Alien need, p.10
Alien Need, page 10
It hit her almost like a physical touch. It was so intense.
And he was just looking at her.
"How did you know?"
He very gently put his hand on her knee.
"I knew."
She shook her head and sipped more of her drink. Was the liquor making her more susceptible to suggestion? Or was she just more honest than usual? She typically kept her feelings and thoughts close to her and didn't share them. Too often, it wound up being detrimental, so she kept a distance from everyone.
Yet he was bringing it out from her.
"I do feel something when I look at you," Janae said. "If it's attraction or if it's the drink talking, I don't know. But there is something between us. A pull I'd never felt before to anyone." She raised her cup. "It could be the drink."
"It is not the drink." His gaze ran over her, and stars if it didn't make her body tremble.
She licked her lips.
This time, his horns did move.
“Your horns moved.”
“They do that when aroused.”
The idea made her cheeks warm, so she touched her hair and stroked her bangs to be sure they covered her brow. “Do they always? At any time?”
“They can,” he said.
“Can I touch them?” She held out her hand to feel the horn closest to her. He leaned in, and she stroked the hard shape. Like sticks, but thicker, and they were smoother than she thought. “They’re almost soft. But hard. There’s a layer to them.”
She wrapped her hand around them, feeling the—
“Yes, they are.” He grabbed her wrist.
She gasped, startled by his quick move.
“Stroking them can be more enticing," he said, his voice low and gravelly.
“Sorry. I didn't know they are very sensitive," she said as she pulled her hand back.
"Do not apologize." His eyes looked even darker, and his expression had shifted to something far more dangerous looking. “To certain things, they can be.” The way he said that it sent shivers through her.
Powerful, sensual shivers.
It made her a little nervous. What was this they were doing? Was this part of the Courtship?
She really should stick with safer topics.
Think differently, she told herself. Don't get trapped by those sensual eyes staring at you like that. Instead, she forced herself to look around. At anything in the room but him. "Do they hurt? Like if you get in a fight?"
"Like any appendage, they would."
Were they getting closer?
She felt like they were getting closer. "I, uh,"
He leaned toward her and put his hand on hers. "You can touch me any time you want, in any way."
"I thought we were in Courtship."
"We are."
"Does it go both ways?" she asked, though she was afraid of the answer.
"Only if you give me permission."
She nodded.
He was so much closer to her now. Just a breath away.
"May I kiss you?"
She managed a quick nod.
He smiled again.
And leaned in. His lips just barely brushed hers. Soft and gentle.
Yet it built a fire in her like she'd never known.
And it was over far too quickly.
He pulled away. "You are desire," he said.
She blinked. "I am what?"
He met her gaze. "Desire. The embodiment of it. I must be cautious. For I know once I fully taste you, I will never have enough."
She gasped.
11
He was in trouble.
Khalzin absolutely was in trouble.
Janae was going to be his downfall; he could feel it. Just after one passive, gentle kiss, he knew that he would never truly be able to get enough of her. She would be his greatest discovery and conquest. And she would also be his biggest risk.
How one female, one humanoid, could overpower him so intensely, so quickly, he knew not.
But he needed to understand it and be very cautious in this Courtship.
The scientist in him wanted to analyze her power over him. However, the primal side of him wanted to devolve and claim what was his.
Something he never thought he would experience in his life.
"I didn't realize this room was here," Janae said, glancing around the modest extra sleeping quarters in his apartment. Kept for guests, the space was not nearly as elaborate as his private quarters.
He had hoped that Janae would want to sleep with him in his room, but she had gotten agitated when he mentioned being tired and ready for bed. He assumed she had not wanted to be in the same room.
Not yet, anyway.
Everything takes time.
"And it can be mine?"
"To do with as you choose. I hope, when you're ready, you will join me in my room, but until then, you can rest here if you find the accommodations acceptable."
She glanced around. "It's been a long time since I had one of my own."
"A room?"
"A proper bed."
He blinked, unable to articulate words at her admission. Or even emotions. For they felt almost unreal, that someone would not have a bed.
"You truly did live on the streets, didn't you?"
"I didn't have much choice. A poor upbringing. The wrong kind of humanoids all around. Family gone. Lots of bad decisions."
"Were you ever imprisoned?"
"That was one thing I always seemed to avoid. But only barely, sometimes."
Her admission both touched him and angered him. Though not anger at her, more anger at her situation.
She did not seem to find an issue with it, but he would undoubtedly like to duel those who put her in that position.
She glanced at the door. "Will I be able to set the lock?"
"Yes."
"Will you have access to it?"
"Not unless you give me permission."
She sat down on the bed. "Ok. I can live with this." Her gaze ran over the wall. "And no one can see in here?"
He shook his head. "The coding is here. Tap the controls."
She did.
The opaque wall turned transparent.
"Only when you want to see out, you can."
"And I can make it translucent?"
"If you choose. Whatever you wish it to be." He tapped a sequence that made the wall fade from transparent at the top to opaque at the bottom. "I have used this setting before, in my room, for sunlight when I wake."
"Thanks, I may try that."
She pressed on the control panel a few times, adjusting the opacity until it was something she liked, and turned to look at him.
Their gazes met.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she raised her hand.
"This is probably not how this should go," she said. "But I appreciate your care to make me as comfortable as possible."
"I do not want you to think I am a red-horned monster."
She smiled. "I don't."
He started to walk out of the room.
"Not yet, anyway," she said.
Sleep did not come easily to Khalzin under the best circumstances. He had not been able to sleep the last few nights, preparing for the arrival of the Galactic Alliance's ship and the inevitable new mate he would be getting.
If one had told him yesterday, he would have been happy about the Coalition's decree, he would have called them crazy. He had no desire to find a partner.
But now that he had met Janae, he wanted nothing more than to protect her and keep her safe for all his life.
It was an immediate connection.
One he had not expected.
Of course, it was known that when a Kantenan met their mate, a strong bond only grew stronger in time as they aged together. But the instant connection was a hard explanation.
It had only been stated that he would "know" when it happened.
Was it perfect?
No. Nothing was. Some bonds were natural and strong, but the partners did not flourish. It had happened in the past on rare occasions that Kantenans left the system to live and would bond with another humanoid, but the ones who chose that path stayed away from Kantenan.
For most Kantenans, life meant staying on the homeworld.
But like all of them, Khalzin had made a life for himself on his world and had expected he would find a mate from one of the females from his planet.
Janae was not like anyone he'd known before, however. She was timid and a little shy. Nervous and untrusting, he guessed that had to do with her upbringing. Yet she was a beauty, and he did enjoy spending time with her and talking.
He hoped that they would make a good pairing.
It didn't matter what he was going to do, honestly.
She would be his mate.
If Courtship took years, then so be it.
She would be his, no matter what.
He stretched on his bed, hoping to get some sleep, but it would not come.
His mind kept dancing around everything that had happened.
There was no word of anyone being found from the explosions.
No finding of Fiviel or the others who fell.
He doubted they would be found at this point.
He shoved his bedding off and climbed back out of bed. Since he couldn't bring himself to sleep, he figured he would exercise.
Maybe that would tire him out enough to get some rest. He found himself either training with his weapon many nights or doing more research. However, the study did not seem like his best idea right now. He didn't think he'd be able to wrap himself up in genome research when truly he was already doing the next level of his testing.
No, he needed to be stretching his body and not thinking with his brain. It was bad enough that Janae was already painting his thoughts heavily.
He stepped into his main living area and picked up his ju-nak staff. He spun the double-bladed weapon around and started rolling through the basic maneuvers he always did to start a workout. Counting in his head all the steps like he'd done all his life. Each step was automatic, and every move down to the perfect form like he'd practiced all his life.
His mind wandered as he moved, and he started to look at his home. The residence lacked a great deal of personality. Janae was right, and he needed to get some more fitting things to define him. Make it feel like his home, not just his place to reside.
This was his home for his life before having a mate. That life was now over. He had found his mate. A new trench was now being carved for him.
Perhaps that was why he was so unsettled about this. It was a new direction in his trench he had to dig. A turn he hadn't anticipated and a direction that wasn't on his list of choices. While he liked to pick his path, he didn't want someone else dictating where he needed to go. It felt like the Coalition had decided that he needed to find a mate, which generally irritated him.
Was he angry about Janae? Not her, personally.
The idea of having to do it to prove a point to the council frustrated him. Yes. That was upsetting.
Another part of himself wanted to argue that if he was not the first, then who? How could he ask others to step up and try to mate with off-worlders because he said that in the numbers, it would work, but he wasn't willing to be right there as well?
He didn't like that he'd not considered that as a possibility. It was the trench he was now digging.
He swung the blade around more. Now he had to move forward from where he was. Head straight for the future, and stop being angry he didn't wholly dig his trench.
Make this life better for both, as soon as it was safe to do so.
"When everything is settled, I'll find something better."
"Something better for what?"
He spun around. Blade out and pointed straight at the voice.
Janae.
She held a glass and stared at him like it was not the first time someone had a weapon pointed at her. Her gaze bounced between the weapon and him, but she didn't flinch.
He immediately put the weapon down. "I am sorry, I was not aware you were awake."
She shrugged. "Cannot sleep. Neither can you, I see."
"I do not sleep much," Khalzin said.
"I don't really, either. When you live as I do, you sleep with one eye open all the time, watching for someone to steal your things or sneak attack you."
"You do not have to worry about that here."
She sighed. "I know. You'd think I would sleep easily, but it's almost like I can't believe it." She sipped on her cup. "Even on the Galactic Alliance ship where they were prepping us to come here, I didn't sleep well. I was always up and down. Checking my apartment locks, going over my things to make sure nothing was missing. I even figured out how to get into their security, and I would sit up and watch the hallway outside my room to make sure no one came around."
"I am sorry you have had to live like that."
She shrugged. "What do you do? It is what it is."
"I vow I will make sure you always can sleep safely."
She glanced down and brushed her hair again into her eyes.
He swung his weapon around and rested it at his side. "Do you mind if I continue?"
"Have fun. Will it bother you if I watch?"
"No. We can speak if you like." He started moving through his motions again, and in an unexpected twist, he realized he liked her being there and knowing that she was watching him.
"What did you want to find that was better?" she asked as she sat in a chair on the far side of the room, out of his immediate strike zone.
"This place. It is small. More for a single Kantenan. It is not supportive for a mated couple and potential children."
"What is wrong with it?"
He glanced over his shoulder at her. "It has no personality."
She smiled. "Well, personality can be created."
"There are homes more appropriate for us to live in. I think you will like them. Very secure. Near other families and with access to things a growing family would need."
"Are you thinking a little too far ahead? We have not even created a child yet."
"I am a scientist. It is in my nature to think around a situation."
"I suppose so," she replied. "Would we live near your family?"
"Possibly. If we could find a residence in that province. But I do not think it is necessary. Unless that is important to you."
She chuckled. "This is your world. These are your people. My people are scattered. My family is gone. You are going to be my family now, I guess. So, I will follow your customs and rules." She sipped on her drink. "Within reason, of course."
This did give him pause. "Within reason?"
"I may not be the most attractive--"
"You very much are, and I dislike you thinking otherwise--"
She brought up her hand. "Now, listen. I know I'm more plain and ordinary compared to others. I am fine with it. I mean that there are certain things that I will not do for anyone, you included."
"Which are?"
"I will not be disrespected or demeaned. In any form."
"I would never--"
"Many have said they never would do a thing and wind up doing it anyway. Let me establish my rules. No disrespect or demeaning."
"You have my vow."
"Good. And I promise you the same. I will not disrespect or demean you. You are my mate, and I am willing to respect you. Already you have shown me a great deal of kindness I have received from very few. All I ask is some leniency as I learn your customs and proper protocols."
"Of course. I know you were given some information, there is nuance in any culture that has to be learned by being there, and that cannot be translated into a class." He didn't expect her to be a perfect Kantenan upon meeting. He expected her to learn their customs as they went along.
She nodded. "Then we understand each other." She leaned back in the chair and watched him. "So, tell me about your weapon and why it is so important."
He spun it around. "It is a family heirloom."
He started to tell her all the little details about it as he walked through his workout.
He spun around, twisting the blade in a rather impressive arc, and when he glanced at her, he realized she had fallen asleep on the chair.
12
"I remember falling asleep, listening to him talk to me about the importance of his weapon, how it was a cultural thing," Janae waved her hand. "And the next thing I knew, I was in my bed." She didn't mention that she dreamed of flying, but that had to be Khalzin carrying her to her bed.
At first, when she woke up, she was disoriented, but who wouldn't be if they woke up in a different place than they fell asleep? Living on the streets, that was a fear, that she'd be taken when she was sleeping or something, so how she was able to fall asleep like that in front of Khalzin, and then not freak out when she woke up...
Well, she did for a moment.
But that had more to do with the disorientation than anything.
"How do you feel?" Adryel asked. "Nothing, well, messed up or anything?"
Janae shook her head. "No, everything is fine. I didn't feel violated if that's what you're asking."
"That's what I was asking, but I didn't want to say that."
"Why? You always speak your mind."
"You never know if the walls are listening."
Janae laughed. "Now you do sound like the paranoids I used to see all the time walking down the street. Talking to the air and certain the buildings were listening to them."
The apartment that Adryel had been placed in was like Khalzin's place. Smaller. The windows faced toward the rising sun. And toward the landing platforms where the explosion happened.
Just looking out at them gave her chills.
"That has to be unnerving," Janae said, gesturing to the windows.
The destruction was apparent even from this distance. Worker drones flew around, attempting to repair and rebuild the platform, while Kantenans worked as well. It was a chaotic scene of machinery and humanoids moving everywhere. She wondered if Khalzin was there or somehow a part of it. He had told her he had a few things to take care of today while she was with her friend.
Maybe he was down there too.
"It's kind of like watching ants rebuild a crushed ant hill," Adryel said. "Only bigger."
