Her Cold-Blooded Master

by Lea Linnett

  “Maybe. I hope so. But, anyway, I wanted to say I’m sorry. I understand better now why you were so scared for me. Why she was. I could stand to be a little more cautious.” She glanced back at the window. “Especially out here.”

  Helik frowned, his brow plate dipping so fast that Ellie blinked up at him in surprise. “I don’t think that’s right,” he insisted, leaning in close. “Without you, I never would have had the courage to get us out here.” He gestured vaguely at the ship around them before laying his claws gently against the soft skin of her jaw. “I’d still have us locked up in that apartment together, miserable. And Devis and Scott? I was ready to throw them to the vultures, but you made me see how despicable that was.”

  “Helik…”

  “You once told me that I should face my fears. Break them down. And you were right.” He gazed down at her, running his fingers through her hair as he cradled her face. Then he grimaced. “Although I was terrified while you were gone. That’s one fear I don’t want to experience again.”

  A quiet laugh escaped Ellie, and she sniffed slightly. “Maybe I’ve got a solution, then,” she whispered, leaning up so their faces were only inches apart. “Everything that scares us, we take on together.”

  Helik’s heart swelled, and he pressed his lips against her forehead, basking in the warmth of her skin on his. “And anywhere you want to go, I’ll be right there beside you.”

  Ellie’s pale skin turned a rosy pink as she gazed up at him, and he leaned down, capturing her mouth in a kiss. It was almost perfectly chaste, until her arms wrapped around his neck, drawing him impossibly closer and welcoming his tongue inside her. Her warmth coursed through him, hotter than any heat room, and he took a moment to simply breathe her in—that scent of suds and Ellie that had changed so much to him over the past few months without ever changing at all.

  He meant what he’d said—he would follow her wherever she decided to go. This was Ellie’s adventure, and he was just happy to get to go on it with her.

  They broke the kiss in unison, Ellie’s hot breaths growing labored as she clutched him close. “I think it’s time we celebrated our freedom,” she whispered, her round pupils growing in diameter as Helik watched.

  “Again,” Helik pointed out, grinning at the memories of all the other times they’d ‘celebrated’ in the last few days.

  “I’ve always thought keeping celebrations restricted to one day was silly,” Ellie said haughtily.

  “Oh really?” Helik paused just long enough to haul the human up into his arms, letting her feel the hard length of his arousal pressing against her as she straddled his hips mid-air. “You would have hated Christmas, then. That human holiday? One day of gift-giving. Should have been a whole week.”

  “Oh, I see,” she said, nodding exaggeratedly and allowing him to carry her from the room. “You seem to know a lot about it.”

  “Not at all. Just like everyone else that went to that awful party.”

  She laughed, and he caught himself grinning almost as fiercely. “Well, I’ll make sure this party is a lot more fun,” she purred, brushing her lips over the soft skin above his ear and sending a thrill down his spine.

  “There’s a joke about ‘cultural exchange’ in there somewhere,” Helik joked, earning a prolonged, “Eeeeww,” from the woman in his arms. Their laughter cut through the silence of the ship as they made their way to their room, and for the first time, Helik didn’t care where they were, or what he had to do the next day, or who might see them clutching at each other like a pair of adolescents.

  For the first time in his life, Helik felt free, and he knew that wherever this human went, that feeling would follow.

  THE END

  Thanks so much for reading Her Cold-Blooded Master!

  I really value your feedback, so please think about leaving a review.

  And if you want to keep up with the series, consider…

  Joining my Mailing List!

  Sign up to my newsletter to receive news, free bonus content and books, and to be notified about my upcoming releases!

  Join Now!

  Author's Note

  Thanks for reading!

  Ellie and Helik’s story ended up being a lot longer than I expected, and it took a long time to write, so thank you to everyone who waited patiently for its release! Part of the reason it got so long were the secondary characters, who refused to leave the spotlight, and who you will definitely see again in this series (and maybe a spin-off? Oooh!).

  I hope you enjoyed and that you come back to read Book 3 when it’s complete—it’s going to be about Cara’s sister, Taz, and I’m very excited for it.

  Follow me:

  Twitter

  Facebook

  My Website