He’d been more careful, reminding himself how fragile she was. In his lust-filled haze, it wasn’t easy. When he was inside her body, it was difficult to focus on anything other than her tight grip on his cock. It was difficult to behave responsibly, let alone think. The pretty vixen with her soft curves and responsive body was monopolizing his mind. She clouded his judgment. He shouldn’t be angry at her for her defiance over staying with him, but he couldn’t help it. The rejection stung. He needed distance to cool down.
He pushed from the bed, turning his back on her.
Her voice shook a little. “Zavir?”
“What?” he snapped. “Is there something you need?”
She wasn’t to be deterred by his attitude. Oh, no. The pretty human climbed from the bed and came to stand in front of him. Naked. Zut, he couldn’t reason when she confronted him with that voluptuous body, still wet from their sex. He wanted to do it again and worse. He wanted to do much worse to her. He wanted to fuck her senseless. He wanted to bite her and make them both fly so high she’d never question her place by his side again.
“Forever?” she whispered.
He forced his gaze to her eyes, lest he bend her over the bed and take her harder than what she could handle. “For as long as I’ll live.”
“That’s a very long time. I’ll be old before. What will you do with me when I’m a shriveled, eighty-year-old woman?”
“You won’t be.”
“Humans grow old, Zavir.”
“I gave you nanocytes when I healed you. Any deteriorating or damaged cells in your body will regenerate themselves.”
Her pretty face paled. “I–I’ll live as long as you?”
“Yes. We both have eternal lifespans. We can still die if injured fatally, but we won’t perish from sickness or age.”
She covered her mouth with a hand. “You didn’t ask me. Maybe I don’t want to live that long.”
“It’s done. Your place is at my side.”
She dropped her hand. “Forever.”
“That’s what I said.”
“I’ll outlive everyone I love.” Her eyes filled with sadness. “I’ll see them grow old and die.”
“I know it’ll be hard, but it’s inevitable. I’ll be here for you. How does the human saying go? We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“You had no right to make such a decision on my behalf.”
“Liv, stop it. You’re my charl. I had every right. We’re not talking about this, any longer. If there’s nothing else, I have things to do.”
“Actually, there is.”
“Go on, then.”
“Karl said something about an engagement.”
He felt another rejection coming. “What about it?”
She flinched at his tone. “When is it supposed to take place?”
“In a month’s time.”
When she’d had time to get more comfortable with the idea. He liked the human custom. Since they couldn’t formalize their union in Krinar fashion, which was only reserved for Krinar mates, a human engagement would have to do. A ring on her finger would show all males she belonged to him. Who knew? Maybe in forty-seven years’ time there would be a formal union for cheren and charl. “I’m throwing a big party as per the human custom. I want every Krinar and influential human to attend, including your ambassador.”
“Why?”
“I’ll make a public announcement about taking you as charl at the party. I want everyone on Earth to know. I want it all over the news.”
It would serve as a warning to anyone who had as much as an inkling to harm Liv. They’d know if they touched his charl, he’d kill them.
“When were you going to tell me?”
What was the point if she was only going to say no? He hardened his heart. Going soft because of a human woman wasn’t going to help either of them survive. “Does it matter?”
She reeled as if he’d slapped her. “We’re talking about my life.”
“Which I now own.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Her blue eyes turned bright, a spark flashing in their depths. “Because I’m a pet to amuse you?”
“If you already know the answer, why do you ask?”
She shook her head, a tear slipping over her cheek. “You’re so cruel.”
She accused him of cruelness when her own kind had damaged her in the most horrifying way, when he saved her?
He clenched his fists to keep from touching her. “Get used to it.”
Her cheeks turned pink, and her nostrils flared. “It’s not what I want.”
He laughed softly. “Liar.”
She all but blew smoke from her nose like a dragon. “I’m not the liar here.”
“Is that right?”
His patience snapped. Wrapping his hand around her neck, he backed her up to the wall. A puff of air left her lips when her body connected with the surface. He dragged his nose along the column of her neck, inhaling the fragrance of her skin. He registered the shiver that ran over her body with satisfaction, because it proved his point.
“You don’t want this?” he asked, licking a path along her skin.
She gasped.
His fingers found a hardened nipple and pinched softly. “How about this?”
“Zavir.” His name was a protest, but she leaned into the touch.
He moved his hand between their bodies to cup her sex, swollen and wet from their fucking. “Or this?”
She pushed her hips back, trying to escape the touch, but when he touched her clit, she moaned.
He slipped two fingers inside her. “This?”
She arched her back, thrusting her hips. He stroked her inside, letting her feel the pleasure, letting her become as wild as she was making him. When he pulled out, she protested again, but for a different reason. As little as she wanted to admit it, they wanted the same thing. He kicked her legs apart and grabbed his erection in his hand.
“How about this?” he asked, rubbing the head over her slick folds.
Her nails dug into his shoulders. “Zavir.”
“What, kitten?” he taunted. “You don’t like it?”
“That’s not what I–”
The rest of her words were cut off when he speared into her, taking everything in one go. “Or did you mean this?”
“Zavir.” There was desperation in her tone. “Stop it.”
He didn’t know if she meant the sex or the words that proved her wrong, but there was no stopping. Not any longer, not now that her heat drenched him and her muscles flexed in a way that promised both their release.
He thrust into her, not gentle and kind, but with punishing strokes, strokes evoked from the madness she woke inside him.
“This?” he asked, keeping up the grueling pace. “Stop this?”
Her legs buckled. “Oh, God. No.”
He gripped her hips to keep her up. “What was that, kitten?”
“Zavir,” she said on a defeated sob.
“Say it,” he insisted.
“No.” Her head fell back. “No, damn you. Don’t stop.”
Victory was bittersweet. He’d proven what he wanted, but why did it feel like he’d lost a battle? There was no time to analyze the thought. She lifted one leg around him, taking him deeper. It drove him insane. He wanted to show her how good it could be, if she’d only stop resisting him so hard. The pleasure was unlike any he’d experienced, jostling his mind with an unfounded fear. This little human could be his undoing. He wanted far more than she was willing to give. It didn’t matter. In time, he’d make her realize there was no other choice. He was doing what he was doing in her best interest, or so he told himself.
She cried out under him, desperate sounds that gave voice to the feverish build of his own need. All logic and thoughts flew to the moon. Instinct took over, a primal force driving him to claim the woman who didn’t want to be claimed. At least, not by him. His hips pivoted with brutal force, taking what was his. Taking what wasn’t his. He held her in pla
ce as he showed her everything they both wanted, because their bodies didn’t lie. Answering a call from deep inside not to let go, he tightened his hold, and dragged his tongue over her neck to taste her skin. When she whimpered, he sealed his lips over hers to catch the sound, wanting everything and still some.
The kiss was too rough. A coppery taste told him he’d cut her lip with his teeth. From a distant corner of his mind, a voice told him to slow down, but it was already too much. Her slickness, her heat, her tightening channel, the taste of her blood… She stole his reason. He kissed a path to the curve of her shoulder, sucking and nipping. Her moans told him how much she liked it, too. Without thinking, he laved the spot with his tongue, preparing her, and sliced his teeth across her skin.
She jerked in his hold, and they both exploded. He came harder than ever, his pleasure an uncontainable and inexhaustible eruption that stretched on and on, into exhaustion, until even his powerful legs couldn’t hold them up. Liv had long since gone limp in his arms, her body convulsing as multiple climaxes shattered them both. He barely had the strength to lower them to the floor. It went on for hours. He was no longer the master of his body. Fucking was a need like breathing, and he could only breathe with her. The need was excruciating. It refused to let him go. Over and over, he took her, fucked her, and filled her, until her voice was hoarse and her body drenched in sweat. It was never enough. After every climax, he needed more.
It was only when the darkness faded, and the rosy glow of sunrise touched the transparent ceiling that his need diminished, and he started feeling more like himself. Pushing up onto his elbows, he stared at the face of the woman he’d claimed. Her pale features were still. Her limbs were motionless. She looked exhausted. Her porcelain white skin sported bruises, especially on her hips and between her thighs. This was the woman he’d taken responsibility for, who he’d soon promise to take care of in front of the world as his witness. What had gotten into him?
He’d done what he promised himself he wouldn’t. He’d gotten carried away. He’d not been careful. All the gentleness he wanted to shower on her, everything he’d managed at the beginning of the night was blown to the three moons. By zut, she was so tired she looked unconscious. On the zutten floor. He took her like that on the floor. Cursing himself, he picked her up in his arms. She didn’t even stir when he carried her to the shower and cleaned her. After laying her carefully on the bed, he used the nano-healer to take away the bruises and bite marks on her shoulder. He took special care with her feminine parts. He wanted her to feel good, not shudder in discomfort after every time he touched her.
Remembering that humans needed much more rest, he drew a blanket over her and left her to sleep. He had work to do, but he could do it from the room next-door to not disturb her. He wanted to be here when she woke. Already, he felt reluctance at being separated from his Earthling. Was this the bond some other Krinar who’d taken mates were talking about?
He settled in the living area to call up the information from the worldwide arrests that had been made as a consequence of the intelligence Liv had provided. It went deeper than he could’ve imagined. As he’d told her, not all the Resistance members had been uncovered. There were still a few rotten apples. Before he could pull up the information Korum had sent, a hologram came to life with an incoming message. Xita’s face appeared in the space.
“I’m busy, Xita.”
“You’d want to hear this.”
He tensed, stealing a glance at the bedroom where his charl was sleeping. “How’s Karl?”
“He escaped.”
Chapter Fourteen
Like the first morning, Liv woke feeling completely rested. She stretched, reveling in the way the mattress molded to support her body. Her cheeks heated as she recalled how she’d spent the night. Zavir had bitten her. Again. This time it had been incredible, at least the parts she could remember. Everything was a blur. She remembered nothing but pleasure, pleasure so intense she was terrified it would destroy her, but then she recalled their words, and her smile faded. Then she looked at the empty space next to her, and her heart chilled.
Getting out of bed, she checked her body. Her skin was smooth and flawless. Some of her freckles had even disappeared. Like the day before, her appetite was healthy, reminding her she was starving. She had no watch or phone to tell the time, but through the ceiling, the sun was sitting high.
“Time, please,” she said.
A digital number appeared on the wall, announcing an hour well after lunch. Had she really been sleeping all day?
After dressing, she asked the house for a late lunch. It delivered a delicious, hearty Krinar stew, which it announced as Kalfani. While the house cleaned itself, she paced. Zavir was probably working. She longed for news from Karl and Erik. Zavir had said she could call him, but she didn’t feel like asking him for anything, especially not news about her brothers. An idea occurred to her.
“I want to speak to Karl in the medical center,” she told the house. “Karl Madsen.”
Nothing.
“Xita?”
Still nothing.
She guessed communication with anyone other than Zavir wasn’t one of her liberties.
With nothing else to do, she settled on a long float and asked for the tablet, which the house produced promptly. She requested the latest news sites, reading with increasing concern about the fall of the Resistance cell, the arrests of the parties involved, and the continued uncovering of more members, but there was nothing about her family except for one line that said the Resistance members had been rehabilitated.
The hours dragged on with her pacing, lying on the bed staring at the transparent ceiling, or trying to read, but she couldn’t focus on anything. The silence and worry were killing her.
“Music,” she finally said in an effort not to go out of her mind.
One of her favorite songs came on, playing through the living quarters.
“How did you know I like that song?” she asked the house.
Silence.
She sighed. “It was worth a try.”
She walked around the rooms again–bedroom, dressing room, bathroom, living area, and kitchen. Bedroom, dressing room, bathroom, living area, kitchen. Round and round like a caged animal.
“Can we have a conversation?” she asked in desperation into the space.
“What would you like to converse about?” a pleasant, female voice responded.
“I don’t know.” She flopped down on a plank. “Anything.”
“Please select a subject.”
“Have you known Zavir for long?”
Silence.
“I get it. You’re not allowed to give me information about him. How about the recent Resistance arrests?”
Nothing.
“Okay. Tell me about the food on Krina. The Kalfani was delicious.”
“I am sorry. Krina related information is confidential.”
“Ah, I see. I’m a spy, right? You can’t trust me.”
More silence.
“I suppose you’re not going to tell me anything about our engagement party plans, either?”
No reply.
Talking to the house wasn’t working. She went back to walking in circles, feeling her mind turn in much the same way, until the sky once more became dark and the exterior wall finally disintegrated to let Zavir in.
He stopped when he saw her in the lounge. His unsettling gaze roamed over her, as if he was doing inventory of her body. Strain tinged his deep voice. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m glad to see you’ve eaten well.”
“How did you–?” She stopped abruptly as she realized the answer. Of course. The house. “How does it work? Do you get a detailed report on my calorie intake? How many times I use the bathroom?”
He closed the distance between them and stopped in front of her. “It’s in your best interest that I know what you consume and how long you rest.”
“What do you care
?”
He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “You’re my responsibility. Your health is my concern.”
“Oh, I get it. I need to be in good shape for a repeat of last night.”
He dropped his hand. “We won’t be doing that for a while.”
“Why? Isn’t that why you’re keeping me?”
His jaw clenched. “If we do it too often, we’ll get addicted.”
She gave a cynical laugh. “Ah and I won’t serve your purpose if I’m a sex addict.”
“Not the sex, my bite.”
“Damn.” She adopted a mocking tone. “For a moment I thought we didn’t have to have sex tonight.”
He moved so fast, she was pushed up against the float before she could blink.
“Why are you making this so hard on yourself?” he asked through tight lips, his arms caging her in. “We’ve been through this, but if it’s a game you like playing, I can indulge you. We can start at square one, with me proving to you what you like. Is that what you want?”
His voice had lowered an octave, but the soft-spoken tone didn’t hide the anger that flashed in his eyes. No, he’d made his point. She didn’t want a repeat only to suffer the humiliation of how defenseless she was to his touch, how easily she came apart under his hands.
“No,” she whispered, “I don’t want that.”
He didn’t ease up. “Good.” Tension vibrated from his body. “We’re going to settle this for once and all. I want to hear you say it.”
She stared up at his eyes, seeing nothing but the turbulent storm brewing within. “Say what?”
“Admit you want me.”
It was the truth. They both knew it, but a rebellious part of her made her ask, “Why?”
“I don’t want to take one step forward with you only to take two back every time.” When she didn’t answer, he continued, “Make no mistake, I’ll go back to step one as many times as it takes.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Fine. The attraction is mutual.”
“Say it out straight, Liv, not in a roundabout way.”
The Krinar's Informant Page 9