Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

KObrIK

W ith the squeak of the bedroom door opening, I interrupt Major Collins who is rambling about what his people collected from the destroyed ship. "I need to go, Major. Contact me if you learn more."

When I look up, I almost reach for a knife because I don't recognize the female standing in the doorway.

Long dark hair cascades down flawless skin to the top of a short black garment. The thin material reveals full breasts with taut nipples poking through the very loose weave, teasing me to the extreme. Below that, sheer fabric hugs her curves, flaring out at the hips, drawing my eyes lower and lower. If I'm not careful, the desire spiking within me will make me lose all sense of who I am.

This garment is more weapon than clothing, and I forget how to speak, especially when I realize this is my little human.

Without the bulky grud uniform.

Without the green paint.

With silky brown hair hanging loosely about her shoulders.

How does she not see herself as beautiful? I'm awestruck especially when I take in her graceful neck, full lips, and delicate nose covered with intriguing tiny dots on both sides. My gaze settles on bright green eyes that I recognize and find comfort in. How did I not notice all these wondrous details of my female before?

Her costume. I had seen her as grud, then as a human in green paint wearing a grud uniform. No words can accurately describe her beauty. I cannot take my eyes from her.

When I approach, she looks up with a shyness that will forever stay with me, even as I touch the tiny dots on her face.

"What purpose do these serve?"

She shrugs. "Besides giving my brother something to tease me about when we were kids? Nothing."

I growl when I hear that a male, especially her brother who should protect her at all costs, would tease her. "I must show your brother some manners."

Her eyes widen.

She doesn't understand what I mean by teach. "I'm accustomed to giving lessons in good behavior. I have three younger brothers. All have survived my lessons," I add, so she understands I would never harm anyone without true cause, especially no one important to her.

"Jack died a long time ago. The Coalition executed him."

I pull her against me. "Forgive me."

"You couldn't know." Her lush body remains pressed against me, but my cocks do not rise. In this moment, she needs comfort. As I hold her, my body calms.

Bliss. Simple, pure bliss. This is what it is to have a heartmate.

When she covers her mouth, struggling to hold back a yawn, I scoop her up in my arms.

"What are you doing?" she asks as her arms cling to my neck.

"You need sleep."

"And you thought you'd carry me to my bed?"

"That is the place to sleep, yes?"

"I'm not ready for bed."

"Ah, yes. You should strip out of your clothes."

The corners of her mouth rise, lifting her cheeks and placing a sparkle in her eyes. "This negligee is for bed, but I'm not sleepy. I need something to, um, tire me out."

"I have a solution for that…"

KENZIE

Finally, we're on the same page!

The butterflies in my stomach crash into each other at supersonic speed. Putting on a negligee, the only one I own, instead of the usual oversized t-shirt I sleep in, is my way of saying I'd like to have a physical relationship with him. I've never seduced an alien before. Or a human. Or had a one-night stand.

"Can we talk for a bit? There's so much to process. The grud, the explosion, you being an alien. I'm a bit overwhelmed."

My stomach chooses that moment to growl despite the butterflies. "Maybe I should get us some fruit."

When I move to get out of bed, he pins me with a stare. "You stay. Rest."

"I'm not the one who's injured."

"You have a bump on your head," he says as he leaves the bedroom.

True. And I was unconscious, so it's possible I have a concussion, but I feel fine.

Kobrik returns with a plate of fruit. He cut the skin off the orange and the grapes.

"Thank you." He sits beside me on the edge of the bed. "I heard you talking to that major earlier. What did he say about the explosion?"

"It will be awhile before they determine the cause. But I already know why it blew up."

"You do?" I pop a grape into my mouth. Hmm. I like it without the skin, but that's too much work.

"The ship's computer announced something in grud while we were aboard. I've since run it through my comm to translate. Someone had set the self-destruct sequence. I doubt it was the grud."

"Spider King," I say, the answer as clear as day.

"Who?"

"Nelson, the guy I told you about. I think of him as Spider King because of the spider costume he wore at the party. Anyway, after he set me up to get kidnapped by the grud, they argued in a language I didn't recognize, but the conversation got heated." I take a deep breath. "I'm sorry I was so stubborn about taking that knife. You were right about the dangers here."

He growls. "I should have been on time. You would not have been kidnapped."

"Or you could have run right into them and been hurt."

"Better that than risking you."

I take his face in my hands. "Stop being so hard on yourself, big guy. You can't guard me 24-7. The knife was a good idea. I'm not very skilled at escaping. Maybe you should tie me up and give me a chance to practice."

He slides from my hold. "That is not funny. You could have been killed."

I lean my face against his back as I wrap my arms around him. "And I could get killed by a speeding bus just as easily. Look, Kobrik, one of the first things we learn in the E/R is that you can't save everyone. The same goes for you. And you did save me, several times. From the explosion, and earlier?

"Earlier?"

"When the grud kidnapped me. I wanted to panic, but that knife made me think of you. Don't you see? You gave me the determination to escape."

A slight smile forms on his face and his horns tilt back slightly, making my insides tingle with delight. He affects me so easily. "I might have made it, too," I add. "except when I cut through the ropes, Nelson heard them fall. I'll sure of one thing; he's not some higher up who never gets his hands dirty. He got the knife from me, turned me around, and retied the ropes wickedly fast. It was like he truly had the six arms of a spider."

"Did he say anything else?"

I rub the bump on the back of my head. "No, he knocked me out. Then I woke up aboard the ship with you leaning over me. I guess he planned to kill all of us with that explosion. But if he set a timer on the self-destruct, how did he know when you and the grud would arrive?"

Kobrik scrubs his face. "He likely set it to trigger when we opened the door to the ship. I should have run the warning through my comm immediately."

"You had a lot going on. Fighting that grud, for one. Don't fault yourself for his death."

"I'm upset about nearly getting you killed."

"Stop being so hard on yourself."

"My cock is very hard whenever I'm near you."

"It's an expression."

"But I am very hard around you. Always."

I bite my lip, trying not to blush. "Open." I hold a grape out to him to distract myself from how this gorgeous guy has me envisioning a long night in bed with him… and very little sleep.

When he opens, I feed him, but he captures my finger along with the grape. And sucks . Other parts of me start tingling like crazy.

"I guess Nelson double-crossed his partner."

"It would appear." Kobrik's lips slide to my neck.

"The question," I continue talking as if he isn't nibbling on me. "is why Nelson is working with a grud."

"The only question which interests me right now…" He kisses his way down my neck to the top of a breast. "…is where I'm sleeping tonight."