by Zoey Draven
Eve turned around, craning her neck up to look at him. Though his expression was neutral, his words were questioning and slightly…hesitant, like he’d upset her in some way.
So, she reached out a hand to touch his arm, feeling the subtle differences in the texture of his skin, and said, “You did nothing wrong, Khiva. I really liked what we did. I just…this is all new to me, you know? It feels a little overwhelming at the moment.”
Khiva’s eyes watched her. Those beautiful eyes almost convinced her to stay.
“I think it’s best if I go home,” she said softly. “But thank you. I’m sorry that I’m such a nervous wreck,” she tried to joke, to lighten the mood.
But Khiva didn’t respond. He simply blinked, absorbing her words, but then let out a low breath and nodded. His voice was unexpectedly warm as he said, “Of course. Whatever makes you comfortable, Evelyn.”
“Thank you for understanding,” she said, her feet inching towards the door. It hadn’t been all that long ago since she’d crossed the threshold of that door for the first time and she wondered if any woman in her right mind would’ve paid 900 credits for a night with a Krave, only to leave just a little over an hour later.
It was possibly the most expensive hour—and orgasm—of her life.
But it had been worth it. So worth it, if not only because of him.
“I guess this is goodbye for now,” she said softly, looking back at him, her hand reaching for the door. Her words sounded like a question, lilting up towards the end.
Khiva’s breath hitched and suddenly, before she could reach for the door lever, he grabbed her by her hips and pushed her back against the solid wood.
Surprise rocked her, but before she could say anything, his lips were on hers.
Eve gasped, allowing his tongue entry, and he swept her mouth with precision and thoroughness, slowly working his lips over hers. Unable to help herself, she kissed him back, her head beginning to swim, getting lost in it.
How had she lived without this? Without his kiss?
Eve didn’t know how long it lasted, but by the time Khiva finally pulled back, her breathing was ragged, her nipples were tight and hard, her dress was even more winkled, and there was a small wet spot on the front of it from his pre-cum because he was still naked and aroused.
Khiva blew out a rough breath and she felt it ruffle her hair. Then his eyes focused on hers and her heart skipped a beat by the intensity she saw there.
“Will you come see me again?” he asked softly.
“I…I think so,” was the only thing she could get out.
“I want to see you again,” he rasped. “I will beg if I have to.”
Maybe Madame Allegria had taught the Krave to secure their clients for future visits. Maybe he did this and acted this way with every client, making them feel special, kissing them senseless, and letting them leave with fluttery bellies.
But for some reason…Eve couldn’t bring herself to care. It was a fantasy and she was completely playing into it.
Besides, she’d already decided that she would visit him at least once more, to lose her virginity. Because after what she’d experienced that night…she couldn’t imagine losing it to anyone else. She didn’t want to lose it to anyone else.
“Please,” he murmured softly.
“I will,” she finally said, looking up at him, still wrapped in his arms and pressed against the door.
Relief made his shoulders loosen and he bent his head for one last kiss. Eve savored it, the taste of him, the surprising softness of his lips, and the way he seemed to consume her.
Finally, he backed away, slowly opening the door for her, as if reluctant.
“Kasari, leeldra,” he said and her stomach fluttered again, knowing it was some sort of farewell in his language.
Unable to resist, she said, “Kasari, Khiva.”
His pupils flared and he watched her as she turned and began the slow walk down the hall. When she turned at the elevator, she looked over her shoulder at him and saw he was still watching her, completely nude.
Eve smiled, giving a little wave, and then stepped inside, pushing the metal gate closed behind her. The last thing she saw as the elevator doors closed were his eyes flashing in the low light.
Then she was alone and she let out a deep ragged breath that she’d been holding. She looked around her at the interior of the elevator, seeing it for the first time since she’d been too nervous on her way up.
Eve smiled, touching her lips, and it didn’t take long until the elevator pinged open to the lobby floor.
She got out and Valerie was standing at the desk. The blonde did a double-take, looking taken-aback.
“Miss Tesler?” she asked, studying her closely. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes,” Eve said, “I’m, um, just ready to leave.”
Valerie looked at her carefully. Slowly, she said, “I hope everything was satisfactory with your Krave.”
Khiva, Eve mentally corrected her.
It occurred to her for the first time that her abrupt departure would reflect poorly on him, or get him into some kind of trouble. She had no idea what the dynamics were at Madame Allegria’s, after all.
“Yes, absolutely,” Eve said, forcing a wide smile. “Khiva was wonderful. In fact, I’d like to book another visit. When is he available next?”
Valerie blinked, her shoulders loosening, and she turned to her Nu device. After another moment, she said, “He has an opening next week, on Thursday evening. Would you like to reserve it?”
Eve wondered if Khiva ‘worked’ every single night and something about that made her stomach turn.
Clearing her throat, she nodded, “Yes.”
“Great,” Valerie said, smiling. “I’ll send a confirmation to your Nu device. And I’ll have transport for you out at the front in a few minutes to take you home.”
“Thank you,” Eve said, incline her head. “I’ll see you next week.”
Then she turned to leave, walking quickly through the lobby and out the front door. When the door closed behind her and she was once again out of sight, she let out a heavy breath, still unable to believe what the night had brought.
But as she walked through the cobblestone alley to the sidewalk of London Street, Eve couldn’t help but smile.
Though she desperately needed the safety and comfort of her townhouse, she was proud of herself…for putting herself out there for once in her life and experiencing something she’d been longing to for a while.
Even more so, she couldn’t wait until next Thursday, when she’d be able to see Khiva again.
Chapter Eight
The mating room was silent, except for the sounds of the flickering, crackling fire. Khiva stood near the window, remembering that just a short while ago, Evelyn’s reflection had been staring back at him. Her eyes were haunting him, the memory of her keeping him aroused and aching.
For the first time in a long time, Khiva considered manually bringing himself to orgasm. He didn’t even remember what it was like to masturbate. And while his clients sometimes liked that they left him aroused, Khiva let that mental trick drop the moment they did step out of his door.
Even with his clients, he didn’t remember the last time he was organically, naturally aroused.
But with Evelyn…he was.
It had never happened, not in the ten years he’d been working for Madame Allegria’s brothel.
Despite being curious about this, Khiva was…dismayed. Attachment to a client was dangerous. Attachment to any female, for that matter, was dangerous, not to mention a hopeless endeavor. If Madame Allegria found out, it would mean punishment. But even more so, there was nothing a Krave could do about it.
Growing attached would only mean pain, physical and emotional pain.
As if hearing his thoughts, Madame Allegria stepped into the mating room, a room that still lingered with the scent of the innocent human female plaguing his mind.
Khiva had been expecting her an
d his shoulders tensed, his arousal for Evelyn immediately falling away, though he wondered if Madame Allegria would demand a mating from him that night. She hadn’t sought a mating with him in over a month, though Khiva knew he was one of her ‘favorites.’
He turned from the window, glad he had dressed after his newest, most maddening client had left. And he marveled at how different two females could be, since Madame Allegria looked to be the polar opposite of Evelyn and not simply physically.
The female standing in front of him exuded power and sexuality. She always had. It was what had drawn most of the Keriv’i to her from the beginning, like moths to a flame, or so the old human saying went.
At one time, Khiva had worshipped her, grateful for the opportunity she’d given him. Once their planet had been destroyed during the Great War, credits and food and shelter had been scarce, as the Keriv’i scattered among the stars. It had seemed like salvation when Madame Allegria had offered all three.
Whoring himself was not an act Khiva had ever thought he would do. Then again, so did most that found themselves in hopeless, desperate situations…until the price outweighed the act.
Madame Allegria had hair the color of the hottest of fires, with painted lips to match. Her blue eyes, that held the tell-tale signs of color altercation, regarded him from the doorway, her slim arms crossed over her ample chest. She was wearing all black, much like him. In human years, she was probably ten years older than he was, but like all aging, wealthy Everton females, she looked much younger.
“Valerie tells me that your client this evening left an hour into your visit with her,” Madame Allegria said, her voice so soft that it almost sounded like a sensual purr. But Khiva’s jaw tightened, hearing the unspoken, barbed message underneath. “Care to explain why?”
It seemed a betrayal to tell Madame Allegria that Evelyn was a virgin. Khiva wanted to keep that to himself.
Instead, he told her, “She wished to start slowly with me, to become more comfortable.”
Madame Allegria’s eyes narrowed the slightest amount, the only change in her in reaction to his words. Then, she slowly walked towards him, her slim hips swaying. Khiva made sure not to tense up and he kept his expression neutral.
When she stopped in front of him, so close that the smell of her burned in his nostrils, she placed her red-tipped nails on his chest. Deceivingly gentle, she ran them down until they rested on the waistband of his pants.
Softly, she purred, “The only reason I’m not whipping you senseless right now for letting your client leave an hour into her visit is that she booked another session with you next week.”
Khiva made sure to hold in his relief and excitement that Evelyn had chosen to see him again. Later, when Madame Allegria was gone, when he had returned to the Cluster, where they all slept, he would allow himself to feel it.
He watched as her eyes ran over his face. She was an intelligent woman, highly intelligent. It was why she had made such a successful businesswoman. But Khiva knew that if she sensed even the slightest change in him, she would know what that meant.
Then her shrewd gaze changed. Khiva recognized that look and his jaw twitched when her eyes left his face to trail down his body, where her fingers rested.
Suddenly, she gripped his soft cock through his pants and he already knew then that his month of reprieve from her attentions was over. Immediately, he urged his body to grow aroused once more, letting his cock fill her gripped palm, knowing that if he remained unresponsive to her touch, he would be punished.
“I’ll take Miss Tesler’s place tonight,” she said softly, stroking his hard cock. “I need a good fucking and you’ve always known how rough I need it. None of the Krave dare to fuck me like you do.”
That was because when she wanted him, Khiva fucked her like he hated her. Because he did.
“Undress, Krave,” Madame Allegria said.
And like an obedient whore, though every strand of him was screaming inside, Khiva did as she ordered.
Chapter Nine
Eve hunched over the book, her eyes straining as she concentrated on the task at hand, not daring to blink as she brushed the wax over the delicate edges of the pages with the smallest brush in her bundle.
It was a quiet night at Wrenton’s Books and Antiques. The shop had long closed, but Mr. Wrenton had asked her to stay behind to work on a book restoration for a collector. Eve had been relieved to stay, anything to occupy her waking thoughts.
She was the best book restorer in all of Everton, even better than Mr. Wrenton…and her employer would be the first to say so. It was why he tasked her with the most expensive and thereby the oldest of the Old Earth books that had been saved and preserved through the years.
The particular book she was rebinding that night was from the year 1988, published in a place called New York City. That was the first thing Eve looked for…the date, the place. She was fascinated with the old books and it was hard for her to comprehend what 1988 looked like in a place called New York City. She’d read about the city, of course, had listened to old music and old films that referenced it regularly. But it still seemed like an unreachable place in an even more unreachable time.
It was nearly silent in the warm shop, except for the gentle buzz of the generators. Sweat rolled down her back, since she’d accidentally left the fire on for too long, but she was so focused on her work that it didn’t bother her.
With one last swipe of wax, she finished securing the loose pages to the spine. The book had come to her in tatters and during her inspection, she noticed a few pages had been missing from what seemed like an old mystery novel. She made a note of it for the buyer. It would lower its value but not by much.
She flipped the pages carefully once the wax dried, making sure that the spine was still pliable. Eve smiled when she was happy with it, straightening from the table, blowing out a breath when her back twinged.
When her eyes focused on the antique clock hanging on the wall of the work room, she saw that the shop had been closed for four hours already and that it would be dark out by then.
She couldn’t help but notice, as she’d been doing the past few days, that she only had to wait 46 more hours until she visited Khiva again.
Eve jumped when her Nu tablet chirped loudly from its docking port. She always brought it to work with her since she read during her breaks.
When she walked over to it, she saw it was Genni.
“Hi,” Eve greeted once she accepted the call. A hologram of her friend’s face appeared just above the screen, the beams of blue light projected from the tablet’s surface. “What are you up to?”
“Seeing what you’re up to,” Genni replied, grinning. “Since you’ve been avoiding me and everything.”
Eve blinked, a flush of guilt flooding her cheeks. Thankfully, Genni wouldn’t be able to see it since the hologram was patchy in places…not to mention blue.
“I’ve just been really busy with work,” she said. It wasn’t untrue, but it still felt like a small lie. “I’m still here actually, working on a book.”
The truth was that Eve had been avoiding her friend because she knew that the moment they saw each other in person, Genni would know something was up…and that something was that Eve had visited one of the Krave. And Genni would’ve dragged it out of her eventually.
And for some reason…Eve didn’t want her to know. Not that she was ashamed of it, but a silly part of her just wanted to keep the knowledge of Khiva to herself.
Just for a little bit longer, at least.
Even Eve could see the pout on Genni’s lips. “I was going to invite you over to Erik’s with me. He’s having a small party tonight.”
Erik was her latest lover, or so she’d gathered through the brief calls they’d shared over the weekend after she ditched the tailor who worked next to the beauty shop. Genni had met him through a mutual friend, or rather one of her clients at the salon, which meant that Erik was rich. That was always enough for Genni, though she’d con
fessed that he was at least fifteen years older.
Apparently, the sex was fantastic, or so Genni claimed.
Eve could see the path this relationship would play out, just like all the ones before it, but she knew it wasn’t her place to say anything. She’d made that mistake in the past and had learned her lesson. Secretly, Genni knew how it would turn out too, though she held onto hope that maybe Erik was the one.
“Sorry,” Eve said, but didn’t really mean it. She’d been dragged to exactly three parties by Genni and every single one of them had turned out the same: her feeling left out and awkward while Genni flirted shamelessly with whoever she’d gone for. “I have to close up here soon and then I’m just going to head home to relax.”
Genni didn’t like that. Eve heard it in her impatient sigh. “You know, you’re never going to meet anyone if you don’t try, Evelyn.”
Eve bit her tongue before she could say anything bitchy, something along the lines of her not wanting to meet anyone like the men Genni went after.
In a dry tone, Eve said instead, “I think I’m past that age where it even matters, Genni.”
Which might’ve not been much better, considering her friend was only a year younger than she was.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Genni asked, her voice carefully quiet, her eyes direct. She didn’t even blink as she waited for Eve to answer.
Eve sighed, not wanting to pick a fight, but already knowing that Genni would take it there. “You know what I mean, Genni. It just means I’ve accepted I won’t be anyone’s wife, not on Everton. And truthfully…I’m thankful for it.”
“Don’t look down on me just because I haven’t given up, Evelyn,” Genni said, her tone sharp. “You always do this!”
“Do what?” Eve asked, surprised. “I don’t look down on you, Genni.”
“Not all of us have the luxury of giving up,” Genni said, her anger growing. “You think I want to work at the beauty shop until I’m dead? No. I want to be taken care of. And I certainly don’t have thousands and thousands of credits that my dead dad left me.”
