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. . . Even if the entire goal of my conversation with him has been derailed.
“Let me be clear—I want to put it behind us, but I don’t want you to feel guilty. You didn’t violate me. I asked for it. I enjoyed it. I wanted it.”
Niko isn’t fully convinced, but he does seem mollified.
“You could bottle that shit and sell it,” I say with a laugh, trying to clear the air.
“Believe me, many have tried.” His expression sours. “There have been opportunists who killed in an attempt to steal its power. Fortunately for the safety of my people and innocent females everywhere, it does not remain stable when removed from the body. Males only produce it in the presence of their fertile mate.”
“Fertile?” I wrinkle my nose. I can’t imagine anyone with intentions to sell a Kar’Kali aphrodisiac having charitable notions of what it would be used for.
“My body won’t produce it if you are pregnant or infertile,” he says with a shrug. “I do not know how it works, but it doesn’t seem aware of contraceptives.”
“But what about couples that aren’t heterosexual? It’s only for making babies?”
“Not quite only for breeding,” he corrects. “They still produce it if their partner is fertile. The Kali’Ka will partner any combination of genders, butkalicannot recognize that their union will not result in a natural-born child. Males coupled with males still produce it, apparently. Some females produce it too. I’m not a biologist, so don’t ask me more questions on the details.”
I’ve never been scientifically minded, but Kar’Kali biology is certainly a fascinating subject.
“Look, forget all that,” I say quickly, shaking my head to refocus. “I woke you up for a reason. We need to talk.”
“We’ve been talking.” He’s amused, which irritates me.
“Niko,” I begin, wanting to dispense with the banter for this conversation. I’m not going to play with his feelings or belittle them. I will simply be clear and firm.
“Don’t start now, my female,” he says.
I wrinkle my nose.
“What is your next move? Some more seduction? Or will you be shooting me again?”
“Nothing. I’m just going to leave like I planned last night. Except nothing is getting in my way this time.”
“Oh, and where’s your ticket out of the station?”
“I can manage my own transport from here.”
“I can help you more than you know,” he says. “Just listen, please.”
I can tell by the sparkle in his eyes that it’s good. It’s some reason to keep me at his side, and I have half a mind to stomp out of here without giving him a minute more of my time. I think my desire to run out on him is half-fueled by the subconscious knowledge that I’ve met my match. Niko is clever, handsome, and unyielding. I wonder whether it’s only a matter of time before he tricks me into falling in love with him.
“I know a captain who can pick us up. And not only can they offer us a safe passage away from here, but they also dabble in just the business you’re interested in.”
“What business?”
“Stealing the enslaved from their captors,” he states. “Is that not what you plan to get yourself involved in one way or another?”
Fuck. I can’t very well ignore that offer, even if it’s suspiciously convenient. He wants me, and he just happens to have a solution?
“Let me guess,” I say. “More pirates.”
“I will help you find your friends,” he says. “You will need assistance from someone. It may as well be me. I happen to have experience with the kind of characters you’ll be dealing with.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why? Are you trying to win this fight all on your own? You can’t possibly still hate me.”
“It’s not that. You are the last person I could trust, not because you’re a pirate and not because I hate you. I don’t hate you. You think you own me. You think it’s your job to protect me. And that is the last thing I need right now. Excluding the fact that it’s delusional hocus pocus, I need to be in control of this. I might make crazy decisions. Sometimes I run headfirst into danger. I don’t need you getting in the way.”
