His breath is hot and scented with the serum that’s saved my life. “Anything for you.”
18: Zariah
Shower spray sprinkles his rugged face, dripping off his contours in little streams. I wonder if serum is his only flavor, and crane my neck to sweep my lips over his.How have I not noticed him the way he noticed me?
Hunger for more of him stirs in my belly so powerfully it tightens my pussy even in my half-dead condition. I urge him closer.
“Zariah,” he breathes heatedly into my mouth. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Why?” I ask, savoring the lushness of his smooth lips against mine.
“The race—your mother’s last gift. The other males could give you more. They have kingdoms, homeworlds,homes.” Doubt pinches his brows. “They could give you a normal life like you always wanted. Like you deserve. Somewhere safe. And we have to keep you comfortable until I’m certain you’re healing with solid progress.”
I lean back, hating that he’s being so damned rational. Raw marks on his neck become visible when he shakes his head and looks away from me. They resemble a familiar pattern.
Touching my neck, now healed, likely from all the serum he’s given me, I’m certain a Ginarigon bit him.
Elix has fought for me even though he believes I deserve someone else. I’d be blind to not see what’s in front of me and an idiot not to want him.
“I think it’s pretty safe to say I’m never going to have a normal life, Elix. And I don’t want any of those alien males. I never did. Just a vacation, a chance to feel wanted, special,andsafe. Is finding anormalmate more important than what I want?”
His shocked breath tells me what I need to know. I lean back and look him in the eyes. “I never stopped thinking about you either. And everything since has proven my feelings about you aren’t misplaced.”
He smiles, just a little, his relief apparent.
It’s a struggle, but I sit forward, brace the back of his head, and kiss him.
Elix’s eyelids droop. His muscles flex in ripples. A deep primal rumble starts in his throat. “Zariah—”
“Elix—”
“When was the last time you felt really good?”
I honestly don’t know.Escaping my father? Not dying under a SoulStealer’s claws?Then it hits me. “Waking up and seeing you.”
He lets out a breath, dark brows knitted like he can’t quite believe it, and then he collects me carefully with an arm and lays me back. Elix unzips my suit and continues peeling it off of me. His lips find mine once more before gliding down my chin to my throat, traveling lower until he finds the sore spot on my chest. He drags his tongue over it one more time, slowly, evoking a tingling sensation akin to his healing affections, and then he slips the suit over my hips.
His every touch and brush of his skin over mine ignites a burning need to feel more of him—allof him.
Elix throws my race uniform aside, then crawls over me. Water drips from his face, his short ebony hair, his bloodied armor, and his clothes. But flames dance in his eyes as he leans down for another sensual kiss.
I clumsily unbuckle his armored vest, and he tugs it off. Unzipping his jacket, I find he’s not wearing a shirt underneath.And when I see the bruises in the light for the first time, I lock up.
“Oh, stars, Elix!”
He braces his elbows beside my head and laces his fingers into my soaked hair. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll endure anything for you. Just promise you will stay, that you won’t run, won’t sacrifice your freedom for mine again. Let me fight the universe with you.”
Water turns into mist against his broad back muscles. But now he’s got me thinking about how we could possibly merge our two very different lives. I’ve never told anyone outside of my secret life what I really do.
A tug on my bra pulls my attention back to Elix. He gently unhooks it, offers me the soap, and then rinses the blood from my bra in a nearby puddle.
I try my best to wash myself, but my fingers tremble too much.
“Zariah.” The way he says my name, like a sad, sweet song, makes me want to cry. He hovers over me, topless, green skin glistening under the lights, on all fours—a prime guard built to be a shield, a protector, a healer. “Let me serve you.”
I don’t know what he means, but I’m in need of any help I can get, especially with as weak as the sight of his rigid body makes mine. I have to abandon my pride and my independence and trust someone for once. Elix has proven himself many times already. I’m certain I’m safe with him.
“Okay.”
