Obsession

by Jennifer Armentrout

  My face scrunched up. “You’re like an incubus or something.”

  “Well, how do you think myths get started? And stop staring at me like I’ve damaged you. I didn’t take enough to kill you. You’ve only been asleep for two days. Eat some chocolate and you’ll be back where you were.”

  I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. Two days? That meant today was Saturday. I’d lost two whole days. “You knocked me out for two days? That can’t be healthy.”

  His brows lowered. “You could be dead.”

  Good God, I wanted to hit him. “You fed off me, dude. I can’t even categorize how messed up that is. That’s not okay.”

  “I’ll tell you what’s not okay, is you throwing shit at me.” Curiosity marked his expression. “Why did you throw something at me?” When I didn’t answer, a muscle popped in his jaw. “You’re not going to answer me? Or do I need to repeat myself for a third time? It’s okay. I like to hear myself talk.”

  In a second, anger and irritation roared through me. Something about his cocky tone pissed me off. So did my body’s reaction to him. Parts of me were all kinds of tingly, especially when I wiggled again and felt him twitch.

  “Get off me.” I tried to push him off, but that didn’t work. “Get off me now!”

  “Or what?” He tilted his head down so that his mouth was inches from mine. “You going to pick up a picture frame next and wing it at my head?”

  “Maybe,” I snapped back.

  “Then I can’t let you up.”

  I stared at him in disbelief and sputtered, “You can’t— Get off!”

  One single brow arched up. “I can’t get off? Oh, I most definitely can get off.”

  The flush increased until I felt like I was under the sweltering sun. Muscles in my stomach tightened. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

  “Hmm, so you say…so you say.”

  He was— Oh my God, I was struck speechless.

  A long minute passed as he stared down at me, and then he released my wrists, finger by finger. Then in one fluid, unbelievably quick motion, he rolled off and stood. Jesus, the guy was part alien, part human, and part ninja.

  I sat up and almost toppled off the side of the bed. Peering through the mass of tangled hair, I got my first real good look at Hunter. I’d been caught off guard in the parking garage and too frightened in my apartment to really get a good look at him, and since he had all that very human flesh on display, I drank him in.

  Holy hotness…

  Jeans hung low on narrow hips. Hunter’s stomach was perfection—each taut muscle tight and totally lickable. Not that I’d ever licked a man’s stomach before, but now I got why someone would want to. I was in six-pack heaven. He even had those dips beside the hip-bones…

  Oh God, I felt dizzy.

  His chest was defined and cut like marble. I got hung up on staring at that for a few moments before I literally had to force myself to look at his face.

  Checking him out couldn’t be right. What was wrong with me? “Look, I’m sorry about the whole throwing things at you and everything else—”

  “You don’t look very apologetic.”

  I frowned. “Well, I am. Things are kind of…messed up. And you knocked me out. And you’re half naked—”

  “Have you looked in the mirror?” he cut in. “You’re just as naked as I am. And I didn’t throw anything at your head.”

  Glancing down at myself, I cringed. Somehow I’d forgotten that I was in my shirt and undies. Flushing all over again, I wanted to dart behind something, but I folded my arms. “I didn’t throw anything at your head. I was—”

  “Do you always overreact like this?”

  Oh my God, if he interrupted me one more time I was going to throw something at his head. “I woke up in a strange place, kidnapped by an alien. I can’t even believe I’m explaining why I overreacted. What were you doing in my room anyway?”

  He mimicked my stance. “Correction: this is my house and therefore this is my room. Not that I need to explain myself, but I was checking to make sure everything was secure outside.”

  “But you did kidnap me.”

  “I did not.”

  I threw up my hands. “What’s all this? Where am I?”

  “West Virginia.”

  My mouth dropped open. Oh my God, this couldn’t be happening. “I’m in a different time zone? Are you fuc—”

  Hunter threw up his hand, silencing me. The tip of my tongue literally burned to lay into him. “What the hell is that noise?”

  Before I could respond, he stalked past the bed and entered the bathroom.

  “Jesus! What are you trying to do in here?” His voice carried from the bathroom. “Giving the floor a bath?” he demanded.

  I searched desperately for my jeans, but came up empty.

  Hunter returned, hands on his hips. Too late. “Seriously?”

  “I forgot I turned the faucet on. Geez, you’re grumpy.”

  “And you’re already turning out to be a huge pain in my thigh.”

  “Look, I’m really sorry about that. Okay? I’ve been through some really traumatic events here recently and, yes, I might have overreacted.” I struggled with my patience. “And I really would like to know where my pants are.”

  “Your pants were folded on the corner of the bed. You probably knocked them on the floor.”

  What? I wanted to check, but I so wasn’t bending down in my panties in front of him. “And how did they get off me and folded on the bed?”

  “I did it. Thought you’d be more comfortable.”

  Oh geez, I had no idea what to think about that. A thank-you so wasn’t in order though. He undressed me while I was unconscious, for crying out loud. My entire body felt red-hot. “I’m not going to say thank you for that.”

  “Not like I’d expect that common courtesy from you,” he replied, his pale eyes dancing…with what? Anger? Amusement? “After all, you never thanked me for saving your ass—a pretty ass at that. So I can add inconsiderate to your growing list of attributes. Put that right next to: overreacts, acts first and then thinks, drama—”

  “Oh, go fu—”

  “You do not want to finish that sentence,” Hunter warned, his voice low enough to send warning shivers down my spine. “The one thing I don’t do is fuck myself.”

  I doubted he needed to. Then again, he probably opened his mouth and ruined everything. “All right, this is not what I intended. I just need to know what’s going on and get my pants—”

  “How about you do this,” he said, stalking up to me. I took a step back, hitting the bed. His gaze dropped from my face to my chest, his stare so intense it felt like he was touching me. “Why don’t you put some more clothes on? You’re a little distracting right now.”

  I gaped at him in disbelief. What the hell had I been trying to do?

  A quick grin flashed across his face. Not necessarily warm, but there was definitely something to it. Was he messing with me?

  “When you’re done, you can join me downstairs,” he continued, strolling past me. “We have a few things we need to go over.”

  I spun around, hands curling into useless fists. “Why don’t you put some clothes on?”

  Stopping at the door, he glanced over his shoulder. “Do I distract you?”

  Clamping my mouth shut, I glared daggers at him. He was distracting, but a zombie could eat my brains before I’d admit that.

  Hunter smirked. “Downstairs. Five minutes.”

  “You—”

  He slammed the door shut in my face.

  Chapter 7

  Never in my life had I been more frustrated. Go figure it wouldn’t be with a human but a freaking alien. At least I now knew that the male species were asses no matter what planet they hailed from.

  After digging my jeans out from underneath the bed and slipping them on, I sat on the edge of the bed and glared at the door. Be downstairs in five minutes? That insufferable, arrogant, and demanding ass was going to wai
t at least ten.

  But damn, he was insanely hot for an…alien.

  Groaning, I dropped my head into my hands. I didn’t feel right. The whole not knowing where I was, what was happening at home, and being so far out of what I knew was reality was driving me insane.

  The door suddenly swung open, causing me to jump. Hunter filled the doorway, still shirtless and eyes narrowed.

  “Five minutes have been up,” he said. “I don’t like to wait.”

  “I don’t like to be bossed around.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “Then we’re going to have a problem, Serena.”

  A part hidden deep inside responded to the sound of my name coming from his mouth, warming and turning liquid. The way it rolled off his tongue was sinful.

  Hunter waited.

  Snapping out of it, I climbed to my feet and grumbled the whole way past him. Hunter said nothing as we went downstairs. It was a few blissful moments of silence, which I used to admire what he had going on in the back.

  Nice ass.

  We entered a massive room with white, pristine sectional couches and sitting chairs. A large flat-screen TV hung from the wall. Vases decorated the end tables and took up the corners of the room. There was a faint smell of roses in the air. I was half afraid to touch anything, like I’d leave sticky fingerprints.

  I followed him down a hallway and into a kitchen area. Bright sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the room a warm, welcoming feeling, while the living room was sort of sterile.

  Several bar stools surrounded the island and top-of-the-line appliances furnished the kitchen—stainless-steel double oven, side-by-side fridge, and a sink you could bathe in. Off to the left was a dining table and, beyond that, an entrance to a sunroom full of plants and chaise lounges.

  “Sit,” he said, gesturing at one of the stools.

  I debated on ignoring him, but decided it wouldn’t get us anywhere. Sitting, I folded my hands in my lap. “Where—”

  “Would you like a drink?” he interrupted, heading toward the cabinet near the fridge.

  My brows rose. “Yes. That would be nice. Thank you.”

  Hunter glanced at me. “You sound surprised.”

  “You don’t seem like the type who does civil things like that.”

  He smirked. Turning back to the cabinet, he grabbed two glasses. “I have soda, milk, water—”

  “Milk? I’m not ten.”

  He turned around, lips tipped up on one side. “And how old are you? Nineteen?”

  Offended, I leaned back on the stool. “I’m twenty-three, but I’ll try to take that as a compliment.”

  “Hmm…” He put the glasses back and picked up two wine flutes.

  My eyes narrowed. “You know how old I am.”

  “Yes.” Hunter swiped a wine bottle out of its rack.

  Staring at the back of his broad shoulders, I pictured a spider monkey landing on him and biting his neck, total vampire style. Actually, maybe zombie style. That would do more damage. “So, you just said that because you think you’re funny?”

  “I know I’m funny.” Hunter spun around and crossed the distance to the island. He placed a glass of dark wine in front of me.

  My skin felt tight. “I don’t know what to even say.”

  Leaning his elbows on the table, he took a sip of his wine. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions. We might as well get this out of the way.”

  God, he didn’t have to sound so put out over everything, but I bristled silently. Getting into an argument with him wasn’t going to solve anything. It was the same as dealing with students. Sometimes you had to be the bigger person.

  Or human.

  “I do have a lot of questions,” I said.

  “I bet you do,” he murmured, watching me over the rim of his glass. “A lot of dumb ones, too.”

  A sharp tingle was inching across the back of my skull, spreading like heatstroke. “You’re an ass.” There went being the bigger person.

  “And you have a potty mouth.” Hunter flashed a quick grin.

  I took a deep, calming breath as he finished off his wine in one gulp. I hadn’t even touched mine. “Are you going to answer my questions or just insult me?”

  Hunter chuckled. “Possibly a little of both.”

  My hands curled into fists.

  Smirking, he prowled around the island. His movements were graceful and fluid, but it was like he was forcing himself to slow down. My breath stalled out as he sat beside me, spreading his thighs wide so that one brushed my leg.

  Like lightning, his hand was in my hair, gently wrapping the strands around his fingers. “Your hair is beautiful,” he murmured. “It’s the color of light.”

  Okay. Not weird or anything…

  Sort of fascinated, I watched him straighten my hair out before him. He inspected each strand, twisting it as it caught and reflected the light. An odd look, almost like awe, skittered across his striking features.

  His gaze flicked up, meeting mine. He dropped the strand. “Ask a question.”

  Gripping the stool, I scooted away. The metal legs made this horrible scratching sound. “Where am I? And please a little more detail than just the state.”

  Hunter inched his stool toward mine, taking back the distance. Even sitting down, he was a good head or two taller. He leaned in, so that his face was inches from mine.

  My throat dried. “You’re in my personal space.”

  “You’re in my home, therefore that cancels out your personal space.”

  “Your logic is faulty.”

  He cocked his head to the side, lashes lowering. “My logic is the only logic around here. You need to get used to that.”

  And he needed to get used to blunt objects being thrown at his head, because it was about to happen again. “Are you going to answer my question?”

  “You’re in a small town…outside of Elkins.” He reached over and inched the wineglass toward me with the tips of his fingers. “Drink.”

  I stared at the wineglass.

  “Drink, Serena.”

  My gaze cut to him. The authority in his tone raised every hackle and it also… I so wasn’t finishing that thought. “Are you always so demanding?”

  “Very,” he said, sitting back. “Drink.”

  Muttering just about every foul word I could, I picked up the wine and took a sip—a very small sip. “Happy?”

  “Very.”

  I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Several moments passed in silence, so I took another drink…and then another. Still no word from Hunter. He was just sitting there…watching me with heavy hooded eyes. His eyes…they were too pale. Like all the color had been leached from the blue.

  My hand shook a little as I put the glass down. “Why am I in West Virginia?”

  “It’s the last place they will look for you.”

  “Who? The other…alien you were fighting?” The wine created a nice little pool of warmth in my belly. At least, that’s what I was hoping was doing it. “The ones who killed Mel?”

  “And tried to kill you? Yes. They won’t look for you here.”

  My hands were still shaking. “Why wouldn’t they?”

  Leaning back, he grabbed a sucker from yet another bowl and unwrapped it. “If you go outside and look to the east, you’ll see a huge mountain. The mountain is stock full of beta quartz. That’s important.”

  “It is?”

  He nodded. “I’ll start at the beginning. Do you know anything about the Abell? It’s a galaxy about thirteen billion light-years from here. Where I’m from is even farther from that. So are the other aliens—the Luxen. If you haven’t realized it, their true form is what you would see as light. Beta quartz has a wonderful ability to block their wavelengths. The Flatirons are the same way. There will always be communities of Luxen near any large amount of beta quartz, because Arum—that’s what I am—can see wavelengths around any living creature, especially the Luxen. Follow me?”

  I needed
more wine for this shit. “Kind of.”

  “The Luxen want you dead because you witnessed one of them being very bad. When you told the police and anyone who would listen that this guy lit up like a Christmas tree, the Department of Defense got involved. And yes, the government is well aware of aliens and they have implants everywhere.” He paused. “They took the senator’s son Phillip into custody. That is never a good thing. The senator believes that if you’re taken out of the equation, then the exposure threat is removed and his son will be returned to him. There’s also the issue of what your friend overheard, what she could’ve told you.”

  “She really didn’t tell me anything,” I murmured. Good God, there was an alien senator. “So, he wants to kill me to keep me quiet?”

  “Yep.”

  Stealing a peek at him, I saw that he was still staring at me, the sucker in his mouth. I looked away quickly. “And you really work for the Department of Defense? Like an alien liaison?”

  “Yep.”

  I almost laughed, but I didn’t because I was sure I’d never stop. It would be the insanity kind of laughter.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked suddenly.

  I turned to him, frowning. “What do you mean?”

  “How are you feeling?” he repeated, but he also reached over and placed a single finger on my jaw. He barely touched me, but it was like an electric shock rippled through me. For a brief second, I was reminded of how he felt when he’d pinned me to the bed.

  Hunter’s smirk turned knowing. “Serena?”

  “I…I don’t understand.”

  “You have a bruise here and you took a couple of nasty spills.”

  I hadn’t even noticed the bruise or paid much attention to the aches. “And you basically ate my energy or something?”

  He grinned. “That, too.”

  Well, he definitely had no shame. “It’s—I’m fine.”

  There was a pause. “You could’ve died.”

  “It’s really not important right now.”

  A second later, I felt his warm breath along my cheek as he spoke. “I know you have more questions.”

  I turned my cheek away from him, unnerved by how close he was and how he moved without making any noise. Heat crept over my cheeks when two cool fingertips pressed under my chin, and with surprising gentleness, Hunter guided my eyes to his. Our gazes locked. There was something in those unsettling eyes of his, a gleam of compassion that lurked under the coldness of the unnatural color.