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After a while, I moved into the zone where time stood still, the only sound was my breath, and all I focused on was the movement of my muscles. I must have been so deep in the zone that I didn't hear the door hissing as it slid to the side to allow Azazel entrance.
I wasn't sure what exactly alerted me to his presence, but suddenly he was there, leaning against the wall, staring at me with an expression of rapture.
When he realized I noticed him, he asked, "Where did you learn to move like that?"
Out of breath, I stopped, put my hands on my hips, and bent over to catch my breath. "It's part of martial arts training my parents insisted on me taking."
"Martial arts?"
For a moment, I had forgotten I was talking to an alien. Seeing him standing there, leaning against the wall, made me feel like I had known him for a long time, not just since yesterday.
"It's a mix of self-defense moves compiled from all over the world," I tried to explain.
He tilted his head in a way that made my heart flutter and my knees go weak, which, in my current position, threatened to topple me off balance. "Do the Adamas teach offensive moves as well?"
I smiled. I might not have known him for long, but I recognized a challenge when it was thrown at me. I quickly extended my arm to the ground and did a forward roll. He was just far away enough from me that when I came up, I was only a foot from him, and he was too surprised to act when my leg shot out and kicked against his hard enough to make him kiss the ground.
Surprised, he came up on all fours and regarded me through inscrutable red eyes. A small shiver of fear rushed through me. Had I gone too far? Yes, we had had great sex, but I had barely known him for twenty-four hours, and he was a demon or vampire or whatever and they were famous for their tempers, at least from what I knew from the movies.
I swallowed.
"Well done," he praised as a slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and I felt a bit safer.
That was until he pulled on my ankle and brought me down to the ground with him. I had practiced enough to have my lower arms catch the brunt of the impact, as well as tucking in my chin to not hit my head, but before I could react, he crawled on all fours on top of me, giving me room to move, but my limbs felt frozen.
"I like your offensive move. You will have to teach me."
His face was right above mine and only inches away. I felt his warm breath and a shiver of a different kind rushed over me. His head lowered and his lips met mine. I sighed with pleasure.
I grabbed his hard, swollen biceps with my hands and pulled myself up to lean into his kiss that robbed me of my breath.
He shifted his weight to one arm to caress my cheek with his hand when we both came up for breath. "I would like nothing more than to take this further and into the bed," he hitched his chin toward the piece of furniture in question, "but I made you a promise and now would be a good time to keep it."
Hope and dread spread through my chest, hope that he meant we were going to see my parents and dread that he had come to his senses and would leave me there.
"Ishtar, my mother, is caring for mybrides, and I told her I would visit Adama to satiate my thirst. If you want to find your parents, we should do it now."
Of all the replies I should have made, I croaked, "Brides?"
He stood, helping me up in the process. "It's a long story, and I will tell you on the way if you still want to go."
For a moment I wondered if I detected a trace of longing on his face that I would choose staying here. I searched, but I couldn't be sure. I placed my hands on his chest. "We will return here though?"
He took my hands and kissed each knuckle. "Karamia, we belong together. Whatever you choose, wherever you wish to go, I will be at your side."
My heart hitched. The honesty and conviction in his husky voice filled my chest with warmth.
"I need to let them know I'm okay," I whispered.
"Let's go." His smile faded some, but he took my hand before his fist dove into his pants pockets and he pulled out a few pieces of green jewelry.
"We have a system aboard the Asphodel. We all wear black, but the servants wear green accessories, the nobles wear silver, and the royals wear gold. One day I will deck you out in gold from head to toe, but today," he sighed, and I realized he truly didn't like the idea, "I need you to wear green, so you look like my servant while we move about the ship."
"I don't mind," I assured him.
"I do," he mumbled under his breath as he put large, green gemstone-studded arm rings on my upper biceps, smaller ones on my wrists, and a green belt around my waist. The jewelry was made from a precious metal I had never seen before and glimmered prettily. I actually kind of liked it.
"We can't hold hands and you will have to follow two steps behind me," he instructed in a guilty tone.
