Heart of the Beast

by Sonia Nova

  He met her eyes and considered the purple color of her irises. He had never seen a human with purple eyes before, but as he looked at her, he realized he liked the color.

  “Your eyes,” he said. “Do many humans have purple eyes?”

  “No,” Kira answered with a laugh. She snuggled in closer to him so their faces were barely a foot apart. “I don’t, either.”

  Xeegan frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “They’re contacts,” Kira explained. “I take them out before I go to sleep.”

  Oh. That explained it.

  “What are your eyes like, for real?”

  Kira cocked a brow at him. “Curious, aren’t you?” She lifted her hand and poked a finger in her eye, taking out the lens. “Dark brown,” she said, looking at him with one purple eye and one dark eye that reminded him of his own. “I just like to have some color.”

  “Like the stripe in your hair,” Xeegan pointed out, picking up the pink strand of silky-smooth hair between his fingers.

  “Yeah.” She yawned and took off the other contact too, rolling back on the bed.

  …She wasn’t planning on sleeping here, was she?

  Sure, Xeegan had invited her over, but he hadn’t actually thought she might spend the night. He rarely trusted anyone enough to let them know where he lived, let alone stay overnight. That he had trusted an Alliance agent with the information was already a miracle of its own.

  Letting her sleep here… The idea was so intimate. He had never shared a bed with anyone else. Then again, he had never had sex with anyone before either. He kind of wanted to know what it would be like to sleep with someone, to hold her as they dozed off…

  What the hell? Xeegan frowned at his train of thought. He was being so touchy-feely. It was unlike him.

  Kira seemed to notice his troubled expression. Her finger poked at the crease between his brows, and she caressed her hand along his face, down the scar that traveled across his eye and cheek.

  “Your scar… How did you get it?” she asked, her expression curious.

  Xeegan made a face and rolled onto his back, looking up at the gray ceiling. She probably thought there was some fun, adventurous story behind the scar. Instead, her question had brought up memories of hours spent fighting for his life in Krezlian captivity. It wasn’t a topic he liked to discuss.

  “Sorry,” she said, apparently reading his uncomfortable signals loud and clear. “We can talk about something else.”

  Xeegan shook his head. “It’s fine,” he said. Somehow, he didn’t want to disappoint her. “It was Zorq, actually.” He huffed out a humorless laugh when she gasped. “We were fighting and he got me with a horn, right over my eye. I was lucky not to lose my vision.”

  Kira fell silent beside him. It was clear she was curious and wanted to know more, but Xeegan didn’t want to dwell on the memory. She seemed to understand and didn’t ask more. They lay in silence for a while, until Kira spoke again.

  “How did you end up as pirates with Zorq?” she asked quietly, despite calling him curious. “Every Ezak-X I’ve met has worked for the Alliance… You’re the first pirate I know.”

  Xeegan closed his eyes. He knew Kira couldn’t know it, but she was poking at all the bad memories he had.

  “When the Alliance… rescued us,” he said despite himself. “They were wary of us all at first. It was only natural. We were Krezlian experiments. The enemy. They had no idea what to expect of us. But eventually, they realized we weren’t all just mindless beasts. They took us to a nearby Alliance base, gave us food, and told us we’d be saved. But… They barely talked to Zorq. They looked at him like they couldn’t wait to get rid of him somehow. No one even tried to communicate with him.”

  He looked over at Kira. Her eyes looked a little watery, but Xeegan guessed she would never let herself cry in front of him, not after all the time she had spent convincing him she was tough.

  “And?” she asked. “What did you do? I can guess, but…”

  “I broke Zorq out of the cell they had him in and we got the hell out of there. We ended up on Riala and made ends meet doing whatever jobs we could get hired for. Which, of course, happened to be illegal jobs, with no name or ID.”

  “And here you are,” Kira said.

  “Here we are.”

  “Can I ask you–”

  “No more questions,” Xeegan groaned.

  “Oh, come on. I’ll answer any of your questions, too.”

  Xeegan cocked a brow at her. He did have questions for her too. Although he doubted she’d answer the ones about the mission.

  “One more,” he said.

  “What’s the meaning of your tattoos? Are they some pirate symbols?”

  The hair on Xeegan’s skin stood up. Of course, she was curious about the tattoos.

  “No,” he answered shortly.

  “That’s not really an answer.” Kira traced a fingertip around a circular tattoo on his shoulder and looked at him questioningly.

  Xeegan sighed. “They’re a... record,” he explained. “The Krezlians tracked their experimentation on me into my skin. Dark red for the color of the poison I was given every day. Each mark represented a dose.” This was exactly what he had been trying to avoid – a conversation like this.

  “I’m sorry,” Kira said quietly, and it didn’t sound like she meant for asking. She felt bad for what he had experienced. He didn’t want her pity.

  “My turn,” he said. He rolled over so he was on top of Kira and pulled the blanket down to reveal the tattoo he had noticed on her collarbone. “What about your tattoos?” She giggled as he leaned down and kissed her collarbone before lying down at her side again.

  There. It wasn’t so hard to change the subject.

  “Well, that one represents the Milky Way.”

  Xeegan looked at the little design of stars. “Earth,” he said. “Your planet.”

  “I travel so much for work,” Kira said. “I like to have a little map of my home wherever I go.”

  “I thought I saw a woman on your hip. With cloth over her eyes.”

  “Justice,” Kira explained. “I got her done when I joined the Alliance.”

  “And the name on your wrist?”

  Kira laughed. “The name of one of my ex-boyfriends when I first turned eighteen. It was romantic at the time, but now it’s a reminder to not get involved with any assholes like him.”

  Xeegan furrowed his brow. He didn’t understand. Kira had just openly admitted that she regretted one of her tattoos, but she was laughing.

  “None of my tattoos are by choice. You chose each of yours, and yet you still regret some and have to wear them for the rest of your life. Why do you do it?”

  “Why do I get the tattoos?” She paused for a moment. “Well, it doesn’t matter if I regret them later. I could even get them removed if I wanted to. But I don’t. They’re a part of me and my life experience. I’ve always vowed to live life to the fullest. Tattoos are a way to express myself and exercise my freedom. I’ll never take those abilities for granted.”

  Xeegan grunted. Freedom. He had never thought about tattoos in that way. His had been forced onto him and he had only hoped he could remove them one day. While Kira was right that it was possible, it was incredibly expensive. With his pay, he could probably never do it. But he wasn’t about to forget the way Kira’s eyes lit up while she talked about her tattoos. Even the one she regretted represented an experience and a lesson learned. He wondered if he could try to see his tattoos in that way.

  Kira talked for a little longer, telling him about another tattoo that he hadn’t noticed. She kept snuggling closer, and eventually nestled into the crook of his arm and seemed to have fallen asleep.

  Xeegan kept looking up at the ceiling, unable to relax enough to even close his eyes. He couldn’t stop thinking about Kira – everything about her. Her sweet scent that lingered on everything in his room, her straightforwardness, her lack of judgment…

  And her freedom.

>   She was truly free in every sense of the word, unlike anyone he had ever met before. And she didn’t take it for granted.

  He was free now. Just as much as she was. Maybe he should start thinking more like her.

  CHAPTER 14

  KIRA

  Kira woke up slowly, enjoying the warmth of Xeegan’s closeness. She finally opened her eyes to see Xeegan just inches away from her, deep asleep. Carefully, so as not to wake him up, she lifted her head from his bicep and slipped out of the sheets.

  Had she really trusted the pirate enough to actually fall asleep next to him?

  Apparently so.

  Not that she had left her weapons far. Her blades and clothes from the day before were still scattered next to the bed. Just seeing the mess brought her back to the feeling of Xeegan’s strong hands ripping off her bra, his hardness against her underwear…

  Damn. Just a few minutes into the morning and she was already getting turned on just by the thought of the night before. What the hell was wrong with her? Sure, he had nice abs and an even nicer cock, but that had never distracted her before.

  No matter how horny she was, there was no way she was waking up Xeegan for morning sex. Maybe they would have time to do this again – she hoped so – but maybe not. What was most important right now was figuring out what was going on with the off-planet pirates. There had to be a way to get more information without totally blowing their cover…

  Absentmindedly, Kira grabbed her pants and tank top and pulled them on, reattached her blades, and wandered into the bathroom. A sudden yelp pierced the air as she entered. She jumped back in alarm, totally caught by surprise.

  “Oh my gosh! Zorq! I’m so sorry!”

  The giant Ezak-T uncurled from the bathroom floor where she had stepped on him, and straightened. Instead of seeming upset, he smiled when he saw her – as much as a snout-like face could smile.

  “Kee… rah…” he managed, getting the word out syllable by syllable.

  “Hey,” she said softly. “You said my name. I don’t think I’ve heard you say anything since I met you.”

  She heard a groan behind her. “Keep it down, you two,” Xeegan grumbled from the bed. “You’re right though,” he called to her. “He doesn’t talk much, and learns names even less. He doesn’t even say my name properly. Just ‘Xee.’”

  “Aww, it’s a nickname!” Kira said with a smile, fussing Zorq’s mane as he loped out of the bathroom to give her room to squeeze in. “How sweet. I’m honored you’ve learned my name, Zorq,” she said before shutting the door for some privacy.

  When she came out of the bathroom, Xeegan was up. He stood to the side of the room, wearing just a pair of black pants and looking in the cupboards. His muscles bulged as he reached out for some drinking glasses.

  Kira felt her cheeks heat up. Those thick arms… That chiseled chest… Now that she had gotten a taste of what sex was like with him, it was as if she was never going to get it off her mind.

  “Got any coffee?” she asked, trying to think of something that could get her in the right headspace to get back into her undercover work.

  “I don’t even know what that is,” Xeegan said. “I’m looking for breakfast.”

  Zorq made an approving noise. He must be hungry too.

  “What do you have?”

  Xeegan didn’t answer, and spent another minute shuffling dishes around in the cupboard. “Ah!” he said, satisfied, and pulled out a box. “Here.”

  He opened the box and pointed it in her direction. Kira approached and looked at the packaging.

  “Dr. Atolino’s Full Nutrition Meal Replacement Bars?” she read aloud. “Weren’t these recalled from stores for some reason, like, a year ago?”

  Xeegan shrugged. He pulled a square bar out of the box and took a bite, then gave one to Zorq. “I’ve had them for a while. They taste fine to me.”

  “Wow,” Kira said, but grabbed a bar as well. There were only two or three left in the bottom of the box. “What do you guys usually eat?” She took a bite of the bar. It was dry and powdery and quickly turned into a disgusting glob in her throat. Tears sprung to her eyes at the bitter taste and she coughed. “Also… I need some water,” she choked out.

  “That I do have,” Xeegan said, and quickly handed her a glass of fresh water from the tap. She took a long drink and swallowed. “We don’t need to eat much. Part of our genetics. And when we do, it’s usually provided on the job, or… or sometimes we just don’t eat.”

  Kira nodded, staying silent for a moment while she chewed and swallowed the rest of the bar. “Well, thanks for sharing,” she said. “We’ll need the energy for the day ahead of us. Although maybe I should take you out for some real food sometime… Maybe tonight, if the day’s a success.”

  Xeegan raised an eyebrow. “You have a plan?”

  “Not exactly,” she said. “My plan is to figure out the plan and get going.”

  He grunted. “Sounds like the right idea.”

  Kira cocked a brow. Had he actually agreed with her? She stared at the muscular alien man in front of her for a long time. He was just casually wearing nothing but a pair of pants, leaning against the sink as if they did this every morning…

  It was as if last night had changed everything between them. And it kind of had, in a lot of ways – at least from her perspective. The way he had been so ready and willing to treat her body in the exact way she needed, the openness and vulnerability he had shown when they talked late into the night…

  Despite herself, Kira had to admit that she was starting to trust him. He had done nothing but stick to his word since she had met him. It wasn’t fair that she had let him in on her investigation and then hadn’t told him all the details. It was time.

  “There’s something you need to know,” Kira said hesitantly.

  “Oh no,” Xeegan said. “You’ve got some kind of Alliance general boyfriend that’s going to come get me arrested now?”

  “What? No.” Kira frowned. Where had he even gotten that idea? “Something about the case,” she said.

  “The case? You mean the off-planet pirates?” His brows rose curiously, and Kira nodded. “Hear that, Zorq?” Xeegan said, grinning at his friend. “She’s finally going to tell us what we’ve been asking about all along.”

  Okay. Maybe their night together hadn’t changed everything. Xeegan was still annoying. The biggest thing that had really changed was that now he was annoying with his shirt off – and she didn’t mind the view.

  “Don’t push it,” she warned, half-jokingly. “I’m serious. I just figured that if you and Zorq know more of the details, we’ll be more successful. Maybe you can sniff something out.”

  Xeegan nodded expectantly. Zorq looked uncertainly between the two of them, probably not following all the details of what was going on.

  “Of course,” she said, putting all the threat she could muster into her voice. “You’re going to be under my surveillance every hour of the day from now on, until this case is solved. And if you so much as whisper to any other pirate what I’m about to tell you, I will make sure you get locked up for good. Understood?”

  She glared at Xeegan menacingly, but he didn’t seem fazed.

  “I already thought that was the case,” he grunted. “Get to the point.”

  Kira gave him a flat look. “Alright. So, the Mehelians… Their appearance on Riala coincides with another event, and I’m trying to figure out if the two are related. Several human women have gone missing on the planet recently, and reports of their disappearances started coming in right as the off-planet pirates arrived. I had hypothesized that the women might be sold into slavery, but now that your friend – sorry, the other Ezak-X – is missing too, I’m not so sure.”

  “Human females…” Xeegan repeated, looking thoughtful. “I haven’t heard any of the pirates mention any missing women.”

  “It’s been mostly human women who wouldn’t be missed right away – women on assignment for their work, or solo tourists.”<
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  “On assignment…” he repeated again and frowned. “Kira,” he said, using her name in such a forceful way that it made her heart beat faster. “It sounds like you’re just their type.”

  Kira nodded. “That’s part of why I’m on this mission. My cover story makes me a great target.”

  Xeegan’s eyes widened. “You want to get abducted?”

  “What? No way,” Kira said. “I can take care of myself. Although it wouldn’t hurt to get almost abducted by whoever the guilty parties are. That would be the best evidence to collect for the Alliance.”

  The Ezak-X shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t like it. If you’re right and these pirates are the ones taking human females, then I’m basically helping you walk straight into their arms.”

  A light bulb went off in Kira’s mind. “You’re right,” she said. “That gives me an idea…”

  CHAPTER 15

  XEEGAN

  The old sign for The Crown came into view, swinging precariously in the wind. It was a cold and windy day in the city. Kira strode confidently at his side, her hood pulled tight to protect her from the chill.

  This was a bad idea.

  Well, that wasn’t really fair. It wasn’t a bad idea. More like it was an idea that Xeegan had more than a few reservations about.

  Now that they knew the off-planet pirates were hiring Rialan pirates to work in the warehouse, Xeegan knew what to expect if he and Zorq accepted the job. And since Kira had finally told them what they were actually looking for – besides Zeon – he could actually pay attention to that. He didn’t remember smelling any human females in the warehouse, but he hadn’t been trying to either. Taking the job would be the perfect way to get more information.

  Except that hadn’t been Kira’s idea. Kira’s idea was to come with them.

  “We’ll be a package deal,” she had insisted. “And if we’re right, they won’t be able to say no when they see a human woman ready to walk straight into their operation.”

  Xeegan grimaced as he remembered her words. There was a logic to the idea, he knew that. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. For some reason, the thought of anything bad happening to Kira made his chest ache, and as it was, he was practically leading her into a trap.