culled the island of Kirca. As in killed them, not sent them home.”

  Shine took that in slower. Processed it. “He did that?”

  “I think he’s got more working for him than we thought. If he can cull the island, then he might have some heavyweight behind him that will end me if I retaliate.”

  Shine was quiet, but his body language wasn’t. Scratching his head, he walked back and forth, looking like he wanted to talk but didn’t. Finally, he stopped and dropped his hands as if defeated. “He’s taking over, isn’t he?”

  “I think he already took over.”

  “Seth of Stars, he really did it, didn’t he?”

  Zane nodded.

  “The scrawny red-headed, freckle-faced kid...”

  The five-year-old boy they had saved from being beaten to death by a Kirca Red Demon.

  “So, what do we do now?” Shine asked.

  “We get to work on a new genie pistol.”

  Shine glared. “You’re serious?”

  “I’m always serious.”

  31

  My Mistake

  Later that evening in his home office, Zane was inspired to design a genie pistol. But after he’d printed it out and showed it to Adelia, she had told him he should call it the pink pistol.

  Shine looked at it and said, “Pink powder pistol, and I know just what I’m going to make the bullets out of.”

  Shine left when he did, and Zane assumed he was headed back to his lab. Zane was determined to design a new pistol that would rival the pixy when he had a thought.

  A genie pistol would have to be the source of treasure. Bloodstones were rare, but with the right synthetic additives, Shine could figure out a way to coagulate the blood to make rare bloodstones.

  It could be a win-win.

  Getting back to work, Z stayed at his desk for hours. He didn’t feel time pass until he was done, and the design was finished. He attached the images to his message to Shine and hit transmit.

  He was designing again, he had a mate, and everything felt good. Except him. He just felt hungry.

  It had been a while since he’d felt this kind of hunger. He checked the time to see how long he had gone without his pet.

  Eighteen hours.

  Zane powered down his Minky and left his office. The lights were off, the sky was dark. He walked down the hall and opened the bedroom door, then walked in while pulling off his shirt. He stopped. Adelia wasn’t in bed.

  He pulled his shirt back on as he checked the bathroom, kitchen, and all the other rooms before walking back to his office and video calling her. His mind was conflicted with hunger and concern.

  Adelia accepted. Behind her, he saw the dark blue inside of a Daamas Rounder. Hungry and a little snappy, he said, “What are you doing? No, first answer this. Where are you going?”

  “My apartment.”

  “You left our home, and you didn’t think to tell me?”

  “No, you were working, and I didn’t think you would even notice,” she snapped back.

  “I noticed!”

  “I see that.”

  “When are you coming back?”

  “Why are you yelling?”

  “Because I’m angry.” And hungry. And he missed her skin, her mouth, her everything.

  “I’m going to say this back so you hear yourself. You’re angry that I left your house without telling you?”

  Her tone was a warning he didn’t heed. “Why are you going back to your apartment? This better not be something like I’m not paying enough attention to you. You know how I work, you know my hours.”

  “I’ll be at my apartment. Doing my own work. When I’m done, I’ll be back. Goodbye.” She terminated the call.

  Zane went downstairs and waited for the Daamas Rounder he’d ordered from his new Minky watch. As soon as it pulled up, he laid back and forced himself to relax so he could pull some sleep from a few people and give himself enough energy to load up everything in her place so she never had reason to leave him or his home ever again.

  As soon as he arrived, he sent her a message from his watch.

  Which one is yours?

  She replied seconds later, and he walked up the stairs and knocked. She opened, and he stepped into an empty studio apartment. It was so bare, he almost forgot how hungry he was.

  “Where’s all your stuff?” He scanned the open floor plan and saw a black leather couch and a coffee table.

  She answered, but he didn’t hear her. All he saw was a half-finished painting of his old warehouse. He was drawn to the perfect likeness.

  “That’s my warehouse.” It was magnificent, and it wasn’t even finished. He turned around, looking for her. Her eyes were guarded.

  He remembered that he was hungry, but he also had the grace to remember that he had been an ass. “I’m sorry. I overreacted.”

  She nodded once. He took that as a good enough sign to offer an apology kiss. Tilting her head back, she anticipated the kiss, the gramones and her taste hit him like a starving man. He consumed it.

  She moaned. He deepened the kiss. Her hands moved under his shirt and pushed up. Everything in him wanted to follow through with getting naked and taking care of his mate, but he had to stop. He wanted to spend hours with her in his bed—in his house. Their home.

  He grabbed her hands and pulled back. “I like your enthusiasm, but we’re about to pack up your apartment, and then we’re going to finish this.”

  “Fine,” she pouted.

  Now that his hunger was gone and he was able to think clearly, he turned around and pointed at the canvas. “And that belongs to me…. When you’re done.”

  She snorted.

  “Okay, but it’s crap.”

  He got in her face. “If you ever talk about my painting like that again, I will not be happy.”

  “You will not be happy?”

  “Yes, and I know how much my happiness means to you.”

  A smile or laugh was held back. Barely. “You’re right.”

  “I know,” he snapped playfully.

  Zane didn’t like that she had been living like this for months. But then again, he was also sad that he had spent months not living with her and watching her create something this beautiful. He was an artist in a way, and he respected other artists. A hell of a lot.

  That’s when he realized that he had done her a disservice. He was wasting her talent on answering phones. On something so simple any answering program could do it. She should have spent the past few months working on her art.

  Rectifying his mistake, he pulled her to his side. “I say this with respect, but…you’re fired.”

  “I’m what?” She tried to pull away. He didn’t let her.

  “I can’t let you be my receptionist when you should be my client.” Then he stopped and looked behind her. Several canvases were lined up along the wall. The one he saw was of a Lotus Adaamas at dusk. It was the red star and the acidic water, but it was beautiful with soft lines. He was almost breathless. There was a woman and a boy on the beach. The exact beach that Shine and his mom had used to go to o
nce a week.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” he started. “I’m going to sell your canvases for top dollar, but that one,”—he pointed, and she turned—“that one I’m going to give as a gift. To Shine.”

  She turned back. “Do you think he will like it?”

  “You have no idea.”

  32

  Unexpected Guest

  Zane was inside his new office. He had renovated the building to add more flare, including expanding his office space. His suite was exactly like his old one, complete with a Minky desk, two extra black leather chairs, and a black leather couch.

  The wall to his right held a framed canvas of his old office.

  On the other side of the room, his mate worked on her drawings. The large room was cut in half with soundproof glass—at her request because she was, as she’d said over and over, “tired of listening to his calls.”

  The more he spent time with her, the more he couldn’t stand for her to be out of his sight. It might have been the gramones, it might be the bahity, but he didn’t care either way. Because watching his mate make art was almost as satisfying as making love to her.

  He was addicted.

  So much so that he found himself stopping work more often than not to just sit on her side of the office and watch her. Or kiss her, or just be near her scent.

  Shine made fun of him. Z didn’t care.

  He was about to get up when he had an odd mental picture of a Yunkin standing in his reception area. Ignoring that thought, he began to imagine what he was going to do to his pet once he got inside her space.

  The image flashed back in his mind. Then another of him walking out of his office.

  “That’s strange.” Stranger still was him actually getting up, rounding his desk, and exiting his office. As he went, he pressed his thumb to the door to lock Adelia in just in case there was a Yunkin in his reception area and it was someone he’d have to dispose of.

  He walked down the hall and saw a Yunkin about his height standing as if he were comfortable exactly where he was. The scar over his left eye and his bright blue eyes gave him a weathered look. Definitely someone who had seen more than pleasant Yunkin conversation.