Makar

MAKAR

That night with her was incredible. I felt so powerful, but at the same time, wanted her to know she wasn't just a plaything to me, though she was fun when playing the part.

Why do I want her to be more than a plaything? She's a woman. We're done having sex, and again, here I am, wanting to lay next to her.

I opened my mouth, about to ask her if she needed me to fetch her anything. She must have been thirsty after all that.

What are you doing?

Instead, I cleared my throat and shook my head.

"Are you all right?" she asked innocently.

"Yes." I leveled my voice. "Just thinking about Goran."

"Goran?"

No, of course, I'm not thinking about Goran. I'm thinking about how soft I'm getting in the presence of this human.

"He's my next job." I sighed and looked at the other side of the room, averting my gaze. Even one look from her could weaken me enough to make me spill my guts about the sudden thoughts of my feelings toward her.

And if she was going to stick around, she needed to know what I did.

Needed to be all right with it.

"Alkard has directed me to kill him."

I looked over at her to see her reaction. Surprisingly, she didn't budge. She didn't even blink, just nodded slowly.

To break how awkward I felt telling her that, I continued. "He owns Orbitus, a high-end restaurant on one of the top levels of Thodos III."

"So, what?" she scoffed. "You want to take me to dinner?"

Is the notion really that insane to her? Good. The less she knew of my feelings for her, the better off I was. I poked her in the side, making her giggle and hopefully taking her mind off the dinner scenario.

"Actually, smartass, I thought that he needed a new pastry chef soon."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"Well," I sighed and flashed her a smile. "Sometimes you just have to create opportunities."

I expected her to be scared. Part of me wanted her to be, so I knew she didn't think I was just becoming an emotional mess. I was, of course, but she didn't need to know that.

"Looks like you're the smart one," she commented, looking into my eyes with a wide smile.

Does she feel the same? There's no other reason she wouldn't run unless something more was happening inside her.

I shook the thought out of my mind. I glanced at her before removing my arm from behind her head and sitting up. With my back to her, I stroked the side of my arm and looked ahead at the wall.

"You should keep your word about not wanting to escape again," I growled.

She scoffed. "Oh really?"

I turned around, shooting her an intense stare. "Yes, absolutely."

"And what are you gonna do about it?" She sat up in bed and crossed her arms.

Her stubborn nature and frisky attitude would either be my weak point or breaking point, and I wasn't sure which would come first. "Well…" I stood and walked to my closet. When I reached it, I flipped the light on and looked through my nicest clothes. If I proceeded with Alkard's orders, I had to look like I fit in at my destination.

"Well, if you try to leave," I responded while looking through my suits, "I'll find you again, and that'll be your first problem."

"What?" she chuckled. "Are you gonna punish me again?"

I leaned out of the closet to make eye contact with her. "If I have to do so, and in a way, you ultimately won't like, I will."

Her eyes widened. There's a bit of fear.

I didn't like scaring her. But I couldn't figure out how to keep her here, keep her safe.

I wasn't going to spend too much time thinking about why that was so important.

I settled on a navy blue suit with a yellow tie, shuffling the pants and shirt on while thinking of more reasons for her to stay. "Also," I called out as I walked out of the closet and looked at her, buttoning my shirt and folding my tie over itself. "It will waste everyone else's time trying to look for you. There's the whole killing part of it in case you get robbed again."

I glanced up at the sarcastic pout on her face. I threw my hands out to the sides and shrugged. "Lastly," I sighed. "I wouldn't be able to make love to you again if you left."

I glanced at her and saw a look of sadness cross her face. That got her attention.

She got on her hands and knees and crawled to the edge of the bed, biting her lip and looking me over. I walked over to her, and she leaned up, still kneeling on the bed, while pulling me close to her by my tie.

"That would be a tragedy," she whispered on my lips.

I wanted to cave, but I had a mission to take care of. I also couldn't cave the way I wanted to. She wanted to have some sort of control, and for a second, I wanted to let her.

To cover the feelings raging inside me, I shoved her back on the bed and kissed my way down to her inner thighs. She grabbed onto my horns, and I dove into her pussy before she could utter another word. I had to consistently remind myself not to get too hard or to fall into her trap.

It was one I would have been grateful to be cooped up in, but I needed to go to Orbitus for both of us. The sooner we figured out what Goran was up to, the sooner Sophia and I would have a moment to relax…and experiment with our control dynamics.

"Oh, yes! Oh, you're gonna make me lose it!"

That was quick.

"Really?" I asked, continuing to lick her while she nodded her head.

"Yes! I'm almost there!"

"That's a tragedy," I mocked, standing up and adjusting my tie while she looked at me with disappointment. "Because I really have to go."

"What?" she chuckled in disbelief.

"This is why you can't leave, Sophia!" I shouted as I pulled on my suit jacket and walked out the door, pausing to look back at her once more. "Who else could please you like that?"

A loud ‘humph,' came from inside the room, and I grinned while closing the door behind me. Pride surged through me as I exited my chambers and headed up to the restaurant, fueling the ego I needed to complete the mission.

While approaching, I realized the restaurant was extravagant, but I expected nothing less. The dim lighting made the host look almost ten years younger than he was—something I wondered if Goran had done on purpose more for himself or the patrons.

"Good evening, sir." The host bowed low with a customer service grin; one that's not sincere at all but still fits the stereotype of ‘trying to be.'

"I'm going to the bar," I responded, not caring for the formalities.

The host nodded, sensing my inability to handle bullshit. Thank the seven galaxies. As I walked through the restaurant, I clocked the tables. Two Vinduthi on a date, a group of Fanaith in the back behind a semi-closed curtain, some sort of party for the wealthier ones in the species, and a large, circular arrangement of Mondians in the middle of the restaurant. The rest of the tables were packed, but I only needed to investigate the ones in my path to the kitchen.

"What can I get ya?" the Talimarian bartender asked, whirling around bottles of liquor and mixing cups.

Maybe I should have asked Sophia to come with me. Being with another would have been less suspicious. Also, she would look damn good if she let me pick out a dress for her.

Shaking my head, I glanced at the bartender standing before me, trying to hear him over the music in the background. It was a classical song, a nice ambiance for the night, but all I heard was Sophia's voice calling out to me while replaying her bedroom moans in my head.

"The house choice for the night is-"

"Phoborian Stinger," I announced. "Make it a double."

He glared at me, and I didn't blame him.

A stinger was a bitch to make, Phoborian gin, Zaronix brandy and Kronosian rum carefully mixed in just the right proportions, barely chilled with ice from the glacial seas of Encledion.

Get the proportions wrong, miss the mark on the temperature, and the concoction turned into nothing more than a foul vapor.

He'd be plenty distracted for as long as I needed.

While the bartender got started, I excused myself to the bathroom and passed the Vinduthi looking admiringly into each other's eyes, heard the Fanaith talking about their latest financial successes and grimaced at the crude way the Mondians at the crowded circular table talked about their women. It made me nauseous to think of someone talking about Sophia like that.

I reached the doors to the kitchen, placed conveniently close to the ones for the bathroom. I quickly slipped inside and dipped into a corner. I was out of view of almost all the chefs, but the dishwashers might have seen me if they turned around. I slid along the wall until I got behind a row of pots and pans over large boxes. Crouching behind them, I peered out at the pastry chef fixing some garnish over his latest dessert.

The flaking on the crust of the dessert was pitiful. If he had folded it properly before rolling it out, it might have stood a chance. But it was too late for that poor pastry now.

Goran should have thanked me for what I was about to do.

While the pastry chef was turned, I noticed a knife block on one of the counters to my right behind the boxes. It was probably stored back there because it hadn't been opened yet. Taking it and prying the box open with my fingers, I slid out the block and took the smallest blade out.

Turning my attention back to the chef, I waited until he had his back turned again before kicking over the box the block sat on while staying hidden.

"What was that?" one of the chefs called out.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I got it, I got it," the pastry chef replied with a sigh.

He walked behind the boxes to where I stood, and I slit his wrists while covering his mouth. Leaning him on the floor, I carefully avoided the spurting of blood all over the kitchen floor.

Sophia didn't need to see more blood on me today.

His eyes stared at me blankly before he gurgled, and his body trembled one last time. The same comforting sound filled my ears. The first part of the mission was over.

Poor guy. Wrong job, wrong time, but I had business to do.

I wiped my prints off the knife and the parts of him I touched, including where my hand was over his mouth, and put the knife in his right hand before sighing and looking over his dead body.

It was a job cleanly done. A step closer to my goal.

And all I could think about was how long I'd been away from Sophia.

What was the matter with me?