by Kali Argent
“Knock it off.” Settling his hands on his hips, Vane huffed. “Don’t treat her any different. I mean it. Charlotte loves you, too, you know. Just in a different way, and it’ll hurt her if you suddenly start acting like a dick.” His lips twisted into an odd grin. “Besides, I like knowing she has someone else looking out for her.”
“I’d never let anything happen to Charli.”
Vane bobbed his head slowly. “I know, but we’re not talking about me. You want to tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Xavian admitted.
“Because you’re an idiot.” Laughing at Xavian’s growl, Vane shrugged, totally unrepentant. “You asked if I feel like murdering you when you hug my mate. You clearly want to cause great bodily harm to Torren and the Atrean right now.” He ticked his observations off on his fingers as he spoke. “You can’t stop touching that cute pilot, and you want to punch me right now because I called her cute.”
Xavian didn’t answer, but he wouldn’t deny that the thought had crossed his mind.
“If you haven’t caught up yet, I don’t think I can help you.”
“No.” It made sense, yet, he didn’t want to believe it. “She can’t be.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think you actually get a choice.”
Many Nekros grew tired of waiting on fate, and chose a partner based on mutual attraction and genuine affection. Sometimes that affection even grew into something more, something deeper. Still, all Nekros yearned for that missing piece, that one person who could fill the emptiness most learned to ignore as the years passed.
A familiar.
More than just a mate, a familiar was destined, a lost part of a Nekros’ soul finally reunited. They were rare and treasured gifts, meant for someone much more deserving than him.
“What the hell am I supposed to do?”
“First, I’d start with apologizing for storming out of the room like a jackass. Then,” Vane added with a shrug, “just be honest with her.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“Not at all. Hell, she might not even like you.”
Xavian bared his teeth and growled. “You’re not helping.”
A purely roguish smile graced Vane’s lips. “I know. Payback’s a bitch.”
Okay, Xavian had that coming. “I feel like I should have figured this out before you did.”
“That’s exactly what I said when my father told me Charlotte was my familiar.”
“How’d Charli take it when you told her?” Confessing to Aeryn that they were meant to be together after he’d only known her for an hour was more terrifying than marching into battle.
“Not that great, actually. She kind of freaked out, and I ended up sleeping alone.” His brow furrowed, and he squeezed Xavian’s shoulder again. “Hey, man, breathe. It’s different with Aeryn. She’s been around other races her whole life, so she understands a little at least. Charlotte had to adjust pretty damn fast to a world she didn’t even know existed.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, stop whining about it and just tell her.”
Xavian turned to find Charli leaning against the banister of the nearest staircase, her arms folded over her chest, and her head cocked to the side. He didn’t know how long she’d been standing there, hadn’t seen her enter the foyer, but he really didn’t need more witnesses for his breakdown.
“Go away.”
“No.” She arched an eyebrow in challenge. “Suck it up, Xee. You can’t fight it, so stop trying.”
“I’m not fighting anything.”
This time, she rolled her eyes. “Right,” she breathed. “I’m going to go help Neith and Mila load those hover table things. I suggest you grow a pair and go get your girl.”
“We just call them buffets,” Vane mumbled.
“Whatever.” Charli flicked her wrist as she straightened, but Xavian didn’t miss the wink she gave her mate. “Vane, come help.”
“But I’m—”
“Coming to help.” She stared pointedly at a spot just behind him and jerked her head to the side.
After glancing over his shoulder, Vane suddenly became a lot more agreeable. “Hey, prya, why don’t I come help you load those hover table things?”
The pair disappeared toward the kitchens while the sound of approaching footsteps from the west hallway grew louder.
“Traitors,” Xavian mumbled under his breath, knowing that with his enhanced senses, Vane would hear him.
“Who’s a traitor?” Aeryn asked, striding into the foyer with an easy gait.
Even in her stretched, oversized sweater, she reminded him of the first rays of sunlight that crested over the horizon after the long, cold night. Anything he might have said became lodged in his throat, and he swallowed hard enough to burn as he watched the female glide across the tiled floor toward him.
“You heard that?” he blurted.
“Yep. I don’t usually eavesdrop, mind you, but I was thinking about you, so it just kind of happened.”
Xavian straightened to his full height, his chest swelling with satisfaction to hear that she’d been thinking about him. “I really meant how did you hear that?”
“Nanocytes. They’re useful for all sorts of things, but they can be a pain in the backside as well.”
“Nano…you’re augmented?” He’d heard about the Earth technology, but honestly, he’d never bothered to study it, nor had he actually met an augmented human.
Aeryn lowered her head a fraction. “Not all of us can burst into flames and be reborn when we die.”
Like the mythological phoenix, Nekros didn’t die. Oh, they could be killed by extreme means, like removing the heart or head, but otherwise, she’d hit the mark. When inured, they produced green flames that burned from the inside out to heal themselves. Dying was a bit more complicated. Xavian had done it once, and he hoped to never repeat the experience. The process of being “reborn” was more painful than the injury that had stopped his heart in the first place.
“Reborn is a misleading term. It’s more like…advanced healing.”
“So are my nanocytes. Guess how old I am.”
Xavian might be stupid on occasion, but he wasn’t suicidal. “Twenty-four.”
The female smirked. “You’re cute. I’m two hundred and twelve.” Holding her arms out to the sides, she twirled in a tight circle. “Not bad, right?”
“Not bad at all.” Shaking himself out of his stupor, Xavian coughed to clear the gravel from his voice. “So, how do you know Torren?”
Judging by the twitch of her lips, his question hadn’t come off as casual as he’d hoped. “We met on Alta Station in Stravoris’ controlled space. He helped me out of a jam with a couple of mercs.”
“Oh,” was all Xavian could manage to say.
She sauntered toward him, her hips swaying and her breasts bouncing gently beneath her sweater. “Since you didn’t ask, but I know you’re thinking it, I met Cypher about eight years ago. He was on Earth looking for a bounty. I pointed him in the right direction.” She smirked. “No, I didn’t have sex with either of them.”
Angry at the thought of her being naked with someone other than him, but also shocked by her brazenness, Xavian’s growl ended in a choking cough. “Damn, female. Are you trying to kill me?”
“Nope, just trying to be up front, since you seem to have your panties in a twist about me having friends.”
“I don’t care if you have friends.”
“Just not males who hug me.”
He couldn’t dispute that. “No, I guess not.” Fuck, she’d cut straight to the heart of the issue before he’d formulated a plan. Now, he had no other choice than to be just as blunt. “Do you know what a familiar is?”
Nodding, she came closer. “The Nekros’ holy grail. A fated mate, a kind of yin to your yang. Am I warm?”
He didn’t know what a yin or a yang was, but he got the gist of what she was saying. “That’s a fairly apt description.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re mine.” Xavian didn’t groan, but it was a close call. That had been about as romantic as a meteor strike. “Fuck, I’m no good at this.”
If he expected her to run, he was headed for a lot of disappointment. Aeryn had never backed down from anything, and she certainly didn’t tuck tail and run when things got complicated. She’d landed on Nekron for a routine cargo run, and things had progressively gotten weirder the longer she stayed on the planet. Luckily for Xavian, she didn’t mind weird. Hell, she preferred it, because at least it wasn’t boring.
Standing directly in front of him, she rested her hand on his forearm when he continued to stare down at the polished tiles under his feet. “Xavian, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a pretty straightforward person. I appreciate that in other people as well. Thank you for being honest with me.”
He lifted his head a fraction, staring at her through long lashes as his hair fell around his face in ebony sheets. “You are extraordinary.”
She had to laugh at that. “You know, I’ve been telling everyone that for years. They never believe me.”
The seriousness of the conversation wasn’t lost on her, and she knew how to accept a compliment. She also knew when a situation needed a breath of levity to ease the tension. Xavian was drowning. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in the rigidity of his body.
From the moment they’d met, she’d felt drawn to him. When he’d embraced Vane’s mate earlier, she’d only remained silent and unmoving by reciting the alphabet forwards and backwards until the possessive rage had passed.
Most importantly, she trusted him, a feat she would have thought impossible just a couple of hours ago. It had taken her years to fully trust her crew, and they were the three people she cared about more than anyone in the cosmos. She liked Torren, and she definitely owed him, but she didn’t trust him. In her experience, people, no matter what race, were usually out for themselves first, their loved ones second, and everyone else in descending order of importance.
She knew a lot of people, had a lot of so-called friends, but trust didn’t come easily. Even when things seemed to go well in a relationship—be it business, personal, or romantic—she’d always kept one foot out the door, waiting and watching for the other shoe to drop. Some, like her small family, stuck it out, stubbornly shoving back when she tried to push them away.
With Xavian, she’d known from the start that he’d never hurt her, never betray her. It hadn’t been anything tangible, just instinct, a nagging feeling she couldn’t shake. Now, it made sense, and it relieved her to have answers.
Yet, as a human, she imagined she only felt a fraction of the conflicting emotions currently raging inside Xavian. Finding one’s familiar was a monumental occasion to the Nekros, a singularly life-altering event.
Despite her trust and commitment issues, Aeryn still considered herself a romantic. She believed in love at first sight, soul mates, and happily ever afters. In her heart, she’d always believed that when she met “the one,” she’d just know. Maybe there wouldn’t be sparks or singing angels, but she’d feel it, a special something that she’d never felt before.
After waiting for so long, she’d begun to give up hope, worried her ideas about love were just fanciful notions left over from a time long ago. Then Xavian had stormed into her life, and she’d finally felt it, that growing recognition of something she hadn’t known she was missing. Xavian was new and exciting, yet also comfortably familiar in a way she couldn’t articulate.
No one would understand anyway, not until they experienced it.
“Better?” she asked when he straightened.
Moving closer, he wound an arm around her waist, pulling her closer so that she molded to his broad chest. “Getting there.” He lowered his head, skimming his nose along the curve of her throat and inhaling deeply. “Great galaxies, you even smell like sunshine.”
She didn’t know what that meant, but she couldn’t think straight with him so close. Her pulse accelerated, her heart thundering against her ribs, and when his lips brushed against her jaw, she shivered.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Yes.” Her breath caught in her throat, and her legs wobbled.
“This sweater is hideous.”
His answer finally shook her out of her hormone-driven paralysis, and she fell against him as she laughed.
“That’s not a secret.” She’d had the thing for almost a decade. The hem had started to fray and unravel, the collar had become so stretched that it fell off her shoulders, and it bubbled in several places where she’d inexpertly mended it. “It’s comfortable, and it serves its purpose. It reminds me of home.”
“Aeryn?”
“Hmm?” She ceased fidgeting with a loose thread and lifted her head, gasping when she found Xavian’s lips just a breath from her own.
He closed the distance, slanting their mouths together in a slow, tentative kiss, giving her every opportunity to push him away. Instead, she tangled her fingers in his silky hair and rose up on her toes, teasing the seam of his lips with her tongue. With a low groan that vibrated his chest, he delved deep, sweeping their tongues together as he explored and tasted.
She’d been kissed many times in the past, but never like this, never in a way that so completely consumed her. Her lips tingled where they met with Xavian’s, her heart raced, and the world tilted on its axis. A slow burn started in her belly, the flames quickly spreading as need and desire warred with propriety.
“We should go back,” she murmured, her fingers still tangled in his hair.
“Absolutely.” He claimed her mouth again, kissing her hard and fast as he walked her backward toward the hallway on the other side of the sprawling staircase.
“They’ll wonder where we are.” She pulled him closer to nip at the sensitive skin on the side of his neck, then swirled her tongue over it to soothe the burn.
“Without a doubt,” he answered, his voice husky and filled with gravel.
Her back met with something hard and unyielding, then a moment later, a door swung inward, and she stumbled into a sparsely furnished bedroom with thick carpet and a massive bed situated between two windows. With one muscular arm encircling her waist, Xavian pressed her against the wall, his lips on hers again as he used his foot to kick the door closed.
If someone really wanted to find them, they would, but when his hands slid beneath the hem of her sweater to stroke and tease, she no longer cared. Once breathing became imperative, she jerked away from his mouth, skimming her lips along the curve on his neck instead.
It was too soon, but she wanted him, and she intended to have him, the consequences be damned.
Cosmos alive, she was the most beautiful female Xavian had ever seen. Even swathed in her shapeless, green sweater, she exuded an otherworldly beauty he’d only heard about in sonnets and love songs. Beyond her outward appearance, he couldn’t help but admire her bravery, her tenacity, and her selflessness.
The alluring scent of her arousal permeated the air around them, and every inhalation made his cock throb painfully within the confinements of his leathers. With her face buried against the side of his neck, her warm breath fanned over his skin, and every time she arched against him, he had to grit his teeth against the onslaught of barely-restrained lust.
Whether she knew it or not, the female was seriously testing the limits of his self-control, making him restless, impatient, and awakening his baser instincts.
“I want you,” she whispered against the shell of his ear.
Even the sound of her voice made his heart race and his dick swell.
They were moving too fast, consumed with lust and not thinking clearly. He wanted her—the gods above knew he did—but he didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. If she regretted their time together afterwards, he didn’t think he could live with that.
Easing away from her, he turned and strode toward the windows, clasping his hands together on the top of his head as he tri
ed to regain some self-control. She’d said she wanted him, and he trusted her to know her own mind, but they’d just met. Maybe it was a reaction to the unique bond between them that fanned the flames of her desire.
Maybe it shouldn’t matter, but it did. He’d never do anything to hurt her, not even unintentionally. He didn’t know if he could be gentle, not with the firestorm of need raging inside him. If the metaphysical link between them spurred her, would she even remember? Would she still want him when the heated faded? He didn’t know the answers, and nothing made sense anymore.
A quiet thump drew his attention, and he nearly swallowed his tongue when he turned to find Aeryn naked except for a pair of sheer lace panties. Her breasts swayed as she prowled toward him, and her erect nipples drew his gaze, making his mouth water and his dick throb.
“Be careful, nikka,” he warned when she leaned into him, splaying her hands across his chest. “I’ll take you here and now, and I won’t be sorry for it.”
“Good. I told you I want you, Xee, and I meant it.” One hand slid down his chest to the apex of his thighs, cupping him through his leathers. “I know you want me, too.”
“I do,” he admitted, his resolve slipping. “Be sure. Be very sure.”
In answer, her lips curved into a predatory grin as she stretched up on her tiptoes. Winding her arms around his neck, she pulled him into a searing kiss he felt right down to his aching cock. The next taste pulled a low, rumbling growl from deep in his chest, snapping the final, frayed thread of his control.
Gripping her rounded backside, he lifted the female into his arms, encouraging her legs around his waist as he anchored her against the nearest wall. Lost in her scent, her taste, the way she moaned into his mouth, Xavian didn’t just kiss her. He devoured her, branded her, fisting a hand in her hair to hold her motionless while he plunged his tongue between her full, pouty lips.
He wanted to taste every inch of his mate, and he would. Later.
Grinding his erection against her core, he slid one hand up her flank to the heavy swell of her breast, reveling in her soft, round curves. He rolled her pebbled nipple between his thumb and forefinger, tugging the nub until a soft gasp spilled from her mouth.
