by Anna Carven
Zyara was relieved when a familiar dark figure slid into the booth beside Arik. “What do you want, Arik?” Kai was back, and she’d never been so glad to see him.
“Direct as always, boy,” Arik said mockingly. “You two are a good match for one another. You both lack finesse.”
“Why are you here?” Kai demanded, producing a small weapon underneath the table. It was a blade of some sort. “In case you hadn’t heard, now is not a good time to be venturing into other territories unannounced.”
“And here I thought we belonged to the same clan.” Arik feigned disappointment. “Well, maybe not for much longer. You’re in a bit of trouble, I hear. My dear sister was nearly killed the other day in suspicious circumstances because of your orders. And now, no-one can get to her thanks to your impenetrable security. The tightest security in the Southern Hemisphere.” A hollow laugh escaped him. “Believe me, I’ve tried to crack it. And father can’t do anything. Didn’t you hear? He’s got health issues. It looks bad for you, Kainan. The Council of Families is about to haul you in. There’s nowhere you can run. They will find you anywhere on Earth. But knowing you, you won’t run, will you? You’re stupid like that. Smart, but stupid.”
Zyara watched Kai’s face carefully, masking her surprise. The fight on the Glory Strip had been problematic for Kai, and now, if Arik was to be believed, he was in trouble.
But if Kai was at all bothered by Arik’s words, he didn’t show it. Instead, he stared coldly at him, his face a blank mask. “Is that all, Arik? If you don’t mind, my honored guest and I are trying to enjoy the show. Leave.”
Arik’s left eye twitched but he kept smiling, his teeth a black pit between his thin lips. “Too brave, too clever, too honorable, and too proud for your own good. That’s what they all say. But the things that make you strong also make you weak.”
“Leave, Arik.” Kai’s voice was devoid of emotion. “Get out of my sight.”
Even though Arik sat between Zyara and Kai with two sharp blades pointed at him, he didn’t bat an eyelid. Zyara was tempted to dig the point of her dagger a little deeper. The air was thick with tension, and Zyara sensed that the situation could explode into violence at any moment.
Not that it particularly bothered her. She’d been in much worse situations before.
Slowly, Arik turned to look Kai directly in the eye. He said something to him in that other language she’d once heard Kai use. The words came out as a vicious, guttural, snarling mess, and Kai responded in kind.
Zyara met Kai’s gaze. “Are you going to gut him, or do you want me to do it?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kai held up a hand. “Hold on, Zyara,” he said, managing to inject tenderness into his voice even though there was a vicious snake sandwiched between them.
Sweet, beautiful Zyara was threatening to gut one of his many enemies. For a gangster and a son-of-a-bitch like Kai, there wasn’t anything more romantic than that.
He was half-tempted to ask her to do it.
Talk about bad timing.
Kai had never expected Arik to walk into the middle of his territory. The brat was usually far too paranoid to leave his fucking tower.
He switched to Eskulin, not wanting Zyara to listen to this particular conversation. “What the hell did you just say to me, brat?”
“You stuck-up son-of-a-whore,” Arik growled. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do this to you. I’ve come here with a proposition. Hand over the North Ward and all its territories to me in the official way, and I’ll neutralize it.”
“Neutralize what?”
“The synth-virus that’s been injected into your bloodstream. As we speak, it’s infiltrating your neural implant.” A harsh laugh escaped him. “Imagine our surprise when we hacked your bio-sig and picked up traces of a neural implant. I didn’t think you of all people would be reckless enough to get one of those. All these years, the fact that you seemed to know everything before everyone else used to piss me off. But it doesn’t matter now. Pretty soon you’ll start hearing things. Then you’ll start seeing things. After that, I don’t know what happens. The virus is highly experimental shit, you see. It’s Ephrenian tech. Highly illegal, but so is your implant. They estimate that it takes between two and five days for the recipient to go completely mad.”
Zyara was observing him carefully, her beautiful bronze eyes missing nothing. Even though they were speaking in Eskulin, he feared she would figure everything out just by watching him.
Fuck. This wasn’t how he’d planned for the night to turn out. Tonight should have been his silent goodbye to a place he’d built with his blood and sweat, a place that had sustained the lives of so many. It should have been a night of pleasure, spent with the most stunning woman he’d ever seen.
The North Ward would continue to provide a living for its inhabitants, but once he handed it over, it would be forever changed.
At least now he knew why Truman had stabbed him in the neck with that strange thing. It was a delivery device for a synth-virus.
“I’ll rot in hell before I’ll sign the North Ward over to you, Arik,” Kai snarled.
“You’ll go completely mad,” Arik sneered. “In a few days time, you won’t be useful to anyone. Sign over your territories now, and I can stop it. The Families have marked you, Kainan. Either way, you’re going down. Better you give the North to me in the proper way before they carve everything up like vultures.”
That explained why the brat was acting so cocky. He thought he had the advantage here.
“You think you’ve got me figured out, but you don’t know the first thing about me.” Kai smiled as he stabbed the point of his clawknife into Arik’s thigh. The Second stiffened, but he didn’t dare cry out, even though blood was beginning to seep through the thin fabric of his trousers. Arik was his father’s son, after all. He wouldn’t want to show any weakness in front of his men. Kai twisted the knife. Arik gasped.
“So you were behind the attack on the Glory Strip, Arik?” Kai asked quietly. So far, his sources had turned up nothing apart from the fact that activity from all of the Families had been strangely subdued over the past twenty-four hours. “You would wish death upon your own sister?”
Arik remained quiet. Kai twisted the knife again. This time, he whimpered. “The only thing she and I have in common is our father’s DNA. The old man’s been clutching onto life for too long, Kainan. The two of you have been stifling real business in Darkside for too long. Something’s gotta give. You’d better surrender, Kai. I have the backing of the Council on this.”
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now.”
“I’ll give you three. If I die here, there’ll be a war on your turf. My people will tear Darkside apart. People will die. Secondly, you won’t get the cure for the synth-virus. And thirdly, you’ll be giving the Council what they wanted. Proof of your treachery. They won’t hesitate to execute you. If you kill me, the old man won’t be able to protect you anymore.”
Kai’s hand twitched. He could end it right now.
But he held back.
Patience.
Soon, the North Ward would be safe. Without bloodshed. Then he could hunt Arik on his own terms.
He pulled out the knife. “Get out.”
“Your pride is going to be the death of you,” Arik gritted through clenched obsidian teeth. “You’ll come crawling back to me once the voices start.”
Kai shrugged as he passed Arik a napkin. “Here,” he said. “Put this on it. Otherwise you’ll bleed all over my floor, and I know how much of a pussy you are when it comes to the sight of blood.”
“Fuck you,” Arik snarled, as all the color drained from his face. He took the napkin from Kai, his hand trembling. When Kai slid out of the booth to let him out, Arik couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Kai waved a hand and ordered his people to step back. In an instant, Arik was surrounded by loyal followers.
They whisked him out of the club, leaving Kai and
Zyara facing one other. On stage, Pia Bloodrock and the Mudslingers were finishing up, their set drawing to a close.
The male android sitting beside Zyara blinked as his program went into reset mode. The tension of the situation had obviously been too much for his simple circuitry. “Would you like a drink, Master?” he asked, as he reverted to default mode.
“Go and recharge, Archimedes,” Kai ordered. The robot looked almost grateful as he departed the booth.
“Trouble in paradise?” Zyara asked archly, slipping her black Callidum dagger back between the folds of her dress.
Gods, she was so beautiful. So formidable. She’d endured that whole pitiful scene with regal composure, as if Arik was nothing more than a fly.
Kai had just been given the news that he’d become completely batshit crazy in a few days time, but right now, he didn’t care. Right now, all he could think about was Zyara.
Oh, how he wanted her.
“Let’s get out of here,” Kai rasped, his voice hoarse with desire. He made no effort to conceal the bulge in the front of his pants.
Zyara looked him up and down, brazenly checking him out.
You’re mine, her look said. Her eyes burned with desire, driving his need to new heights. “Are you going to tell me what in Kaiin’s name is going on?”
“I will,” he promised. “Afterwards, I’ll tell you everything.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
They arrived back at the compound via a network of guarded underground tunnels, a small, swift bot-vehicle conveying them to their destination. Kai had sat beside her with one arm curled possessively around her waist. On the short trip back, they’d spoken of the little things; of childhood memories, of their jobs, of little quirks relating to their home planets.
They’d spoken of everything but the incident with Arik.
And then, Kai had kissed her. Again.
He gestured to her now as she stepped out of the vehicle, taking her hand as he guided her off the steep platform.
It was a quaint, chivalrous thing to do.
How charmingly Human.
Kai squeezed her hand and Zyara responded by threading her fingers through his. “Please accept my apologies for tonight, Zyara. I am now doubly in your debt. My intention was to treat you, pamper you, spoil you, and show you the best of Darkside. Instead, you saw the worst of it.” His gaze was dark and intense.
Zyara shook her head. “Before Arik arrived, I was having a great time. You showed me a world I never knew existed. I haven’t had that much fun in longer than I can remember. Perhaps never.” She tightened her grip on him. “Please don’t tell me the night ends here,” she murmured, as deep desire rose within her.
In one fluid movement, he pulled her close. “In truth, I have been thinking about fucking you ever since I saw you on the Glory Strip.”
“I didn’t think you would have had time to think about sex in the middle of a shitfight.” Amusement and lust colored her voice.
“When it comes to you, anything’s possible, and believe me, I really was thinking about fucking you back then.” His voice was low and rough, sending a pleasant shiver down Zyara’s spine.
Suddenly, her kashkan felt very warm. She was wearing too many layers.
Kai’s hand roamed over her curves, skimming her waist, grazing over her hip and thigh. “Let’s go up,” he whispered.
Zyara allowed him to guide her towards a pair of metal doors. They opened in response to Kai’s palm and they stepped into an elevator, away from curious eyes.
As soon as the doors closed, Kai was all over her, pushing her against the wall. His strong, rough hands grasped the belt of her kashkan, frantically untying it as the elevator rose.
Zyara tugged at his black jacket, letting it fall to the floor. Underneath, he wore a tailored black shirt that revealed the outline of his lean torso. She ran his hands down his back, caressing rippling muscle.
Kai pulled her close, planting a slow, burning kiss in the hollow of her neck. “You taste so fucking good,” he growled, his hot lips searing her skin.
Zyara moaned, her fingers fumbling with the small buttons of his shirt.
The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened directly into a set of chambers.
They stumbled out, unable to keep their hands off each another.
Kai finally managed to pull her belt free of its complicated ceremonial knot. It dropped to the plush carpet, followed by her kashkan, the fine garment sliding over her shoulders, revealing bare skin underneath.
Zyara wore only a thin black undergarment. Her pert breasts were bare, and her silver skin glistened in the warm light.
Kai dropped to his knees. “Holy hell,” he whispered, staring up at her in rapt disbelief. “You’re all of my wildest fantasies come true.” He slid his hands over her bare hips. “A silver goddess.”
Zyara had been worshipped by males before, but never quite like this. Kai’s black eyes burned into her, teasing out her long suppressed desire.
It had taken a Human to rekindle her sexual need.
“And what does that make you?” she rasped, running her fingers through his midnight colored hair. “A devil in Human form perhaps, seducing me with your wicked ways?”
Kai laughed. “I’m only Human, but you, my Kordolian, are exquisite.” The words rolled off his tongue like dark, decadent nectar, making Zyara’s legs go weak. He hooked his thumbs underneath her thin panties. “May I?”
“Ever the gentleman,” she remarked, her voice trembling with desire. “You may.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Kai yanked her panties down, revealing her naked sex.
“Oh.” He took a deep breath. “You’re not so different down there.”
“Our species seem to share a few similarities.” She slid a finger between her moist folds, stroking her sensitive flesh. A moan escaped her. Kainan was making her so damn horny. She was wet. It had been so fucking long. “My labia are elongated compared to those of a Human female, and I am hairless.”
“I can see that.” Kai kissed the mound of flesh just above her entrance. She fondled herself as he caressed her skin with his tongue. As she removed her finger, Kai closed his lips around it, tasting her essence.
He looked up and grinned. “And you taste just fine.”
Kai swooped in and sucked on her labia, his actions swift, firm, and unexpected. He took her soft flesh between his lips, making Zyara cry out, surprised by the intensity of the sensations that rocketed through her.
He caressed her with his deft tongue, slowly, then quickly, then slowly again. Unconsciously, Zyara began to rock her hips, moving to the rhythm he’d set.
She closed her eyes and saw the Universe exploding into glittering constellations in the darkness. That was how this moment felt.
She’d never wanted any male as much as she desired Kainan.
Her hands were trembling. Her body was trembling. Her mind was awash with his scent, his touch, his essence.
Slowly, tenderly, he pulled away, just as she felt the very first stirrings of a climax.
Even though she didn’t want him to stop, she silently agreed with his timing. “Look at me,” she said softly. “Naked as a newborn, and I haven’t even gotten a good look at you yet. On Kythia, you would be getting naked before me, and I would take my time admiring you.”
“Custom’s different here on Earth,” Kai said hoarsely, his beautiful lips glistening with her juices. “But if that is what you wish, my lady…”
Zyara was fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. “Get up,” she said, as he rose to his feet. He leaned in and planted a cheeky kiss on her lips, and she tasted her own musky sweetness.
“Let me help you with those,” Kai suggested, his nimble fingers brushing hers aside. His shirt was open in a flash, revealing his smooth, taut chest.
But what drew Zyara’s eye was the riot of color blossoming across his bare skin. Entranced, Zyara drew his shirt apart, revealing intricate, beautifully wrought ink.
“So this is also a Human custom,” she marveled, tracing her fingers across his chiseled pectorals. “This permanent ink.”
Whoever had done Kai’s tattoos was incredibly skilled. Bold, dark, fanlike lines curved over his broad shoulders and extended down the top of his pecs. They formed the backdrop to swirling blossoms and gliding fish and the writhing, scaled body of a serpent.
They were motifs of Earth, beautifully rendered.
The patterns extended down both of his arms, covering his skin from shoulder to wrist.
“Turn,” Zyara said, and Kai obliged.
His body was a living canvas.
The images on his back were even more brilliant, the swirling depictions of mythical beasts and blossoms and serpentine scales intersecting to form a living mural. The snakelike creature that writhed across his body stared out at her, its black eyes fierce and cruel. On Kai’s back, it was attempting to swallow its tail, its sinuous body twisting between colorful blossoms.
Zyara traced her hands over his skin, feeling his warmth, feeling the rise and fall of his chest. Here and there, scars marred his tattoos, tiny imperfections that added a harsh reminder to the beauty.
“Is this a Human custom?” Curiosity overwhelmed her, and arousal rippled through her. The warm flesh of her sex started to throb with need.
“It’s our custom; our tradition,” Kai rumbled, turning to face her. “These are the marks of my allegiance to my clan.”
“And the serpent eating its tail, what does it mean? I see it on the ring around your finger as well.” She stilled as he reached up and unfastened her hair, allowing it to cascade around her shoulders. He ran his fingers through her hair, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
“The ouroboros is the symbol of our clan. It represents many things. Infinity, wholeness, eternity, the never ending cycle of death and rebirth. But in reality, those things are just an illusion. That’s why my serpent twists amongst the branches, never quite reaching its tail. That’s what we do our entire lives. We reach for the impossible.”
