Page 27 of Venomous Lust
“How can I ever let you go?”
There was such a depth of emotions in those words, in that voice, a vulnerability just there under the surface of the rough Eok exterior, that Hazel didn’t know what to think. Orhowto think anymore.
She let out a shaky breath as her eyes and her soul remained prisoner of Khal’s.
Then he pulled away. The loss of his contact sent a shudder of pain rippling deep in her body, where her most female need resided. Without having the strength to resist, she whined in protest. Her hands reached up blindly, intent on preventing him from going away, then stopped when Khal’s eyes flashed, the danger just there, below the surface. Feral. Primal.
“If you know what’s good for you, Hazel, you will stay away from me.”
And with that, the Eok was gone and Hazel was left behind, her need a gnawing, angry beast in her belly.
Chapter 9
Khal
It can’t be happening. I won’t let it.
But what could he do about it? Khal stormed down the long hallways on his way to nowhere in particular, a fiery inferno coursing through his veins, lighting up his body like never before. He felt each one of his cells responding to the fire crawling under his skin, taking hold of his entire being like some otherworldly shadow, a force from deep within the ageless instincts of his kind.
The Mating Venom had come to him in all its persuasive, bold lure, and now he was lost.
Because so help him and the Midnight God, he wanted Hazel so bad it hurt, and now that the Venom had come, he had almost welcomed it like an animal. Like the primitive savages his kind had once been, stealing mates in the night and rutting them before they had a chance to protest.
What held him back had been the long life of strenuous training that allowed him to reign supreme over his instincts, hone them like a blade instead of being their victim.
It wouldn’t be long before he wasn’t able to resist, though.
And then, what would he do? Would he become the monster he had fought so hard not to be?
Khal stalked down the hallway and stopped abruptly as a tall, pale-skinned alien stood in front of him.
“Zaxis.” Khal’s voice was gravely and raw as he fought the instinctive impulse to growl at the other male. “What are you doing here?”
“Communication is restored.” The Avonie eyed him suspiciously, his brow furrowed and his pupils thin and wary in the dark purple of his eyes. “I sent notice to Commander Gerkin that we will land on Garana in twelve hours.”
“Good.”
Khal turned his back on Zaxis and walked away.
“What’s happening to you?” the other male called a few seconds later and Khal stopped. He could feel the tension running down his shoulders and arms like a poisonous drip, calling for violence.
“Nothing. I’m going to the command room. Keep monitoring the hyper-propulsion until we arrive on Garana.”
“You got it, didn’t you?”
Khal turned sideways, looking at Zaxis over his shoulder. His purple eyes were set on Khal with a careful intensity, like he wasn’t sure if he should reach for a weapon, or offer him his hand to shake.
Khal would suggest the weapon if he could. “Careful. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about that thing that happens to you when you find the female who will become your mate,” Zaxis insisted, but didn’t come closer. “I’m talking about the Mating Venom. You’ve got it.”
“An Eok doesn’t justgetthe Mating Venom.” This time, Khal couldn’t control himself. He turned on Zaxis, wrath coursing through his body, driven by the pernicious effects of the Venom. “It’s not a drug. It’s a call, one that an Avonie like you can never understand.”
Khal watched as Zaxis’s face twisted in the telltale signs of pain, then recovered just as fast. A tiny stab of guilt shot through Khal’s mind, but it was quickly overcome by the relentless torment of the Mating Venom.
“Just because my species doesn’t feel a biological urge like yours doesn’t mean I don’t understand the bond between mates. Or that my kind cannot feel it just as strongly.”
Zaxis stood still, his face smooth and dignified as Khal reigned in the fury in his blood. A new respect for his second in command bloomed inside Khal as he collected himself. With a renewed effort, Khal nodded slowly. The Avonie male was not an Eok, not a true warrior, but he had steel in his soul, and showed great courage just by standing this close to him when he was obviously on the verge of losing control.
