Gryke: A SciFi Alien Romance (Enigma Series Book 6)

by Ditter Kellen

  Rueben turned from the window. “Now, that’s the best idea I’ve heard yet. But how do you propose we get a missile under the radar? We’ll be found before we can get a lock on that entrance.”

  “It might take a little time, but I’m confident that I can make it happen. We just have to be patient.”

  “Patience, my friend, is something I’ve had a lot of time to perfect.”

  Kerik narrowed his eyes. “Good because we’re going to need it.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Gryke left the bathhouse and trailed off down the hall toward Fiona’s apartment. They’d been back in Aukrabah for two days, and she’d spent the majority of her time with her son and brother.

  “May I enter?” Gryke called from the doorway.

  Fiona waved him inside, her gaze softening as she met his.

  “Mister Gryke!” Andrew squealed, running across the foyer and jumping into Gryke’s arms. “Your hair’s wet.”

  Gryke smiled at the child. He couldn’t help it. “That is because I recently took a bath.”

  “Miss Rauneca is about to take me and Arcanum down for a bath too.”

  “That is good. Have you been practicing your swimming?”

  Andrew nodded. “I swim in the pool when I bathe.”

  Rauneca appeared at the door, holding Arcanum. She smiled at Andrew. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Thank you for doing this,” Fiona stated with a warm smile for the Bracadyte female. “I appreciate all your help.”

  Rauneca waved a hand in dismissal. “There is no need to thank me. It is my pleasure. Besides, Andrew is good company for Arcanum.”

  Fiona leaned a hip against the table. “How are Abbie and Hauke doing since their return to Aukrabah?”

  “They have not rested enough, in my opinion,” Rauneca answered. “But they are as well as can be expected.”

  Gryke set a squirming Andrew on his feet and glanced over at the Bracadyte female. “Have they been to see the king?”

  Rauneca nodded. “They are both with him now.”

  “It is time that Fiona and I see him as well.”

  Fiona appeared nervous.

  “You have nothing to fear from our king,” Gryke assured her. “He wants only what is best for us.”

  “What’s best for you,” Fiona corrected. “He is your king, not mine. And I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten that.”

  Gryke’s stomach tightened. “Does that mean that you have decided to leave us?”

  “Are you asking me to stay?”

  Rauneca cleared her throat, reminding Gryke that she still stood in the room. “Come, Andrew. Let us go take our bath.”

  Gryke waited for the room to clear before moving to stand in front of Fiona. “If you leave me, I will only follow.”

  Her lips parted slightly. She stared up at him with a look of wonder on her beautiful face. “What are you saying?”

  He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. “I am saying that I find it almost impossible to function without you. The past two days have been difficult for me. I felt your absence so strongly, I could not sleep.”

  “I missed you too, Gryke. More than I thought possible.”

  Gryke lowered his head, his gaze locking on her mouth. “Will you stay with me?” He brushed his lips across hers. “Mate with me?”

  Fiona’s breath mingled with his; tears gathered in her eyes as she stared up at him. “Yes.”

  Crushing her against him, Gryke took possession of her mouth. All the pent-up feelings, the heart-stopping emotions, and the longing he’d felt in her absence went into that kiss.

  She felt so good to him, so right in his arms, and Gryke wanted to stand there forever, drinking her in.

  Without breaking off the kiss, Gryke scooped her up into his arms and strode from the room.

  The feel of Fiona’s hands sinking into his hair as she devoured his mouth nearly buckled Gryke’s knees.

  He half walked, half ran down the hall toward his living quarters, all the while continuing to kiss the woman in his arms.

  Arriving at his apartment, Gryke strode to his bedroom, laid Fiona in the center of his bed, and followed her down.

  She squirmed beneath him, lifting her hips to press her sweet mound against his throbbing erection.

  Gryke broke off the kiss and reared back onto his haunches. He practically ripped his vest off before going to work on the laces of his sharkskin shorts.

  Fiona stared up at him with swollen lips and passion-filled eyes. “Hurry.”

  Rolling to his side, Gryke peeled off his shorts and tossed them onto the floor while Fiona yanked off her shirt and unzipped her jeans.

  Gryke helped her remove the offensive material, noticing that his hands shook as he gripped the waistband of her pink cotton underwear and dragged them off.

  The sight of her bared before him took his breath, along with his ability to think. If he didn’t slow down and get a grip, he’d spill his seed long before he pleasured her.

  And then she opened her thighs.

  With a growl of pure unadulterated lust, Gryke jerked her knees up over his shoulders and lowered his face to her sweet, beckoning sex.

  Fiona’s hands flew to his hair, pulling him more firmly against her. Soft, sexy sounds escaped her with every swipe of his tongue, driving Gryke insane with need.

  He wanted to devour her, to sink into her depths and release his seed deep inside her.

  “Gryke!” Fiona gasped, arching her hips beneath him. Her hands tightened in his hair. “Don’t stop!”

  As if he could stop. Slipping a hand beneath her leg, Gryke eased a finger inside her hot, wet channel, closed his mouth over her small bundle of nerves, and lashed it with his tongue.

  Fiona’s breathing grew labored, moans slipped from her throat unbidden, and her nails dug into his scalp.

  Her thighs suddenly clamped down on his head, and a raw sound of release burst from her, filling Gryke’s chest with male satisfaction.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Fiona couldn’t stop shaking. Her vaginal walls continued to pulse for long moments after her orgasm subsided.

  She slid her legs off Gryke’s shoulders and gently tugged on his hair.

  He lifted his head from the juncture of her thighs and slowly kissed his way up her body, stopping to suck a nipple into his mouth.

  Nerves came alive once more, ripping another cry from her throat. “I need you. Please, Gryke.”

  Releasing her breast, Gryke rose up on his knees, gripped his erect shaft, and dragged the mushroom-shaped head through her slit.

  Fiona’s eyes slid shut.

  “Look at me,” he growled, pressing against her opening.

  Fiona lifted her heavy eyelids and met Gryke’s hooded gaze.

  “I want you to see me as I claim you. You are mine Fiona.” He inched in a little more. “Mine alone.”

  Gryke thrust, forcing her smaller body to accommodate his much larger one. And damn did it feel incredible.

  If Fiona lived to be a hundred, she would never grow tired of the feeling of being possessed by Gryke. He took her without apology, controlled her…owned her.

  Dropping down over her, Gryke spread his knees wide, opening her for total penetration.

  The sheer size of him astounded her. The stretching sensation of his entry bordered on painful, only to be replaced by mind-numbing pleasure as he began to move.

  Fiona couldn’t seem to think beyond the orgasm once again building inside her abdomen.

  She stared into Gryke’s glittering green eyes as he pumped his hips and thrust into her repeatedly, taking her higher.

  “Gryke!”

  His lips peeled back over his teeth. “I can feel you tightening around me, Fiona.”

  The desperation in his voice, coupled with his driving shaft, sent Fiona over the edge.

  She cried out in surrender, reaching the pinnacle of her orgasm the moment of Gryke’s release. They were in sync, moving as one, breathin
g as one, and coming apart as one.

  Fiona held tightly to Gryke as his hips continued to jerk forward in short, quick bursts until he shuddered above her.

  Her own orgasm seemed to climb with every passing second, leaving her helpless against its onslaught.

  Gryke stayed with her until her tremors eased and her body grew slack beneath him.

  He softly kissed her lips and rolled off her, taking her with him. “I cannot imagine anything more beautiful than the feel of you trembling in my arms. I have no control when I am with you.”

  Fiona attempted to catch her breath, adjusting her head on his shoulder. “I love it when you lose control. You take me to a place I’ve never been before.”

  “Not even with your husband?”

  “Never,” Fiona softly admitted. “I had no idea I was capable of such feelings.”

  Overcome with emotion, Fiona raised her head and met Gryke’s gaze. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  Gryke smiled, making his otherwise handsome face appear even more beautiful to her. “Is that not a good thing?”

  Fiona’s heart sank. He hadn’t returned her sentiment. “I don’t know. Is it?”

  “May I enter?” Hauke called from the hall, cutting off whatever reply Gryke might have had.

  “Give me a moment,” Gryke yelled back, easing his arm from beneath Fiona’s weight. “Do not move.”

  Fiona watched as Gryke gathered his clothes and pulled them on. He didn’t look at her, which only intensified her anxiety.

  She could kick herself a thousand times for confessing her growing feelings for him. Had she read him wrong?

  Hurt, and more than a little embarrassed, Fiona waited for Gryke to leave the bedroom before jumping from the bed and donning her own clothes. She needed to think. Preferably someplace away from him.

  “Where are you going?” Gryke questioned as she breezed into the foyer on her way to the door.

  Fiona pasted on a smile she didn’t feel. “To check on Andrew. He’s probably finished with his bath by now.”

  She glanced up at Hauke as she reached the door. “Hi, Hauke. Bye, Hauke.”

  Without turning to see Gryke’s reaction to her leaving, Fiona stepped into the hall and hurried toward her room.

  She stopped at the door to her brother’s apartment. “Are you in here?”

  Brant appeared in the archway to his room, a teasing light in his hazel eyes. “Hey, you. What are you doing slumming it down here with the riffraff?”

  “Riffraff?” Fiona scoffed, trailing over to wrap him in a hug. “You’re anything but.”

  Stepping back, she turned and took a seat at the small table in his kitchen area. “How are you?”

  Brant narrowed his eyes before following her to the table. He sat in the chair across from her. “You didn’t come down here for small talk. What’s going on?”

  Fiona sighed. “Can’t I check on my baby brother without having an ulterior motive?”

  “No.” Brant laughed, reaching across the table to cover her hand with his. “Now spill it.”

  With a slight shrug, Fiona dropped her gaze to their joined hands. “I just told Gryke that I loved him.”

  “Wow,” Brant breathed, leaning back in his seat and running a hand through his dark auburn hair. “That’s not what I expected you to say.”

  “Neither did he, apparently.”

  Brant stared back at her for so long Fiona grew uncomfortable. “You do realize he’s not human.”

  “Define human,” Fiona shot back, going into full-on defense mode. “Is it the men who attacked us in that lab? Or perhaps the ones who beat you to the point of death? Maybe it’s the serial killers, walking the streets, taking lives on a whim? You tell me, Brant.”

  “Whoa.” Brant held both hands up. “Easy there. I only meant that you would have to choose. Since you’d be ridiculed and persecuted by your peers for consorting with what they deem the enemy, you would have no choice but to remain down here. Is that what you want for Andrew? Because if it is, I will fully support you in your decision. But if it’s not, I would think long and hard about getting Andrew out of here before he becomes anymore attached to your alien.”

  Fiona’s heart squeezed in her chest. Could she live in Aukrabah? Could she resign from the CIA and move Andrew to a place where he would be the only human child in existence?

  “I don’t know what to do, Brant. I need time alone to think. It’s impossible to hold a clear thought around Gryke.”

  “Then go,” Brant suggested, leaning forward in his chair. “Pack a few supplies, hike back toward the entrance, and camp out in one of the caves along the way. I’ll take care of Andrew while you’re gone.”

  Fiona got to her feet. “Thank you, Brant. I think I’ll do that.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Gryke sat at the massive table in the great hall while giving an account of everything that had happened on the surface.

  He answered the king’s questions as patiently as possible, when all he wanted to do was get back to Fiona. She’d told him that she loved him.

  Gryke’s heart had filled with joy over her declaration. He ran his fingers over the small ring hidden beneath the waistband of his shorts. He’d found the ring among other treasures on one of his week-long outings in the gulf. He hoped Fiona would like it.

  “Am I keeping you from something?

  “Sire?”

  Klause narrowed his eyes. “You seem to be preoccupied.”

  “I apologize,” Gryke calmly responded. “My mind is elsewhere at the moment.”

  “The human female.”

  It surprised Gryke that the king could be so perceptive. Though it shouldn’t. Klause had powerful blood flowing through his veins. And though Gryke had been careful to keep his mind closed off, the king had apparently breached his defenses. “Yes.”

  Klause sighed. “Tell me, Gryke. Why would you show an interest in a land walker after what happened to your mother?”

  Gryke was stunned. He’d never mentioned his past to the king. “How did you come to know about my mother?”

  “I know everything that happens in Aukrabah,” Klause admitted. “Even if I do not let on that I do. Besides, your father’s thoughts are not always guarded. I have known since the day he brought you here when you were but a babe.”

  Choosing to remain aloof, Gryke stared back at his king without speaking.

  “You may go,” Klause relented after holding Gryke’s gaze for several heartbeats. “But I would speak with your human female. Send her to me at once.”

  Gryke nodded and got to his feet. “As you wish.”

  Turning toward the exit, Gryke stopped before reaching the hall. He spoke while facing the door. “I have bonded with Fiona. I would take her for my mate, with your consent.”

  “When have you ever needed permission to do anything?” The king chuckled. “Perhaps she would be interested in holding a position on our security team?”

  Gryke’s shoulders stiffened. He didn’t want Fiona on the security team. He wanted her safe in his apartment with a baby at her breast.

  Where had that thought come from? Gryke wondered, glancing over his shoulder at the king. Gryke had never desired children of his own. Yet there he stood, imagining a family with Fiona as if it were an everyday occurrence.

  “I will speak with her,” he told the king before leaving the room.

  With a determined set of his jaw, Gryke strode down the hall to Fiona’s apartment, only to find it empty.

  Perhaps she was visiting her brother, Gryke assumed, heading back the way he’d come. He stopped outside Brant’s quarters. “May I enter?”

  “Sure,” Brant called out from somewhere in back.

  Gryke stepped inside the foyer as Brant exited his bedroom.

  Fiona’s brother was not a small man, Gryke noted, sizing the guy up. “I am in search of your sister. She is not in her room.”

  “She left,” Brant murmured, limping over to the small table
in the kitchen and dropping heavily into a chair.

  Gryke’s heart twisted, and his barbs tingled with venom. Fiona had left him. “Where did she go?”

  Brant shrugged. “She needed some time to think. Said she was going to camp in one of the caves back toward the entrance where she could have some privacy.”

  Gryke was already at the door when Brant’s next words stopped him.

  “She always runs when she’s been hurt.”

  Slowly turning back to face him, Gryke pierced Brant with a pleading gaze. “I am responsible for her leaving? Did I harm her in some way?”

  Gryke’s mind immediately went back to the last moment he’d had with Fiona. He’d been too rough with her during their coupling.

  “You really don’t know, do you?” Brant questioned, his gaze softening.

  Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Gryke merely watched Brant, waiting for his inevitable response.

  Brant ran a hand down his face. “She loves you. Can’t you see that?”

  Pulling the ring from the hidden place in the waistband of his shorts, Gryke held it up for Brant’s inspection. “I was going to propose to her in the human custom.”

  Brant whistled low as he took in the large diamond resting atop the band. “Where in the world did you get that? It has to be worth thousands. It appears to be an antique.”

  “The gulf births many treasures, if one only looks hard enough.”

  Brant’s eyebrows shot up. “You’ll have to show me sometime. As for Fiona? She’s not like other women, Gryke. She’s tough as nails on the surface, but she has a huge heart. And when she loves, she loves deeply. But if that love isn’t returned, she hurts just as deeply.”

  “I do love her,” Gryke softly admitted.

  “Then you should have told her.”

  Understanding dawned. Gryke knew now where he’d messed up. Fiona had laid her heart bare before him, confessed her feelings for him. And what had he done in return? Absolutely nothing. Granted, they’d been interrupted, but it would have taken him all of two seconds to speak the words she’d needed to hear.

  “Go after her,” Brant suggested, pulling Gryke out of his regretful state. “Before she comes after you with gun in hand.” He grinned, showing even, white teeth.