by HC Playa
"No."
"You believe him?"
"I saw things in his head, Naia, that have no other explanation. He's for real."
"Ohmygod!" She whipped around and peered around the corner to get another look at Zane, as if he might have morphed into a little green man while she wasn’t looking.
While Naia spied on their guest, Katarina pulled out a pack of Oreo cookies and placed some in a large bowl. As a small concession to nutrition, she filled a plate with grapes, strawberries, cheese, and crackers. The coffee finished brewing, so Katarina got out the cream and sugar. She tapped Naia’s shoulder and when she turned, Katarina thrust the bowl of Oreos into her hands. She put everything else on a tea tray and carried it toward the doorway.
"Let’s go interrogate our alien."
Naia chose the seat farthest from Zane. He sat on the sofa and Katarina couldn’t resist the temptation to be near him, but to be safe, maintained some distance. It made it easier to think if they weren't touching.
Katarina added cream and sugar then handed Zane his mug. She managed not to jolt at the electric contact when his fingers brushed hers. She pulled her hand back and his quick intake of breath assured her she wasn't alone in her discomfort.
"Thank you, Katarina."
Katarina started to wave off his thanks, but found her gaze trapped by his as he spoke in her mind. "Not for the sustenance, but for your trust."
She shrugged, trying to dismiss the enormity of her actions. Thinking of the risk she took letting him within her emotional walls threatened to start a panic attack.
"I can always kill you later if you turn out to be a psychopath." She meant to pass it off as a joke, but Zane saw through the humor.
He cocked his head and studied her. "I don’t know why, but I get the feeling that despite my experience you could deliver on that threat. You guard your thoughts more zealously than a space ship armed and shielded for battle. It makes me think your trust is a very precious gift."
"Hello?" Naia’s annoyed voice broke the intimacy of the moment.
"Sorry, Naia. Zane was just…uhmm…getting some English straight."
Naia eyed them. "Yeah, I bet."
Zane took a sampling of the food from the tray. "I don’t think your friend likes or trusts me, Katarina."
"Why should I?" She glanced at Katarina. "I’m not a hundred percent confident in Kat’s judgment at the moment."
Katarina's cheeks heated and she hated that her fair skin revealed her crimson blush. Zane laid a hand on Katarina’s knee. "She’s being a good friend. In her place I would feel the same."
Katarina relaxed back into the cushions, burying the temper that wanted to explode while she pretended to focus on her coffee. She didn’t say anything to Naia, but she told him telepathically, "I suppose, but she knows me." She gave him a pointed glance. "I don’t care how strong the chemistry between us is. I can still read you without bias."
"I know that. You know that. She probably does too, but it doesn’t stop her from worrying. Don’t be angry with her, Katarina. I don’t wish to cause discord." Zane reached for the mug he’d set down. He cupped the mug in his hands, leaned back against the couch cushions, and in between sips he began his tale.
"Roughly four or five thousand years ago, a space faring race known as Goloths came here to Earth. Once they possessed amazing abilities, but myth says that a more powerful race of beings stripped them of their talents somehow. They spent thousands of years subjugating other races and seeking those who possessed unique talents in hopes of finding a way to get theirs back. Somewhere along the way, they came upon Earth. While they managed to harvest a number of slaves from the planet, something here scared them. The texts found were badly corrupted and very little remained of the tale other than a warning to future Goloths never to return to Earth.
"Humans and many other races were kept enslaved until a little less than a thousand years ago by Earth time measurements. Until that time Goloths dominated the core of the galaxy. Every being lived in fear of their raids. As happens with many empires that grow fat, corruption and an overblown sense of confidence led to their downfall. They never considered that any worlds would dare defy them, but they did. Several systems banned together. They created a spy network among the slaves which played a key role in destroying the Goloth stranglehold. Those few brave systems were the conception of the Intergalactic Confederacy.
"Humans gained their freedom, but unlike other species, we had no idea where home was. Humans have scattered throughout the galaxy." Emotion filled his voice and made the words clipped. "Many look at us as if we are parasites living off of their planets or worse an infection contaminating their people every time one of mixed blood, like me, is born." He glared at them, defiant, as if he dared them to think likewise. "I am human, Trrrork, and Braag."
"Unbelievable," Naia muttered.
"Amazing!" Katarina sat back and thought of the Mage legends her mother managed to wheedle out of one of her interview subjects. Like Zane's tale, they had rather large holes, but they shared enough common elements to validate the possibility of his story. Only one race of people might be able to fill in the gaps, but the last time she saw a Tuatha de Dannan, or what most people called faeries, she was nine years old and in the middle of an Irish woodland.
"So, why are you here now?" asked Naia.
"Knowledge of Earth is a political time bomb. I need as much accurate information as possible and have less than eight of your weeks to distill thousands of years of history into a relevant report. I need your help."
"Just use the internet," Naia said.
Katarina cleared her throat. "They are. He's asking for a human perspective, Naia."
"I know that. I just don't see what he thinks we can do. By all rights we should call up NASA or the FBI, or one of those alphabet soup outfits and let them deal with this."
"I thank you for not doing so," Zane said. He set his hand on Katarina's knee. "I'd appreciate it if you consider my request."
Katarina sensed urgency under his calm request. "I'll think on it." Katarina stood, dislodging his hand. "Lights on." The lights blinked on and Katarina put several feet of space between them so she could attempt to think clearly. "Perhaps we’ve grilled you enough. It's already about dinner time. Y’all hungry? I think I’ll order a pizza, maybe make a salad to go with it," she babbled and escaped into the kitchen without waiting for a response from either Naia or Zane. A large, foreign part of her wanted to let someone else worry about the research for a bit. The thought of spending time with Zane and getting to know him presented an enticing lure.
A phone rang and she heard Naia answer. Katarina pulled open the refrigerator door. She stood for a solid minute staring at the shelves, trying to remember what she planned to do. She shook her head. "Salad," she muttered and gathered the requisite vegetables. When she closed the refrigerator and turned around, Zane entered the kitchen. His proximity made the small space claustrophobic. Katarina tried to ignore his presence as he leaned against a counter to watch dinner preparations.
Naia poked her head in the kitchen. "That was Robert. I'll put an order in for you, but I'll take mine to go. He wants to go to a movie." She glanced at Zane. "Zap him if he does anything suspicious."
Katarina couldn't help but smile despite the horrible memory of the last time she 'zapped' someone. She didn't say anything in response. Between her raging hormones and the emotions roiling inside, she didn't trust her voice. She nodded and Naia disappeared to go look up the pizza delivery number.
That left her alone with Zane in the kitchen. She busied herself washing, peeling, and chopping vegetables while lecturing her runaway hormones. She wished it was just a physical pull but it was more. The glimpses into his psyche showed her a man she liked and respected. Her lonely soul recognized another soul trapped in self isolation.
She focused on her task, ignoring Zane as best as she could. Zane moved with such stealth, that she didn’t hear him come up behind her. Katarina turned aro
und holding the salad bowl and they collided. He put his hands on her waist to steady her. At his touch, flames of need swept through her. She locked her knees to keep them from buckling. Her blood roared in her ears and she fought the urge to drag him to the floor right then and there to ease the demanding ache. The inhuman magnitude of her desire, like the well of power inside her, terrified her in its intensity.
He said something about helping, but the words blended with the deafening pounding of her pulse. When Zane moved to take the bowl out of her hands, she panicked. That single plastic vessel kept her rooted to sanity. So, by god, she refused to surrender it.
"I'll take it, Katarina."
"No!"
A stifled giggle startled both of them. Zane stepped back. Seeing Naia gave her a strength to summon up the stiff proud posture that earned her the nickname "ice queen" in college. The door chime sounded, giving her yet another excuse for escape. "I’ll get it." She deposited the bowl on the table and fled to the front door. Naia’s laughter echoed behind her. She consoled herself with the thought that she could kill her later.
She paid the delivery guy and no sooner did she set the box down than Naia snagged a piece and pecked her on the cheek. "Be careful, Kat, but maybe not too careful."
Naia headed out the door without giving Katarina a chance to say anything in response. She and Zane ate in stiff silence. He watched her and she pretended that his gaze didn't rattle every nerve she possessed.
In far too little time Zane pushed his plate away. "The food was very good. It definitely beats the meal packs on board ship."
"Pizza is one of life’s guilty pleasures." Katarina stood up, knocking the chair backwards to the floor in her haste. She righted the chair. The guilty pleasures she thought of had nothing to do with cholesterol and everything to do with the man across from her. She snatched the dishes off the table, and escaped to the kitchen. She dumped them into the sink and placed her hands against her heated cheeks. Where was her control? A small sound of distress escaped her.
She fumbled with the tap and started to wash the dishes by hand instead of putting them in the dishwasher. She didn’t think she could handle anything that required brainpower, even if it was as minimal as pressing a couple of buttons.
What if I hurt him? What if this blasted energy inside me explodes? With her control fractured, any little thing might set her off.
She clasped a dirty glass in her hand and stared at the soap bubbles forming under the running water. What the hell was I thinking? No matter how much I want him, I can't do this!
Zane entered the kitchen. He didn’t make a sound, yet even without using her telepathy, she sensed his presence. Katarina’s heart pounded in her chest loud enough to rival an army of demolition droids.
"Katarina," Zane murmured as he reached around her and took the glass out of her hand. He set it on the counter and turned off the water. He took her hand and turned her around. Trapped between his body and the counter with a hand’s width of space between them, her hormone addled brain resented that space.
"Zane, I'm trying to wash dishes." Katarina winced at the husky sound of her voice. His gaze focused on her mouth.
"Dishes can wait. I've been dying to see if a real kiss can match what we shared last night."
A small portion of her brain screamed at her to stop him. Almost as terrifying as the thought of her harming him was the realization that he could hurt her. She already cared far too much for the man. His lips lowered to hers and the kiss carried her will away like a riptide. When Zane pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers, his uneven breath matched her ragged panting.
"I don’t make a habit of seducing women on every planet I visit. I told myself I wouldn't do this, and yet here I am tossing my sanity to the wind." Zane threw his head back and gave a small laugh. "Mio Yawaha! I'm a fool, but I want to embrace insanity."
His doubts gave her the strength to remove her hands from around his neck. She could not recall when they entwined in his hair. Fear knifed through her. She extricated herself from his arms and put several feet of space between them. "I can't do this. I'm sorry."
Zane frowned and studied her face. "Why? You want this as much as I do."
She paced the small room. "Yes. I know." Katarina took a deep breath and turned to face him. "I just can't!" Her voice broke as she fought the physical ache demanding she let him hold her.
"Talk to me, Katarina. What are you afraid of?"
She stopped pacing with a jerk. "Afraid? Who says I'm afraid?"
"Your eyes say it." Zane approached her slowly, as if nearing a trapped animal. "You're trembling, and not from desire. Your muscled are rigid and your gait is stiff."
Katarina closed her eyes and desperately sought her inner calm. "It isn't you, Zane. Believe me, please. It isn't even the fact that you'll leave and I'll never see you again."
His hand brushed hers and a wave of fire washed through her. He brought one of her hands up and pressed a kiss on her palm. "I won't hurt you."
She whispered, "But I might hurt you." She cringed, expecting laughter. A finger under her chin tilted her head up and she opened her eyes. His dark eyes held patience and confusion.
"Why do you think you'd hurt me?"
"I'm not a normal human, Zane." She laughed harshly. "I don't know what the hell I am, what I'm capable of, but I'm dangerous. That's why I keep people at a distance. If I don't feel, then it's easier to maintain control. I have to stay in control, Zane. What's happening to my body right now isn't normal." She gripped his hands and prayed he would listen, and yet dreaded the moment he would turn and leave.
He placed his palm on her cheek and she leaned into it. "I trust you, Katarina. The woman who reached out to a man in a nightmare would never harm me." Zane grinned. "Unless I deserved it."
She hiccupped a laugh that mixed with tears she refused to shed. She pressed the heel of her hand to her head, which throbbed from the effort to think rationally. "I don't understand. My emotions are yo-yoing all over the place and yet not one light has flickered. No glass has exploded. I haven't fried the apartment's circuitry."
"Ah."
Katarina lifted her hand from her head and stared at Zane. "What?"
"You're describing telekinetic energy. I've heard of a few species with such abilities, although it's never been seen in humans." He pulled her close, fitting her body against his. Her breath expelled in a shaky moan that she tried to disguise, but failed.
Zane laughed low and husky. "That's where the energy is channeling. You can't bind energy. It can be stored, but as the pressure builds, sooner or later it must be released. Am I not right?"
"I skip sleeping for a few days. It's the only safe way I've found to expel the energy."
Zane smiled slowly, seductively. "I think there's another, much more pleasurable way."
"Are you certain?"
"Take a chance."
Katarina laughed high and a little shrill. "Your life isn't a game, Zane."
"No, it isn't, but you can't be afraid to experience life." He tilted her chin up. "Do you want me?"
"Yes."
"Let it be as simple as that. From the moment you told me to shut up, I was hooked."
Katarina smiled, stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his mouth down to hers. This time she gave herself to the feelings inside her. She ceased fighting the tide of desire. She met his passion with a fire stoked high and hot. Zane lifted her up into his arms and she squealed in surprise.
"I can walk Zane."
He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her until she moaned and writhed in his arms. "Sure about that?"
"Maybe not," she replied with a grin.
***
Zane entered a room dominated by a massive bed covered with fluffy pillows and a thick azure coverlet. He subdued the urge to throw her on the bed and bury himself in her. Instead, he set her on her feet. He lingered over every kiss, every sigh, wanting every moment to last, especially now, their fi
rst time together.
Zane tried to leash his passion, but Katarina drove their kisses deeper in a feverish tasting of lips and tongues, until they were yanking and pulling at each other’s clothing. Her hands fumbled with his coverall and he stopped short of gripping the fabric of her dress in his hands and ripping it up the middle. He laughed and moved Katarina's hands aside. He undid the closure so he could feel her hands on his bare chest.
Katarina paused in the act of lifting her dress over her head. "Zane, I haven’t done this before."
Zane couldn’t stop the idiotic grin. "Oh, really?"
A hint of a frown creased her brow. "Do you mind?"
"I don’t mind, rahmali o mi."
Her dress landed on the floor and they met in another feverish kiss. The pleasure and rightness of her body both aroused and comforted him. Selfish or not, he had to have her. He tore his mouth away from hers, eager to taste more of her flesh. She stepped back and stripped off her undergarments. When the last item hit the floor, a pink strappy thing that showcased her breasts, he sensed her mental barriers vanish. One moment he could read nothing and the next, like a flash flood, joy and passion washed over him, through him, and his own shields melted away. Her emotions or his, they blended so he could no longer tell one from the other.
Zane finished removing his clothes. He pulled her down on the bed with him, and starting at her neck, he nipped and kissed his way down her body. Her body vibrated with pleasure under his open-mouthed kisses. She buried her fingers in his silken hair, pulling it free of the cord that bound it, and shuddered when he captured her taut nipple with his mouth. He suckled long enough to make her writhe and then set to stroking every inch of her flesh as he worked closer and closer to her center. He proceeded with infinite slowness. By the time his hand brushed her heat she gasped and arched off the bed. He dipped his fingers inside her moist sheath and she thrust against his hand as she clenched the bedcovers in her fists. Katarina moaned as he built her pleasure higher and higher. The need coiling inside her pounded in his head until he could take it no more than she and he lowered his mouth to her heat and suckled. She screamed and orgasmed in a burst of energy that stole his breath and tested the limits of his control.