by Kali Argent
Cynda squeaked and slammed the door closed hard enough to make the glass rattle in its frame.
“Fayah?” Concern bled into his voice as he knocked gently on the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing! Everything is fine.” Crap, crap, crap. “Can you get Jael, please?”
“She’s in the other changing room.” The door vibrated on its metal tracks as he tried to force it open. “Cynda, open the door. Tell me what’s wrong.”
She wrung her hands together and paced in the enclosed space. She could wait for Jael, but judging by the urgency in Xi’s voice, he wouldn’t. Sure enough, the pounding started a moment later, his fist hitting the frame so hard she feared the clouded glass would shatter.
“Okay,” she called as she unlocked the door. It wasn’t fair to make him worry, especially because of something so silly. “Just…don’t laugh.”
Still standing behind the door, she opened it just wide enough for Xi to slip into the changing room with her. Stars, he seemed to take up a lot more space than logic argued he should. He might have been taking in more than his share of oxygen as well because she suddenly found it hard to breathe.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded. “Why did you—” His words ended on a choked groan as his eyes went impossibly wide. “You look…”
“Ridiculous,” she moaned, her face burning with her embarrassment. “I know, but the zipper’s stuck.”
“Stunning.” Closing the distance between them, he backed her against the wall, trapping her there with his hard body. “I was going to say that you look stunning.”
Then, his mouth was on hers, his tongue plunging between her lips in a hard, searching kiss that made her head spin and her legs tremble. She’d been kissed before, but never like this. Never so thoroughly and passionately that she felt it in every cell of her being.
Then, just as suddenly as the kiss had started, Xi jerked away to stare down at her.
“We need to go.” The markings on his arms and neck shimmered almost as intensely as the hunger blazing in his eyes.
His growl sent a wave of moisture pooling between her legs, and she nodded up at him dazedly. “Okay.”
“Fuck.” Taking her wrist, he jerked the door open and practically dragged her from the room. “We have to go. Now.”
CHAPTER FIVE
The shuttle ride back to the mansion was torturous.
Every inhalation filled Xi’s head with the scent of his mate. Every time she offered him one of her shy smiles, his cock throbbed painfully within the confines of his leathers. It didn’t help that she still wore that infernal dress that hugged every splendid inch of her body. The only thing “ridiculous” about it was that Cynda didn’t realize just how tempting she looked in it.
Even Jael seemed to realize that he was in a volatile mood, because she hadn’t protested when he’d insisted it was time to return home. She also hadn’t said a word since climbing into the shuttle, a feat he hadn’t thought possible. Every so often, she would shoot him a sideways glance, and her lips would part. Then, she’d shake her head and subside back into her seat to stare out the window.
By the time they finally slowed to a stop in front of the manor, Xi felt like he was about to crawl out of his skin. Patience was not in his nature. Restraint didn’t suit him. Even waiting while Jael completed the transaction on their purchases had nearly pushed him past his limits.
“I’ll get Luke and Osian to help with the bags.” His sister didn’t look at him, but there was a coy smirk on her lips. “And brother?”
“What?” he snapped.
“Do try not to rip the dress.”
Xi growled, took Cynda’s hand, and pulled her with him out of the shuttle.
He knew he needed to get control of himself. He was probably scaring the hell out of his mate. He was frightening himself as well if he was being honest, but no matter how many deep breaths he took, he couldn’t calm the storm raging inside him.
In that moment, he would have given anything to be back on Xenthian with full use of his magic. If he didn’t have to worry about headaches, nosebleeds, or passing the fuck out, he’d have already transported them somewhere private.
When he and Jael had first arrived on Earth, the side-effects of using magic had been nominal. He’d grown tired more easily, and his enchantments hadn’t been quite as powerful, but it hadn’t caused him any concern. The longer he and his siblings were away from their home world, however, the weaker they became. In the last few weeks, they’d had to be more conservative with their abilities, and they were all feeling the frustration.
In fact, the bit of magic he’d used to teach Cynda’s family a lesson had taxed him far more than he’d been willing to admit.
“Xi,” Cynda panted, “slow down.”
Realizing he was literally dragging her up the stone steps to the front door, he slowed his pace and gentled his hold. What the hell was wrong with him? He knew better than to treat a female so carelessly, especially one who was quickly becoming his entire reason for existing. By the ancestors, he was acting more like a feral animal than the intelligent, civilized male he was.
Shame and guilt burned away some of his desire, allowing a semblance of rational thought to return. Facing his mate, he already had an apology forming on his lips when he saw her bare feet peeking out beneath the hem of her dress. Dropping his head, he raked his fingers through his hair and cursed under his breath.
By the ancestors, she probably regretted ever meeting him.
“Forgive me, fayah.” As gently as he knew how, he scooped her into his arms and cradled her small body against his chest. “I don’t know what came over me.” He rubbed his cheek over the top of her head and sighed. “I would never hurt you.”
“I know.” Her tone was filled with certainty and far more trust than he deserved. “I’m not afraid of you, Xi.” She rested her head on his shoulder and giggled. “I just have short legs.”
Her laughter settled something inside him, soothed him in a way he hadn’t been able to do for himself.
As the urgency faded, he felt even more ashamed of the way he’d reacted. He could blame it on the heightened emotions that plagued all mated males of his race. Anger became rage. Protectiveness turned to paranoia. Jealousy intensified into a territorial instinct the likes of which the universe had never seen. Happiness was euphoria.
Lust was…primal.
He’d been around enough bonded males to know that these emotions would eventually level out, but the intensity in which he felt things would never fade entirely. Still, that was a lousy excuse for his behavior. No matter what had caused his momentary lapse of judgment, he should have been able to handle it. He should have worked harder to control it.
“Whoa.” Cynda gripped his neck in a stranglehold, her breaths coming erratically as she buried her face against his shoulder. “Oh, damn, I think I’m going to be sick.”
Apparently, he hadn’t been idle while lost in his own unpleasant thoughts. The last time he’d used magic without meaning to, he’d been a youngling, no more than eight or nine years old. Yet, there he stood, in the middle of his bedroom, with no recollection of how he’d gotten there.
Obviously, he’d teleported them there, but he didn’t remember doing it. He hadn’t felt the compression of his lungs or heard the dull roar in his ears. There had been no familiar darkness for those few seconds it took to move through time and space from one place to another.
As unintended magic went, it could have been worse. He shuddered to think about what else he could have done.
“Breathe,” he instructed as he settled down on the edge of his bed and positioned Cynda securely in his lap. “Just breathe. It will pass.” He kept one arm around her waist, holding her tight as he combed his fingers through her silky hair. “I’m sorry, fayah. It wasn’t my intention to cause you discomfort.”
“No, no, I’m okay.” With a shaky laugh, she sat up straighter and tilted her head back to look at him. “Just, maybe a little
warning next time, yeah?” She reached out to touch his cheek, but instead of a soft caress, her expression turned alarmed, and she grabbed his chin, forcing his head to the side. “Xi! Oh, my god. Are you hurt? What happened?”
He felt tired down his soul, but he wasn’t injured. “I’m not hurt.”
“You’re bleeding.” Holding his face in both hands, she swiped her thumb over his jaw, just below his left earlobe. “This isn’t normal.” She held her thumb up, showing him the bright crimson smeared across the skin. “What’s going on?”
While he didn’t want to upset her with unpleasant truths, she deserved an explanation. “Our magic—Xenon magic—doesn’t work the same on Earth as it does on Xenthian. It can be…demanding on the body, but there’s no need to worry.”
“No need to worry?” She narrowed her eyes at him incredulously. “You are bleeding from your freaking ears, Xi. I would say that is definitely cause for concern.”
“I just overexerted myself. That’s all.”
She didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t lecture him. “Please be more careful, okay?”
“Yes, of course.” Tapping the underside of her chin, he urged her head up for a chaste, gentle kiss. “You are amazing.”
Her cheeks tinged pink, and she shook her head. “I’m no one.”
She was perfect in every way imaginable. “To me, you are everything.”
Her blush deepened as heat radiated off her skin. “I feel the same way, but that’s crazy. I only met you, yet it feels like we’ve known each other for a lifetime.”
If he were to believe the legends, in a way, they had known each other all of their lives.
The bond between soulmates was intense and consuming, but much of what it involved still remained a mystery to his people. They’d concocted stories and myths to try to explain it, but no one really knew for sure how fate chose their mates. The idea that a powerful ancestor had cast a spell that split souls apart so that they might one day find their way back to one another was a wonderful notion. Romantic even.
It was still just a story, and Xi had stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago.
He accepted that a power greater than himself had chosen Cynda as his perfect match. Now that he’d experienced that connection for himself, how could he not? He just didn’t necessarily believe that it had anything to do with magic. Not his peoples’ brand of magic, anyway.
“I read a little about soulmates in the public records,” Cynda said, rising from his lap to pace the carpeted space at the foot of the bed. “We can’t be separated, right? I mean, if we’re apart for long periods of time, you could get really sick.” She tilted her head and pursed her lips. “Will it be the same for me, or is it just Xenon?”
“I’m not sure.” Since several non-Xenon mates had found their way to his home world, he’d heard murmurings, but it seemed the bond manifested in different ways depending on the race. “For now, I think you’d only feel increased anxiety and agitation. Once we are bonded, however, yes, you would react to a separation the same as any Xenon.”
“So, if you left, I could die and vice versa?”
As much as he hated the idea of something happening to her, he nodded. “Yes, but that’s not something you need to worry about.”
Nothing apart from death could pry him from her side, and he had no plans of dying anytime soon.
“That seems really unfair.”
Taken aback by her words, Xi jerked his head up and frowned. “Explain.”
“Well, I mean, what if you didn’t like me? What if I was really horrible?” It was kind of adorable the way she waved her hands around in big, animated motions when she talked. “Would you have to stay with me just so you don’t die?” She stopped pacing and faced him directly. “That’s just cruel.”
While he understood the point she was trying to make, he couldn’t help but smile. “I promise you that in almost four thousand years, I have never once heard of that happening.”
“But it could,” she insisted. Then, she jerked to a stop and took a step back, her eyes growing impossibly wide. “I’m sorry, did you just say four thousand years?”
She seemed startled by the information, but Xi just shrugged. “Three thousand, nine hundred, and eighty-seven to be precise.”
“Wow.” She pressed her palm against her forehead and swayed a little on her feet. “I guess I knew you were immortal, but I didn’t really consider what that meant in terms of age. Four thousand years.”
“Fayah?” He didn’t like how pale she looked, but when he started to rise from the mattress, she waved him away.
“I’m okay. It’s just a lot to process.” After several seconds and a few deep breaths, some of her color returned, and she graced him with one of her enchanting smiles. “And the physical change?” she asked, making a vague motion that somehow encompassed all of him. “That’s part of it?”
He nodded slowly. “Legend says it’s so that we may be better able to protect our mates.”
Cynda wrinkled her nose. “That seems rather sexist.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong. “It’s just a story. I don’t actually know the real reason, but Jael thinks it has something to do with balance.” Damn, he wished he’d paid more attention when she’d tried to explain it to him. “Does it bother you?”
“What? No. I didn’t say that.” Her eyes went wide again, and she shook her head. “I mean, you look good. Great. You look very…great.” She dropped her face into her hands and groaned. “Oh, damn.”
Chuckling, Xi pushed up from the bed and strode over to gather her into his arms. “So, you like the way I look?”
She swatted her hand against his chest but didn’t try to pull away when he held her closer. “Obviously.”
As much as he wanted to get her out of her clothes and tumble her into bed, it had been a long, exhausting day for both of them. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.” She stepped away and stared down the length of her body. “Umm, I’d really like to get out of this dress first.” Gathering her hair to one side, she turned her back to him and wiggled her fingers over her shoulder. “Can you get the zipper unstuck?”
As with most things, his first inclination was to use magic. He thought about spelling the dress off her completely but decided that would probably make her uncomfortable. They hadn’t quite advanced to that level of their developing relationship yet.
So, he merely attempted to loosen the fastening instead. The zipper didn’t budge, but a sharp, throbbing ache started in his temples. He pushed more insistently, trying to break through whatever barrier was interrupting his magic, but the pain only intensified until he could barely remain upright.
A trickle of blood ran from his nose.
“Xi?”
Placing a hand on Cynda’s shoulder to stop her from turning, he used the hem of his T-shirt to mop the crimson from his face. “I’m unfamiliar with this fastening device,” he lied. “One moment.” It took a little jiggling to get the mechanism loose, but once he’d unzipped the dress to her waist, he took a hasty step in retreat and averted his eyes from all the smooth, flawless skin on display. “Done.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll have Jael bring you a change of clothing and show you to your room while I find us something to eat.”
She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyebrows drawn together to create a shallow valley across her brow. “Sure, but…are you okay?”
“It’s just across the hall,” he said, backing away toward the door. “I’ll send Jael right away.”
Her frown deepened, and she turned to take a step toward him. “Xi?”
“I’ll meet you in the kitchen when you’re ready.”
He hated the look in her eyes, hated that he’d been the one to put it there. He didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily, and until he figured out what the hell was going on with him, he didn’t have any answers for her.
And that, he hated the most.
CHAPTER SIX
> Standing in front of the large windows in the kitchen, Cynda turned over the small, black box she held and sighed. In the week since she’d come to live at the mansion, little gifts like this had been left outside her bedroom door every day. The gesture was sweet, but it didn’t negate the fact that something was definitely wrong.
Maybe Xi didn’t want to admit to what he perceived as weakness. Maybe he was just trying to protect her. Whatever the reason, she didn’t like it. Despite being as sweet and attentive as he had been that first day, he still seemed distracted…distant.
Currently, he sat down by the edge of the lake, his legs splayed in front of him, and his head lowered. It wasn’t the first time she’d found him alone and looking as if he carried the burdens of the entire universe on his shoulders. When they were together, or he was with his family, he kept up a decent façade. Yet, in times like these, when he thought no one was watching, the sadness he projected was nearly palpable.
It also hadn’t escaped her notice that he hadn’t used magic since that first day, not even for small, simple things like retrieving a glass of water. When she tried to question him about it, he would just smile, assure her everything was fine, then change the subject.
She wasn’t fooled.
All the Moonmist siblings had been acting strange lately. Well, stranger than usual. Syrie rarely left her room anymore. Instead of the happy male who was quick to laugh, Osian had become quiet, sullen. Even Jael seemed more subdued in recent days. To be fair, that might have been because of pregnancy hormones, at least in part. Still, Cynda didn’t think it was the whole reason she’d caught the female sniffling at the kitchen island the previous evening.
“It’s not you,” a voice said from behind her. “Xi, I mean.” Dressed in black tights and a jade tunic with matching boots, Syrie entered the kitchen with her hands clasped together behind her back. “I think he misses home.” She offered one of her rare smiles, but it didn’t quite reach her pale gray eyes. “We all do.”
