Page 6 of Kazmyr: Molten for Her (Consumed by the Alien Heat #2)

JENNA

The moss still rocked us like a lazy tide, warm and smug under my back, and for a heartbeat I thought maybe the universe had stopped spinning just for us.

My muscles ached in ways that felt good, not bad, and his glow painted my skin like fireflies dancing across my naked flesh.

The heat from Kazmyr's body seeped into mine, not just between my legs where we'd joined, but everywhere our skin touched, as if his fire had found a home in my veins and decided to stay.

The pirates had come, and they had failed.

I still couldn't believe how seamlessly we'd escaped the pirates, Kazmyr guiding the Heartforge through an impossible maneuver that had sent the pursuing ships scattering.

The ship had responded to my touch as much as his, the navigation controls pulsing beneath my fingertips like they recognized me. Like they wanted me.

Now, sated and floating in the afterglow, I traced lazy patterns on his chest where the brightest scars pulsed in time with his heartbeat. The marks dimmed and brightened with each touch, responding to me in ways that sent tremors of renewed desire through my core.

"The others will want to meet you," Kazmyr murmured, his massive hand drawing circles on my hip. "Once we reach the colony and get settled."

My brain, hazy with pleasure, blinked to attention. "The others?"

His body stiffened beneath mine, the ember marks flaring bright with sudden alarm. Then, just as quickly, he tried to cover his reaction, his fingers resuming their gentle exploration of my skin.

"Maya handled it," he said carefully, then tensed again as more tumbled out before he could stop it. "Vylit's mate proved quite resourceful when faced with similar circumstances."

My spine snapped straight. I pushed up onto my elbows, staring down at him. "Who the hell is Maya?"

The moss quivered beneath us as if it, too, sensed the storm brewing. Kazmyr's golden eyes narrowed slightly, his marks pulsing in a rhythm I was beginning to recognize as discomfort.

"A scientist," he said after a pause that stretched too long. "From Earth. Like you."

"And Vylit?" I pressed, the afterglow cooling rapidly as my inspector's instincts kicked into high gear. Something wasn't adding up, and I didn't like being the one without the equation.

Kazmyr sighed, the sound rumbling through his massive chest. "Vylit of Mavtros. Another... match. His genetic profile aligned with Maya's, much as ours did."

The warmth in my veins turned to ice. I sat up fully, pulling away from him despite the moss's attempt to keep us nestled together.

"So this isn't new," I said, the words sharp as broken glass. "This has happened before. Recently."

His marks pulsed erratically, betraying his discomfort. "Yes."

"And there are others? More than just us and this Maya person?"

He nodded slowly, watching my face with growing concern. His gaze cleared, as if coming out of the post-sex fog. "Silvyr warned us about leaks in the system. About how the pirates were targeting unbound matches."

My head spun with implications. "Silvyr? Who the fuck is Silvyr?"

"An AI hybrid who escaped the Registry's control," Kazmyr said, his voice careful now, measuring each word. "He's been tracking the trafficking network, warning those at risk."

"So let me get this straight." I shoved his hand away when he tried to reach for me. "You knew the Intergalactic Dating Agency was compromised. You knew pirates were hunting matched pairs. You knew my DNA had been collected without my consent. And you just... what? Waited for me to show up?"

My voice rose with each accusation, sharp enough to cut through the Heartforge's low, steady hum. Kazmyr's marks dimmed to a dull glow, his expression darkening.

"I did not know it would be you," he said, the rumble of his voice carrying an edge of defensiveness. "We learned of the infiltration with Maya. I only had a moments warning that you existed and were next."

"That's not the point!" I scooted further back on the moss, using my arm to cover my suddenly vulnerable nakedness. "You should have told me all of this from the beginning!"

He reached for me again, but I jerked away. His hand fell to the moss, which curled around his fingers as if trying to comfort him.

"Jenna—"

"No." I wrapped the sheet tighter around myself, anger and betrayal tangling with the aftershocks of pleasure still humming between my thighs. "You don't get to 'Jenna' me right now. You kept vital information from me. Information that affects my safety, my freedom, my entire fucking life!"

His marks flared bright, then dimmed to almost nothing… the equivalent of a flush, I realized, watching shame work its way across his features.

"I wanted to protect you," he said, and the worst part was I could hear the sincerity in his voice.

"We didn't have enough warning. The agency knows they're compromised, but it's too late for the data that's already identified.

Besides, Silvyr said humans often respond with panic when faced with too much unknown. "

"Oh, that's rich," I snapped. "So this was for my own good? Keeping me in the dark about an interstellar trafficking ring targeting my DNA?"

The moss quivered beneath us, responding to the tension. It tried to slide tendrils around my waist, perhaps attempting to soothe, but I shoved them away, trembling with anger.

"You don't get to decide what information I can handle," I continued, my voice quieter now but no less furious. "You don't get to feed me bits and pieces as you see fit, like I'm some child who needs sheltering."

Kazmyr's massive form seemed to shrink somehow, his shoulders curling inward as he absorbed the force of my anger. The marks across his chest pulsed in slow, mournful rhythms.

"Among my people," he said finally, "withholding information that causes distress is considered an act of care, not deception."

"Well, I'm not your people." I gestured at my very human body. "And on Earth, withholding information from someone you're trying to—" I faltered, not sure how to categorize what had just happened between us. "It's considered manipulation. It's considered wrong."

His gaze finally met mine, those molten eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions I couldn't fully decipher. "I am not skilled at human courtship rituals. I believed..." He hesitated, his marks flickering with uncertainty. "I believed showing was better than telling."

"Showing what? Your dick?" The crude language felt good on my tongue, a small revenge. "Because that's not a substitute for honesty."

To my surprise, a rough sound escaped him… something almost like laughter, though tinged with pain. "No. Showing that I would protect you. That my ship would shelter you. That together, we could evade those who hunt us."

The sincerity in his voice threatened to soften my anger, but I held firm.

"No more secrets," I insisted, clutching the sheet tighter.

"This isn’t some interstellar Tinder date where ghosting me is an option.

If you want me to trust you… if you want whatever this is between us to continue, I want to meet them.

Maya, Vylit, this Silvyr person. I want to hear about all of this from someone who isn't trying to screw me into submission. "

His eyes flashed at that, marks flaring bright with what might have been hurt. "That was not my intention."

"Maybe not consciously." I held his gaze, refusing to back down. "But you kept me off-balance from the moment I arrived. New world, new rules, new dangers—all doled out in little pieces whenever it suited your purposes."

The moss beneath us had gone completely still, as if holding its breath. The Heartforge's ambient hum seemed to quiet as well, the entire ship waiting for Kazmyr's response.

He was silent for a long moment, his ember marks pulsing in slow, thoughtful patterns. Then he bowed his massive head, the gesture unexpectedly humble.

"I have erred," he said, and it was the first time his voice sounded less like a volcano and more like a man cornered. "By the standards of your world, and perhaps by the standards of mine as well. I did not give you the respect of full knowledge."

My anger didn't vanish, but something in his admission made it harder to maintain at full blaze. The sheet slipped slightly from my shoulders, and I readjusted it, suddenly aware of how ridiculous we must look… him naked and glowing, me wrapped in cuddling moss like some offended Victorian maiden.

"I want to understand what I've stepped into," I said, my voice steadier now. "All of it. Not just the parts you think I can handle."

Kazmyr nodded slowly, his ember marks gradually brightening as if gaining confidence. "The colony has communication technology. We can arrange a gathering… what my people would call a Heart-Circle. All truths spoken, all questions answered."

"When?" I demanded, not willing to let this be pushed to some nebulous future time.

"Upon our arrival. Two rotations from now." He paused, watching my face carefully. "Maya and Vylit are there already. Silvyr communicates through secure channels."

"Great, a whole support group for abducted girlfriends.

Do we get matching t-shirts?" I bit out while I absorbed this information, my mind racing ahead to all the questions I needed answered.

Who else knew about this genetic trafficking?

How widespread was it? Were Earth authorities complicit, or merely negligent?

And most importantly, what were our real chances of surviving this?

"Two rotations," I repeated, testing the weight of the time frame. Not immediately, but not far enough away to feel like a stall tactic. "And until then?"

His expression softened slightly, a familiar heat returning to his gaze as it traveled over the shape of me beneath the sheet. "Until then, I will answer any question you ask, to the best of my ability. No more sheltering. No more... what did you call it? Feeding you bits and pieces?"

Despite everything, the corners of my mouth twitched. "That's a start."

The moss beneath us stirred hopefully, tiny tendrils reaching toward my hand where it rested on my chest. I didn't immediately push them away this time, allowing the living weave to brush gently against my fingertips.

"Ask me anything," Kazmyr offered, his voice rumbling with sincerity. "I will withhold nothing."

I studied him for a long moment—the proud set of his shoulders, the uncertain flicker of his marks, the way his eyes never left mine despite his obvious discomfort. For all his alien appearance and customs, there was something fundamentally honest about him now, stripped of pretense.

"Tell me about Maya and Vylit," I said finally. "Tell me how they found each other, how the pirates came for them. Tell me everything you know about what we're facing."

Kazmyr straightened, his marks stabilizing into a steady glow. The moss shifted beneath him, supporting his massive form as he settled into a more comfortable position. The Heartforge's hum deepened around us, as if the ship itself was preparing to listen.

"It began three Earth months ago," he started, his voice taking on the cadence of a storyteller. "When the oceans of your world turned violet with a transit gate..."

I relaxed into the moss as I listened, my anger not forgotten but temporarily set aside in favor of information… real information, freely given. The moss inched closer, its warmth offering comfort without presumption.

For now, this was enough. Knowledge in place of ignorance. Truth instead of protection. A foundation, perhaps, for whatever would come next.

But I wouldn't forget how easily he'd kept me in the dark. And I wouldn't let it happen again.