by Emma Castle
His lips barely touched hers, a ghost of a kiss that seemed to go on forever.
Please…don’t stop. The words echoed inside her head, but she didn’t dare speak them aloud. She wasn’t going to beg him. She wasn’t.
His hand cupped the back of her neck and fisted in the strands of her hair. He licked at the seam of her lips, and she opened for him. He thrust his tongue inside, showing her exactly what would happen between them if she only asked him. She tried desperately to curl a leg around his lean hips so she could rub herself against his hard body and the bulge that was digging into her stomach. He let her, but he didn’t move to cup her bottom or to hike her skirts up, which made her want to scream in frustration.
Just take me already.
Instead, he continued to kiss her in the most devastating way until she was wet and desperate. Then he released her and stepped back, his calm seemingly restored.
“I think it’s time to go,” he said, his voice slightly breathless.
“Just a minute. I need to fix my hair.” And fix my sanity, she thought darkly. This K was a menace to her self-control. She turned her attention back to the mirror, trying to run a brush through her hair, which was now a tumble of wild waves.
“Leave it. I like your hair down. You look like I’ve just taken you to bed for hours,” Sef said with a lazy, satisfied grin.
She scowled. “Yes, well, if you’re having me dress up nice, I’m not going to leave my hair a mess just so you can act smug around me.” She used four bobby pins to make a quick but elegant chignon from a ponytail. She was relieved that he had brought all of her things from home, everything from art prints all the way down to bobby pins. When she was done, she turned back to him.
“Where are we going tonight?” she asked as they left the house.
“To a local restaurant in the middle of the Center.”
This was the first time she’d had a proper glimpse of the inside of a K Center, and she couldn’t help but be impressed. There were houses everywhere, but they were built far apart, with many trees and flowers around to make it feel woodsy and natural, rather than urban. She liked that. No skyscrapers or buildings above two stories were nearby.
“We prefer to build out rather than up. We enjoy our personal space,” Sef explained as he took her arm. They walked down a lovely garden path toward a distant cluster of colorful buildings. She had to admit, what she’d seen so far of the Center was beautiful. It didn’t look secretive or dangerous. There were no weapons, no soldiers—it just looked like a peaceful little corner of a neighborhood. The only thing different was the plants.
“What kind of trees are those?” She pointed to a group of trees with rainbow-colored trunks.
“Those are palazzo trees.” Sef led her off the path toward the nearest tree and smiled. “You can touch it—it’s perfectly safe.”
Unable to resist, she reached out and placed a palm on the bark. It was smooth, like birch. The colors on the bark were striped in reds, greens, blues, and purples.
“How does it have so many colors?”
“There are different levels of acidity within the bark that react to oxygen. As they grow and mature, the acidity fluctuates and the bark changes color. On my home planet, they tend to be black with white stripes, but here…the different composition of the soil, water, and light creates a rainbow of colors. They are beautiful, aren’t they?”
She agreed and stroked the tree a moment longer. Sef led her back to the garden path. It was odd to think that something from his planet could change that much here, and in her opinion, for the better.
“We have many beautiful trees and plants. Most are perfectly safe. We brought them with us.” He waved an arm around them. “But we have Earth trees and plants too. Just over there are maple, elm, sycamore, and your mighty oak.” He nodded toward the surrounding woods, and she saw he was right. Normal trees, the ones she recognized, were interspersed between the palazzo trees.
Something occurred to her. “I doubt those were there when you set up the Center, and I doubt you brought full-grown trees on spaceships. Why do I get the feeling that if I cut down that oak, I’d count only five rings?”
Sef smiled. “Very observant. Yes. We were able to accelerate their growth significantly. It took only two years to reach their current size, at which point the process was stopped.”
“They look so ordinary compared to the trees from Krina. Like humans compared to Ks, I suppose,” she said, her heart dropping inside her chest. Humans were so unexceptional compared to the Krinar.
Sef pulled her to a stop, and she faced him in confusion. “You think you are ordinary?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I’m not blind. I’ve seen Krinar women. Humans must seem boring and unimpressive by comparison.”
Sef’s brown eyes were soft and dark as cinnamon. He cupped her face in one hand, and she didn’t pull away. The spell of his gaze locked her into place.
“Humans are anything but ordinary. Do you know how amazing it is that your species has progressed as quickly as you have?” He smiled then, the expression tender, so tender that it made the knot of black anger inside her start to crumble at the edges. “Most of the worlds we’ve seeded seem to have plateaued in a preindustrial state. Some are peaceful, others aren’t, but they all seem to be lacking something that your people have in great abundance—imagination. You have but the blink of an eye and your lives are over, yet you dare to dream bigger and brighter each day. You live fearlessly, and you create and inspire others to be better. You build upon the dreams of the ones who came before you. My people live long lives, and while we have accomplished much, your potential outshines even us. We…all of my people, we have such high hopes for you. Once you see the universe as we do, then you’ll be ready for our technology. And then you will truly be free.”
“That could take a long time—to see the world as you do, I mean.” She lowered her gaze, feeling oddly shy as she spoke so openly of something so deep. Seth might never have existed, but this was the man she had fallen for, this man who saw beyond what most men did. A man who saw her.
“And then I wonder, if more humans opened their hearts, believed in us as well as themselves, what wonders could our races achieve together? That is why I am asking you to open yourself to me, Harper. And to my people.”
She lifted her gaze to his as he said her name. His plea was so gentle and so earnest. But that black knot inside her, the one that held her back because she could see the other side of the K equation, flared with fresh pain.
“But my brothers…”
“They have a choice. Let me show you my world. Then you can convince them to open their hearts and minds. They can be given freedom again, but they have to trust my people. When I captured them, it was because they were working with a dangerous man, one who was planning to plant bombs on the walls of this very Center. It could have killed my people and any humans nearby. Your brothers were reluctant to engage with this human, but they eventually agreed to work with him, accepting the potential loss of life. That was why I had to intervene. If Mason and Liam cannot learn to trust me and my people, then we must protect my people and yours. I understand their need to resist, to fight, but it is misguided and futile. We aren’t here to hurt humans. We want to help. The sooner you can believe in us, the sooner we can let you become partners with us and not adversaries.”
What he was saying made sense, but how could she know he really meant it?
“I’ll try,” she finally said.
“Good.” Sef leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. He gripped her hips, holding her tightly to him as the kiss turned hot and intense in seconds. She moaned against him, wanting more and inwardly cursing when he stopped and pulled back.
“As much as I would love to continue this,” he said, mere inches from her lips, “we shouldn’t be late. They’re waiting for us.”
“Who?” She clung to his arm as they started walking again.
“My brother and his mate.
I thought you might like to meet a human charl and ask her any questions you have. You may have some time alone with her if you don’t trust her to answer honestly in front of us.”
“Wait, your brother? You mean Ambassador Soren?”
She couldn’t fully wrap her mind around that. He was one of the most famous Ks on the planet, aside from Korum, who had married his charl, Mia, not too long ago in a televised ceremony. That had been a huge deal. But Soren…wow, he was a political rock star.
“Soren has a charl?” She kept her voice down as they reached a cluster of buildings. One was definitely a restaurant of sorts.
Several Krinar were dining outside, looking relaxed, pleasant, and happy. They were so different from the aliens who had burst into her brothers’ bar. Those Krinar with white uniforms and weapons had been terrifying. Here she was glimpsing everyday Krinar life, and it looked very much like what humans would be doing on a day like this. The women wore lovely clothes, either fashionable pants and tops or dresses, and Harper felt like she had definitely overdressed. It was like showing up in an evening gown to a summer barbecue.
She leaned into him and whispered, “Sef, I don’t think my dress is all that appropriate.” The heat of his body sank into hers, warming her as her skin chilled in the evening air.
“You are dressed exactly the way I wish you to be. I want to show you off in front of my people.”
“Yeah, but”
He spun and caught her in his arms, silencing further protests with a kiss. She gasped as he claimed her mouth, and none too chastely. When he released her, she clamped her thighs together to hide her arousal. She would soak the thin panties he’d given her to wear if he didn’t stop this.
“Come, I see my brother over there.” Sef escorted her past the Krinar dining outside as he led her into the restaurant.
Harper’s face flushed, but she couldn’t stop reacting to him. How was she going to implement her plan if he kept making her own body betray her?
14
“Soren,” Sef called out. His warm tone relaxed Harper a little, but her stomach still fluttered wildly as she saw the famous Krinar waiting for them at a table. The Krinar male stood and embraced his twin. Without Sef’s disguise, it was hard to tell the two apart.
“Soren, this is Harper King.” Sef gently pulled her in front of him, a proud smile on his face that confused her. Why was he proud?
“Ms. King, you have no idea the pleasure I have of meeting the female who has claimed my brother’s heart.”
“Soren.” Sef’s tone hardened. But Harper was still caught on Soren’s words. Did that mean Sef truly cared about her? Or that Soren assumed that she was in love with Sef?
“It’s nice to meet you.” She held out a hand, but Soren politely shook his head.
“I’m afraid if I touched you, that would upset my brother. We males are far too possessive.” Soren chuckled.
“Oh…right.” She dropped her hand, and Sef leaned into her and pressed his lips to her temple while eyeing his brother. It felt good, too good. She knew she should pull away, but she didn’t.
“I would like you to meet my charl and wife, Bianca Wells.”
Harper paled. “The Bianca Wells? President Wells’s daughter? You married her?” Harper couldn’t believe that wasn’t international news, but then again, maybe Soren and Bianca had kept it quiet for a reason.
“Yes,” Soren chuckled. “She’s my wife in the human fashion, but also my charl.” He looked over her shoulder at Sef. “She wanted to wait, but you know how impatient I can be.”
Sef shook his head, a mirthful twinkle in his eyes. “I do indeed.” The three of them walked over to Soren’s table.
A beautiful blonde woman with stunning hazel-green eyes rose to her feet and immediately hugged Harper. “Hello. I’m Bianca.”
“I’m Harper. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Please, the honor is mine. Sef is quite intense, so I had to see the woman who tamed him.” Bianca winked at her. Harper couldn’t believe she was meeting two of the most famous people on the planet.
“What’s it like being the daughter of a president?” Harper asked, then blushed. “Sorry, I guess you get asked that a lot.”
Bianca shrugged. “Family wise it’s no different than before. He’s my dad. But I put a lot of focus on making my life mean something more to the world than just being a president’s daughter.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean” Harper stammered.
Bianca chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. What I mean is that I don’t want you to see me as anything special.” She gestured for them to sit. “I work just like everyone else, and I strive to make the world a better place in my own way.”
“That’s wonderful,” Harper said. “I admire that. A lot of people in your position might not care.”
Bianca shrugged. “I lost my mom when I was young. That put things in perspective, you know? About what’s really important in life.”
“I understand that more than you know. My parents died on K-Day.”
“Oh my God. How?”
“A bridge collapsed during the Panic. It changed how I saw the world.”
Bianca reached out and touched her arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m so sorry.”
Bianca and Harper sat across from one another, and their Krinar lovers took opposite seats.
“So how did you meet Sef?” Bianca asked as she looked over one of the menus.
“I…” She looked at Sef, and he gave a slight nod. Did that mean she could be honest?
“We met at the bar Harper’s older brothers own. I was investigating anti-K rebel activity,” Sef explained when she continued to hesitate. “I arrested her brothers.”
The menu fell from Bianca’s hands. “You did what?”
Sef coughed as his face darkened into a ruddy color. “Well…it’s the truth. It’s how we met.”
Harper thought about saying more, divulging Sef’s betrayal, but it wouldn’t change anything, and she didn’t think it was worth ruining their dinner over. She was curious to explore Krinar cuisine, and more importantly, she wanted to ask Bianca more about being a charl. Starting an argument might deprive her of that opportunity.
“You’re not off to the most auspicious start, brother,” Soren chuckled. He grunted and glanced down at something under the table. Harper suspected that Sef had kicked him under the table. They reminded her far too much of Mason and Liam. Even as grown men in their thirties, they still tussled like puppies, kicking and shoving and tackling each other when the opportunity arose. Males were the same in every species, it seemed.
A waiter approached their table, holding up his right palm as he recited the specials. It looked like he had written something on his hand. She caught the faint blue glow just above his hand, and she realized he must have a central core computer implant in his hand like Sef. Harper looked helplessly to Sef, not knowing what any of the food was. He leaned in close, his alluring scent wrapping around her.
“I would suggest trying the aquine salad with toast. It has crumbled cheese similar to feta, and it’s sprinkled with dried fruits that are like your Earth cranberries.”
“No surf and turf option?” she quipped.
Bianca, who had been drinking her water, choked and started laughing.
“Oh my God, I’m so glad I’m not the only one who misses real meat.” She nudged Soren with her elbow. “When we get back to California, I want a cheeseburger. I don’t care what you have to do to get me one.”
Soren flashed Bianca a smile. “Anything you wish.” Harper could tell he meant it.
Harper followed Sef’s advice and ordered the aquine salad. She watched the waiter closely, seeing the glow of hologram text in the Krinar language hovering just above his skin as he recorded their orders. What would it take to get Sef to show her his hand? She wanted to know exactly how the central core technology worked. Maybe after dinner she could use her feminine wiles to convince him.
“So, Harper, Soren says
you’re from Kansas?”
“Yes, from a town called Lawrence.” Harper tried some of the wine Sef poured for her. It was sweet, almost like a rosé but slightly more fruity, and the alcoholic content seemed lower. She’d noticed that the Krinar didn’t seem to bother with heavy drinking.
“What do you do? Job wise, I mean?” Bianca asked.
“I’m…I mean, I was a mechanic.”
“You are an engineer,” Sef corrected, reaching out to curl his fingers around hers. She was tempted to pull away, but dammit, she liked how warm his hand was. His words were absolute and certain, but his touch wasn’t about control—it was about comfort.
“I guess I am, I just don’t have a college degree. Self-taught,” she amended. “I owned an auto shop. My brothers owned the bar.”
“Wow, an engineer. That’s impressive.” Bianca’s praise made Harper’s head spin a little.
“What about you?” Harper asked her.
“I’m a marine biologist. I just got my degree a few months ago. I’m working in an aquarium in Monterey Bay.”
“No kidding. Do you work with the sea otters there?” Harper had always loved otters. Living in Kansas, she’d seen some river otters, but those were quite different from sea otters.
“Don’t get her started on otters,” Soren teased. “She’ll never stop.”
Bianca punched his shoulder and laughed. Their affectionate teasing made Harper’s chest ache. That was what she’d always imagined she’d have with the man she loved. But could Sef ever give her that? She feared she had lost all chance of ever having that kind of relationship by making her devil’s bargain.
By the time the food arrived, she was feeling rather pitiful, and she didn’t like indulging in bouts of self-pity. Her parents hadn’t raised her to be like that. Sef released her hand as the waiter placed their food on the table. But he didn’t ignore her; rather, his hand moved under the table to touch her thigh. It startled her so much she nearly jumped. His large hand curved around her thigh, stilling her, his fingertips stroking the sensitive parts of her skin. Her body hummed with arousal, the kind she could just keep control of as long as he didn’t—