Page 60 of Shattered Silence

Suddenly, a slender Kordolian with intricate silver braids and deep crimson eyes emerged from the shadows, almost giving Layla a goddamn heart-attack as he glided toward them on some sort of hovering platform that made no noise at all. As he neared them, he slowed to a complete stop and jumped off the thing, which reminded Layla of an oversized black surfboard. Enki uttered a single word to him in Kordolian, and for a moment, a look of stark fear crossed the man’s face, until Enki waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal

The Kordolian’s shoulders sagged in relief, and then he disappeared in a flash, bowing and striding away, leaving the hover-thing floating in mid-air. The guy actually seemed terrified of Enki.

Huh. Were exactly did Enki sit in the hierarchy of this place?

“Get on,” Enki snapped, gesturing toward the floating platform. Layla looked up at him, confused by the harshness in his voice. Everything about him was sharp; his expression, his tone, his glare. His lips were pressed together in a stern line, and his eyes narrowed as she raised her eyebrows questioningly.

But his hand was still on the small of her back; constant, reassuring, confusing the heck out of her.

“Have I done something to piss you off?” she asked quietly, refusing to get on the weird floating platform until he explained himself. Really, ever since she’d woken up in his pod, he’d been broody and silent, his behavior in stark contrast to the way he’d been with her before.

Possessive. Tender. Irresistible.

What had happened to that Enki, the one who had held her so tightly on the floor of the airlock?

For a moment, he just stared at her, his fierce eyes burning in the shadows. Layla forgot to breathe as he took a step forward, leaning in close so that his lips grazed the helix of her ear. “I’m not pissed off with you, Layla,” he whispered, caressing the angle of her jaw with the pad of his thumb. An electric thrill ran through her, sending a ripple of goosebumps across her arms. “Quite the opposite.”

“Then why are you—”

He stiffened, his breath warm against her cheek. Tension radiated from every pore, and Layla caught a hint of his masculine scent—ice and fire and just a whisper of the salty ocean air—how was that even possible?

“Layla, I am on the very edge of self-control.”

Oh. Her heart beat a little faster. Heat surged between her thighs. She leaned into him a fraction, letting him know in no uncertain terms how she felt. The aches and pains that had been with her for so long faded into the background, becoming distant noise in the face of Enki’s intensity.

“I’m not complaining,” she whispered slowly, carefully, suddenly feeling in control of a very volatile situation. She knew exactly what she wanted, and that was Enki. “I’m most definitely not complaining.”

Layla Rose would never have been so forward, but up here in distant space, she was a nobody; an insignificant human who had severed ties with Earth. She had faced certain death and survived, not just once, but several times now. She’d even killed a man—a Kordolian. It was as if Layla had walked through the fire and come out the other side unscathed.

No, not just unscathed. Stronger.

Really, she could do whatever the fuck she liked.

And right now, she just wanted Enki, dirt and injuries and everything else be damned.

He put his hands around her waist and lifted her up onto the hovering platform, once again stunning her with his sheer strength. Somehow, he was able to avoid aggravating the injury to her ribs. Layla’s feet touched the flat surface. Enki stepped up beside her, and suddenly they were moving, drifting into the dark tunnel.

“I watched you as you slept,” he murmured, sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her against him. Okay, so he was definitely not annoyed. “You are very beautiful, Layla.”

Tons of people had called her beautiful over the years, but nobody’s compliments would ever be as potent as Enki’s. Swoon. Like a cliche in some romance novel, she actually went weak at the knees. Or maybe her body was just tired from all that running and fighting and escaping. Either way, he had a powerful effect on her, making her feel like a virginal teenager on a first date.

“So are you,” she replied, and while it seemed like an odd thing to say to someone like him, Layla felt it with all her heart. His beauty was hard-edged and severe and otherworldly. Cold, but secretly vulnerable. When one stripped away all those scary armor-like defenses, there was life underneath.

A walking paradox.

And he was so irresistibly warm.

“Hm.” He nuzzled her neck, sounding a little amused. Enki? Amused? Well, there was a first time for everything. “Only you can say such things. The rest of the Universe doesn’t see me that way.”

“I couldn’t care less about the rest of the Universe.” A fresh wave of desire washed over her. Beneath the generous folds of her borrowed uniform, her body was on fire. “I want you.”

“Layla…” His voice cracked, and his grip around her waist tightened. Something hard pressed against her lower back, and Layla instantly knew what it was. His erection. Holy moly. “When I claim you, our coupling will not be rushed. I will gladly endure this torture to see you healed and whole again, because I am not going to be gentle with you, Layla.” A growl entered his voice. “I can’t.”

Layla couldn’t help it; she let out a soft groan. The sound was need and desire and appreciation, all rolled into one. She wanted Enki to take her right here, right now, to slam her against the wall and do it hard and quick and dirty, hoisting her up with those powerful arms of his. At the same time, she knew exactly what he was saying; the thought of a slow-burning seduction was too tantalizing to resist, and for their first time together, she wanted it to be… right.

He was planning to be rough with her… hoo boy.

Sometimes, the best things came to those who waited.

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