Nax
Page 20
Frankie nodded.
“Maybe we should all go and let Nax explain?” Eden suggested.
Crista looked slightly panicked. Was she afraid to be alone with him?
“I forgot about Mom. Is she all right?”
“She’s fine,” Eden reassured her, patting her hand. “I set the alarm. If she tries to get out of her room, it sends an alert to Nax. She fell asleep straight away.”
“Thank you,” Crista told her. “I appreciate your help.”
Eden smiled and squeezed her hand. “I know this is probably confusing and a bit frightening. Believe me, Frankie and I have been in your shoes. If you want to talk after Nax tells you everything, you know where we are.”
The others stood. Crista watched on, looking a little dazed.
“Crista? We can stay,” Frankie offered.
Crista looked over at Nax. “No. I’m all right.”
“Okay, just yell out if you need us.”
She watched as they all filed out of the room. Despite the fact that she’d been prepared, she realized she hadn’t been prepared at all.
Nax had wings. And silver skin under his fake tan.
He wasn’t human. She didn’t know what he was. But definitely not human.
When they were gone, she realized she was still sitting on the floor while he was standing. She tried to push herself up. But her legs didn’t want to hold her. Probably shouldn’t have had that second glass of bourbon. She wasn’t exactly a seasoned drinker.
Nax swooped in, picked her up, and put her down in the same armchair where he’d just brought her to orgasm with his mouth.
“You should have told me, especially before we…” She waved her hand at the chair, too embarrassed to actually say it.
“I would have told you before we joined.”
Would he? How did she know? She didn’t know whether to believe him or not.
“You lied to me.” For some reason, that’s what she cared about most. Not that he was whatever he was. She’d always known there was something off about him—about all of them, except Eden and Frankie.
“Eden and Frankie aren’t like you?”
“They are human.”
She nodded. She also felt a little hurt they hadn’t told her. She thought they’d gotten closer during that day at the spa. They’d all been lying to her.
He crouched in front of her, one of his wings knocking off a vase on the coffee table. It fell to the ground but thankfully didn’t break. She moved to grab it but he placed a hand on her thigh. It burned through her skirt to her skin below. Jesus, she still wanted him. Badly.
What was wrong with her stupid body?
He’d lied to her.
“You should pick that up.”
“It is fine.” He made a face. “You are upset.”
“Do you blame me? You’re a…a…what are you?”
“I am a Sky Warrior.”
She blinked. Had she heard of Sky Warriors? Was she supposed to know what that meant? “I have no idea what that means.”
“I was born on a planet a long way away from here. A different universe.”
“Right. Right.” A different planet. Different universe.
“Our people form packs. Usually with six males.”
“That’s why you called them your pack.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you here?”
“We came to Earth for a job.”
“Job?”
“We were hired to retrieve something that had been sent to Eden. Marcun was supposed to spy on Eden and take the item when it arrived. We knew that our species was compatible with yours. We met a human female who was mated to a Zerconian.”
“A Zerconian? Really?”
“Yes. So when Marcun discovered Eden was his mate, we decided to make our base here for a while. We still take jobs, but we hoped we might all find mates.”
“You’ve all been searching for your mates?”
“Not exactly searching. Sacaren met Frankie one night when a shop they were both in was robbed.”
“Wow.” This was a lot to take in. And yet it explained so much.
“And now I have met you.”
“Me? And you think I’m your mate?”
“I do not think. You are my mate.”
“But I…I don’t…how?”
“How do I know?” He shrugged. “I just do.”
“Wow. Try not to go into too much explanation, I won’t be able to follow it,” she said sarcastically.
“You do not understand?”
“You can say that again. What does being your mate mean?”
“It means you are mine. Forever. My mate. To protect. Provide for. Join with.”
His eyes grew dark and she gave a slight shiver. And not in fear.
“Forever?”
“For as long as you live. We are long-lived, but I would not survive your death.”
“You-you’d die when I die?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
He shrugged. “I will decide that when you die.”
Did he mean he would kill himself? That wasn’t right. Her stomach danced nervously.
“Okay, maybe we should get off the subject of my death.” He was frowning fiercely and she wasn’t too enamored of that topic anyway.
“How can you be sure I’m your mate?”
“Because I want you in a way I have never wanted another female.”
“Maybe you’re just horny.” She blushed after she said that.
“Horny? That means I want sex, yes?”
“Um, yes.”
“If I just wished for sex then why have I not had any?”
Her mouth dropped open. Then shut. She had no explanation for that.
“I have given you pleasure. I have spent time doing the human dating. I have been building trust.”
Building trust. Right.
“Why didn’t you tell me straight away?”
“What would you have done if I had?” he countered.
She didn’t know. Probably freak out. Locked herself in her apartment and called the authorities.
“We are not here on Earth to cause problems. We just wish to find our mates. But the human authorities may not see it that way.”
“No,” she whispered. She could imagine how the authorities would take it “How did you get onto Earth undetected? I thought there were scanners to pick up unauthorized spaceships?”
“They cannot detect our ship. Your human council’s security measures are out of date and inadequate.”
“Oh, God. If people knew that, if they knew that other species could come here at any time…”
“Frankie tells us that the human authorities would do whatever was necessary not to let the population know that there were other species living here without their knowledge.”
She nodded. Yeah, that seemed about right.
“Okay, so you didn’t tell me straight away because you wanted to be sure I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“Because I wanted you to trust me.”
“Right. Trust.” Did she trust him?
“And you’re showing me now because I found the feather. Because I saw you.”
“It is difficult for me to hold a human form when I am upset. I was very angry last night. And worried I would not get to you in time. I am not happy that you disobeyed me. Nor that you went back there today.”
Okay. Well. He’d just have to stay unhappy because she wasn’t apologizing.
“I had to find Mom.”
“You risked your safety. That is not allowed.”
“You don’t get to tell me what is and isn’t allowed.”
“As your mate, you will follow my orders.”
“I haven’t agreed to being your mate and even if I did, I would not follow orders.”
“Disobey me and you will end up over my knee.”
Her breath quickened. Her insides quivered. She snorted. “Like I haven’t heard you threaten that before. You’re all talk.
”
“All talk?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah. You wouldn’t actually do it.”
He smiled. It was not a reassuring smile. She swallowed heavily. It was a smile filled with promise.
“Mate, had you not just been assaulted last night and fainted, I would be only too happy to prove you wrong.”
“Holy shit. Is that a Sky Warrior thing?”
“What?”
“S-spanking?”
He shrugged. “No. It is a Nax and Crista thing. It makes you aroused.”
“Does not.”
“It does. I can tell. Whenever I mention it, your eyes flare open, your breathing quickens, your face flushes.”
“That’s because I’m mad over your barbaric threats.”
“Maybe a little. But also aroused.”
“I am so screwed,” she whispered.
“I do not know a lot of human slang beyond what Frankie and Eden say. I have no real interest in humans. They are foolish creatures for the most part. They have ruined their planet. They do not provide proper care for their elderly or security for their females and children. And so many of them do not treat their mates well. Most of them annoy me.”
“Right.” What could she say to that?
“I care about you, Crista. I want you.”
“For sex.”
“For everything.”
“You said before that mating was forever.”
“I will not ever let you go.”
“And what if…what if I don’t want that?” She looked over at his wings. She longed to reach out and touch one.
His wings moved around, cocooning them together.
“Does it hurt?”
“What?”
“Letting them loose? Does it hurt?”
“It hurts more to hold them back for so long.”
“How do you do that? Where do they go?”
“I will show you shortly. But first, do you want to touch them?”
“It won’t hurt?”
“They are very strong.”
She reached out a hesitant hand, ran it across the feathers. They felt smooth and luxurious. “So soft.”
“Do not be fooled. They can be used as a weapon. And they can carry us as we soar through the skies.”
She dropped her hand. “You can fly?”
Of course he can fly. Did you think they were for show?
“Yes. One day, I will show you. You can come with me. We cannot do it here. Too populated.”
Right. Of course.
“I’m scared of heights.”
“You will not be in my arms.”
Crazy thing was, she thought he might be right. Jesus, this was so much. Too much. She just didn’t know what to think. She rubbed at her throbbing temple. Yeah, that second bourbon had been a bad idea.
“Crista?”
She looked up and the wings were gone. He turned around and took off his shirt. Holy hell he was muscular. His back was a work of art. And talking of art, there on his back was a raised tattoo of wings.
She reached out without thinking and lightly touched the raised area. He shuddered. She pulled her hand back, worried she’d hurt him.
“Don’t stop,” he told her gruffly.
She reached out again, ran her hand over his back. “So beautiful. You get a tan everywhere?”
“It is safer that way.” He turned around. “I like your touch there. I would like it more elsewhere.”
He wanted her to sleep with him. And God, she wanted to touch him everywhere. To give back to him like he’d given to her. But she just didn’t know what to think about all of this…
“I need some time.”
His gaze narrowed. He looked like he would protest.
“This is a lot to take in,” she told him. “You’re an alien. You have wings. You think I’m your mate—”
“You are my mate.”
So he said. She wasn’t so sure.
Aren’t you?
“You say this mating stuff is forever, so I need to be sure, right?”
He didn’t look happy at that, but he said nothing.
“What happens once you all find mates?”
“Then we will leave here.”
Her eyes widened. “My life is here.”
“What life?”
Yeah. What life? She liked her job, but her boss was an ass. She lived in a crappy apartment, surviving on rice and pasta. And her mom…
“I can’t leave my mom.”
His eyes narrowed. “I would never expect you to.”
“Oh.”
He was mad, that much was clear, and without thinking, she leaned out and ran her hand over his shoulder. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that—”
“Did you think I would tear you away from her? Leave her here without someone to care for her?”
“No. I didn’t really, it’s just, it’s not even that. She requires a lot of care, Nax. You’re an intense guy, you seem like you’d want a lot of my attention. I just—”
“You are not just gaining a mate, Crista. But a whole pack. What you humans call a family. We take care of our own. You will not be alone.”
God, for a man who didn’t say much at times, he sure knew exactly what to say when it counted.
“But she’s my responsibility.”
“If I had a mother and she was ill, you would turn me away because of that?”
She’d been trapped and she knew it. She shook her head. “But you don’t know what it’s like to care for her all the time. Maybe you’ll get sick of her.”
“And maybe you will find some of your burden lifted. The only way we know is for you both to move in here.”
Her breath caught. “In here?”
“Yes. I do not like where you live. It is rundown and unsafe. I would have moved you both in here days ago, but Eden and Frankie thought that was too soon.”
“Some people might say it’s still too soon.”
“Do we care what these people say?”
No. She shook her head.
Satisfaction filled his face.
“But I still need to think about this. I can’t just decide. I have to have some time.”
He let out a deep sigh. “For a race that is not long-lived, you all sure like to think a lot.”
16
She rolled over and punched the pillow with frustration. She glanced over at the clock on the bedside table.
Nearly two in the morning. Shit. And she hadn’t slept a wink. After Nax’s big reveal, he’d shown her to a truly gorgeous guest suite. Her mom was in the room next door and he’d even taken the time to show her his room. Damn him. She didn’t know that it was a good thing to know where he slept.
Because she wanted to do nothing more than creep down the hallway, open that door, and crawl into bed with him.
And she still wouldn’t get any sleep.
She rolled over. Maybe she should have had a few more glasses of bourbon. That might have put her out like a light. And had her waking up with a hell of a hangover. That would be a good look when she had to go into the office the next day.
What was she doing here?
Was she really going to just lie here all night and try to sleep when all she could think about was the fact that Nax Clacka was an alien? And he thought she was his mate.
She wasn’t sure which she was more shocked over. Actually, she was. It was the latter.
His mate.
Did she want to be his mate?
Okay. Think about this. He was an alien. Did she care about that? Well, he didn’t have any green, slimy bits, no tentacles, he didn’t eat humans, didn’t intend to overthrow them and take over the planet. He’d reassured her that would be a little hard with just six of them, and they stuck to just their own packs.
So, they weren’t here to murder humans, conquer their planet, and turn them into slaves.
That was a big relief.
They were here to find mates. Forever mates. No separating. No divorce.
That’s why she’d built this shell around her heart. To protect herself. And he’d chipped away at it until it was dust.
She wanted him. She wanted it all. She just had to find the courage to risk her heart to him.
Who was she kidding? She already had. She took a deep breath and let that settle.
All right, what was the worst that could happen? He’d find out he got a raw deal, find out he didn’t want to be around her and her mother, and they’d be stuck together, forever.
Miserable.
And the alternative? For her to walk away. And never see him again…
Also miserable
And so it came down to trust. Did she trust that what he said was true? That he wanted to help her and her mom? Wanted to take care of them?
Oh God. She couldn’t lie here anymore. She had to make a decision. She had to know for sure.
She threw off the blankets and grabbed her phone, setting the flashlight app on, then she used it to light her way. She need not have worried in the hallway, as there were lights along the bottom of the walls. She moved to his bedroom door, knocked quietly. She didn’t want to just sneak on in. The door opened quickly and she gasped slightly.
An arm swept out and wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his room. The scent of him hit her. So masculine. So Nax. His body was hard and hot and, shit, it seemed he didn’t wear anything to bed.
“S-sorry if I woke you.”
“I was awake.” He drew her further into the room. She saw his large bed, the covers rumpled. Had he not been able to sleep either? He moved away from her and she felt the loss, although she got a really nice view of his ass. Damn, that was impressive. He tapped the lamp beside his bed and it lit up. She switched off the app on her phone and put it down on the end of the bed.
He turned and looked at her, running his gaze up and down her body. She’d gone to sleep in just her shirt. The bottom of it reached just below her ass and she wondered whether she ought to have put her skirt on.
And then all thoughts stopped as she caught sight of him. He was hard all over. Muscular. Ripped. And his cock…it stood at attention. Thick and long. She licked her lips, the urge to wrap her mouth around him hard to ignore.