“I require no trial,” he said. “But I accept our terms. We will revisit later.”
Then he pivoted.
He sprang up, reached into the bag he had brought from home, and produced a leather line. With a single leap he clipped the carabiner into one of Helios’s ceiling safety loops. The maneuver was impressive. The most impressive part was the towel staying in place.
Lily barely processed the shift from romance to motion before he caught her wrists, wrapped them, and tugged the line to pull her upright. The leather was soft enough not to hurt, but firm enough to hold.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
“You are a human field researcher who crash-landed on an uncharted world. You were captured by a local savage. That is me. The translator only speaks modern tongues, and I speak Old Divani. Very authentic.”
She struggled, but did not use the safeword. Seeing he had won, Khar issued a command.
“Helios, set quarters to Garrum Reserve. Jungle.”
The lights sank into red hues. Distant, unfamiliar animal calls echoed. Modern, safe Helios transformed into something primal and unsettling.
Lily loved it.
He took her from behind first, unseen, murmuring threats at her ear while weapon-worthy claws mapped her body. Then he flipped her, holding her wide by the thighs.
Face to face in the crimson glow, she thought for a heartbeat she truly faced a demon. Red light across obsidian skin made it feel like they danced in purgatory’s flames and she was the sinner, surrendered to her tormentor.
In that position he was almost too big, but with every thrust the small horn-like spurs stroked her clit. The wild, unrestrained sex, the lights tuned to her subconscious, and Khar’s devotion drove an orgasm through her so fierce her vision blurred and tears slipped down her cheeks.
Even as the aftershocks trembled on, he supported her with one arm, loosened the leather, and kissed the flushed marks on her wrists.
“Satisfied, my human fiancée?”
She could only nod before curling against his chest.
“Good,” he said, pure contentment in his voice. “If you are happy, I am happy.”
Lily had never been happier.
* * *
Later that chrono-cycle, while Khar slept with his head in her lap, Lily scrolled through old files on her abandoned phone backup. Most of it was useless now. Expired banking apps. Dead social media accounts. Photos of meals she no longer remembered eating.
Then she froze.
“Oh my God.”
Khar cracked one eye open, his glowing gaze casting soft light over her features.
“Is there cause for alarm?”
“Maybe.” Lily sat upright so abruptly his head slid off her thigh.
He glared up at her and was promptly ignored.
“I found something.” She stared at the screen in disbelief. “I completely forgot this existed.”
“What is it?”
Lily’s expression softened.
“The last thing my sister downloaded onto my phone before…” She trailed off. “Before everything.”
