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The walkback to Eden’s hotel gives my mind enough time to clear after the shock of the attack. I’m not into Phelix. Those fluttery feelings were just adrenaline. I’m not absurdly turned on by the idea of Eden and Phelix together. That was just the byproduct of my mating hormones. Simple.

Your mating hormones would make you want to fight off a threat to your mate bond, not watch them fuck.

Shut up, brain! I’m just horny and confused because they’re both so hot. I don’t like Phelix, and I’m not going to go home and touch myself thinking about Eden and him together.

When we reach her hotel, Eden insists that she’ll be okay to rest on her own. I don’t argue, needing to get away from both of them to clear my head. Phelix doesn’t seem happy about leaving her alone, only acquiescing after giving her his comm link and making her promise to message if she feels worse. It’s sweet how worried he is.

Wait,I didn’t just seriously think that he’ssweet,did I?Now I know there’s something wrong with me. He’s a jerk! A jerk who’s planning on selling dangerous medical data! All this drama and arousal is messing with my head. I need to focus on the mission.

When Eden parts ways with us in the hotel lobby, it’s that thought—and absolutely nothing else—that has me closing the distance with Phelix. It’s the mission that’s on my mind, not genuine desire, when I grab his collar and tug him down into a kiss.

He lets out a muffled sound of surprise, but then he’s kissing me back with all of my fervor andmore. My tongue meets his as he opens his mouth to deepen the kiss, and all my traitorous mind can think about is how good that tongue would feel in my cunt.

The hotel concierge clears their throat and makes a disgusted noise. I pull back with a gasp, my chest heaving from disgust, not the sheer power of feeling his mouth on mine. Fuck, I want to kiss him again.

Tension hangs between us, so thick I could drown in it.

Right, I should say something. Something that isn’t “that was the best kiss of my life and I’m so pissed I could scream, slap you, and then kiss you again”. I force myself to smile. “Thank you, Phelix. For protecting Eden, not the kiss!”

Phelix inhales shakily and rubs at his scraped, no doubt bruised knuckles with a small smile. Goddess, he’s sexy when he smiles. “Who knew that all I had to do to get two beautifulxalasto kiss me was punch someone.”

I laugh despite myself. I want to do a hell of a lot more than kiss him. Fuck, I need to get out of here.

“I should go,” I say abruptly. “See you at dinner tomorrow, Lord Nafar. I’ll have Eden comm you the address.”

I don’t go right away, though. I kiss him again, hard and fast, swiping my tongue against his before pushing back and scurrying away before he can respond. I hear him call my name, but I don’t turn to look. As soon as I’m out of his line of sight, I duck into a side hall and behind a potted plant, rummaging around in my purse until I find the makeup compact. I wipe my lips and spit into the hidden compartment. One of his short, dark hairs is on my sleeve, so I add that in for good measure.

There. I did it. I got what we needed, and he didn’t suspect a thing.

The surge of excitement I thought I’d feel at getting one step closer to thwarting Phelix’s plans doesn’t come. Instead, my stomach aches as I wait for Phelix to leave, then drop the compact off at the hotel desk like the agents instructed. I feel lightheaded and nauseated as I make my way back to my apartment.

I know I did the right thing, but that kiss…

I scrub my face with my hands and groan. This is such a mess. I need to get my head on straight and stop letting horniness cloudmy mind. Phelix might not be as awful as he was when I met him four years ago, but that doesn’t absolve him of all his wrongdoings or clear him of suspicion.

The mission is what’s important, not my ridiculous feelings. Once Eden’s rested, and the agents use what I gave them to make the decryption key, we’ll regroup and come up with a plan of action. Until then, I’ll just, I don’t know, make a list of all the reasons why I hate Phelix. Yeah, that’ll help! That and masturbating to take the edge off. I’ll get myself off while I think about the reasons I hate Phelix…

When I get back to my apartment, I’m so worked up I could cry when I slip my fingers between my legs. But then my comm chirps with a message from Paul.

Shit, Paul! I forgot to come up with an excuse for ditching our date last night. Honestly, I forgot about Paul in general. I’m a terrible friend.

I want to ignore it, but thinking about Paul makes me realize I should talk to him about the attack on Eden, since he works at the human embassy. It could’ve just been an isolated incident, but anti-human sentiment has been brewing among the more insular citizens of Spire. What happened to Eden could be a sign that things have escalated. I better comm Fina too, and warn her to be careful.

Anxiety roils in my gut, thinking about the potential danger for my human friends. Paul has the support of the embassy, Fina has Maerlon to protect her, but Eden…she’s here all alone. I know what that’s like. On top of that, she got attacked during this damn mission she didn’t even sign up for. Fuck, she almostdiedbecause I was too wrapped up in feeling pissed and horny to notice the way the waiter was looking at her.

I didn’t protect her. She’s not safe here. I need to find a way to keep her safe.

14

After a hot shower and changing into my favorite worn pajamas I brought for the trip to remind me of home, I flop onto my bed, savoring how the mattress cradles my body and immediately starts to relieve the tension in my back. I guess even mattress technology is more advanced in the Xi Consortium. A girl could get used to living here—if it wasn’t for the fact that apparently some aliens would rather poison humans than have them on Spire.

If Phelix hadn’t been there to intervene… I shudder at the thought. With how fast the substance they used to poison me took effect, I doubt I’d have made it to a medic in time. The only things anchoring me through my terror and panic were how gently his thumb caressed my cheek, sending sparks dancing across my skin, and Mezli by my other side, protecting me.

Now that I’m alone, it’s a lot harder to feel safe. I checked the lock to my hotel room three times before I took my shower, afraid that some angry alien was going to burst in and finish the job. Logically, I know it was an isolated incident, and I was just the one unlucky enough to take the brunt of that shikzeth’s ire against humans. That doesn’t stop me from cocooning myself in a blanket to keep myself from trembling too hard.

Fuck, what am I supposed to do now? Tell the Consortium agents that I can’t help them and rebook my passage home immediately? I’m obviously not the right person for the job. Not only am I compromised by my hidden past with Phelix and my burgeoning attraction to Mezli, but now I have anti-human fanatics to deal with. Agent Tysea was right. I’m not fit to be doing any kind of spy mission.

I’m finding it hard to reconcile the steadfast Phelix who saved me today with the idea he’d willingly endanger so many lives through selling illegal schematics. The right thing to do would be to leave and let Mezli handle things on her own. Go back home where I belong.

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