Page 60 of Fractured Souls

“Well, that was intense.” Abbey said dryly in English as she poured Alexis a mug of steaming green jasmine tea. “It’s pretty obvious, you know.”

They were hurtling through Sector Six at impossible speed and they were sipping fucking green tea. What next, croissants and macarons?

Abbey pulled out a plate of bite-sized cupcakes. “Passionfruit and pineapple,” she said, as if it was perfectly normal to be having tea and cake onboard a Kordolian warship.

Enki was somewhere in the shadows. Alexis couldn’t quite see him anymore, which was unnerving, but she figured she just had to get used to this kind of thing. At least Abbey was speaking English, so he wouldn’t be able to understand them. Sometimes, these Kordolians seemed more like preternatural beings than actual flesh-and-blood aliens. Their bodies were designed for speed and stealth, and the thought of one of them stalking their prey in the darkness sent a chill through her.

Even Nythian, who had not-so-subtly broken down her defenses, who had held her so tenderly… he was still a mystery.

The detective in her wanted to know everything about him.

“What’s so obvious?” Alexis asked, taking a bite of her miniature cupcake. It was crowned with a sweet, tangy translucent glaze that reminded her of home. The flavors exploded in her mouth, the tiny black specks of passionfruit seed that crunched between her teeth only adding to the surrealness of it all.

“Oh, you and Nythian are very much caught up in the whole mating dance, aren’t you? I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s usually a pretty easygoing guy—I mean, most of the time—but he’s clearly besotted with you.”

Oh, I know. The intensity with which he looked at her, the way he made her feel... it scared her a little, because she knew that the moment she surrendered, there was no going back. “Does it always happen this quickly?” she asked quietly.

“Pretty much. He’s actually having a strong physiological reaction to you right now. The Kordolians call it Mating Fever. Everything is heightened. Senses, arousal, aggression, headaches… for anyone who’s not on his side, he’s actually very dangerous to be around right now.”

“That’s why Tarak took him away? Because he was on the verge of losing control?” She’d actually sensed the tension inside him; that feeling of tightly controlled desire, of him very nearly consuming her.

She just hadn’t realized how powerful it was.

“They’ll burn off a little energy in the training room. It won’t cure his mating fever, but he’ll be a little more coherent afterwards. You’re going to have to release him from his misery soon, though.”

“What makes you think I feel the same way about him?”

“Oh, honey,” Abbey chuckled between mouthfuls of cake. “You’re so different to the how you were a few days ago. You’ve got your mojo back, and it’s obviously because of him. I’ve seen the way you look at him. It’s happening, Alexis. Nothing that I tell you can prepare you for it. You’ll just have to experience it for yourself. Honestly, I’m excited for you. Every time this happens, it’s a gift.”

Alexis’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. There was no point in denying her attraction now. Abbey was clearly an old hand at this, a human who was actually mated to a Kordolian… and she definitely wasn’t crazy. “What’s it really like?”

“Being with Tarak?” Her gaze became distant for a moment. “It’s like… imagine you were married to the warmest, most gentle, snarky-but-funny, big-hearted man. But he’s also one of the scariest things in the Universe when he has to be. His world is a dark, terrifying place, but he tries to keep you away from all that, for the most part. Sometimes, you brush against the very edges of that darkness, but you never quite understand it. It doesn’t matter though, because you trust him with all your heart.”

Wow.

“Sounds like I had the wrong idea about Kordolians,” Alexis said quietly. The memory of the attack in the woods wasn’t so raw anymore; she was able to put it in a box and shelve it away in her consciousness with a hundred other traumas.

She thought about Nythian instead, and a warm feeling entered her chest.

“Happens all the time.” Abbey chewed thoughtfully. “You were wrong, but you were also right. Some of them can be evil, evil bastards. Don’t worry, though. I don’t know what happened to you in the past, but our Kordolians would never do anything to make you feel so scared. No matter what happens, always remember one thing. They’re on our side.”

Alexis stared at her for a moment, struggling to process the magnitude of the new world she’d been thrust into. Here was this diminutive, down-to-Earth human, telling her some mind-blowing truths over tea and cake.

In the dark depths of a Kordolian warship.

With a lethal, silent guard watching their every move, just in case the alien inside her head took control of her body and tried to threaten Abbey with a death-touch.

And the alien she wanted to be with most—the only man she wanted—was in the grip of Mating Fever, a state that made him very aroused and very dangerous.

Her heart fluttered. Her cheeks grew hot. Her desire grew a mind of its own, becoming a writhing thing that made her frantic and restless. If Nythian was struck with Mating Fever, then surely she was suffering from it too.

She couldn’t stop thinking about him. She needed him. Around her, inside her. All of him.

“I have to go,” she blurted, not caring if Abbey saw how much of a hot mess she was right now. She couldn’t stand the thought that he was somehow suffering because of her.

And for what? Because he felt she wasn’t ready… because he’d seen her at her most vulnerable; incoherent, emotional, terrified out of her wits.

He’d seen the secret side of her that she didn’t reveal to anyone, ever, but he hadn’t taken advantage of her.

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