Page 82 of Shattered Silence

“I guess the term dressed to kill is a real thing,” she said dryly, but judging from the blank expression on Enki’s face, he didn’t appreciate her irony.

“Come with me,” he said instead.

“Wha…?”

“Don’t question, Layla. Just come.”

If anyone else had tried to beckon her like this, she would probably have kneed them in the balls and run away very very fast, but this was Enki, and she was in love with him.

She rose. Placed her hand in his. Walked out of the pod, down the corridor, past numerous closed doors, until they reached a wider passageway. Here, a hovering platform awaited; a dark, alien chariot, ready to whisk her away to…

“Where are we going, Enki?”

He put a finger to her lips as he stepped onto the platform, standing behind her, curving his arms around her waist. He held her tightly as the thing drifted away, taking them into darkness.

Darkness stole away her vision, immersing her in a world of dizzying motion and hidden secrets. But none of it was disorienting with Enki’s strong arms around her waist. A cool breeze buffeted her cheeks and tugged at her hair, and although she couldn’t see a thing, she felt perfectly safe.

They didn’t speak. They didn’t need to. Enki wore his silence about him like a second skin; it was as much a part of him as his striking silver coloring, and Layla found it strangely calming. With her back pressed against his hard body, she let the steady rhythm of his breathing and the gentle caress of his fingers lull her into a trance-like state.

Her beautiful, flawed, lethal alien. How was he even doing this to her?

After a few minutes, they came to an area that was illuminated by soft blue lighting. The hovering platform slowed to a gentle stop, and they found themselves at a vast entrance. At least, that’s what Layla thought it was.

Enki stepped off first. He offered his hand. “Come.” There was an air of tense expectation about him, as if he were taking her to see something important.

“I never used to like surprises,” she murmured, thinking about how controlled her life back on Earth had been, with every shoot, every appointment, and every appearance so carefully scheduled. “But nothing can surprise me anymore.”

“You said that the last time,” Enki said dryly as he led her through a black-walled corridor with a soaring arched roof.

“Well—” Layla stopped dead in her tracks as they stepped into the most stunning room she’d ever seen in her life.

There was a massive hole in the floor, and someone had scooped up part of the Universe and filled it with stars.

That was what she thought at first, but then it became obvious that the hole was actually filled with water, and the stars were beyond; millions of tiny pinpricks of light in a canvas of pure black.

Black like his armor, like his claws, like the blood that coursed through his veins. Black was beautiful. She could drown in it.

“This is where I come when I crave solitude,” he murmured, his amber eyes filled with hunger. For her. The sleek outer shell of his armor slowly melted away from his body, disappearing into his skin like millions of tiny pixels until nothing was left but his magnificent naked form. “The concept of using water to soothe the mind is not a typically Kordolian thing. Rather, it comes from the Lost Tribes, who have learned to swim beneath surface of the frozen oceans on Kythia. There are many amongst us who are of the Tribes. This pool was custom-built at Tarak’s insistence. A small comfort to help us maintain sanity. A small connection to the Vaal—the frozen sea.” He tucked his fingers under the hem of her t-shirt and pulled at it, a small and rather adorable frown of concentration appearing on his face. “How do these strange human garments work?”

Layla had chosen the simple black t-shirt from the items in her wardrobe, pairing it with baggy grey track pants and slip-on sneakers. “It goes like this.” She crossed her arms and pulled it over her head, leaving her breasts covered only by the thin contours of her bra. “Are you from the… Lost Tribes, Enki?”

“No. My bloodline is a cursed one.”

“Oh.” Layla realized she didn’t know anything about the structure of Kordolian society. Before, she might have balked at Enki’s abrupt, icy tone, but now she just looked at him with genuine curiosity. “How so?”

“Noble blood brings with it a kind of madness.” He hooked his thumbs under the waistband of her pants and slid them over her ass, her hips, her thighs. Layla shimmied out of her sneakers, stepping out of the pants as they dropped to the floor. Now she stood in just her underwear, the cool air raising goosebumps on her skin.

Or maybe that was just Enki’s silken touch.

“But you’re not mad,” she whispered as he removed her bra, letting out an appreciative growl as he cupped her breasts. “You survived having a sentient being stuck inside your head… amongst other things, and look at you now. Definitely not insane.”

He placed his hand into hers and led her toward the shimmering pool, where the stars beckoned. Tiny wisps of steam rose from the water, telling her that it had been heated.

Wordlessly, Layla followed.

“Jump,” he whispered, and stepped off the edge, taking her into his arms.

Whoosh.

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