by Anna Argent
As she shut the door behind her, his bronze eyes lifted. “I’m sorry about your blanket.”
“I don’t care about that.” She went to him, kneeling on the floor in front of him. “How badly are you hurt?”
His eyes closed again. “Not bad. Just tired. Not burning alive in a fire takes it out of you.”
“How is that even possible?”
His dark skin wrinkled with a faint grin. “I don’t suggest you try it at home. How are you? Any trouble?”
She shook her head, casting her fried curls into her peripheral vision. Dirt or soot had left its mark on her, too. “The authorities weren’t pleased that I refused treatment, but they know me, know I’m stubborn like that. There shouldn’t be any problems.”
Concern lined his brow. “You’re slurring your words a little. Let me see your head.”
Thick, hot fingers slid through her hair, gently massaging her scalp. After all the shit that had gone down tonight—after the fear, cuts, bruises and pain she’d endured—his touch felt almost too good.
She let out a quiet moan and leaned into him. It was only when her forehead hit hot, firm skin that she realized she’d come to rest on his broad chest.
The smell of smoke clung to his skin, but on him it was nice, like a warm campfire on a cold night.
His fingers quested through her hair, until he found a spot that made her wince.
She tried to pull away, but his grip was too firm. He held her right where she was.
“You’ve got a good bump going. Probably knocked the sense right out of you. Hold still while I try to bring down the swelling.”
His fingers got colder and colder, sucking all the icky heat swelling up the knot on her head.
She had no idea how long they stayed like that, with her head in his grip, caged against his chest. She might have even slept a little. A while later, the confusion that had been plaguing her dissipated, clearing her head enough for her to realize Radek was still sinfully, delightfully naked under that blanket.
This time, when she tried to lift her head, he allowed it. There was no way she was going to be able to keep herself from checking out his endowments, so she didn’t even try. Her gaze wandered down his ripped torso, all the way to the thick, dark erection thrusting up at her.
She was too stunned not to stare. It was the stuff of legends, built on the same grand scale as the man who owned it.
The insane urge to reach out and touch him hit her out of nowhere. She had to lace her fingers together to keep them caged.
Apology tightened his tone. “I tried to control my reaction to you, but you’re too damn beautiful. Don’t worry though. I know how to keep it to myself.”
She’d read sexy stories, even watched a little bit of porn in an effort to see what all the fuss was about when it came to sex.
Now she knew.
This man, in his masculine perfection, on blatant display for her pleasure… this was why women slept with men they barely knew.
Radek shifted, covering himself with the throw as best he could.
“I’d put on clothes, but they’re all in my truck.”
It seemed a shame to cover such a thing of wonder, but if any other woman caught sight of what he had hidden away, she was never going to get him alone again. There’d be far too much competition.
And that pissed her off.
“I’ll go out and get you some clothes, but you really need a shower. If anyone sees you covered in soot, they’ll know you were there tonight. We don’t need those kinds of questions.”
“Agreed. Is it safe to slip down the hallway to the bathroom? I came in the window, afraid of being seen.”
“How did you know which room was mine?”
He frowned at her. “I could tell by looking.”
She glanced around at her room, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. “How?”
Radek pointed to the trophies on her dresser. “You have heavy, blunt objects ready to be used as weapons. The furniture itself is sturdy and in position to be easily slid in front of the window to shield it.” He pointed at the narrow shelves made from two-by-fours that hung over her bed. They held a few small trinkets and stuffed animals. “Those boards disguised as shelves are at least as effective as the bat you carry.”
She’d never looked at it like that, but seeing it through his eyes opened hers.
“Your bed and desk are positioned so that you can sit on it and see all points of entry. And the rest of your furniture is poised to be used as a barrier or concealment against attack.”
Ava looked around at the space she’d lived in for years. Sure enough, now that she was looking for it, she could see that it had been her natural inclination to set things up so that she always had a weapon within reach, and so that she was never far from cover if something bad did go down.
“No one told me to do it. How did I know?” she asked.
He tapped his temple. “Genetic memory. Some of the training of your ancestors passes through your genes and becomes part of you. You were born with it, just like you were born with your mother’s eyes and your father’s hair.”
“Is that even possible?”
“You’re not human, Ava. You’ve lived here your whole life, but you’re so much more than that.” He seemed to sag as he spoke.
A spike of worry shot through her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m just tired. Not charring my ass in that fire sapped my strength.”
She wanted to ask how he managed it, but he was fading fast. Getting him clean and resting was far more important than appeasing her curiosity.
“I’ll make sure the coast is clear for that shower. Where are your clothes?”
“There’s a duffel bag in the back seat.”
Ava peeked down the hall to make sure it was safe. Mom’s light was off, and Emily was chatting away on her phone. The coast was clear so Ava waved Radek on.
He slipped into the bathroom and started the shower.
She was just coming back into the house with the bag when Mom stepped out of her room. Emily was still talking, and the sound of running water was obvious.
Mom looked at the bathroom door, then at Ava. “Who’s in the shower?”
She felt like a little girl caught stealing candy. “Um,” was her eloquent response.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” asked Mom.
The light in the hall was off, but even in the dark, Mom still saw the damage tonight had done. “You’re bleeding? What happened?”
Ava held up her hands to keep the situation from spiraling out of control. “There was a fire at the restaurant tonight. I’m fine, but I got a little banged up. That’s all.”
Mom narrowed her eyes. “You’re not telling me everything.”
Well, hell. Ava really didn’t want her knowing everything, but Mom always knew when she was lying. “Everything is fine now. I promise.”
“Your workplace burned down. You’re standing there, covered in soot and blood, with a stranger in our bathroom. You look like you’re about to fall over, you’re hiding something big, and you want me to believe everything is fine? I don’t think so.”
The shower shut off. Radek’s clothes were still in her possession. Mom was standing there, waiting for an explanation, but all Ava could think about was how he was dripping wet and naked right now, and she was missing the show.
“Please, Mom. Just let it go. You need your rest.”
“You think I’m going to sleep with all of this going on? With a strange man in my house?”
Emily came out of her room. “What’s going on? Mom, are you okay? You sound upset.”
Just then, the bathroom door swung open and Radek stood there wearing only a towel.
All three women turned toward him at once, soaking in the sight of the most perfectly formed male to have ever walked this planet. Or any other, as far as Ava was concerned.
His chest was broad and strong. The prominent display of muscles was so amazing, it was almost gratuitous. While h
is narrow hips were covered in a towel, there was no mistaking that what lay beneath was a thing of wonder.
“Oh my,” Mom said.
“Whoa,” was Emily’s response.
Ava’s first urge was to shove Radek back in the bathroom, rip the towel away and keep him all to herself—as close as possible. She resisted doing that, but gave into her second urge, which was to cover Emily’s eyes. Seeing Radek like this was going to ruin her for all other men forever.
Radek mumbled an apology, grabbed his duffel bag from Ava’s shoulder, and rushed back into her bedroom.
Emily pulled Ava’s hand away from her eyes. “What was that?”
“My friend. The restaurant burned down tonight and he got hurt getting Rudy and me out of there in one piece. He needed a place to clean up, so I brought him here.”
Mom leaned against the wall, fanning herself. “Well, things are certainly making more sense now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ava asked.
“Can I take a picture of him?” Emily asked. “My friends will never believe this.”
“No!” Ava shouted.
At the same time Mom said, “Go to your room.”
Emily huffed out a frustrated breath. “Fine, but I will be tweeting about this.” She went back into her room and shut the door. Hard.
Mom gave Ava that maternal frown that was part concern, part warning. “You need to be sure about who he is, Ava. Your mother brought you here to protect you. For all you know, it was to protect you from men like him.”
“If he was a bad guy, I’d know. I’d sense the danger.”
Mom stroked Ava’s dirty cheek. “I hope you’re right, honey. I know you’re tough and have always been able to handle things, but this is different. He’s not some schoolyard bully. That man is dangerous.”
“Not to me. He nearly died saving my life tonight. That has to count for something.”
“It does. Just be careful, okay? My heart couldn’t take the strain if something happened to you.”
“I’ll be careful. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”
Mom smiled at that, like it was some kind of joke. “Go clean up and see to your guest. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”
“Okay.”
“And Ava?”
“Yes?”
Mom’s smile widened. “Make sure that if he’s still here at breakfast time, he wears clothes to the table. It’s not fair to flaunt your toy if the rest of us don’t get to play.”
Ava stood in the hall while Mom went back to bed. She couldn’t seem to get her feet to move in any direction.
…still here at breakfast time…
Ava hadn’t thought things through that far. She hadn’t considered keeping Radek in her room all night, but now that she had, she was shaking.
This was too much to ask of a woman. Fighting for her life, running from an explosion, dealing with the authorities while suffering from what was likely an epic concussion, and now she had to go back into her room where Mr. Hottie was waiting for her. Her nervous system couldn’t take much more.
Too bad she didn’t have a choice.
Those monsters had shown up for a reason, and the only person she knew who understood why was Radek.
One way or another, half-naked or not, he was going to tell her. Even if it took all night for her to pry the truth out of his sexy mouth.
*****
Dimas’s soldiers had failed to bring him the girl.
The only even remotely possible way she could have survived was if she’d had help.
Korlayan, Dimas’s oldest living son, knelt in front of him in greeting. “I have brought you reinforcements, Father.”
Korlayan was still young, and yet to prove himself in battle. His bone white hair was cut short, but would grow as his days in combat did. Soon, his hair would be as long as Dimas’s, flowing down his back as a warning to all of his experience in battle.
But there was a lot that could go wrong between then and now, as the death of Dimas’s two older sons proved.
“How many?” he asked.
Korlayan’s head remained bowed. “Another three hundred Cyturs and Dregorgs wait in the hold of my ship.”
“Is it hidden?”
“Yes, Father. It is bobbing in the ocean, unseen by human technology.”
“Good.”
“What are your orders?”
“Scatter the war slaves in the largest cities on this continent. Give them orders to be visible.”
“It’s time, then?” Korlayan asked.
“Yes. This world has stolen two of my sons from me. They will not take a third.”
Chapter Eleven
When Ava returned to her bedroom, she was damp from her shower, covered in a pale blue robe that perfectly matched her eyes.
Radek simply stared, drinking in the sight of her. So lovely. So fragile.
She could have died tonight. She’d barely tapped into her power to shift heat through her body. There was no way she would have survived a fire without more training and practice.
Hell, he was a master at manipulating heat, and he’d barely survived.
But here they both were, alive. Exhausted and injured, but alive.
He allowed himself to stare at her, reassuring himself that she really was safe.
Some of the cuts she’d sustained at the claws of the Cyturs were still seeping blood. None of them seemed life-threatening, but there were bizarre bacteria on this world, and he had no idea which one of them might prove lethal to her.
“Come here,” he ordered, holding his hand out to her.
She pulled her robe tighter and moved to where he sat on her bed.
Having her within reach soothed some of the savage fear still rampaging through the less disciplined corners of his mind.
“Are you in pain?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
That wasn’t good enough for him. Not even close.
“Let me see.” He nodded at her arm, which was leaving smears of blood on her pretty robe.
She lifted it up, showing him the cut.
It was shallow, but red and swollen. Rather than take chances, Radek found his wound care kit in his bag and laid it out on the bed beside him.
The kit was filled with a variety of potions, pills and gadgets that had kept him alive so far. Talan had restocked his liquid skin before he’d gone home, along with a few other Imonite tidbits that might serve useful.
If this had been his wound, he would have simply disinfected it and protected it from invasion by alien bacteria. But this was Ava’s skin and it deserved better treatment.
“Hold still.” He gathered a bit of salve on his fingertip and smoothed it over the cut.
She sucked in a sharp breath at the sting, but held steady while he did what needed to be done.
“What’s that?”
He wasn’t sure how to explain it in terms she’d understand. “It’s filled with tiny robots that will rebuild your skin.”
“Nanotech? Cool.”
Apparently he’d underestimated her ability to understand. It made him wonder what else he might have underestimated about her.
Blood was seeping through her robe at her shoulder, so he slid the fabric back to treat that wound too.
The curve of her breast was bared as the robe parted. He’d seen more scantily clothed women on billboards along the highway, but somehow, this was far more titillating.
A heavy current of lust streamed down his spine, making him glad he had on jeans again. That thin towel wouldn’t have done any good at all at restraining his growing erection.
Not your woman.
The reminder did nothing to ease his suffering. In fact, it made the darker parts of him rise up as if a challenge had been offered.
Make her yours.
Not going to happen. That would only complicate things at a time when his life was already as complicated as he could stand. He was the only soldier
left on an alien world to collect those who his people needed to survive. The woman now in his reach refused to cooperate and leave quietly. They’d been found by at least one group of the Raide’s war slaves, and it was only a matter of time before more arrived. To make things worse, he had no doubt there would be more questions from human authorities about tonight’s fire—questions he really didn’t want to answer.
As much as he hoped he’d destroyed all evidence of aliens on this world, there was no way to be certain. Firemen would have done their best to put out the blaze, possibly before it had time to burn the Cyturs’ exoskeletons to ash. Once the fire inspectors moved in, who knew what they would find.
With everything around him going to hell, laying Ava back on her bed, spreading those long legs and feasting on her pussy so she’d be wet enough to take his thick cock nice and deep was simply not going to happen. No matter how hard he fantasized about it.
If Warden Trathen knew he’d even considered touching her like that, Radek would be right back in his cell, staring at four stone walls while his people fought and died without him.
With a shaking hand, he slid her robe back over the treated wound and tightened the knot at her waist. The flimsy fabric wasn’t much of a barrier, but it was the only one he had to remind him to keep his hands off.
Her lips were parted, funneling her rapid breath. Her eyes were huge and dark, fixed on his mouth. Her nipples thrust hard and proud against the thin robe, causing his mouth to water.
She wanted him. There was no mistaking the signs.
All he had to do was tug on that sash. Undo the knot. Kiss her.
The rest would happen easily. Without question. In a few minutes, he could be balls deep inside her beautiful body, driving them both toward a few moments of stolen pleasure.
And then what?
She’d go home to fight in a war she didn’t yet understand. He’d stay here and find more people like her, assuming Warden Trathen didn’t find out what he’d done and send him right back to his cell.
A few seconds of orgasm weren’t worth that. If he needed to come that badly, he had two good hands and more than enough material to fantasize about.
