Page 41 of A Delicate Conquest

She exhaled. Her gaze softened. He sensed a shift in her. “Back there, in Zharek’s labs. You were so angry. I thought you wanted to kill him. Why?”

“He played a dirty trick on me. I already knew I was going through the beginnings of the Mating Fever. He gave me a drug and told me it was a suppressant. I used it before coming to meet you, thinking it would buy me some time—that I could slow down this process. It turned out to be an accelerant. He made it so that everything was heightened.”

“Ah.I understand now. I thought it was a bit out of character for you. But… here we are.”

“Here we are,” Mavrel agreed. “Zharek thinks he knows all. He’s constantly playing god, but I suppose it’s the mentality one must have in order to conceive of such brilliant inventions. Still, I look forward to the time when he’s brought to his knees.”

The stiffness flowed out of her shoulders and neck. She leaned even closer. “I’m sure he’ll get what’s coming to him. And your reasons for wanting to kill him are actually quite understandable, although I hope you weren’treallyplanning on killing him.”

“The Mating Fever has a tendency to affect one’s rationality. I wouldn’t have killed him… just roughed him up a little. I swear, I’m not normally violent. I leave that to the others.”

Her hand trembled slightly as she slid her fingers along his jawline and down his neck. Mavrel had this insane urge to lean into her touch, for her fingers were molten, decadent, magnetic bliss, and he wantedmore.

“Promise me one thing.”

“Yes?” He cocked his head, hyper-alert and eager to fulfill her wishes.

“Sometime in the not-too-distant future, maybe a few days from now, I want you to visit me on Earth. Just you and me, inmy apartment, over dinner and drinks. There’s something I want to do with you... amongst other things.”

“Of course I’ll be there. But what do you have in mind?”

“Something cool, I promise. Let me think about it a little more. But for now…”

“Hmm?” He stared in disbelief as she slipped her thumb between his lips.

Unable to help himself, Mavrel gently grazed the pad of her thumb with his fang.

“I’ve seen enough. Shut that thing down.”

He blinked, not quite understanding.

“The holo. You can turn it off now. I think you’ve fed my curiosity enough. I want the real thing now. You asked about the human part of the presentation. Well, why don’t I show you?”

I see.

He could hardly believe it, but he wasn’t going to fight it. Bea was the kind of female who knew what she wanted.

He would do everything in his power to make sure she wanted himallthe time.

“And kill the lights. I know what you look like. I just want tofeel.”

A low growl escaped him. He captured her roving hand, easing her thumb out of his mouth.

He uttered the Kordolian command…

And plunged them both into perfect darkness.

FOURTEEN

Kill the lights.

Bea couldn’t believe she’d just asked him to do that.

The intimate atmosphere, the tantalizing view of Mavrel’s naked form, and his sheer openness had unraveled her so quickly.

There was something liberating about being away from Earth, free of human conventions and expectations.

She felt like she could do whatever she wanted, and right now, the only thing she wanted washim.

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