Page 15

Chapter Nine

T he following morning, Britt awoke, having slept well.

She swung her legs off the bed then stretched.

Today, she planned to stay couped up in Aldur’s quarters.

Time passed as she switched between watching movies or reading books while surviving on pizza, popcorn, ice cream, and cotton candy.

Her stomach ached by mid-afternoon. She pushed aside the half-eaten bowl of jelly beans to order a bottle of water before settling on her bed.

“ Ensa , are you well?” A text from Nerx popped up on her tablet.

She blinked at it, not bothering to wonder how a superior race could access her contact info. “I’m good,” she typed.

“Prove it,” was his response.

“Huh?” With an unnatural smile, she commanded the tablet to take a photo.

A minute later, the door to Aldur’s quarters opened. To Nerx.

“What the hell?” she cried out, scrambling to her feet while trying to tug her baggy T-shirt over her bare legs. The hem hit mid-thigh only if she bent a little but nothing could help her feel less naked underneath. “Knock first.”

He stared at her legs then met her gaze. “Aldur asked that I check up on you. His Dar Eth…your mother is concerned.”

She harumphed at him ignoring his rudeness.

“Does Dar Eth mean lover?” She waved her hand, changing her mind on needing an answer.

“If it does, that makes sense. I got passed over like I’m not her daughter.

All for a lay.” She glanced at her bare toes.

“I get it. Maybe Aldur’s a stunning lay, but still, family comes first.”

“What’s a lay?” Lily asked, peeking from behind Nerx’s legs.

“Um…friend?” Britt dropped her head in her hands. Why hadn’t she noticed Lily? Nerx was gorgeous, but she wasn’t the type of woman to be addled by looks.

“Aldur is Nerxie’s lay too,” Lily said as she poked the colorful candy in the bowl.

Britt snapped her mouth shut. Swallowed laughter cramped her cheeks. “I bet your dad’s the best lay ever.”

“Britta,” he warned.

She met his gaze and caught the fire burning in his ice blue eyes. Something whispered across her mind, but she dismissed it.

“May I have these?” Lily clasped the half-full bowl of candy.

“Go share with Edon.” Nerx ushered her out of the room before facing Britt.

She sank onto the chair, curling her legs under her ass, while preparing for a lecture or a reprimand.

“I apologize for the intrusion.” His gaze lingered on parts of her, and she’d swear, she tingled as if he’d touched her.

Instead of leaving, he ventured deeper into her room, then slipped his hands under her armpits to hoist her to her feet.

She bit her tongue to smother a gasp, having not expected him to touch her, never mind manhandle her like she weighed nothing. When he didn’t step away, she raised her chin to meet his gaze. Emotion burned in the depths of his eyes.

“What?” she asked, meaning it to sound irritated. Instead, desire hoarsened her voice.

“You do not stink.” He buried his face in the curve of her neck for a deep inhale. His nose brushing along her skin summoned a shiver. “You smell good,” he growled. “Artificial scents hurt our noses. We find them offensive.”

“Ah,” she said, just to respond somehow. “Well, um, thanks for checking on me.”

He swept aside her hair falling across her temple. Electricity trailed where he touched. He pinched her chin, holding her still while he studied her face.

“Nerx?” She frowned at his odd behavior.

His gaze met hers. His nostrils flared seconds before he feathered his mouth across hers. She gasped, freezing on the spot. Her thoughts ricocheted, pinging between outrage and humming like a horny teenager.

“My apologies again.” He pulled away from her, dropping his hand. “I should not have done that.”

She winced. He regretted kissing her, and with their history, she could understand why. Still, embarrassment scorched her cheeks.

“I should have asked first,” he said, cupping her neck. “I find I cannot think clearly when around you.”

“I…I didn’t mind.” She ran her fingers down the center of his bulletproof vest. “I mean… Permission granted.”

His eyes widened. His focus shifted to her mouth, then he yanked her against his hard length. “Britta,” he whispered, before kissing her again.

His taste curled her toes, like sticky toffee pudding with custard. She dug her fingers into his pecs when he deepened the kiss. A mewl escaped her, and more followed when he splayed his fingers across her back to crush her to him.

Oh, yes, please.

“Maker,” he mumbled, breaking the kiss. “You fire my blood, minus cesu .” He snatched a hard kiss then buried his fingers in her hair to hold her still for a long perusal. “If I was not honor-bound to inform Aldur or see to Lily, I would be learning every inch of your body.”

Whoa. What? Britt blinked at him. A kiss or two, no matter how steamy, didn’t mean sex.

Despite wanting another taste of him, perhaps him leaving was for the best. Especially when disappointment sank deep, like cinder blocks tied to the feet of a corpse.

A little morbid, but she’d been binge-watching old crime movies.

“Duty calls,” she managed.

“Soon, you will be my duty and my honor to protect, ensa .”

“Okay.” Whatever that meant. She watched him retreat, desire making his eyes glow. Then it hit her what her inner voice had been trying to tell her. “Nerx. Wait.”

S tilling, Britt frowned and crossed the room to stare into Nerx’s eyes. She brought her delicious spicy scent to engulf him.

He fought the urge to inhale it deeply. This close, her skin appeared smooth. Tiny lines fanned out from the corner of her eyes as if she’d had much to laugh about. And her lips… She’d let him kiss her and expected many more.

“Your eyes were dark blue. They’re lighter. Shit, did the pepper spray do that?” She stumbled backward, lowering herself into a comfy, her face pale, her eyes wide in horror. “I’m so sorry, Nerx. I never once considered what the spray could do to your physiology.”

He was too stunned to respond. Her body trembled, even her bottom lip, and a suspicious sheen of moisture filled her eyes.

He didn’t like her so distraught. She was strong, bold, and not a cowering female, not by any standard.

Yet, he couldn’t lie to her and say she hadn’t caused his eyes to pale when she had.

“Your pepper spray did not do this, Britta.” He kneeled before her, raising his hand to brush the tears slipping down her cheeks. He tried to be gentle and must have failed when her breath caught. Her gaze met his.

“It didn’t?” Before him sat a young woman in need of reassurance, in need of…him.

The feeling was indescribable, that she could need him. But telling her the truth was so risky when much rested on her accepting him. Still, it was dishonorable to lie.

“No, finding my Dar Eth did.”

“You found a lover?” Her expression hardened.

He chuckled. “Dar Eth does not mean ‘lay.’”

“Then what is it? What is Aldur doing with my mom?” Her chest rose and fell with her agitation. Her fingers crushed the fabric of her tunic.

“Spending time with her.”

“Good, I guess, but I’m still confused. Does Dar Eth mean companion? And if so, do you have another woman on board?” Her eyes narrowed, with her thoughts flitting across them. She was wondering why she’d yet to meet his woman.

“Yes, a close companion, as in inseparable. And no, no other woman. Just you,” he said despite the gravel texture to his voice. His other hand shook when he brought it up to caress her collarbone.

“Me?” Her lips parted; the dark pink depths of her mouth called to him. “But you hate me.”

He focused on the spots splattered across her cheeks. “I feel many things for you, Britta, but hate is not one of them.”

“Oh.” She hesitated then brushed her fingertips over his eyebrow.

He shivered, unable to prevent the reaction from slipping through his defenses. Her touch was better than when she’d cupped his cheek in medical. He’d been too angry to cherish that moment. He gripped her hip. She was so soft. Alodon’s balls, she tempts me .

She leaped to her feet, sprawling him backward.

“What the hell does that mean? A companion for a short while, for this trip?” She danced away to pace in the tight confines.

“I can handle a casual affair. But my mom… I will not have her hurt, Nerx. I won’t stand for it.

Sure, she’s happy now, but if Aldur’s hoping for something short and sweet, it’s not happening.

Does she know his intentions?” Britt rested her fists on her hips and glared at him.

“Spill, Supreme Commander Nerx. Tell me exactly what being a Dar Eth means.”

“There is nothing casual about Eths and Dar Eths.” He grinned, enjoying how her mind worked. “According to Etterian law, when you triggered the Ethera in me and my eye color changed, you became my wife.”

She squeaked, threw back her hand to catch the bulkhead, then slid down. “What?” she whispered.

With her obscured by comfys, he stood, not wanting to miss her expressions. “For an eternity. Etterians do not divorce.”

She gaped at him. “No effing way.”

“Your term would be soulmate, though it does not encapsulate all you invoke in me.”

“Right,” she muttered. “So my mother and I don’t get a say? Our opinions don’t matter?” She scrambled to her feet to shove her face into his. “I’m stuck with you?”

“Yes,” he said.

“And when were you going to tell me?” Again, she met his gaze, not backing down.

“The Ethera does not like delays, driving lust through me even as it builds the bond between us. It would have been soon.” He rubbed his jaw. “I cannot harm Lily.”

Britta’s puzzlement knitted her brow. Without thinking, he ran a fingertip over the creases, soothing them.

She swatted his hand away. “Why would Lily get hurt?”

“If you reject me, which is a possibility after what we have been through, I will…” He sucked in a sharp breath. “Die.”

She gaped, closed her mouth, then sank into a comfy. “How?”

“As my Dar Eth, you save me from the emotionless void building in my chest since birth. If you do not stay with me, the Ethera, along with the void, will drive me to sacrifice my life in some sort of battle.” He met her gaze, trying to judge her expressions. Yet failed. “Just to feel anything.”

“So, each Etterian has a ticking time bomb inside them?” She arched a brow, asking him to confirm she understood correctly.

“Yes, in a way.”

“Just this morning, you and I weren’t sympatico.” She winced, no doubt remembering her accusations. “So why me, Nerx?”

“I do not know. We have no annals that explain the Ethera, how it chooses, or its effects. All I know, when I am not near you, thoughts of you consume me. When I am in your presence, it is like basking in sunlight.”

“But you hate me.” She shook her head, sending her hair swirling around her. “I’ve said that already, and you claim you don’t, but hatred doesn’t just fizzle out.”

“I admit I was angry, yes, but I understand why you attacked me. Your mother is your only blood-bond, yours to guard, as Lily and now you are mine.”

She exhaled, slumping her shoulders. “So, if I buy into this soulmate stuff, what’s next?”

“Dinner,” he said. “Despite everything within me wanting to know you intimately—”

Her eyes widened, and her heartbeat skittered, pounding loud enough that he need not sharpen his hearing to listen.

“We take it slow.” He grimaced. Already, the Ethera demanded he claim her. The only times it hadn’t was when she’d cupped his jaw or poked his chest. “If you touch me often, I can resist the compulsion despite the pain.”

“Pain?” she yelped. “Aldur—”

“Should be suffering too. There is no cure, only consummation can ‘heal’ me.”

“Sex?” She laughed, her expression incredulous. “Talk about the worst pick-up line I’ve heard. Fuck me so I don’t die?”

He growled. Not needing her to add dirty talk and its imagery to his already strained control.

He strode toward her. She inclined back, squaring her shoulders but meeting his gaze.

Leaning over her to bring his face inches from hers, he gripped the comfy’s armrests, sliding his thumbs between her thighs and the upholstery.

“I have had visions of your body,” he glanced down, lingering on the curve of her breasts, “beneath me. Here, now, it is taking every ounce of my strength not to kiss you again.”

Her lips parted, her cheeks glowed peach, then her gaze shifted to his mouth.

“Britta,” he warned.

She cleared her throat. “Yes, dinner sounds good.”

When she cupped his hands, his world tilted. Peace descended, the agony faded, but lust weakened his knees.

“Is that helping?” she asked, her expression innocent.

When he didn’t respond, his tongue tied, she slid her soft fingers along his forearms. It was as if she ran Eiltur fur over his skin.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, wanting so much to close the distance between them, to taste her lips. “The pain…is gone,” he rasped, gritting his teeth at the partial lie. The Ethera had ceased its demands, but now his malehood throbbed.

“Good.” She shifted in the comfy, her breasts jiggling.

This was foolishness, placing himself in this situation. He should succumb, force her to accept him sooner. She liked the look of him, found him desirable. That mattered to humans.

“Nerx? You all right?” she asked.

He met her gaze, then smiled. Yes, he was more than ‘all right.’ “Dinner in the common?” That seemed safest.

“Sure.”

He pushed off, sending himself away from her too-tempting lips. “See you in an hour.”

Exiting Aldur’s quarters, he leaned against the bulkhead, drawing strength from its cool Maloidian steel. Maker, that was close . That she’d willingly touched him sent warmth through him. She wasn’t opposed to being his. He just prayed the Ethera would be happy with that for now.