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But…he is the enemy. He’s killed people. He may have taken my best friend, or at least had something to do with her disappearance.
“You didn’t have to wait for me,” I say, fighting the competing feelings warring in my chest.
“I’m told it’s polite on Earth to wait for one’s wife,” he says. “Please—sit.”
Corvus is suddenly at my elbow, pulling out my chair for me. I take a seat, letting my robe slide over my thigh until most of my leg is visible. Atlas takes a seat as Corvus retreats to the door, seven other guards already lining the edges of the room. They’re dressed so plainly that I hardly even noticed them before.
No wonder Atlas has been so hard to kill. He really is untouchable. Even with all this security, his shield flickers blue once again.
He leans forward and clasps his silver hands in front of him, his dark eyes flashing like a borealis. Atlas inhales deeply, his eyelashes fluttering and his tongue darting out to lick his lips.
“You really are insatiable,” he says, his voice thick.
I bite my lip. He must smell me; I’m already turned on again. “Just thinking about last night.”
He laughs, his smile growing wider. And I hate how that makes me feel—how I expected some cold, domineering asshole, when he seems…
Well, I don’t know.
Notlike someone who would rob someone like me of her freedom.
“So you liked last night?” he says, and I think there’s pride in his tone.
“Not as much as I would have if you were inside me,” I say.
He snorts, that stubborn curl on his forehead trembling, falling out once again. “Then we’re in agreement.”
Fucking hell, he’scharming. What the fuck? Where was the part in my training where they taught me not to be charmed?
“No…beyond that, I loved last night,” I shrug. “But I’ve never had any problem pleasuring myself, even if you helped alittlebit.”
Atlas laughs, shaking his head then picking up his fork. “You should eat,” he says. “You must be starving.”
It suddenly occurs to me that he’s right—I haven’t had anything to eat since I got off the shuttle yesterday. I pick up the fork and narrow my eyes at the plate in front of me, surprised to find a plain old breakfast of eggs and bacon.
“Where did you get all this?” I ask. “I assume Aelyds don’t have the same diet…and I didn’t think you had pigs here.”
“I had it imported,” he says.
“Cross-system imports?” My eyes widen. “Had to have cost a fortune.”
“It did,” he says, “but I won’t have my wife going hungry. I’m told it’s easier for humans to adapt to life on Aelydon when you aren’t forced immediately to adopt our diet.”
I frown, immediately thinking of Layla. “Do you know any humans…?”
“Of course,” Atlas says. “And I’m aware of your people’s physiology. The other families have already brought in human females and had to do much the same thing; Tauro, Ombra, Diavolo…”
I wonder how many of those women are First Wave informants. I wonder if one of them is Layla.
“Can I meet them?” I ask.
Atlas frowns. “We are…protective of our women. Maybe after a few weeks, once you’re settled here.”
Weeks? Layla might not have weeks.
I scoop up some eggs and bacon and stick my fork in my mouth, shocked to discover how good they taste. They’re almost normal, except for some delicious spice I’ve never had before, and Itryto look angry only to utterly fail.
“You’ve surprised me, Penn.”
