Emma

EMMA

Important work or not, we still had to get back to his hideout.

And apparently it was market day, the crowds making my head spin. But after the squalid hideout where we found Plarr, I relished the energy and vibrancy around me. For a few moments, I could pretend I was simply another carefree shopper, not a fugitive bound on a dangerous quest.

Pausing at a booth adorned with vibrant fabrics, I impulsively held up a length of gossamer cloth, its colors shifting mercurially. "Aren't they lovely, Tazhr?" I asked, hoping he could share a fraction of my carefree delight.

"Very lovely," he agreed solemnly, the corners of his stern mouth softening. My heart swelled that this ferocious warrior would pause to appreciate such a delicate beauty. Each glimpse beyond his gruff exterior was a treasure.

As we made our way out of the organized chaos, I gasped in delight when Tazhr guided me toward a stall displaying engraved percomm charms and decorative covers. Selecting an intricate pendant, he gently attached it to my device.

"A little something to brighten your days," he rumbled. His thoughtfulness took my breath away.

"Tazhr, you didn't have to..." I protested faintly, fingers tracing the metalwork.

Cupping my chin tenderly, his fiery eyes held mine. "I know the shadows we walk, but you deserve any small joys along the path." The gentle press of his lips on my brow made me tremble.

For an instant, nothing existed but Tazhr's warmth and the emotion in his gaze. I wished we could linger forever in this perfect moment, trials and dangers forgotten. But too soon, he drew back.

Unable to restrain my delight, I threw my arms around his sturdy frame in an enthusiastic hug. "It's beautiful, thank you! I'll keep it always." Standing on tiptoe, I pressed a swift, grateful kiss to his sculpted lips.

As I pulled back, impishness seized me. "Don't think sweet gifts will distract me from our mission," I teased with mock sternness. "You can shower me with finery after we bring Conii to justice." Laughing, I dashed off into the energetic crowd, Tazhr's amused chuckle trailing after me.

The pungent aroma of frying oil and sizzling meat wafted through the crowded streets as Tazhr and I came back to the promenade level. My stomach rumbled, reminding me that neither of us had eaten since morning. Down here, away from Conii's compound, appetizing scents teased from every corner.

"Hungry?" Tazhr asked, no doubt hearing my traitorous stomach's complaints over the lively din.

I nodded ruefully. "I suppose our interrogation worked up an appetite. I hope JP's cowardice didn't spoil your meal, though."

Tazhr chuckled, a rich warm sound that spread delight through me. "It will take more than a sniveling false witness to ruin my appetite. Unlike you fragile humans, we hardy Vinduthi can go weeks without food if needed."

To demonstrate his fortitude, Tazhr squared his massive shoulders and sucked in his abdomen. I burst out laughing at his exaggerated posturing, eliciting a rare grin in response.

"See if you're still laughing after you try my planet's cuisine," he mock-threatened. "Our spices are legendary for a reason."

Intrigued, I followed his gaze to a nearby food stand tended by a willowy Atlonian. Crimson smoke wafted from the sizzling grill topped with skewers of meat and iridescent vegetables. My mouth watered at the enticing perfume.

Tazhr stepped up to the counter and exchanged a rapid flurry of his native tongue with the chef, who hurried to prepare a sample. I watched, fascinated by this rare glimpse into his alien culture.

When Tazhr pressed the loaded skewer into my hand, curiosity overcame caution. Eyes watering from the first searing bite, I forced myself to chew the fiery morsel. An explosion of flavors followed the heat, rich and smokey and strangely addictive.

Tazhr watched my reaction closely. "Well? Will your human palate endure true Vinduthi cuisine?"

Still coughing, I managed a thumbs up. He laughed again, wiping a stray tear of mirth from his eye. The sound enveloped me in warmth despite the lingering fire on my tongue.

We continued on, Tazhr snacking on the rest of the skewer. I was hyper aware of his nearness, attuned to each casual brush of his arm against mine in the crowd. Even such fleeting contact with his solid strength made my pulse flutter wildly. I slipped deeper under his spell with each passing hour in his intoxicating company.

The thrill of the chase still thrummed through me as Tazhr and I emerged from the dingy warrens of the undercity. The confrontation with the sniveling JP electrified us both, our quarry finally flushed out into the open after weeks of fruitless searching. I saw the fierce triumph in Tazhr's eyes at the breakthrough, mingled with lingering battle-fire, ready to tear through any other obstacles blocking our path. No one could stand against his indomitable will when bent toward a cause, not even the formidable Conii Haldek and her web of lies. An unstoppable force, backed by an unquenchable flame of loyalty and justice.

And I helped fuel that flame, adding my feeble spark of insight to reignite his belief when frustration threatened to smother all hope. My small deductions broke through the riddle that eluded Tazhr's mighty strength alone. Together we formed an unbeatable team, shards of a fractured whole made complete in each other. I never dreamed I could complement someone so perfectly.

My gaze stole to Tazhr's imposing profile as we navigated the bustling station thoroughfares. Back among the orderly crowds, the primal thrill of the hunt left his shoulders and the pervasive wariness returned. Out here, danger wore smiling masks, concealed blades behind decorous words and demure demeanors. His eyes never stopped scanning for hidden threats, attuned to subtler cues than my senses could discern. Always vigilant, always ready to unleash his fury against anyone foolish enough to endanger what he held dear.

And despite his gruff reservations, somehow I was counted among those precious few things. Sheltered in the sanctuary of his protection now, whether I willed it or not. Those piercing golden eyes dared the crowds to test his resolve, proclaiming to any watching that I belonged to fearsome Tazhr—touch me at your peril. It should have rankled, being relegated to a mere possession in his eyes. Instead, a little thrill of delicious anticipation shivered through me.

My thoughts drifted guiltily to how securely those muscular arms lifted me, pinning me effortlessly. How vulnerable I was to his whims in those electrifying moments. Yet no harm came. Only bone-deep pleasure and a tantalizing promise of more. Surely such gentleness belied something deeper, beyond the beast glimpsed in battle? Some hidden chamber of his soul accessible only to me. I longed to lay bare all of his secrets in turn.

The brush of his fingers against mine startled me from my musings. I glanced up to find Tazhr's golden eyes boring intensely down at me, molten fire banked behind his inscrutable gaze. The charged moment hovered, stretched. My tongue darted out to moisten my lips, suddenly gone dry. His pupils dilated at the subtle movement, a predator catching an alluring scent.

And then we arrived at his hideaway.

My pulse roared in my ears as Tazhr kicked the door shut, caging me against it with his hulking frame. The smoldering look in his golden eyes left no doubt about his intentions. That feral intensity should have terrified me, but instead, it only amplified the liquid heat already pooling urgently in my core.

"Emma," he rasped, my name a plea and a command on his tongue. "I've waited long enough."

"Yes," I breathed, baring the pale column of my throat—totally surrendering.

A rumbling purr of satisfaction vibrated through his chest. His callused hands encircled my wrists, lifting my arms above my head and pinning them to the cold metal door. I squirmed delightedly at being rendered so helpless, so vulnerable beneath his solid strength.

Leaning in, he trailed his nose along the hammering pulse in my neck, inhaling deeply. "Your scent drives me mad, Emma. Like the most addictive drug coursing through my veins. I can't resist a taste..."

I cried out then moaned as his tongue flicked over my tender flesh, followed by the barest graze of fangs. My back arched, pressing every inch of me tighter to him. I needed more of the exquisite danger he tempted me with.

"Please, Tazhr..." I wasn't even certain what I begged for in my delirium of need. But he knew exactly what I craved.

With a fierce snarl, he claimed my mouth, plundering its soft depths. I opened eagerly to him, savoring the mingled taste of spice and smoke on his tongue. It stoked the flames of my desire ever hotter.

My wrists still pinned overhead, I couldn't reciprocate beyond straining wantonly closer. Tazhr drew back with a wicked grin, his eyes raking my helpless form.

"That's it, little one," he purred. "Struggle all you like—you're not escaping me now."

To emphasize his point, he ground his hips forward, the unyielding rigid length beneath the fabric leaving no doubt of his arousal. I gasped and clenched reflexively at the promise of that dominating intrusion, earning another pleased rumble.

Slowly he released one of my wrists, trailing his claws down my arm and over the frantic flutter of my pulse. Lower, he stroked, until finally his palm cupped my breast through the thin fabric of my tunic.

We both groaned at that electric contact, my back arching to fill his hand. "Yes, Emma, just like that," he encouraged huskily, talons circling and teasing my taut peak. "Show me how much you ache for my touch."

I was helpless to resist his seductive murmurs and deft caresses, my body writhing in an increasingly shameless display of need. All that existed was his hands and mouth expertly stoking the raging fire within me ever higher.

When clever fingers at last slipped beneath my waistband, finding slick evidence of my arousal, I sobbed in relief. "Please, Tazhr, I need you now!"

In answer, he freed himself one-handed and drove into my wet core in one smooth stroke. My wail of ecstasy rang off the metal walls, drowned out only by his exultant roar.

We moved as one, my legs wrapped around his pistoning hips, lost in primal rhythm. Every pounding stroke took me higher, until finally I shattered in his embrace, keening his name like a prayer. With a final bone-shaking thrust, he soon followed with a shout of triumph.

Still entwined, we slid to the floor in blissful exhaustion. But even replete, I knew one taste would never sate this addiction between us. I needed him like air, and his fierce kiss told me the craving was mutually tenfold. We were bound now, two souls merged beyond any hope of separation.

I trembled in anticipation as Tazhr deftly stripped me bare, his smoldering gaze devouring every inch of newly exposed skin. When I lay nude before him, he drew back, raking his eyes over me possessively.

"Exquisite," he purred. A claw traced delicately down between my heaving breasts. "I could gaze upon your beauty for eternity and never be sated, Emma."

Despite the flush suffusing my entire body under his scrutiny, I managed to arch a teasing brow. "Is gazing all you intend to do for the rest of the night, then?"

That earned a wicked chuckle as he leaned over me, bracing his arms on either side so I was caged beneath him. "Believe me, I intend to do much more than gaze, my treasure. I intend to claim every sweet inch of you, again and again..."

As if to demonstrate, he dipped his head to capture one taut nipple between his lips, lapping it with slow strokes of his tongue. I arched and cried out at the bolts of electricity the delicate attention sent spearing straight to my core.

When I writhed mindlessly from just those teasing tastes, he drew back, tracing a claw lightly around my neglected breast. "Tell me what you want, Emma. I want to hear you beg for it."

Pride briefly warred with desperate longing before capitulating. "I want your mouth on me," I confessed breathlessly. "I need to feel your tongue tasting every part of me. Please, Tazhr..."

I begged shamelessly, too far gone to care about anything beyond reaching that peak.

And he was happy to comply.