Page 67 of Xefe
Hermosa held up her hands, and a genuine smile appeared for the briefest time. Perhaps she liked it when he challenged her. “A girl can look, can’t she?”
“No. Loxo and I are versed in the fighting styles of all of the aliens you will encounter. Who will battle me first?” Xefe stood upon a fighting square. “The rest will observe and learn.”
Of course, Hermosa was the first to volunteer. She sauntered over as if she had all the time in the world, torturing him. She didn’t understand he was impatientforher. She had no concept of how deadly the Great Race would be. She stepped onto the board in front of him.
“There will be no force fields today. I disabled them. Nor weapons. Just hand-to-hand battles.”
Hermosa took her time, stretching and running her eyes over Xefe’s body, refusing to be rushed.
She threatened to break his control, and she knew it. It was exasperating. “How are you so confident? You’re the smallest and weakest aliens on this planet.”
“Yet, here we stand. Above all those other teams. We have talents you couldn’t conceive of.” She strolled around him, close but not touching. Just enough to leave him wanting. “We’ve got this in the bag.”
The girls cheered.
“Nieve is fast. Querida can shape her body into any configuration. Nheenya is hella strong. And me… I have my magical powers.” She winked and blew him a kiss.
Now she mocked him. He hated her untruths. “Magical powers? Like the high priestesses of the Aavvee who brush our bodies with bits of leaves, professing their ‘magics.’” He shook his head once. “I don’t believe in such things.”
“Who the hell is touching you? And where can I find her?To beat her ass,” she whispered to herself.
“Get back on track, Hera. You’re losing the thread,” Nieve called.
Losing the thread?
“You know what? She’s right. Ignore that last part. I got a little off track.” Hermosa grimaced. “Just know, buddy, I have ‘magics.’” She wiggled her fingers in front of him. “It’s my superpower, and it has nothing to do with leaves. It centers around one small part of my body.”
At that moment, Xefe studied her, didn’t avoidseeingher. He began to understand this was how she played, connected. And the way she swayed her body in front of him meant she had a scheme in mind. He couldn’t resist asking, “Where are thesemagics?”
She leaned in close enough that her heated breath brushed his cheek. “My mouth.”
Xefe froze and zeroed in on her lips. He loved her talented mouth. A few beats later, he breathed in deep and took a step back. But his gaze never left her face. “How?”
She strolled around him, running her eyes over his entire body, leaning in until her lips settled next to his ear. “Since you don’t believe in any of that stuff, I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s get back to fighting.” She pulled away.
“Why are they not fighting?” Loxo asked.
Nieve shushed him.
Xefe whipped around so his back was to the spectators. “What game do you play? Do you lie to me, female? Again?”
“How can you accuse me of lying when I haven’t even told you what I can do with my magical mouth?”
I have to know.“Tell me.” She refused to answer, and he almost felt… disappointed. “I’m waiting.”
“I can get people to do whatever I want, with just the sound of my voice.”
He huffed. “If that were the case, you wouldn’t be here. Would you?” He could tell his words hit the mark.
Her furry brows slammed together. “I can prove it. I can make you move, without touching you. With the power of my—”
“Magical mouth.” He didn’t care about her words, only wanted closer to her dewy lips. He remembered how he’d plundered her heat and warmth. “How?”
“Don’t you worry about that. But I can get your body to do my bidding without ever touching you. And I can prove it.” She shrugged and looked away. “But if you’re too frightened, I understand.”
“Frightened?” A spark of anger thrummed under his skin. “Show me.”
“You know that’s not how it works, Sunny.” She licked her bottom lip. “What do I get when I prove my superpower?”
