Pleasure shot through her as his tongue found its way into her mouth.
She didn’t know what it was about him, didn’t understand why her body lit up like a sweet fire when he touched her, but she was suddenly weak in the knees, having only the strength to hold on to him.
“Keh-reh-nah,” he groaned as he nestled between her legs, tearing his lips away from hers to look down at her.
Their breaths came hard, making their chests heave against each other.
“Ajos…”
Fuck, she didn’t want him to stop. The last thing she wanted was for him to release her.
“I can’t do this,” he said, pain showing through the wildness in his eyes.
Disappointment swelled within her, quelling the heat that was spreading between her legs almost immediately.
Kerena stiffened. “What? Why?” She pushed against him.
To be fair, she was annoyed. A bit pissed too.
Had she been stupid to think there was something there between them? Something more than a one-night-stand kind of thing?
Ajos breathed hard and rested his forehead against hers.
In the back of her mind, she realized he wasn’t letting her go.
“I can’t…”
“You can’t what?” She pressed against him again. “You can’t kiss me? You can’t fuck me?”
He released another breath, and his shoulders shook a little.
He was laughing.
“Oh, I can definitely do that.” His eyes focused on hers. “As a matter of fact, it’s all I want to do.”
Kerena frowned at him.
Then what was stopping him?
They were both adults.
They knew what they were doing.
“I don’t deserve you,” he said. “I…”
He eased off of her then and sat.
“What are you talking about?”
He didn’t answer. If anything, he seemed to go into himself even more.
“I thought…” She let the words die on her lips.
She’d thought they’d shared something in that forest. Something more.
He shuddered again and the fleshy fin-like structure at the back of his head looked like it pulsed.
Ajos groaned and walked toward the door, pressing his fist against it.
She was beginning to understand what this was.
She was no biologist but she knew that some species went in heat, with the urge to mate becoming so strong it was overwhelming.
Only Ajos was fighting his—for what reason, she did not know.
She opened her mouth to say something else to him when a thought struck her.
Maybe he was holding back because he knew he was going to leave after this heat of his was over.
“V’Alen is coming,” he said as he raised his head.
The door slid open then and the robot man stood in the center of the frame.
“Commander,” he said before his eyes slipped over to her.
“Report, V’Alen,” Ajos said, a note of pain and annoyance in his voice.
“The device you found,” V’Alen began, “I have information on it.”
“Report,” Ajos repeated, grimacing as he did.
“It is ancient.” V’Alen paused and only then did she realize he’d been staring at her the entire time.
Ajos stepped in front of his friend and blocked his view.
“Ancient how?”
“I have scanned it and cross-referenced records within the archives. I found nothing. I had to connect with the archives from my home world. That’s when I found…something.”
“Go on.” There was still that note of annoyance in Ajos’ voice.
“It is a relic from the era of the Vikteki…”
There was silence as they both stared at each other.
“That’s not possible. Everything from the Vikteki was destroyed.”
“Apparently, not,” V’Alen answered.
Staring at them, Kerena could see the tension between them and that made her uneasy.
“Is that bad? What’s the Vikteki?” she asked.
Ajos turned to look at her, his golden eyes softening a little.
“They were a great ancient civilization that, based on the archives, developed some of the most advanced technology ever to be made in our universe. They knew things that they should not have known, were stronger than they should have been…it is written that their technology was…remarkable.”
“They built things that we are only just beginning to understand,” V’Alen added.
Kerena’s gaze flicked from one male to the other and she brought the blanket around her as she sat up a little.
“So, why do I get the sense that is a bad thing?”
Ajos glanced at V’Alen then looked back at her. “Because the Vikteki were wiped out. Completely. Even with all their knowledge, they could not save themselves.”
Kerena frowned. “Save themselves from what?”
Ajos crossed his arms. “We do not know.”
Well, fuck.
This world just seemed to be getting better and better.
Kerena’s eyebrows rose as she settled back on the bed.
It blew her mind that humans were so behind on things.
They all thought they were safe on their little planet, but…there was a whole universe out there teeming with life.
Kerena blinked. She’d just referred to humans as if she wasn’t human anymore.
“What does this mean?” she asked after a few moments.
“I surmise the Tasqals have somehow uncovered some Vikteki tech and have found how to use it to their advantage,” V’Alen answered. “It’s how they managed to jump right from hyperspace directly into the base and exit as well.”
“Qef…” Ajos murmured. “This isn’t good. This isn’t good at all.” He paused. “Send word to all the commanders. We must meet and discuss this.”
V’Alen jerked his head before she heard the door slide shut.
Ajos stared at the closed door, his back turned to her and she let her eyes roam over him.
With V’Alen gone, the tension between them suddenly returned.
Her mind went back to what they’d shared in that forest.
She’d never felt such pleasure in her life before.
It felt as if each time he came, a tsunami of pleasure washed from her cervix straight up through her.
Nothing had ever felt so good…
And nothing had ever made her feel so alive.
Staring at him now, she shivered a little—more from the fact that it seemed she still had the chills than anything else.
He didn’t look well.
The protrusion on his head was still red.
“You need more medicine,” she said.
“Don’t worry about me, Keh-reh-nah.”
Anger washed through her so fast, she didn’t see it coming. “Maybe I wouldn’t worry about you if I didn’t care. Maybe if you left me alone, I could
