Alex Wales Read online

  “Exactly! My father has green eyes and dark skin…just like you.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I don’t know what I’m saying, except that the first time I saw you, I remembered the color of his skin. When I looked at his photo again, I couldn’t help but wonder how much your skin and eyes resembled his. I think you might be from the same race as my father.”

  He shook his head. “No, that can’t be. I was born here, on Eden.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Where was your father from?”

  “See, that’s the problem.” She sat down on the bed, not caring about both of them being completely naked while having this conversation. “He never spoke about his home planet or people. He never liked to talk about it. The only thing he ever told me was that he came from a place where everything was pure…and magical.”

  “Magical?” Damon echoed.

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean—”

  “How can you be sure? He actually used the word?”

  Alex thought back to the memory, and nodded. “Yeah, he did. I always assumed he meant it was a lovely place, though. Not magical in any literal way.”

  They were both silent for a moment.

  “Are you going to eat that?”

  Damon shook his head. “No, here. You have it.”

  She took the foiled energy bar from him and ate it as fast as she had the first one. They might not taste as good as real food, but she was famished.

  Damon continued to stare at the picture as if he was looking for some sort of answer.

  Alex decided to put the choker back on. Things always made more sense and felt better when it was around her neck. She secured it and let the key dangle down her breastbone. Suddenly, all the fuzzy sensations rushing around her body stopped.

  “Whoa.”

  Damon’s brow furrowed. He winced.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I can’t feel it.”

  “You can’t feel what?” she asked, confused.

  “I can’t feel your magic, anymore.” He stared at the key. “Can you remove the key from around your neck?”

  “I just put it on!”

  “Please, Alex.”

  “All right, all right,” she said, untying it. As soon as it was off, the rush of warmth hit her hard. She dropped it and fell back against the pillows. Something very close to an orgasm began between her legs and intensified as it spread, leaving her breathless. “Wha…what was that?”

  He’d closed his eyes, too, and an erection had lengthened between his legs. “I can feel your well of magic, again, but when you put the key on, I couldn’t. I think that might be…”

  “Might be what?” Her nipples were so hard, they hurt. All she could think about was crawling over to him so they could get it on, again. When she felt the same response from him, she nearly rushed him.

  He sounded breathless when he answered. “I think your father might have put a protection spell on the key to keep others from feeling your magic. By doing that, even you can’t feel it.”

  Her heart sped up. Her father had told her to keep the key on her at all times, claimed it would protect her. She’d always assumed he meant because of Promise. Oh, gosh. This was getting a little too confusing, but there was no way she could believe all this hocus-pocus talk. Yet, how could she deny it now that she’d actually felt it? No amount of illusion could make her feel things the way she just had.

  Wondrous William had shown her a lot of tricks, and while they fascinated and excited her, none had ever had this intense, physical effect on her.

  Damon looked down at the photo. “Your father might not have told you about it, because he wanted to keep you safe, maybe even hide you from someone. Is that possible?”

  “Well, we did hide from my mother for a while…but he didn’t give me the key until just before I ran away from her planet.” When she saw his concerned face, she shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a little complicated. We’ve got a very dysfunctional family unit.”

  “Your father is the only one who knows for sure. Is there any way to contact him?”

  “Well, considering we’re on a planet, which according to you has no form of communication, and I haven’t seen my father in over ten years, nope. I’d say I can’t contact him.” She looked away. “I don’t even know if he’s alive.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She heard the sheets rustle and felt his warm fingers on her chin. He lifted it, and she couldn’t help but stare into his beautiful eyes. “Talking about Daddy always makes me sad. He risked his life to give me back mine…”

  Damon kissed her lips, just a light caress. His green eyes stared into hers, and the compassion inside them made her stomach flip. He seemed like such a complicated man. Someone who on one hand was gullible enough to believe in things like magic, but on the other hand, had enough sense to research his own leader because of a simple question.

  “I think your father tried to protect you even when he wasn’t with you.” He took the key and leather cord from her hand. “I think this was always meant to be more than just a key to your ship.”

  She nodded. Of course, that sounded like something her father would do. Teaching her how to use a blaster, how to navigate Promise, and becoming familiar with the controls by the time she was 13 had all been part of the same plan. How long had he known that Lorraine would chase after them when she wanted something?

  “I want to continue what he began. I want to take care of you, Alex.” Damon held the key in one hand and pressed the other against her cheek.

  She closed her eyes at the heat surging from his touch. “Damon, I don’t need you to take care of me. Besides, we just met—”

  “I know. This seems very strange to me, too. I’ve never connected to a woman on this level before.”

  She opened her eyes and stared into his.

  “Alex, I’m not going to lie to you. I enjoy sex, a lot. I’ve never shied away from it and have had many lovers since my sexual awakening, but I’ve never had this sense of wanting to look after them, to be with them constantly, and protect them.” He paused, releasing a breath. “From the first time I saw you, I felt it. I know you don’t want to believe in magic, and maybe that’s not even the right word for it. For all I know, and like you’ve pointed out before, there could be a scientific explanation for all of this, but I only know it as magic. It’s what I feel when I’m with you. The explosive climax you drew out of me is still rolling around inside me. That’s not a reaction I’ve ever felt after a sexual encounter with anyone.”

  All she could think to do was lean over and kiss him. She pressed her lips against his, as his hand slid from her face to caress her hair. He could never understand what he’d done to her by admitting this. It’s exactly how she’d lived her entire adult life. After she lost her virginity—just shy of turning 20—she hadn’t been able to stop. It was the only way she’d ever felt close to someone, even if only for that one moment. To know Damon had lived the same way made something inside her calm down and feel connected to him.

  All the worries and knots Ulric’s admission and suggestions had caused her had smoothed out, finally.

  “I’m not making you a proposal or pushing you into a commitment, because we need to get to know each other first, but I do want you to know that I really enjoy being around you.” He kissed her lightly. “I would love to do more of what we did earlier today. I can’t lie about it.”

  Alex nodded. “I can definitely live with that.” Although, she had no idea how that was going to work out. She still had no intention of staying on this planet.

  I can think about that when the time comes. Right now, she’d finally met a man who wanted exactly what she did without acting like he owned her, or she owed him something—which had been a constant problem with the string of lovers she’d accumulated along the way. The only time she hadn’t encountered a problem was with one-night stands, but if she intended to hookup every time she
was in their area, they’d soon start getting possessive. Not in the way Ulric had—by foolishly admitting love—but just a sense of ownership she found suffocating.

  “Good.” He kissed her, again. “As much as I would love to lie you down right now, I think we’ve got some other things to discuss first.”

  Before he could ask her any questions, she beat him to it. “Yeah, speaking of which, did you find out anything else about whatever killed those people?” Changing the subject seemed like a safe choice. So far, everything they’d thrown up in the air made her uncomfortable. Discussing Ulric wouldn’t help, but Damon didn’t know what she knew. Though, one look at the other books he’d piled at the end of the bed told her he had his suspicions.

  “Nothing yet, but I have been reading about werewolves. Have you ever heard of them?” He sat back, watching her face.

  She shrugged. Everyone had heard some version of the story at one time or another. Actually, her father used to tell her a bedtime story about a little girl who wore a red jacket and the werewolf that stalked her, until one day she figured out it was actually her grandmother. The story freaked her out when she was a kid, but never induced nightmares, so she’d asked her father to tell her many times.

  Ulric would definitely induce nightmares, though.

  Would his condition have any physical effect on her? Sure, she was totally protected against pregnancy and every sexually-transmitted disease known to humans, but did Ulric’s situation surpass the procedure she’d endured? Like most responsible adults in the galaxy who wanted to have sexual relationships without killing themselves, Alex had paid a hefty fee to have a microchip embedded into her wrist. I hope that’s enough protection.

  “I know they’re both human and animal,” she said.

  “Did you know most werewolves change with the phases of the moon?”

  She shook her head. “What’s the moon got to do with it?”

  “According to the book I read, every satellite affects a werewolf differently. In some locations, they won’t ever change, but other places can drive them batty and force a change so violent, they lose total control of themselves.”

  “Oh.” She peered out the window and could see the huge orb of the moon already out and shiny. “Does your moon change phases?”

  “No, it’s always full, which is the other peculiar thing. According to legend, that’s when a werewolf changes from a man into an actual wolf.”

  “Yeah, very peculiar.” She refused to concentrate on the fact that Ulric lived inside a space station situated nowhere near a moon. How long had he been hiding this secret from her? “So, how do you think any of this relates to what you saw in the girl’s head?”

  Damon shrugged. “I’m not sure. This is folklore, and I didn’t actually see the creature change into anything. I’d assumed the killer was just an animal.”

  “Then, why are you reading about werewolves?”

  “It was just something Elroy said.”

  Uh-oh. If that bastard suspected something, did it mean he knew? Had Elroy actually seen Ulric change like she had? She bit her lip. As much as she wanted to keep what she knew from Damon, for fear of implicating herself, she had to admit what little she knew. The last thing she wanted was to cause a rift of mistrust between them.

  “Does he know something you don’t?”

  “Elroy always thinks he knows something the rest of us don’t.”

  She looked at the key in his hand. “So, what should we do with the key?”

  Damon handed her the photo and the leather choker. “Why don’t you put them away in your bag for now? No one on this planet has access to the arcane but me, so you’ll be safe.”

  “Okay.” That made sense. She definitely didn’t want anyone else to get their hands on it. She headed over to the armchair and tucked both things into the bottom of her bag. While she was there, she grabbed some clothes and dumped them on the end of the bed. As much fun as it would be, she suspected they wouldn’t be able to walk around naked all night.

  “I really should’ve arranged for someone to bring a fruit platter up to your room. I just got so distracted by everything.” His eyes were on her breasts. “One look at your body can really stun a man and make him forget about everything else.”

  “Are you trying to distract me?”

  His eyes glowed, and he nodded. “I think I am.”

  Alex crawled onto the bed and knelt in front of him. She grabbed both of his hands and pressed them against her breasts. He had big hands, but they weren’t big enough to cup her entirely.

  “Do we have to leave the room, tonight?” She traced her lips with the tip of her tongue, watching his groin for a reaction. “Maybe you should get some fruit brought up here…”

  A groan escaped between his gritted teeth as he made a move toward her.

  The door opened, and someone rushed inside. Levi slammed the door behind him and pressed his back against it. His blonde hair was wet and stuck to his forehead. His eyes were wide when he glanced their way. When he noticed they were naked, he lowered his gaze.

  “I am so very sorry to barge in like this.”

  “Do you ever knock?” she asked, still naked and kneeling in front of Damon.

  Levi’s cheeks colored, but he didn’t look up.

  Damon stood. “You can go and get dressed if you like. I need to speak to Levi.”

  “I’ll get dressed, but I’m not going anywhere. Something’s obviously spooked him.” Alex couldn’t care less if she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on, and there was another man in the room. Moreover, Levi was more embarrassed than trying to catch a glimpse of what she had to offer. “Besides, he’s already seen me naked.”

  Alex backed off the bed and grabbed the skin-tight pants she’d dumped on the end. As she stepped into them, she couldn’t keep her eyes off Levi.

  “What’s going on?” Damon asked him.

  She slipped her bra on next and covered it with a black tank top stopping just above the low-ride waistband of her pants.

  “Another person has been killed,” Levi said.

  “Okay, but that doesn’t explain why you’re so worked up.”

  “Elroy found the person and claims the victim wasn’t mauled this time but shot.” His chest rose and fell a little too fast. Was he hyperventilating?

  Damon shook his head. “We don’t have access to guns. Aleena makes sure of it. Not even security has access to weapons.”

  “Why’s that?” Alex asked.

  “Because we don’t actually have any,” Damon answered without turning to face her.

  She stared at his broad shoulders and watched the muscles twitch as he tensed.

  Levi pointed a finger at Alex. “She does.”

  “Yeah, but it’s always with me.” As she crawled back onto the bed to reach for the bedside table where she’d place her holster and blaster, she found only the holster. She grabbed it. “What the hell? I left it here. Where did it go?”

  How many times had her father told her to always have her blaster nearby and to never take her eyes off it? She’d suffered so many careless moments lately—starting with her panic when she’d first seen the key, followed by sleeping for however long before Ulric paid her a visit, then ending with her long, hot session with Damon, and more sleep. She couldn’t pinpoint when anyone could’ve gotten their hands on her weapon, but they obviously had.

  Her heart sped up. She’d never lost her blaster before.

  “He says he has the weapon,” Levi added.

  “That’s not possible. I always make sure it’s with me. No one’s been in this room but us.” Ulric had, but he’d been totally naked, so he hadn’t taken it. She headed for the armchair and quickly rummaged through her bag. Nope, it wasn’t in there.

  Alex dumped the bag and made her way to stand beside Damon. He was watching Levi with narrowed eyes.

  She stared at the empty holster in her hand for a long moment, before strapping it around her thigh.

  “What are you lea
ving out?” he asked.

  The teenager swallowed but met Damon’s eye. “When you left me to watch over Alex, someone else did come by.”

  “Who was it?” Damon’s voice sounded deeper.

  For a moment, Alex swallowed the lump in her throat. She held her breath, wondering if Levi knew about Ulric’s bizarre visit.

  “Milo hung out with me, but we were outside the whole time.”

  “I don’t understand what the problem is, then.”

  Sweat ran down Levi’s face. “Well, he and I are…we’re sort of in a…um…in a…relationship.”

  “I don’t understand what any of this has to do with Alex—”

  “I swear. I didn’t leave the building. I only ducked around the corner with him. We just wanted a little privacy and found it down the corridor.”

  “Did you see anyone get in or out?”

  Levi shook his head.

  Alex couldn’t stop a shiver from running through her. If Levi had been with his lover around the corner to get some privacy, there was no way he would have heard someone sneaking into her room. For all they knew, two people could have sneaked in while she slept and was dreaming about her father’s last visit.

  Things just get freakier around here.

  “Afterward, Milo told me that Elroy knew about us. He sent Milo to distract me, so he could sneak into the room. If Milo didn’t agree to do it, Elroy told him I’d be the next person to die—”

  “So what you’re telling me is that Elroy sneaked into this room and took Alex’s weapon to kill someone, and then planned to frame her?” Damon looked furious.

  Levi nodded, and he looked so much younger. It didn’t stop Damon from closing the distance between them and slapping him in the face.

  “You lied to me! I thought I could trust you.”

  “You can.” Tears streamed down Levi’s face, and his cheek had turned red.

  “Where’s Elroy, now?”

  “I don’t know.”

  A knock sounded on the door, and Levi jumped, as if it suddenly burned his skin.

  Damon held a finger over his lips.

  “Damon, I know you’re in there, so you might as well open the door before I tear it down.”