Page 6 of Devil's Night

We lapsed into silence as we navigated the twisting corridors, her soft footfalls and the whisper of her breath the only sounds aside from the omnipresent thrum. I found myself acutely aware of her presence just behind me, close enough that the heat of her body prickled along my skin.

Tension tightened my gut, an electric charge sparking unexpected flashes of awareness. The firm curves beneath those deceptively thin Earthly fabrics. The tantalizing glimpses of soft skin at her neckline.

I clenched my jaw harder, struggling against the distracting lure of my body’s baser instincts. There wasn’t time for such nonsense. We needed to focus, stay alert.

Another tremor shuddered through the space, more violent than before. I whirled, one hand shooting out to grasp Nicole’s arm in a steely grip, hauling her against me as the world tilted in sickening arcs.

For an endless heartbeat, we clung together, her slender frame crushed to my chest as the maze collapsed and re-formed around us in a whirl of fractured geometries.

Then everything stilled once more. Silence fell, the oppressive thrum of power fading away to leave only the sound of our mingled breaths.

Nicole lifted her head, tendrils of her auburn hair tickling my jaw. Our gazes collided, a shock of hazel to crimson that sent a jolt arrowing straight to my core.

Heat blazed, a molten awareness that seared away every thought, every instinct except one - the need to claim, to take, to possess. The rest of the universe fell away, narrowing to this single point of scorching need.

Her lips parted on a ragged exhale, and I watched, entranced, as her tongue swept out to moisten them in an unconscious gesture. My gaze caught on the glistening fullness of her mouth, and a bolt of pure, visceral lust punched through me with staggering force.

I wanted - needed - to taste her. To shove her against the nearest surface and ravage her until she screamed my name. Until she branded herself on my soul as indelibly as I knew she would be seared into mine forever.

Clenching my fists until my nails dug into my palms, I pulled myself together.

Had I finally lost my mind after being trapped here for all of these years?

NICOLE

Iled Sargon down another winding corridor, the walls rippling and shifting around us in unsettling patterns. Despite the bizarre surroundings, my eyes kept drifting back to study the striking alien figure beside me.

Sargon moved with a predatory grace, his lean muscular frame taut with wariness. Those intense red eyes constantly scanned our path, missing nothing. I found myself transfixed by the stark lines of his face, the delicate swirling patterns adorning his skin. Even those small horns at his temples held a strange allure.

And to be honest, his grim determination, the way he’d kept searching, kept fighting was just as attractive.

I gave myself a mental shake. Now was not the time to be ogling the bounty hunter, no matter how striking his looks.

We needed to focus on finding an escape route. And then, well, I’d deal with my inappropriate attraction later. If there was a later.

“How are we even communicating right now?” I blurted out, desperate to distract myself from inappropriate thoughts. “Back in the lab, you were clearly reading an alien script on those displays. But here you are, speaking perfect English with me.”

Sargon’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t understand your meaning.”

“Well, I obviously don’t speak whatever language you were using before,” I persisted. “So unless you’ve got a universal translation implant or something, you must have learned English at some point. Which means “ My voice trailed off as realization struck. “You’ve dealt with humans before, haven’t you?”

An uncomfortable silence stretched out as we continued picking our way forward. Sargon’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly before he finally spoke. “I have encountered your kind during my travels, yes. But humans do not possess much status or power within the Federation’s worlds.”

His tone held the barest hint of disdain, setting my hackles rising instinctively. I began to protest, but Sargon raised a hand, forestalling me.

“I do not mean insult. It is simply a fact. Your species is still viewed as relatively inconsequential by many.” He shrugged those broad shoulders. “Why bother learning the language of such a minor race?”

I snorted, unable to keep the sarcasm from my voice. “Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence in humanity’s worth.”

To my surprise, Sargon actually chuckled - a low, rumbling sound that made my heart skip. “Your species may lack power and standing, but you possess a certain…” He paused, those red eyes raking over me in an unconsciously sensual appraisal. “ tenacity that I’ve found intriguing.”

Was it my imagination, or did his gaze linger a little too long on my curves? I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry as a desert.

Forcing a casual tone, I prodded, “So if humans are so unimpressive to your mighty Federation, why’d you bother learning our language?”

Sargon’s lips quirked in a half-smile that somehow managed to be both sardonic and darkly amused. “Vinduthi have an innate gift for absorbing new languages quickly. And after being stuck on this world for so long, I’ve had ample time to study yours.”

He leaned closer, those sharp teeth glinting as he continued in a lower tone. “Besides, not long before I took the contract to hunt down Doar, I heard rumors that an old comrade had become intrigued by a human female he’d taken as a mate. So I decided to investigate what could possess a fellow Vinduthi to bind himself to one of your kind.”

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