Razov

RAZOV

My eyes remained glued to Amelia as she made her way out of the room and down the hallway. I guess I gave something away in my manner, because when I turned back around, both Alkard and Tessi were smiling at me, their purple tracery pulsing in sync with their heartbeats.

"What?" I said when they just kept staring at me.

"It's you, Razov," Tessi said. "You're glowing. "

I drew myself up and scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm barely standing."

"She's not wrong, old friend," Alkard replied, arching a brow under his horns. "You have only been gone for a few days, and yet you are not the same man I sent out on assignment."

His gaze darted to the ceiling, as if he saw through it and spy Amelia upstairs in the club.

"And I have a sneaking suspicion that the lovely young human you brought with you is the catalyst."

I opened my mouth to deny it, then realized there really was no point. If anyone understood how I felt about Amelia, it would be Alkard.

"She is…something special, is she not?" I said with a lot more wistfulness than I had intended.

"Yes, she is," Tessi replied. "And I can't wait to hear all about how you met. Tell me quickly, so you can go check on her."

"Well, it is a story I myself do not know the ending to."

"Does this story explain why you look like you got caught in a piston chamber in the station's engine room?"

"Yes," I said, my eyes narrowing. "And his name is Kalak. Or I should say, his name was Kalak."

And I told them everything. From the damned Ewani slave auction to finding a friend of Mera's, to the corrupt cops, and Kalak's crazy plan.

The Zeq ambush, the caterpillar princess, and the rest of the improbable story. I left out the part where I had slept with Amelia, but really…they probably had figured that out already.

"You have done us a great service, Razov. Even if every answer you uncovered led to a dozen more questions."

"And we still don't know where the guns are," I said.

"Indeed."

"I promise not to stop until I find them, Alkard," I said firmly.

"Oh, I think not."

I frowned, shaking my head in confusion.

"You're taking this job away from me? But…you said I have been doing well."

"You have been," Alkard said. "But after all of your adventures all over the station, I think you need a rest. Besides, I think that you and Amelia have some things to attend to, don't you?"

Oh.

Oh!

"I see. Then, if there are no objections, I would like to clean myself up as well."

"Do you need a physician?" Tessi asked worriedly.

"No, no," I said. "My wounds have healed, by and large." I couldn't help grinning. "Most of this blood isn't mine anyway."

"As I would expect from my greatest warrior," Alkard said. "Rest well, Razov. You have earned it."

I took the steps two at a time back up to the club. I didn't see Amelia, but I sensed her, and knew she was safe.

Just knowing that let me settle down, allowing me to go into my private quarters at the club and shower the blood off my body.

I picked out a black, velvety soft, long sleeved shirt with a sharp neckline, and tight charcoal trousers. I reached way back into my closet and extracted my dress boots, unworn them since my military retirement. I was glad to see they still had a dark purple sheen so glossy it reflected my blurry image back at me.

I returned to the club floor and inquired about Amelia's whereabouts. I was directed to the back of the house, where I found her in the kitchen drinking a glass of water.

She coughed, the water spluttering. "Razov—" Her cheeks turned a nice cherry red. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

My eyes remained fixed upon her. Her golden hair was still a bit damp at the tips from her own shower, and her skin glowed with recent scrubbing and youth.

She stood up from her chair, and my pulse raced even faster. Amelia apparently borrowed clothes from our dancers. A shiny skirt terminated six inches above her knees, showing off her lovely legs and the dark green halter top strained to cover her breasts, and was decent by the barest half inch. A red sheen of lip gloss invited me to taste her lips as she came to me…so I did.

I kissed her intensely, allowing myself to give in to my desires. She moaned into my mouth, clasping her body against my own as I ran my hand down her back.

Things grew hotter, and hotter—until she abruptly stopped and pulled away from me enough to look me in the eyes.

"Razov," she said between heady pants, "I have to know, what's going to happen now?"

"I'm going to make love to you," I growled, going in for another kiss. She stopped me once again.

"I don't mean short term," she said, her face growing somber. "I mean, long term."

"Oh." I had difficulty speaking. It was as if the words turned to lead on my tongue before I could utter them, but I forced it all out of me nonetheless. "I see. Amelia, I must confess something to you."

"What?" she asked softly, trembling in my arms.

"I love you."

Her eyes widened, and a slight gasp escaped her throat.

"Do you…" She swallowed, hard, before she spoke again. "Do you really mean that?"

"I do mean it. With all of my heart and soul. You are the woman for me, and I want you to be mine…forever."

"No one lives forever," she said with a chuckle.

"I don't need to live forever when I have all this happiness with you. You, my heart, my mate, who would I claim for myself."

She shivered at the word ‘claim,' and pulled up close against me again, resting her cheek on my chest.

"Razov, I love you, too," she sighed, as if uttering the words were a great source of relief to her. "I know we haven't known each other long, but I do. It feels like maybe I've known you my whole life, as weird as that sounds."

"Not weird at all, my Amelia."

"If that's the case…" She grinned wickedly. "Maybe you'd better take me to your chambers and start proving it?"