Page 81 of Silent Lucidity

Abella turned toward the males to find Tenthil approaching her, the muscles of his jaw ticking as he moved. She stepped aside to allow him access to the scanner. He paused in front of her and extended an arm, brushing his palm over her cheek and slipping his fingers into her hair, guiding it back behind her ear. Only thin rings of silver surrounded his dilated pupils, and the fire gleaming in his eyes was undeniable. He didn’t speak a single word, but he didn’t need to; his feelings were evident.

Abella covered his hand with her own. “Yes, Iamyours. Now hurry up so I can show you how much I mean it when we get back.”

For the first time since they’d returned to Alkorin’s place, a faint smile touched Tenthil’s lips. He lowered his hand and set about removing his clothing without hesitation. If he had any inhibitions, he made no indication of them. Abella stepped back to watch, letting her eyes roam up and down his body as more and more of it was revealed; for that little while, she forgot where they were and what they were doing. All she could focus on was the breadth of his shoulders, his sculpted ridges of muscle, and the length of his stiffening cock.

She squeezed her thighs together, but it did nothing to alleviate the sudden, heated ache between her legs.

Tenthils nostrils flared, and one corner of his mouth lifted higher, giving her a brief glimpse of his fangs. “After,” he rasped before turning and stepping onto the scanner platform.

After, indeed.

How could she wait? She was addicted to his touch, his kisses, histaste. She wanted all of him, all the time.

Alk cleared his throat. “The two of you will save any such activities forafteryou’ve left my place of business. Unless…you’d be open to another partner, little human.”

“Not gonna happen, Alkorin,” Abella singsonged as she glanced at him. “Focus on the scan.”

“Things are better in threes.” His third eye closed briefly.

Was that the sedhi version of a sly wink?

Tenthil growled and spun around as though he were about to leap off the scanner. Eyes suddenly wide, Alk hurriedly manipulated the controls. The white light rose up to envelop Tenthil, leaving only a vague, shadowy outline of him. Somehow, even his indistinct shadow looked furious.

Abella laughed and shook her head. “I think you’ll just have to find yourself your own human, Alk. This one is taken.”

Alkorin lifted a hand to his face, brushed his metal fingertips across his chin, and hummed thoughtfully. “Perhaps I will.”

Though Abella’s laughter faded, her spirits didn’t fall. Perhaps she should’ve been upset by Alk’s constant flirtation—much of which had been anything but subtle—but she couldn’t bring herself to be. She and Tenthil were almost there, and Alkorin was instrumental in them having a life together. The forger’s attitude struck her as little more than posturing. He knew just as well as she did—she was Tenthil’s, and nothing he could say or do would change that.

She stood by her initial judgment of Alkorin—he was a decent person at heart, even if he’d done some bad things.

“Done,” Alk said.

The light from the scanner receded into the base, and Tenthil stepped off it, any sign of humor or calm he’d previously displayed having been replaced by fresh rage.

“Hurry and dress,” Alkorin said. “You two have that look in your eyes, and I’ll not tolerate you mating here. I’ve only just had the couches cleaned, and I’d rather not soil them beyond the damage you’ve already doneunlessI have the pleasure of being involved in the festivities. Be gone.”

Tenthil made no move for his clothing; all his attention remained on Alkorin. “The chips.”

“Take time. With the amount of fabrication I’ll have to do, it should be about four days. Come back then.”

“Fabrication?” Abella asked. “Aren’t the chips just tiny little implants?”

“Not physical fabrication,” Alk replied, leaning a hand on the control panel as he turned to face her. “I have to build histories for both of you that will fool the system, including likely places your chips might have been scanned without your knowledge and detailed medical records. I have to codehisgenetic profile in such a way that it doesn’t trigger any alarms as a previously unregistered species. Then I have to take all that information and sneak itintothe system—intotwosystems, so you’ll have emigration data from your home planet that won’t rouse suspicion. It’s delicate work, but it’s necessary if you want this to succeed.”

Abella nodded. “We’ll be back in four days then.”

Tenthil grunted and bent to gather his clothes, tugging them on piece by piece. He picked up his belt last of all and glared at Alkorin while he drew it around his hips and buckled it into place.

Abella covered her mouth to hide her widening grin.

After a few more seconds of pointed glaring, Tenthil put his arm around Abella’s shoulder and guided her toward the steps.

“Can’t wait to see you again, either, zenturi,” Alk called with a laugh.

Tenthil forcedhimself to take deep breaths as the door closed behind him. The air in the alleyway was cooler than that within the forger’s building, but it did little to reduce the inferno blazing inside him. Alkorin had made repeated blatant advances toward Abella despite knowing she was Tenthil’s mate.

It had nearly been enough to drive Tenthil to violence. After his first encounter with the sedhi forger, he’d thought Alkorin had been attempting to assert dominance in a primal, unsubtle fashion. Tenthil had wondered if the sedhi was motivated by instincts similar to his own. But this…

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