So far, he didn’t look like he intended to leave.
He didn’t look particularly like he intended to talk to her, either.
Sinking her weight on the opposite side of the mattress, she glanced at him again. His eyes continued to focus on the monitor, but Jet got the feeling he knew she was looking at him. She could probably get him to look over if she stared long and hard enough, but decided she didn’t want to play those kinds of games.
“Look, Laks.” She ran a hand through her wet, black hair, which had no tangles from the cream she’d used. “Can we talk?”
The Nirreth turned his head, his dark eyes holding a thinly-veiled surprise.
He saw the more meaningful look on her face, right before she gestured around the small space, a silent question.
Following her pointing finger, he sat up, understanding blooming in his eyes.
His expression cleared.
“I think so, yes,” he said.
“You think so?” she said, frowning. “Is that good enough? For either of us?”
“We swept before we boarded.”
“But you might not have caught everything?”
He shrugged, his eyes unreadable. “There is always some risk, Jet.”
She nodded, feeling her fingers clench on either side of her legs.
The kinds of things she wanted to ask him wouldn’t be the kinds of things he would answer if any chance existed they might be overheard. Feeling her jaw harden more, she shook her head, to herself that time, right before she looked at him directly.
“What if you stung me?” she said.
“What?” His eyes widened. There was a silence, where he looked at her as if he had no idea who she was. “No.”
“What do you mean, no? Why not?”
“You know why!”
“That’s not a good reason. Not for this. We should––”
“Absolutely not. No.” His eyes hardened as they met hers. “No, Jet.”
She stared at him, seeing the utter lack of compromise in his eyes.
Sighing, she folded her arms, feeling her face warm. She glanced at the door reflexively, then made another annoyed gesture with one hand.
“This is ridiculous,” she said. “It makes sense. You know it does.”
“No. I don’t.”
“Even once?”
“It won’t be once, Jet,” he said, his voice close to angry. “I know you think that was some set up, the thing with Anaze––”
“I don’t want to talk about that,” she cut in, giving him a warning look.
As soon as she said it, though, she wondered why.
The truth was, she did want to talk about it.
She wanted to talk about a lot of things, including what Trazen told her about Richter having Biggs and her mom, and her Uncle Draven and Aunt Lara. After she’d been sitting there a few seconds longer, it hit her what she was really afraid of.
She was afraid, whatever he said, that she might believe him.
“I’d know what happened.” Her voice came out careful that time. “If you stung me, Laks. I’d know all of it. Including the thing with Anaze.”
“No,” he said, vehement. “I mean it, Jet… no!”
She felt her chest tighten as she forced herself to hold his gaze.
“I really need to talk to you. It can’t wait until Astet.” When his expression didn’t move, she exhaled air sharply between her lips. “It’s important, Laks. I wouldn’t ask otherwise.”
“Important enough to pay me off with sex?” he said, his voice biting.
“Maybe,” she shot back. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
A low growl came from his throat.
She felt herself tense, but before she could say anything, he rose abruptly from the bed. She watched him retreat to the opposite wall of the room, his tail whipping behind him as he walked. He was angry, yeah, but she saw something else there, too, and knew suddenly, why he’d retreated.
He was tempted. Part of him, anyway.
Which made her wonder, again, where he’d been sleeping the past few weeks.
She forced that out of her mind.
He watched her look at him, his eyes wary, verging on angry.
He didn’t move though, or try to leave the room. Instead, he seemed to be waiting her out, staring at her silently from the section of wall closest to the bathroom.
She wondered if he planned on hiding in there, if she wouldn’t back down.
“Laksri,” she said, sighing. “What if you only did it once?”
“Because that’s worked so well with us in the past?”
“What about that drug?” she said. “That stuff you use, when––”
“I didn’t bring any,” he said, giving her an incredulous look. “Jet, did you really think I planned on stinging you for this trip, under the circumstances?”
She bit her lip again, thrown by that for some reason.
Finally, she motioned a hand up in a near-shrug, avoiding his eyes.
“Aren’t they going to wonder?” she said. “About us. If you don’t sting me this whole trip, won’t they wonder about that?”
“I don’t care, Jet!”
“You don’t care?” Her eyes rose to his, even as her jaw firmed. “What do you mean, you don’t care? Don’t you think people are starting to notice?”
“Why would you ask this of me?” An edge of anger, or maybe panic, sharpened his voice. “Jet, I don’t understand why you would ask this of me!”
“You can’t exercise a little self-control?” She bit her lip, then said it anyway. “You owe me, Laks. You owe me this.”
He let out a choking kind of laugh. She wouldn’t have even recognized it as such, if she hadn’t gotten used to the sounds he made by then.
Thinking about that firmed her mouth even more.
In the past few weeks, she’d almost forgotten who Laksri was. The person she’d thought he was, anyway, before Richter dropped the bomb on her, about what he and Anaze had been doing… and before Trazen implied Laksri might have helped Richter kidnap her family without telling her.
Before all that, Jet thought she knew Laksri pretty well.
Nirreth or no, she’d thought she understood him.
At the very least, she thought she’d been getting to know him, past the mask he showed most of the world, whether as pirate or as prince. Who he was, his personality. His likes and dislikes, the little things that make up who a person is behind closed doors.
Looking at him now, she found her doubt worsening.
She’d taken Richter’s and Trazen’s word on what Laksri had been doing. It rang true to her at the time––true enough that she’d never asked Laksri himself what he’d been thinking. She never asked why he’d tried to seduce her that day. She never asked if he knew where her family was. She’d never asked him anything.
She’d just assumed, letting others put the pieces together for her.
And Laks himself, well, he hadn’t exactly bothered to defend himself.
Once the doubt took root in her mind, Jet couldn’t unstick it well enough to keep it from coloring her thoughts.
Laksri had folded his arms in the pause.
He still appeared to be waiting, but he stared at her now, his dark eyes openly wary.
He looked angry, but she also felt confusion on him.
Whether he aimed those feelings wholly at her or partly at himself, she couldn’t tell for sure, either. The longer she looked at him, the more she saw that confusion grow in his dark eyes. He didn’t seem to know how to break the impasse any more than she did.
“Laksri,” she said. “Can we cut the crap, please? I need to know what’s going on with you.” She motioned at him, biting her lip. “So do you, apparently, with me. So why don’t we just call a truce? You can sting me just once, right?”
“No,” he snapped. “I can’t. I just told you that, Jet!”
She sighed, frustrated. “Can’t you just try?”
“No!”<
br />
“Why not? For crying out loud––”
“You know why!” His eyes grew angry as he lashed his tail. “And you are worse than I am! Even from the first time, when I tried to exercise control, you pushed me for more. You act like it is all on me, Jet, like I am the one who needs restraint… but it is not. It never has been. Do not pretend you are innocent! That this is all my responsibility!”
Jet folded her arms tighter, feeling her jaw clench.
Counting backwards, she let her anger dissipate, forcing herself to be honest.
The more she thought about his words, the more she had to concede his point.
“Okay,” she said. “Then… what? We do this for a few more weeks? Or months? Stare at each other? Assume the worst of each other? Keep the Royal Guard gossiping about us even more than they already are? Let the rumors of you sleeping in the human quadrant of the Green Zone spread even farther…?”
Hearing the anger creep into her voice, she fought to control it.
“…Then what, Laks? What happens then?”
“I did not do this,” he said, glaring at her.
“Didn’t do what?” she said, incredulous.
“I do not have sex with other humans. I told you I would not!”
She stared at him, feeling something in her stomach grow cold.
Fighting the emotion that tried to rise, she forced herself to hold his eyes.
“Why wouldn’t you, Laks?” she said.
“I said I would not!” he repeated, angrier.
“Right after you threatened to do that very thing!”
“But I did not!”
She fought disbelief, along with a wave of confusion of her own.
Biting her lip, she looked away from him, trying to push it aside, but couldn’t. She heard the anger creep back into her voice.
“Why do you even care what I think at this point?” she said. “I wouldn’t exactly hold you to your word, given everything.”
He looked about to answer, then shut his mouth with a snap. His tail lashed violently behind him, making her flinch. He flicked it hard enough that it reached out to its full length, nearly knocking over a glass pitcher on a nearby table.
The expression on his face made her pause.
Frowning, she studied his dark eyes, trying to understand what she was seeing. She’d almost forgotten… again… that he wasn’t human. Moreover, he probably weighed three of her, and his emotions could be as volatile as any hers.
“So?” she said. “Which is it? If you’re going to get so mad about it, you might as well tell me the truth. It’s a little late to get all high and mighty about the two of us, given how you made it clear I’m just a prop in your royal plans.”
When his mouth hardened more, she felt her own anger sharpen.
“Laks,” she said, sharper. “Unless the whole thing was just to screw my head, you were lying to me. You had to be, okay? Just admit it. Let’s stop dancing around this thing and get it out there. You lied to me, so you could get me to play my part. You lied to me, because you didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth. So you manipulated me into thinking you wanted me that day, that you were…”
Realizing where that sentence was going, she trailed, biting her tongue.
She gave another glance around the room.
That time, when she looked up, his eyes shone hard on hers.
Keeping her expression level, she shrugged.
“I just don’t know why.” Her voice mostly sounded tired. She ran her fingers through her hair, getting it out of her eyes. “You could just ask me, Laks. I can be reasonable. I think I’ve been pretty damned reasonable, haven’t I? When have I ever point-blank refused to do something that was necessary, no matter what it was? For any of you?”
Looking up, she met his gaze.
“I’m more of a danger to you in the dark than I am when I know what’s going on,” she added pointedly. “When I’m in the dark, I could screw things up without even meaning to. You’ve got to know that’s true. Why didn’t you just ask me?”
For some reason, her words only worsened the anger coloring Laksri’s eyes.
She saw frustration there, too, along with a kind of furious disbelief.
Before she could think of what to say next, he crossed the room, walking directly to where she sat on the low cushion.
Before she could decide if she should try to evade him, he caught hold of her arms. Pushing her backwards, he pressed her to the bed, pinning her by the wrists.
She found herself staring up at him, fighting to catch her breath, her back pressed into the mattress. She considered fighting him, but only tensed, watching his dark eyes.
Breathing harder in spite of herself, she bit her lip.
“What are you so pissed off about?” she said. “I didn’t do anything! I didn’t lie, or treat you like some dumb animal––”
“Do you still want me to sting you?” he cut in, his eyes hard.
She blinked, then nodded, still holding his gaze. “Yes, I––”
“Shut up, Jet.”
Her eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth to speak, but his tail moved, darting around and connecting hard with her side. She had time to think Trazen stung her in the same place, that it must be the easiest spot for Nirreth to sting humans… when the pain hit.
She winced as the barb sank into her flesh.
He released one of her wrists, curling his four fingers into her hair.
She reached for him, too.
Gripping the front of his shirt, which reminded her of a human T-shirt now that she could see it up close, she let out a gasp. Fear hit, in those few seconds it took for the venom to kick in… along with a dim panic as she second-guessed everything she was doing.
This wouldn’t help her.
Sure, she might hear his feelings, even his rationalizations, along with whatever story he wanted her to believe about what he’d done. She might have enough venom in her system that it all made perfect sense. Laksri would go back to feeling like a friend, like someone she could trust. But no way could she trust him.
Anaze warned her Nirreth learned to block information they didn’t want shared through the venom. She’d just come out of the sting more confused, more tied to his mind and his point of view, more conflicted.
But he had to lower his defenses a little bit, didn’t he?
Remembering how he’d felt in their bed chambers that day didn’t help. If he’d been faking that, then he really could make her believe anything.
Even as she thought it, he let out a low growl.
He stung her again, not asking that time.
He avoided her eyes as he let go, his fingers tightening on her shoulder. More venom trickled into her system, a trickle that promptly turned into a flood––of warmth, of knowing, of near-relief. She felt shame on him, a kind of anger he aimed at himself, even as he continued to be angry at her.
He hated that she thought he’d set her up. He hated it.
He was furious at her for believing he would do that, given everything he said to her.
He was furious she would believe Richter.
She felt his anger at Anaze, for picking that time, of all times––his passive aggressive crap, trying to keep him and Jet apart. Jealous. The human wasn’t just play-acting jealous, he was jealous. Laksri had seen it over and over in his face, even though he’d been the one to suggest the two of them––
The thought died, even as the anger in Laksri worsened.
He gripped her shoulders, and stung her again.
Jet found herself wrapping her arms around his waist, tightly enough that his own arms abruptly wound around her back, along with his tail. He pressed her deeper into the bed, stinging her again even as the venom ran out the second time.
Before she could recover from that one, his hands were pulling at her clothes, yanking on them, his tail too, fighting to get them off her. Jet tried to help, but he only pushed her fingers out of the way, groaning as he stung her again
.
She felt desire on him.
It worsened as he let more of the venom go.
That anger she’d felt turned into something closer to grief, a lost futility that clutched at her, paining her heart. He was worried about her.
Not just worried.
Affection reached her, indisputably his.
Not only affection, a want strengthened and confused by feeling, confusing him, intensifying the rest. Anger wound into it, partly because he couldn’t seem to control it. He felt confused, angry at his confusion, angry at her lack of trust, at his inability to understand how she felt about him. That warmth grew stronger, mixing with desire.
It felt real. Starkly real, almost physical in its tangibility. Irrefutable.
What might even have been––
“I love you,” he told her.
She heard the words, gruff in her ear.
She couldn’t comprehend them at first.
Even so, a kind of tenderness filled her, warming her heart and belly as she began stroking his bare skin. She remembered again how he felt, that strange softness over hard muscle, the way his skin slid like silk under her fingers.
He lay next to her now, completely naked, and she felt another flush of that affection on him as he began caressing her face with his cheek and fingers. He tugged on her hair, and then they were kissing, and Jet fought to hold onto the thoughts that shimmered through the venom between them, to understand what he––
“I love you,” he told her again.
Her mind struggled with the meaning of those words all over again.
Not just to her, but what they meant to him.
The emotion didn’t feel particularly new, more uncovered, and maybe not only in him. In that sense, the words felt natural to Jet. Inevitable, maybe, like how she felt when his venom first hit her system. It felt right, but some part of her resisted, tried to draw definitive conclusions, or maybe just to make sense of it.
She was still trying, when she felt a knot of tension in him unclench.
She didn’t understand at first, what he’d done.
The Complete Alien Apocalypse Series (Parts I-IV Plus Bonus Novella): An Apocalyptic, Romantic, Science Fiction, Alien Invasion Adventure Page 61
