The Price of Discovery

by Leslie Dicken

  Something about Brundor worried her immensely. His hot eyes held desperation. And desperation drove people to do reckless acts. Even if Erin somehow knew Drakor would protect her, she didn’t want to take that chance around his brother.

  Erin wiped her palms on Drakor’s shirt and tested the door at the end of the hall. The room she snuck in earlier. It was unlocked! She slipped inside and quickly closed the door behind her, locking it.

  This room too was darkened by the shadows of the moon. If only she could have gone home and gotten her flashlight. Now, she’d have to poke around in the dark. There had to be something in this massive bookshelf to her left. She already knew that nothing was on the other side of the room other than a bed. This must have been his parents’ bedroom. It seemed creepy to be in here when they only died two days ago. But still she had work to do and she couldn’t let anything stand in her way.

  She went closer to the screen on the desk. It looked similar to a computer monitor, but much flatter and shinier. Erin reached out to touch it when a sound startled her from behind.

  Had someone come in? She locked the door, she was sure of it.

  Erin tried to ignore the galloping of her heart and slowly turned to face the dark corner of the room. She could see nothing against that shadowed wall but then a figure stepped forward.

  “So this is the real Erin.”

  Her breath stilled but her heart jumped for an entirely different reason. Drakor.

  But how did he get in here? Or was he in here all along? There was no sense in lying like she tried to with Brundor. Drakor knew what she did for a living and why she was here.

  She folded her arms under her breasts, suddenly very aware of her bare legs and his scent on her collar. “And? What of it?”

  He took another step forward and Erin had to muffle the intake of breath in her dry throat. The glow from the window lit up his bare chest, narrowed waist, and arms, casting shadows along the hard lines of his muscles. He wore a pair of shorts, unbuttoned but zipped, and nothing else.

  Drakor leaned one hand against the shelves near her. “I never imagined you would use my sisters to get what you want.”

  Erin tilted her head, trying to not be tempted by the allure of his body.

  He moved closer still and Erin backed up until her butt hit the edge of the desk. Drakor put an arm on either side of her head, blocking an escape.

  Erin stared up at him, wanting to run from him but knowing she could not. Not when he was this close. Not when shivers coursed through her body in the anticipation of his next move. She licked her lips but couldn’t control the deep yearning crashing through her blood. He held her spellbound, intoxicated by his raw sexuality.

  Drakor leaned toward her face, stopping just inches from her lips. “You and I are playing this game, but only one of us can win.”

  Why couldn’t she respond to him with some witty comment? One glance into those mysterious eyes made her heart skip a beat. His heady, masculine presence enveloped her so completely that all logical thought emptied from her brain.

  Erin muttered something unintelligible and lifted her chin a little. Damn it, why didn’t he kiss her?

  A hot hand clamped down on her thigh and Erin gasped. Her pulse rocketed. She could see one corner of his lips curl as he slid a knee between her legs. “What do you hope to find, Erin?”

  She tried to answer but her mouth was too dry to even swallow. If only he would kiss her…

  His other hand came down from the shelf and slowly lifted her shirt. “I like the way you look in my clothes.”

  With one hand on her thigh, the other resting on her bare hip, Drakor leaned forward to within a whisper of touching her lips. Shivers had long since been replaced by a spiraling heat inside of her. Her nipples reached forward, her legs weakened.

  Still, he did not kiss her. The bastard was teasing her. He must know the effect he had on her, the way he could make her brain so fuzzy that she could concentrate only on him.

  Erin had one thought only at that moment—to have the aching void deep inside her filled. And Drakor had to be the one to do it. But she’d be damned before she’d let him know that.

  If Erin only knew how much this tortured him. From the moment he saw those firm muscular legs poking out from beneath his shirt, Drakor knew he had to have her tonight. Of course, the fact that it would distract her from prying around was an added bonus.

  In the hazy light he saw her lick her lips. She wanted him to kiss her and yet she would not make the first move. If she wanted it so badly, why didn’t she reach her arms around his neck and pull her to him? Maybe she enjoyed this other game they played.

  “Admit it,” he said against her mouth. “You want me, despite everything.”

  She didn’t answer so Drakor raised his hand and caressed her breast, his thumb massaging the pointed tip. This time a whimper was his response. His whole body tightened with need.

  Drakor pressed against her. “You can feel how much I want you. Tell me that you want me inside you.”

  Erin arched her back, pushing herself against his palm and erection. Her actions gave him the answer he sought but she refused to say the words. Why could she not admit it? Because he wasn’t human?

  He moved his other hand around to cup her bottom. She lifted her leg and he slid a finger inside her underwear. Oh yes, she wanted him all right. Thank the Great Sun he’d learned much about his control within the last week. Clenching his teeth, Drakor held still while fire pumped through his blood, jerking his erection.

  “I will have you answer me.” He nibbled on her lip. Erin closed her eyes, apparently waiting for his kiss.

  Instead of obliging her, Drakor slipped a finger within the very wet and waiting spot between her legs. She groaned and bucked up against him. He had to suck in a deep ragged breath to hold himself under restraint.

  But he would break her, he would make her admit that she wanted him. Then he would know that he could sway her with his touch anytime. He could make her forget everything about revealing who they really were.

  Drakor added another finger and she cried out against his lips. “Do you want me to kiss you?” The words came out more urgently than he intended.

  Her hand found his zipper and yanked it down. Within seconds his shorts dropped to the floor and he stood against her completely bare.

  He followed her lead and moved his hands to her waist, then pulled down her panties until they sank to her feet. In some strange way it aroused him even more to leave his shirt on her.

  Erin pulled his hips toward her, moving her legs apart to greet him. Her eyes stared at him and he could see her face flush with desire. He rubbed himself against her, but refused to enter.

  He would win this battle.

  Drakor captured her head in his hands. “You have to tell me.”

  She whimpered and her eyelids fluttered. He moved his face close to hers until he could feel her hot breath on his mouth. “You will say you want me or I will put your clothes back on you and take you to your vehicle.”

  Erin reached down and touched him, the contact sending tremors skittering throughout his body. She tried to guide him inside of her, but he was stronger. He took both of her wrists with one hand and held them behind her back.

  “You must do it my way.”

  She bit her lower lip and glanced up at him. Even in this low light, he could see the fury and need in her gaze. “Damn you!”

  Drakor couldn’t withhold his grin. “So you want me to kiss you.”

  “You’ve bewitched me somehow. It-it isn’t fair.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  She struggled briefly against his hold on her wrists. The movement massaged him to a dangerous edge. “Tell me.”

  Erin stared at his lips. “Yes, damn it. I want you.”

  Drakor plunged his tongue between her lips at the same he thrust his erection deep inside of her.

  Erin moaned, but then put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back. “Sto
p.”

  “Now?”

  “The desk, it hurts. Can we…can we go onto the bed?”

  Drakor lifted her, never withdrawing from inside her and carried her to the bed. But this time he leaned back across the blanket and sat her on top of him. Just as he imagined in Ankra’s room earlier.

  The new vantage point gave him a vision he knew he would never forget. Despite her wearing his shirt, he could see her breasts bouncing. The soft glow from the windows gave him a shadowed picture of her face, with upturned lips and half-closed eyes.

  Erin moved on top of him, guiding him to a release he could barely delay. But then a strange expression passed over her features and she suddenly lifted herself off of him, hovering just above the tip.

  Drakor cried out and reached for her hips. He tried to yank her back down but those strong legs of hers held her aloft. What game was she playing now?

  “What are you doing?” he managed to croak between the surges of ecstasy and frustration.

  “I–I want to know what you need from–from us.”

  Erin seemed to be in just as much agony as he was and she also could barely speak.

  He grabbed her waist and tried to pull her down again, but she wouldn’t budge.

  “What do you need from humans?”

  Drakor lifted his hips to find his way back inside of her but it didn’t work. She turned the tables on him and now she wielded the power.

  He sighed. “Many from where I live can’t process something…you call it Vitamin D, their bones are weak and deformed.”

  Erin slid down over him again and he closed his eyes with relief and contentment. He could feel her hips moving above him, her sweet thighs rubbing against his sides.

  Then the feeling was gone again. She had lifted herself off.

  “What do you expect to–to find on Earth?”

  She grunted out the words and the look of concentration on her face clearly told him her questions did not come to her easily.

  Knowing he wouldn’t feel the pleasure of her warmth around him until he answered, he didn’t bother to force her down. “We hoped to find something humans developed to strengthen bones.” It wasn’t a total lie.

  “Like medicines or supplements?”

  He nodded, but somehow he knew that she would figure out the answer was too easy. If that were all he was after, he could have purchased them and be gone by now. Eventually, Erin would come back for more answers.

  When she lowered herself onto him this time, Drakor reached behind her neck and pulled her down to his chest. “No more questions.” Then he captured her lips with his own. He snaked both of his arms around her back, holding her tightly against him. She continued to move along his shaft, bringing them further along their quest for overwhelming relief.

  When Erin started to whimper, Drakor let go of her mouth and dropped his head back onto the bed. He closed his eyes, relishing the sensations of her soft, urgent noises and wet, quivering body. She cried out, hips jerking.

  Then he could hear nothing but the frantic rush of his pulse and the echoes of his own groans.

  This time Erin collapsed on him. They lay unmoving, with no sounds other than their own labored breathing. After what felt like both an eternity and barely a second, she moved herself off of him and rolled to her back on the blankets.

  He wanted to say something to her, to tell her that he didn’t want to play this game. He wished there was a way so that they both could win, but somehow he had a sense that in the end, they would both lose.

  Drakor turned to touch her but she slipped away from him and stood. He sat up and watched her as she glanced around the room for a moment, shrugged and then found her panties. Her face wrinkled in mild disgust as she pulled them on.

  “You don’t have to go,” he said as she reached for the door.

  She wouldn’t look at him. “Oh, yes, I do.” Erin unlocked the door and turned the handle. “Oh, and happy birthday. I hope you enjoyed your gift.”

  She vanished into the hallway and shut the door behind her. Drakor fell back on the bed. Giving him pleasure was her gift? She couldn’t possibly know the irony that. Today marked the day he would never again know desire, love, or happiness when he returned to Elliac. Only Erin Price, a human, could now give him those.

  Drakor rolled over and pulled the blanket over his legs. He squeezed his eyes closed but the images of Erin on top of him plagued his peace.

  Only the one female determined to destroy him could give him what he would soon lose forever.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The ringing phone startled Erin awake. She scrambled around on her bed until she knocked the receiver off the hook. Blinking in the morning light, she found it on the floor.

  “Hello?”

  “Erin? Is everything okay?”

  “Greg? What time is it?” She yawned.

  “It’s eleven o’clock. Don’t you have to be at work? What happened to you last night? They said you left the office yesterday and never came back. I couldn’t get a hold of you at home.”

  Erin stretched but she couldn’t dislodge the tingle still skipping through her from last night. “I was over at Dra…Ankra’s. I had a slumber party with her and Sitora.”

  “Slumber party? On a Monday night?”

  “Look, Greg, I’m fine, okay. I’m getting up now I was just tired from being up late and I needed some extra sleep.”

  He sighed. “Sorry, I was just worried, you know. You sounded really freaked on the messages you left.”

  Erin rolled her eyes. She knew she should be flattered or feel loved that he worried about her but instead it made her feel like a helpless child. Like she was the baby sister he always had to keep an eye on. She was a grown woman, for God’s sake.

  “Well, what was it?”

  She heard his other line beep. “Shouldn’t you get that? My thing can wait.”

  He sighed again. “Okay, okay, hold on.” Erin heard a click and he was gone.

  She really shouldn’t tell him at all. Yes, when she first saw that spaceship she was freaked and scared and excited. She wanted to warn him about Ankra. She wanted to gush about what a fabulous opportunity this was.

  But now that she had seen Drakor again, now that she spent the night nestled between the oblivious sisters, she couldn’t let Greg in on her secret. What if he in some way refused to let her go back there? What if he blabbed about it and told someone else? What if he went over there himself and ruined everything?

  Telling Greg was not the right thing to do.

  The line clicked again. “I’m back. Erin, tell me what had you so worked up.”

  She got up from the bed and started digging through her drawers. “Why don’t you tell me what had you MIA the last few days first?” Stalling seemed like a good tactic.

  “Oh, it’s been a mess. First I couldn’t find some files I needed on our new software, then one of my top engineers left an unintelligible message on my machine. I tried to call him over the weekend but there was no answer. Then, on Sunday after coming back from getting some stuff done, my neighbor tells me a woman was poking around outside the house.”

  “Could it have been Ankra?”

  “No. The description didn’t fit her. Anyway, after the crap you rambled on about at my house on Saturday morning, I started getting really worried. I think I should call an attorney.”

  Erin sank down on her bed. “Oh, damn, Greg, I’m sorry. You know, maybe you and I can sit down together and try to work it out. Figure out what’s going on.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” She’d never heard him sound so dejected. And afraid.

  “Listen, maybe if you spent some time with Ankra you’d feel better. She seems to do that for you.”

  “Yeah, I haven’t seen her since that one crazy night last week. Maybe I should go over there.”

  Erin smiled with the new lift to his voice. For once she was taking care of him. “I should forewarn you, though, that both of her parents died on Saturday.”

 
She heard him suck in a breath. “Both? I thought just their father was sick.”

  She didn’t get it either. What did Drakor say? She chose not to live without him. It didn’t make any sense, but maybe that too was something to do with their culture.

  That and casting a dunce spell on their sex partner. She could barely hold a thought once the desire for him had invaded her neurons. Forcing herself to ask those questions, to move herself off of him, was harder than trying to speak in a complete sentence after she recovered from anesthesia when her wisdom teeth were removed.

  But somehow, through a strength honed in her investigative instincts, she found a way to take advantage of his vulnerable position. And it had worked. So far she didn’t have time to think it through, but he did answer her. And if that’s what it took to get answers, she would just have to subject herself to it.

  “Is she upset?”

  Greg’s question interrupted her memories of Drakor’s warm hands on her waist. “Um, she seemed okay yesterday. But I’ll bet she would still love to see you.”

  “So what are you going to do today? Are you going in to work?”

  Erin glanced up at the window above her bed. The partially overcast sky promised another humid day of summer. One that would be best spent inside her office building, where she could be bringing her story together, figuring it out piece by piece. That’s what she loved about this job, putting the puzzle together and making it something that would entertain, inform, or startle others.

  And yet there was something else tugging at her heart, something else she felt compelled to do before she could commit herself to this story.

  “I think I’ll go to the cemetery today. I haven’t visited Mom and Dad in months.”

  Greg cleared his throat. “Say hello to them for me, will you?”

  “Of course.” Erin stood again and headed for the bathroom. “Why don’t you come over one day this week so we can figure out this mess at Invasion Shield?”