Page 33 of Fractured Souls

Just beautiful.

Her human skin was so smooth and supple.

Really, she was a lovely thing. Why hadn’t he noticed until now? His gaze traveled up her arms, which were encased in the kind of thin, flexible inner-garment that humans sometimes wore to keep themselves warm.

Her body was lithe and toned, her shoulders broad and athletic, her breasts pert and tantalizingly full. Narrow waist, narrow hips, powerful thighs. She had the body of a warrior, and yet she was undoubtedly feminine.

He’d never seen anything so tempting in his life. All of a sudden, his senses were flooded with her sublime presence; her scent—heady sweetness with a subtle hint of spice—was all around him.

His cock stirred.

Well, well…

Why was he not surprised?

“We have to get this checked out,” he said hoarsely.

She frowned, completely oblivious to his mood. “So we pay Zharek a visit again?”

“‘Fraid so.”

“Things got a little out of hand last time.” She made a face. “No pun intended.”

“That just means he’ll be obsessed with getting it right this time. Zharek’s a perfectionist. He couldn’t figure out a solution when Enki had the Tharian in him, and it bugged him no end, but Enki was what you call treatment-resistant. You’re different.”

“You seem to place a lot of faith in him.”

Struggling to contain his lust, Nythian leaned in, savoring their sudden closeness. He had a sudden urge to share his darkest secrets with her. “He made me into what I am.”

“The way I’ve seen you look at him, I’d swear you were having homicidal thoughts.”

How observant she was. “Yeah, that happens now and then. If I gave in to every dark thought I had, he’d be a dead man, but I’m not going to do anything to Zharek. He’s one of us now.”

Alexis snorted. “I know the feeling. Teamwork can be a pain-in-the-ass, but sometimes it’s necessary.”

“Indeed,” he agreed, sharing a moment of perfect understanding with her. His voice became hoarse as he released her arm, unable to stand touching her for any longer. This closeness, this intimacy, it triggered something primal within him.

Ah, fuck. He had never understood how the mere sight of these creatures could drive his brothers to a special kind of insanity. Finding a mate had never been a priority for him…

Until now.

So much for not getting too close.

“Let’s get you back to the labs,” he rasped.

Eight

“I apologize for what happened earlier.” Zharek stared at his right hand, which was curled into a fist. To Alexis’s astonishment, it was his severed hand, and it had been perfectly reattached. The metal claw-thing was gone. The only sign of his injury was a thin silver scar encircling his wrist. He opened and closed it slowly, his knuckles cracking and popping. “I should have done more tests before I put the neural immobilizer on, but it was such a quick and easy procedure. I did not think to…” He cursed viciously under his breath in Kordolian, looking so crestfallen that Alexis nearly put out a hand to comfort him. “I didn’t expect this to happen. I’m going to have to put you into stasis again.”

Stasis. Her mouth went dry. Unbidden, an image entered her mind—her own body, hanging limp and lifeless in a glowing blue tank. She remembered what suffocation felt like.

Cold, weightless, trapped…

“Easy,” Nythian said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

And her fears dissipated like fog before the sun.

“I guess I have no choice but to get in that damn tank before I turn completely blue,” Alexis said, pushing her fear into the back of her mind. She searched for the Tharian, but Anuk was strangely silent.

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