Staring up at him, she realized she wasn’t the only one missing their firefly.
Her handsome demon, so strong and capable, looked… tired. Stressed. Worried. He looked how she felt.
Aria missed her mate. Tirox missed his best friend.
She needed to do something, she just didn’t know what, exactly, that was. But Tirox needed her to step up, so she nodded firmly, kissed him softly, and murmured reassuringly, “I’ll talk to him.”
He let out a soft breath, bent to kiss her forehead, then pulled back just enough to meet her gaze. “You will be safe on your mission.”
It wasn’t a question, but she answered nonetheless. “Always.”
He gave her a droll look like he didn’t quite believe her but shook his head and murmured under his breath, “Sin will watch over you.”
Surprised by the trust that statement spoke to, Aria narrowed her eyes on him.
Catching it, he held her gaze steadily, the searching look he gave her making her heart beat faster and sending a flutter of… not exactly nervousness, but something damn close to it, through her.
Tirox hadn’t said anything outright, but when he looked at her like that—quiet, probing, gently questioning, and almost hopeful—she got the feeling he was urging her toward something. What that something was, she wouldn’t ask, and he wouldn’t say.
But she suspected.
She’d seen the friendships he had with Sin and Rellik, knew he liked and respected them. His friendship with Sin didn’t surprise her. They were from similar backgrounds, had similar cultures and values. Even their personalities clicked.
His friendship with Rellik did surprise her. Rellik was… complex. Layered. For him, much like Kix, the world was all shades of grey. Where Tirox was straightforward and direct, Rellik was a chameleon: sly, calculating, and roguish. Shifting and fluid. And, yet, despite their differences, there was an easy camaraderie between them, a genuine fondness.
So, yes, she knew he liked them, but whether he was silently waiting for her to take them as her mates or something else entirely, she didn’t know, and neither was she willing to ask.
Just the thought of saying the question aloud felt dangerous, risky… an admittance.
Had Tirox been a human man, even the inkling that he was okay with her taking other mates would’ve been enough to make her question his love. He wasn’t, though, and sometimes, like now, she was reminded of just how different their cultures were.
Obviously picking up her unease, he bit back a sigh and changed his probing look to something less weighted. “Be safe, myrwy’n la, and do not have too much fun out there,” he quipped teasingly.
Aria pulled a face. “And what will you be doing while I’m gone?”
His smile dimmed a little. “I will do what I am always doing these days. Ensuring everything runs smoothly and helping our people build lives for themselves.”
Was that wistfulness she saw pass through his golden eyes? Maybe she wasn’t the only one yearning for something beyond fighting, beyond helping everyone else begin lives and start families to the exclusion of their own.
As if realizing he’d revealed more than he intended, he smiled brightly. “Worry not. I have everything in hand. Go, see our glowing one.”
Chapter 4
Stopping outside the door to Kix’s lab, Aria took a moment to blank her mind and push down everything she was feeling. It was something she did back in her days as an FBI agent before walking into an interrogation room or a crime scene. It wouldn’t stop Kix from picking up on both, but he flinched less when she tried to suppress them.
Once she had herself under control, she pressed a hand to the screen set in the wall, prompting the door to hiss open, revealing… an absolute disaster.
Bits and pieces of disassembled devices and gadgets, some of which she didn’t recognize, were scattered about, covering almost every square inch of the counters and floor. In the middle of it all, standing with his back to her, hunched over something, was Kix, her firefly.
For that split second before he sensed her, she stared, taking in the breadth of his shoulders; his skin, missing the healthy pearlessence it should have but still a beautiful shade of soft grey; the raised veins that could glow with blue bioluminescence; and the hard lines of muscle defining his tall, graceful body.
Kix froze then let his head fall back, his relieved sigh audible. “My treasure.”
Turning, he pinned her with his gaze, the sparkles in his pupils going haywire. Aria let out a shuddering breath at the hunger on his face, feeling like prey in the best possible way as he closed the distance between them.
As though she hadn’t just been sated in the closet with Tirox, sharp need flared to life, quickening her pulse and sending heat arrowing between her thighs. He picked up on it immediately, a low groan vibrating his throat, and then he was on her. They stripped each other, hands frantic, their kiss a rough tangling of tongues and nipping of teeth.
Within seconds, he was above her, inside her, moving against her in hard, fast strokes that brought them both to culmination so swiftly she was left dizzy and shaking in the aftermath, spots dancing in her eyes, her body twitching and trembling beneath him.