Page 30 of Shielded Heart

He’d never even allowed a female into his bedchamber—he’d always kept his flings to the workshop, where he was guarded by four high-powered autocannons.

Arcanthus couldn’t be sure of Samantha’s intentions. She often looked at him with desirous flames in her eyes, but she also made clear efforts to distance herself from him. When she’d said she wasn’t a bold person, Arc disagreed; he believed she simply hadn’t reached the point of acting on her desires. All she needed was some gentle guidance to claim what she wanted.

Whatever was about to happen, he couldn’t give up this opportunity. He’d greedily take advantage of every moment he could spend with her.

“Samantha, may I have the pleasure of entering your apartment?”

“Yes.” Her eyes widened, and she hurried to add, “But just for a little while! I just want… Well…”

He brushed his fingers down the back of her arm and coiled his tail toward her knee. “Whateverit is you want, Samantha, I’m sure I’ll find a way to accommodate you.”

She shivered, and her cheeks turned that adorable shade of pink.

He reached out with one arm and opened the door, allowing the ambient sounds of the Undercity—distant shouting, the echo of far-off machinery, and, somewhere high overhead, the airy whirs of speeding hovercars—to break the silence that had fallen over the cab.

“I’ll be out whenever I’m out, Drakkal,” Arcanthus said.

“I’m not doing this for you again,” the azhera replied.

“Such a cheerful fellow, isn’t he?” With great reluctance, Arcanthus released his hold on Samantha and climbed out of the car, offering her a hand once he was upright.

She slid toward the open door, placed her hand in Arc’s, and looked at the azhera. “Thank you, Drakkal. From both of us, since he didn’t say it.”

Drakkal twisted in his seat to look at Samantha as Arcanthus helped her out of the car. “You seem like a good person, terran, so I will tell you this: he is a—”

Arcanthus slammed the door before Drakkal finished his statement. “Poor fellow. I must have him out well after his bedtime. Perhaps he’ll have a nap while we’re inside.”

Samantha raised a hand—clutching the end of her sleeve in her fingers—to hide her grin. “I’m sure all he was going to say was that you are astounding.”

Arc grinned at her; on the surface, her comment seemed a small thing, but it was another sign of Samantha opening up to him. A sign of her beginning to feel comfortable while he was near.

“I’m just happy that I’ve finally discovered someone who understands me.” Keeping hold of her hand, Arcanthus gestured toward the building. “Shall we proceed toward whatever it is we’re heading to?”

He caught a hint of something in her eyes before she walked away, something promising. Before they reached the front entrance, Arcanthus scanned their surroundings; he wouldn’t doubt if the Blue Threshers were prowling the neighborhood, hungry for revenge, and he was in no mood to deal with them tonight.

Instead, he spotted a familiar face—the green-eyed cren, Koroq—leaning against the exterior wall of the complex across the street. Koroq’s leisurely but solid posture suggested he was exactly where he belonged. His gaze met Arc’s for an instant; the cren offered the sedhi no acknowledgement.

Arcanthus kept close to Samantha as they entered the building. The interior was run-down and bland but surprisingly clean. There were doors on either side of the hall every few meters; each of these buildings contained hundreds of apartments, many of which were tailored to the physical traits of specific alien species.

It wasn’t glamorous, wasn’t pretty, but it was nicer than some of the places Arcanthus had lived in his lifetime.

Still, being cooped up with so many people—even if they were behind closed doors—in an unfamiliar, relatively tight space made Arc uncomfortable.

I spent hours walking around the Ventrillian Mall today. I’m not going to have any ground to stand on when Drakkal chews me out later, am I?

This was foolish, made even more so by the fact that he recognized his own foolishness and would not allow that recognition to stop him. He was going to follow Samantha into her apartment and see what happened from there.

I should just bring her back to my place. It would be more comfortable. And safer for both of us.

But he knew she wasn’t at that point yet; she needed a little more time.

They traveled up the elevator and stepped off when they reached her floor. As soon as they exited the elevator bank and entered the hallway proper, Samantha halted. Arc glanced up to see the cause for her sudden stop.

Of course.

The borian from earlier—Rakkob—stood around the midpoint of the corridor, leaning against the wall as he spoke to someone on his holocom. Rakkob turned his head and caught sight of Arcanthus. His eyes rounded, and he shoved away from the wall, scurrying into his apartment.

Samantha released a slow, relieved breath.

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