Kraving Khiva (A SciFi Alien Romance) (The Krave of Everton Book 1)

by Zoey Draven

  He squeezed his eyes shut, his heartbeats skittering. “Leeldra…”

  Demav, he loved her. And that knowledge speared him because he’d driven her to this decision. Deliberately.

  Their gazes connected and held. Even then, Khiva could feel her retreating and it drove him mad, made him feel more helpless than being chained and whipped by Madame Allegria.

  Evelyn cleared her throat, stepping back, before fumbling to find something in the pocket of her overcoat. Khiva’s brow bones drew together when she pulled out a square, translucent card with a silver strip running down the middle, a set of numbers glowing in the corner of it.

  Khiva recognized it immediately and he growled, “Evelyn.”

  “Just listen to me,” she said, taking his hand and placing the card there, securing his fingers around it. She pulled back before he could reject it. “This has nothing to do with pride or charity, Khiva. This is what is owed to you, what I believed you were being paid during our visits. The credits are yours, legally, so take them. Don’t use them, or use them how you wish, I don’t care.”

  Khiva didn’t know how to feel about what she was saying. Whether he should be hurt, angry, or whether he should kiss her senseless. When he looked down at the card, he saw ‘2700’ lit up in the corner. 2700 credits, more credits than he’d seen in his entire time on Everton.

  “For six visits,” she murmured, “including tonight’s. It’s what you should have received for our time together.”

  Khiva handed the card back to her, though she refused to take it. “I do not want it.”

  “Then don’t use it. Give it to Dravka, or the brothers, or even Valerie. But I won’t take it back,” she said.

  Khiva shook his head, hardly standing to look at that card, because of what it represented. That she was nothing more than a client to him, that their time together had only been a transaction.

  She meant so much more to him than that.

  “Please, Khiva,” she whispered and when he finally tore his glare away from the card, he saw her eyes had filled with tears. He hated that sight even more. “I—I’m just trying to do the right thing. I knew that you would hate it, but I just want to give you options. Just in case.”

  “Come here,” he murmured.

  She hesitated for only a moment and then she went to him, wrapping her arms around him, as his came around her. She pressed her face into his chest and Khiva had never felt anything more right than simply holding her like this.

  When he felt wetness against his shirt from her tears, he let out a low trill, wanting to comfort her and feeling helpless how. So, he simply held her and he savored every moment she was still in his arms, knowing that soon, she would pull away.

  And when she did, when she stepped back and looked at him, she said, “I’ve come to say goodbye, Khiva. I’m leaving Everton.”

  Khiva’s whole body seemed to numb. Even the pumping of his blood seemed to still in his veins. “Kruvu?” he asked quietly.

  Evelyn looked down at the space between them before meeting his eyes. “There’s nothing here for me, no future at least. And there are things about Everton that I can no longer ignore, things that you’ve helped me realize are backwards and corrupt. I fear that if I stay, I will remain stagnant. I will never grow, never see different places, never experience a different life, never be scared or frightened, when I now believe that we should all be scared and frightened sometimes. It’s what we are afraid of that makes things worth it. Like you,” she murmured, giving him a small smile. “I can’t tell you how scared I was to come to you, how scared I was to return. But I also can’t tell you how much I was glad I did.”

  Khiva fell even more in love with her in that moment, just as she was saying goodbye, just as she was leaving Everton, leaving him.

  “When will you go?” he asked slowly.

  “In four days,” she replied.

  Khiva made a sound in the back of throat, panic making his hands tremble. So soon. “Where?”

  “I contacted an old friend of my father,” she told him. “He lives on an open colony, a neutral, peaceful colony, called Dumera, in the Second Quadrant. My father had visited once. He’d told me about it, that it was beautiful, that beings from all over the universe lived there and that he’d never quite seen a place like it.”

  “Evelyn,” he rasped. “I…”

  She licked her lips and continued. “My father’s friend, Gorkan, is helping me secure housing there. He says there are jobs available in the Dumerian archives, old texts from all over the Quadrants that need restoring. It seems they value history there, memory. I feel like I can actually contribute towards something greater, rather than just restoring expensive old books for private collections.”

  Khiva took a deep breath in through his nostrils. This was what he’d wanted for her. A future. The way she spoke, she seemed genuinely excited about the prospect.

  So, why did it hurt this much?

  “I…I am proud of you, leeldra,” he finally said quietly.

  Her soft smile slowly faded and she reached out to squeeze his wrist. “Thank you, Khiva. That…that means a lot.” Then she hesitated but said, “And just so you’re aware, I will meet with my father’s contact at the United Worlds concerning Madame Allegria.”

  “Evelyn,” he started, shaking his head.

  “I’m not afraid of her,” she said. “What she is doing is beyond immoral and illegal. She deserves punishment.”

  How could he make her understand?

  “It is not just her, Evelyn,” he said, taking her hand. “Our clients…they are connected to very powerful, very wealthy beings, not just those within the Earth Council. If our clients’ names were outed…” He shook his head, exhaling a heavy breath. “Let us just agree that they would go to extreme lengths to prevent it.”

  “I never said it would be easy,” she said softly.

  Khiva touched her cheek softly, affection and grief welling in his chest all at once. “I admire your bravery, leeldra. But your own safety, please let this go.”

  “No,” she said immediately. “I will not just leave and turn a blind eye, just like everyone else here. You said that it was I that didn’t deserve this, but it is you, all of you, who truly don’t deserve this. You deserve better, Khiva. Much, much better…and yet, it is you who has become stagnant. It’s you who has resigned yourself to this, who denies help when offered it. I can’t help you when you don’t want to be helped. And for how long, Khiva? How long will you live like this? For the rest of your life? Are you prepared to die here because of it?”

  Her words cut him like a blade. They stole his breath.

  Of course, he’d thought about what she’d just said many, many times. But to hear it fall from her lips, to hear her shine a light onto his shame, onto his resignation, was worse. It struck him to his core. It made him realize just how cowardly he’d become. She was a mirror that he couldn’t escape.

  He wanted to be better. For himself. For her.

  Eve blew out a breath, wiping her eyes to dash away her tears of frustration. Stunned silence fell over them.

  After another moment, she approached him again, took his hands, and pressed a kiss to each one. Then she stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

  She whispered, “I want better for you, Khiva, just as you want better for me. I just wish that you could’ve seen that. We could’ve been better together because of it.”

  Khiva squeezed his eyes shut, everything in turmoil.

  Evelyn stepped away.

  “I should go now before it gets even harder to leave,” she whispered.

  Alarm made Khiva grab her around the waist when she reached the door. “Wait. Just wait, leeldra. Please.”

  He couldn’t think. His mind felt scrambled and disconnected. All he knew was that this couldn’t be the last time he saw her.

  Evelyn looked up at him with watery eyes, waiting, just as he asked. But she eventually realized that he had nothing to say,
nothing to offer her.

  Leaning up, she pressed a kiss to his lips and Khiva kept a firm grip on her waist to keep her there.

  But all too soon, she pulled away, a choked sob escaping her throat. Her hand scrambled over the handle of the door before she managed to unlock it and push it open.

  “Goodbye, Khiva,” she whispered.

  Then she slipped from his grip…and slipped out of the room, down the hallway with quick strides.

  And Khiva watched her go without saying a single word.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  It was later that night when everything unravelled even more.

  Khiva was sitting in his sleeping quarters, in darkness, feeling his body begin to enter his Rut. The only light he could see were the glowing letters on the card Evelyn had given him.

  2700.

  2700.

  Khiva growled, closing his eyes. Her words continued to haunt him, everything about her haunted him.

  But those truths she spoke…he couldn’t forget them.

  His back bowed, a sizzle of need racing down his spine, and he panted through it, feeling his cock surge.

  Vauk, vauk, vauk.

  It would be an intense Rut. He could already feel it.

  Four days, he couldn’t help but think. Four days until Evelyn left Everton for good.

  He heard movement in the common room of the Cluster, which was abnormal for that time of night. When a knock came to his door, he realized why.

  Valerie.

  “Khiva,” she said, her voice hushed, urgent. A moment later the door open. Valerie’s face appeared in the low light, her figure outlined from the light filtering in from the common room. “Khiva, it’s—damn, you’ve started your Rut.”

  “Get the chains,” he murmured. Because without them, he would be tempted to seek out Evelyn. He would be tempted to convince her to give him another chance, to give them another chance.

  “Khiva,” Valerie said and something about her low voice made his attention snap to her.

  “What is it?” he asked, alarmed. Was it Evelyn? Was she alright?

  “Madame Allegria returned from Genesis earlier tonight. She…she’d been alerted to the fact that you cancelled your client that night. And that you went to Evelyn’s townhome in the Garden District. She found the transaction from the driverless car you took that morning to return here.”

  Khiva inhaled a deep breath. “Where is she?”

  “She’s waiting for you,” Valerie replied softly. Khiva didn’t have to ask her where. He already knew. “She’s furious.”

  He groaned as another jolt hit him.

  “Oh, Khiva,” Valerie cried softly. “You’re in no condition to go down there.”

  “I do not have a choice,” he rasped. It was true. But now, he felt a realization and a shame he’d never felt before, brought on by Evelyn’s words. He was resigned to this. Would he do this for the rest of his life? Could he?

  His fists clenched at his sides.

  No. He could not.

  His eyes landed on the card Evelyn gave him and he handed it to Valerie. “Keep this hidden from her,” he requested.

  Valerie’s eyes widened when she saw the glowing amount. “This…this is…”

  “Do not let her find it.”

  Valerie nodded quickly, slipping it deep inside her pockets. “I won’t. I promise.”

  With her help, he stumbled to the elevator and went to the lowest level, but he wasn’t afraid. This was his punishment, for his feelings for Evelyn, for loving her, even if it was only for a brief amount of time.

  He would take the punishment gladly, but it would never change what happened between them. It would never taint his memory of her, as he was sure Madame Allegria would attempt to do.

  Valerie stayed in the elevator, but her eyes shone with sympathy. She knew the pain of the whip too, but he knew that when it was over, she would be there to help him, she would be there to clean up his blood, the mess of it all.

  He nodded at her and then he entered the room.

  Madame Allegria was standing there in a red dress that clung to her curves. A red dress, red hair, and red lips that pressed together at the sight of him. She didn’t speak a single word, but Khiva could sense her fury, could sense her need for violence. She was shaking with it, her eyes cold chips of ice.

  After a moment, he stripped off his clothes and he hated more than anything that he was erect at that moment because of his Rut. Not even seeing her could dampen the power it had over his body, though he felt only disgust when he looked at her.

  He knelt on the floor and she attached the chains without speaking, raising them high above his head. She went to her cabinet along the wall and he heard the door open and shut.

  He waited.

  And when the first lash came, he felt her anger, just as he felt his own. But he refused to make a sound, he refused to flinch, which seemed to enrage her even more.

  The next lash was one of the hardest she’d ever given him, as was the one that came after, and the one that came after that.

  Over and over, she whipped him with fury, determined to break him, determined to make him groan in pain, determined to make him show that she was the one with the power of him, it was she who controlled him, owned him.

  But Khiva didn’t give her the satisfaction though every nerve ending burned in pain, though he could already feels rivers of blood dripping from his back, though the sound of the slick, wet whip sickened him and churned his belly.

  Evelyn had told him he was stronger than who he’d been. That the male who was kneeling on a metal floor, whose back was being flayed open, was the male she cared for most, not who he’d been. Not the Prince of Firestones.

  Khiva’s eyes squeezed shut and he channeled that strength to help him withstand that moment. He channeled her strength, her bravery, because right then, he needed it most.

  And he realized with sudden clarity, as if the searing pain put everything into clear perspective…that he’d put his own pride over her happiness. That realization shamed him more than anything he’d done in his entire life.

  Khiva could make her happy. He knew he could. So why didn’t he trust himself to do so? Why was he so frightened to try to give her a happy life with him, a happy future?

  Perhaps because he was frightened. She frightened him to his core. No one or nothing else had that power over him, even the human female standing at his back, stripping his skin.

  Only his leeldra had that power over him.

  And she’d said that only the worthwhile things were the most frightening.

  Forgive me, Evelyn, he thought, his vision going hazy. He tasted metallic blood on his tongue and his head lolled forward.

  He didn’t know for certain if Madame Allegria continued to whip him, but at some point, he fell unconscious. Blissful blackness, which was most welcome.

  When he woke, he was still chained. He heard hurried footsteps on the stairs.

  Then Valerie whispered, “Oh my God.”

  “Evelyn,” he rasped. His throat felt so dry it was painful to speak.

  “Khiva, what did she do to you?” Valerie cried softly. Immediately, the chains dropped in height from the ceiling and his arms fell to the ground, like heavy weights.

  He groaned, painful needle-like pricks stinging him from blood rushing under his skin. His back was numb. He couldn’t feel anything.

  “Where is she?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. She left about five minutes ago,” Valerie whispered. Madame Allegria must’ve decimated his back because Valerie looked pale and sick when she came to undo his wrists from the clasps.

  He caught her wrist. Though his head still felt hazy from blood loss, he murmured, “I need to see Evelyn. I need to see her.”

  “Khiva,” Valerie said, already shaking her head. “We need to laser your cuts before—”

  “Veki. Take me to her.”

  “Khiva—”

  “Please,” he whispered. “Please. I nee
d her.” Then he amended that with, “We need one another.”

  “How will she react when she sees you like this?” Valerie asked, softly, reminding him that he’d never wanted Evelyn to see him whipped and abused.

  It didn’t matter anymore.

  “She will see me like this,” Khiva said, closing his eyes when dizziness made the room spin, “and she will not look at me differently. I will give my pride to her as an offering because I know she will not abuse it. It is likely she will love me even more for it. I have so much to tell her, to ask her.”

  Valerie blew out a long breath, her eyebrows coming together as he spoke nonsense, words that didn’t make sense to her. But to Evelyn…Evelyn would understand.

  “Please, Val,” he whispered, the room fading a bit.

  “Okay,” she finally said and relief made him sag. “But you have to stay awake, Khiva. Promise me you’ll stay awake.”

  “I will.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Eve was laying in bed, staring at the light from Everton’s moon projections move across her walls. Another sleepless night.

  She should just get out of bed and do something productive, like packing up another trunk. She was leaving almost everything behind, though she hadn’t decided what to do about her townhome. She was going to sign it over to Genni, if for no other reason because she had no one to leave it to. But also because up until the last few years, she’d been a good friend. She’d been her only friend for many, many years.

  Eve had said goodbye to Genni yesterday afternoon. And while nostalgia for the friendship they’d once had had made that conversation difficult, Eve had been hurt that Genni seemed more interested in what she would be doing with her townhome. It was exactly the reason why Eve couldn’t bring herself to give it to her.

  She had outgrown the townhome, just as she’d outgrown her friendship. Just as Khiva wanted for her, she wanted something better for herself. Everton couldn’t give that to her and neither could her friendship with Genni.

  After their final goodbye, Eve felt a strange relief, a weight lifted off her shoulders. It was then that she’d known she’d done the right thing.