“Was that where you thought I went? I didn’t go to Choria G622.”
Confused, she realized he was setting her down and that around them was the busy street she’d walked through earlier.
Aliens still walked along it, more than a few of them now staring at the spectacle she and Ajos no doubt made.
“And I don’t want to call your booty. I want to eat it. I want to be in it.”
Kerena’s eyes widened.
“I want more, Keh-reh-nah. You are my mate. And I was a stupid Shum’ai to think I could live without you.”
Kerena’s eyes nictitated. Her mouth fell open as she looked at the male in front of her.
And she wasn’t the only one who seemed dumbstruck.
In her peripheral vision, she could see that aliens around them had definitely stopped to stare.
“What are you talking about?”
“Keh-reh-nah,” he said, taking her face in between his hands.
In the light of the streetlamps, a shadow fell across his face and he looked even wilder. “I was wrong.”
He wasn’t making any sense and even though he’d rescued her, she still felt a bit angry at him.
He’d left her after they’d spent the night together. Then he’d ignored her like she didn’t exist.
Next, he’d lied about it.
For a moment, she searched his gaze.
Had the fever gotten to his head?
“I want you,” he said, his throat working. “I need you. If you will be mine.”
That took her out of her trance and Kerena shook her head, frowning as she tried to step around him.
Ajos grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving.
“Ajos, you are making a scene.”
“I don’t care. Let them watch.”
She shot him a look. “You didn’t seem to care earlier either.”
Confusion passed across his features. “I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.” For a moment, she saw his confusion turn to fear in those wild eyes of his.
Shaking from his grasp, Kerena walked off. A crowd parted for her and she felt her cheeks warm.
Shit.
This was bound to spread across the base soon.
Not only that, but the fact she knew she wasn’t safe, anyone watching could be her enemy.
That made her wrap her arms around herself.
Heavy footsteps sounded behind her and she knew by the gasps and mumbling that Ajos was following her.
As soon as she was out of earshot of the crowd, she spun and Ajos stopped just short of bumping into her.
There was a worried look on his face as if his world was ending and he didn’t quite understand why.
“You know, I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. You really do have some nerve.”
Ajos blinked at her, his chest heaving with heavy breaths as he took her in.
She studied him.
“How did you return from Choria G622 so quickly?”
Again, he appeared confused. “I didn’t go to Choria G622, Keh-reh-nah.” His golden eyes moved over her face.
Why was he lying?
“I saw you,” she pressed.
Still, confusion played over his face before it slowly melted away. “You saw Akur.”
“A-who?”
“My brother.”
Kerena blinked at him as he glanced around them.
“This is not the place to speak.” He moved so fast, she was in his arms before she could even open her mouth. “Come, I have something to show you.”
30
In silence, he took her through streets she’d not yet walked on and past buildings she hadn’t yet seen.
She was pretty sure he wasn’t taking her back to his place or even back to the med bay.
Yet, all she could do was look up at him as he carried her.
As the shadows played across his face, she couldn’t help but think he was beautiful.
He was a handsome guy…and it annoyed her.
She should be angry with him right now. Instead, she was silenced, confused, and a bit anxious. She still hadn’t faced the effect being captured had had on her.
Every now and then, he looked down and caught her staring, and she was sure she saw his mouth twist in what could be a smile.
That’s when it dawned on her.
She didn’t think she’d ever seen him smile before.
“Ajos.” She called his name and he looked down at her, the gold in his eyes seeming to churn as his pupils adjusted when he looked at her face. “Where are you taking me?”
“Home,” was all he said, and Kerena glanced around them again.
Maybe the aliens that had kidnapped her had carried her to a section of the base that she didn’t know because everything still looked unfamiliar.
“This doesn’t look like the way home.”
His chest moved then, and she was sure he chuckled.
“It will be.”
He came to stop in front of a building before he pressed a button and a part of a huge column opened up.
Ajos stepped inside and white light lit up the space.
He pressed something else and suddenly they were being lifted.
Kerena held her breath as she stretched her neck to look around.
“This is…”
“A lift. It is taking us home.”
The elevator opened and Ajos took a few steps down to a door where he scanned his hand.
The door opened and he stepped inside. It was pitch black within, but he walked as if he knew where he was going.
After a few steps, he set her on her feet then let her go.
Looking around, she couldn’t make out a thing in the darkness.
But then the lights came on and her breath hitched in her throat.
It was a living room and she only knew because of the way the furniture was set up. She’d have surely missed that fact otherwise, because the entire space was filled with flowers, vines, bushes, and shrubs.
It was like a living jungle within a room.
Kerena’s eyes widened as she took one step forward, her mouth falling open.
“Where are we?”
“Home.” Ajos’ voice came from behind her
