by Liza Probz
X growled in aggravation, then sat down in a nearby chair, his forearms on his knees, his back bent, his head hanging low.
"How in Noruma's name did this happen?" He seemed to be talking to himself.
"How did what happen?" she asked, moving closer and forcing herself not to reach out to touch him. The evening of him making love to her brushed by her vision and she took another step toward him. She wasn’t one to simply share her body and her body alone. Some part of her heart had escaped her during the event.
"Why do you think I was covered up?" he asked, still not looking up to meet her eyes. "Why do you think I couldn't let my people see me like this?" His tone had gone from irritation to desolation, a change that happened swiftly and without warning.
Sadness is blue, isn't it? But he's black.
"X, why isn't your skin changing color with your moods? What's going on? You have to tell me if you want me to help."
The regent laughed, a laugh of desperation and hopelessness. "Help? I don't think that's possible."
Sylvie threw up her hands. "Then why drag me back here? For shit’s sake. Just be straight with me!"
X's head shot up, his eyes fierce. "I dragged you back because you belong to me. Because I can't stand being parted from you. Because, you. Are. Mine."
Sylvie was stunned. Where is this possessiveness coming from?
"No. You don't own me, no one does. You said one night. That night's over. So let me go! I’m nothing but a threat here and a disruption and… and…” Tears filled her eyes as she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had somehow hurt him by giving him access to her body.
X was out of his chair in a second, his hands digging into her shoulders as he leaned over the top of her menacingly. "You're not going anywhere. You will be by my side until I die. Which won't be too long at this rate."
Sylvie's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
He stared down at her, emotion flashing through his beautiful eyes at an alarming rate. Anger. Fear. Lust. Despair.
"I'm not going to ask you again. Tell me what the fuck is happening right now!"
"The mating frenzy," he told her, his voice losing power as he deflated. "You’re my mate, and because of it, I'm going to die."
Chapter 29
Xivthar couldn't decide whether to weep or scream. Whether to tear the clothes off the woman in front of him, or whether to hurl invectives at her, or furnishings.
"AHHH!" he yelled, letting her go to run his hands through his tendrils again. "I can't take this. Not now. My planet needs me and instead I've... I've... fuck!"
Sylvie reached up and brushed her fingers along his face, her expression softening fast. "Calm down. Take a deep breath and explain to me what you mean. What is this mating frenzy?"
"Zantharian males and females can have sex with one another and reach a sort of climax, but without the male releasing his seed. Zantharian females have only one egg for reproduction, and they are very selective about the male chosen to fertilize it. So while we have sex for pleasure, most of the time it isn't for procreation."
“Oh.” She sat in the chair beside him and glanced up. “I wondered why you didn’t come when we made love.”
“Now you know.” He shrugged and ran his hand over his handsome face.
"But you have a brother," she pointed out.
"A rarity. On occasion, about one in 100,000 births, the embryo splits and one egg hatches two babies."
"Like human twins."
X nodded. The fact that his mother had been able to have two children had set her apart from so many others. Yet another thing that had made her a miraculous woman.
He turned away, pacing the small sitting room, leaving the Earthling to watch him with worry in her eyes. "When a Zantharian female has chosen to accept a male's seed, she can prompt him to go into the mating frenzy. This prepares the male to release his seed and ensures that the egg is fertilized."
Sylvie nodded, motioning for him to go on. As a biologist, she understood the details of such a reproductive arrangement without him going over them.
"However, it also ensures that unsuitable males are taken out of the gene pool." He took a deep breath, anxious to reveal the depth of his anguish.
"If a male goes into the mating frenzy uninvited, and no female allows him to fertilize her egg within a few days, the frenzy will grow worse until he eventually dies. The release will push back into my own body and it’s toxic. I’ll have cardiac arrest." He shrugged, not wanting pity, but knowing without a doubt that he had to prepare for the worst.
“Wow,” she whispered and glanced down toward her hands. It was all he could do not to pull her up and kiss her hard, forcing her to comply with his needs and the demands of his body.
Xivthar stopped his pacing and returned to her, staring down into her lovely face, a face that even now made his stomach clench with need for more of her. "Do you see what's happened?"
"You've gone into the mating frenzy. Over me?" She sounded as incredulous as he felt.
"I didn't think it was possible either. You're not even my species, but the signs are all there."
He opened his hand and began ticking the points off on his fingers.
"My skin has gone black. It will remain this color until I release my seed, or I perish. It’s the fucking toxins in my body. My moods are cycling rapidly and I feel intense physical pain when I'm separated from you. I felt like my parents had passed again when I woke and you were gone. I have the intense and unbearable need to release my seed into you, to fuck you over and over until you can’t hold yourself up, nor can I." He closed his fingers into a fist and moved his hand down to his side, hoping that she couldn't see how badly he was shaking.
"So you brought me back to release your seed into me?" Her voice was quiet, confused. She was devastatingly beautiful and the idea of mating to her would haunt him until his death arrived if she rejected his need.
Xivthar laughed. If only it were that easy.
"I don't even think I can. Like I said, we aren't the same species. My seed shouldn't be able to fertilize your eggs; therefore, it shouldn't be able to be released at all. My body knows the truth of what will happen and won’t release until it’s a sound investment."
"And you'll die because of this?" Her pitch had raised an octave as her eyes widened and filled with tears.
Maybe the thought upsets her? Does she care for me?
"I brought you back because I need you by my side. You're the only one besides my brother I trust to help me root out the enemy threat before my time... expires. I hope you understand. I’ll give you safe passage as the time draws near. Just help me. Please?"
Sylvie shook her head, the blond mess upon it catching his attention and holding him there as the air seemed harder and harder to breathe. "There are several problems with your plan, not the least of which is that your people are calling for my blood. What will they do if they discover that I'm your mate? They'll never accept that I'm working for you. They'll think I did this to you on purpose."
Maybe you did, an insidious voice inside him whispered. Maybe she's forced the frenzy on you to take you out. The kidnapping failed, so perhaps they figured seduction would be a more suitable weapon of destruction.
Now it was Xivthar's turn to shake his head to clear it of unwanted thoughts. No. I trust her. It isn't her fault. She hadn't even known about the frenzy.
Still, the nagging doubt had taken hold of his mind, and he couldn't let it go. The regent pulled her to his side, wanting to both punish her and plunge himself into her over and over again. She smelled like heaven, the soft scent of their sex still on her.
"Why did you leave?" He brushed his fingers by her face and pulled her flush against him.
Sylvie's eyes searched his before glancing away. "I'd fulfilled my end of the bargain. It was time for me to go home."
"So last night meant nothing to you?" He needed it to mean something. It meant too much to him. One night of passion that would cost him his life, an
d she treated it as if it were nothing more than an appointment on her calendar.
"Like you said," she mumbled, "we both were curious and this was one way to find out what it would be like to sleep with an alien. When it was over, I figured it was time for me to go. I didn’t want to change my mind, X. I didn't know you'd... that this would... you know."
Her voice petered out and she stood there, staring down at the floor, looking so damn innocent.
His heart felt like it was being ravaged by gnarsharks. "I might have said that before, but after what happened between us, how special it was... how could you just walk away from that? It meant nothing to you."
It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact where he was concerned.
She looked up at him, her eyes blurry with unshed tears. "Your people will never accept me. The longer I stay here, the more you earn their scorn. Now I've destroyed you, just by giving in to my desires. No wonder your people want my blood. I can't say I blame them."
His thumb stroked over her cheek, catching a teardrop as it fell. The softness in her lit a hope inside of him.
"No, baby," he crooned, pulling her into the circle of his arms and stroking her soft hair. "There is no blame to be given. We share in this equally and yet neither of us could have known that this would happen."
"How can I help you?" she whispered. "What can we do to reverse this frenzy? Your people must have some kind of cure?"
Xivthar shook his head. "We haven't really looked for one. This is how our gene pool stays strong. Since our population is severely limited, it's important that we continue such customs. For a male to die during the mating frenzy is rare simply because most are accepted by their chosen mates. The few that aren't usually had mental health issues to begin with."
She let out a bitter laugh as a tear dripped onto her cheek. "Great, but ‘my mate has a screw loose’ isn’t going to work for us."
He knew that she was being uncomplimentary, but hearing the phrase "my mate" on her lips caused his cock to instantly harden under his sarong. Growling, he pulled her in tighter and ran his hands down her back.
Her eyes widened. "I thought you couldn't..."
"That doesn't mean that I don't desire you. That I don’t think you’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, Sylvie." He leaned in, holding her face in his hands to steady her. He brushed his lips across hers, deepening the kiss as she pressed into it. The emotions inciting riots inside him narrowed until only lust was left.
"I need you," he whispered, and moved to suck on her earlobe while brushing the back of his fingers over her bare stomach. She trembled in his arms, but didn’t pull away.
“Take me then,” she mumbled before pressing her lips to his dark chest and licking softly.
He picked her up into his arms as relief flooded him. If he weren’t capable of release, they would know soon. Either way, she would be beside him when he passed. A chime sounded at the door behind him and he let out a long groan.
Putting her down, he covered himself with the cloak and walked to the door, not quite yet willing to release the membrane. "Who's there?"
"It's Major Kremkrall. There's been a disturbance at the Ministry of Science. Reports say that the Hareema have tried to destroy the Earthling's ship."
Xivthar turned to the female. She stared back at him with eyes wide.
He'd feared allowing her to see her ship, in part because he knew she would want to leave if she could get it activated, but also because he knew she would present a tempting target to the enemy. It looked like they wouldn't be able to avoid investigating the ship now.
As much as he didn't want to put her in danger, he was sure she would insist, which she did, immediately.
"We've got to get to my ship. There could be a clue as to who's behind all of this, X."
Xivthar nodded. She was right. Despite his desire to lock her up for her own safety, he could not physically bear being parted from her.
I'll keep her safe, he told himself. Even if it costs my life. Besides, without her, I haven't got much of a life left.
Chapter 30
Sylvie had pointed out again how much his people would protest her presence during any investigation, so they'd worked out a plan. He would keep her bound while walking through the halls or in the presence of other Zantharians. It would put forth the appearance that she was a prisoner, and therefore, no longer a threat.
Sylvie hadn't loved the suggestion at first, so they'd toyed with the idea of putting her under a cloak like his. Unfortunately, she was so much smaller than the other aliens that the cloak would be worthless in hiding her appearance.
"Just because I'm not seven foot tall and slender as a reed," she muttered as he pulled her arms behind her back and attached the bindings, then slid the collar around her neck.
"Be glad I'm even agreeing to allow you on your ship," he replied, his voice like steel.
Anger again, she thought. No wonder their skin color doesn't shift during the mating frenzy. Otherwise Zantharian males would be walking kaleidoscopes. They'd make everyone else sick with their constant color changes.
Sylvie was silent as the cloaked regent led her back to the Ministry of Science. She ignored the mob and its calls for her death and dismemberment. She fought the feeling of her gorge rising as they once again returned to the place where she'd nearly been eviscerated. She steeled herself against the reception she knew she was in for.
She focused on the hope of getting Magnis back online and being able to fly herself out of the situation, but she knew that wouldn’t happen. Not if it meant leaving X to his death.
The mating frenzy was something totally unexpected. Interspecies mating on Earth was complex and rare. She'd never considered the possibility of offspring from copulation with the Zantharian.
Copulation? She laughed at herself. You weren't able to use such a big vocabulary during the act itself. I don't know if you could have formed any coherent words at the time.
Her blood ran hot at the remembrance of their sex again, the strong pull of his hands and expert touch of his tongue. A groan escaped her and he glanced around, his glare a warning to keep it down. The strange ache between her thighs left her wanting more of him, his size and texture something she would never be able to mimic on Earth. The jolts of electricity had been something to fear at first and covet once they were possibly forever lost.
The ache between her thighs wasn’t the one catching her attention and rearranging her life. The one deep inside of her chest was doing that.
They made their way through the corridors in the Ministry of Science, which were blessedly silent except for the occasional whispers of those working there to one another as they passed.
"You know," she said, attempting to act nonchalant since he'd been so jumpy and she didn't want to upset him, "since we're here, maybe we should consider doing a little research on your condition."
His mouth opened in a half snarl, but he snapped it shut, presumably before bitching her out in front of the entire ministry. His moods were incredibly sensitive. She’d have to be a little more careful with her choice of words.
"Hear me out," she said, her voice low enough that she hoped it didn't carry. "I'm a trained astrobiologist. With a little bit of time, and with these fine facilities, we might be able to find a cure before you--"
"Enough," he growled, all but pushing her through the large door in front of them. "Drop it. We have more important things to worry about."
"But if you aren't here to help your people, who else--"
"I said, that’s enough. I’ll figure this shit out on my own when time allows me to. If it doesn’t… I wasn’t meant to rule any longer."
His shout froze the workers who were outside the ship and sent a jolt of sadness through Sylvie.
"Report," he said, his voice a whip-crack in the echoing chamber. "What happened in the attack against the ship?"
Sylvie's breath caught as she took in her little spaceship. It had a few dings and tons of s
cratches, but it didn't look as if the hull was ripped open. It can be fixed.
A maroon scientist scurried forward. Even if he wasn't sure who was underneath the cloak, he knew it had to be someone with enough clout to be dragging the Earthling around like a dog on a leash.
"Someone attempted to set off a frag-bomb next to the ship. Our sensors discovered it before it could go off. It was a rather sloppy attempt at destroying the ship, really."
X's brow furrowed. Sylvie wondered what he was thinking.
He didn't share his thoughts, however, but continued asking questions. "What have you discovered about the Earthling's ship and the malfunction in our defense shield?"
The scientist nodded nervously. "We have determined that there is nothing in the ship's workings that could have disabled the shield. However, we still can't get the computer to cooperate, so we could be missing something."
"Let me take a crack at it," Sylvie said quietly, looking up at the hooded figure and hoping her voice didn't carry to those working on the ship. She didn't like being unable to see his expression.
"I’ll perform my own inspection. Keep back. All of you." He ducked through the ship's hatch and pulled her with him, his tugging a little harder than was necessary.
Sylvie had to repress her excitement at seeing the insides of her ship again. The little blinking green light display that represented Magnis's main console had power from what she could tell.
X ordered the scientists working inside the little ship out. After they’d gone, he undid the restraints at Sylvie's back.
"Magnis," she said, approaching the console before X could start to interfere. "It's me, Dr. Cohen. Begin activation sequence."
There was an unpleasant buzzing sound. "Human voiceprint recognized, but no access code received." It was Magnis, his voice as toneless and flat as ever.
"Stupid NASA. They built in a bunch of extra security protocols because they were worried about the ship falling into the wrong hands. Although I don't know why, since we weren't even sure advanced life existed in the universe."
