Page 25 of Zirkov

He wasn’t like other zyanthan males and couldn’t rely on his mating cock. Despite it rising for her repeatedly, he’d never know for sure if she were his sholani. He could never permanently bond with her, or any female. At most, his future held pleasure matings. No sholani. No younglings. No legacy.

Zirkov needed to focus on saving Maggie, no matter how hard she fought him. Sholani or not, she needed his help.

And he enjoyed her company too drekking much to lose her. She had an enthusiasm for life and a fresh way of looking at every situation. Maggie cared about people. Unlike many on her planet, she didn’t distinguish between aliens and humans. To her, everyone was equal and deserved the same opportunities.

She truly was an asset to Earth Intelligence and the only human he cared to work with. Most DAA agents looked at the aliens who worked on Earth as a secondary wave of coalition forces sent to destroy them. On multiple occasions, Maggie had defended him and his marshals, reminding her co-workers that his unit protected witnesses whose testimony further weakened the Coalition.

He worried she cared too much, that she needlessly risked herself. As she had when she stayed with Stenikov and Sorcha Collins in that alley and engaged in a gun battle. Maggie could have easily fled with the witness and left Stenikov behind, but she hadn’t. She’d risked her life to save him.

When Zirkov opened the door to the fourth floor, she was standing there in the middle of the corridor, arms crossed over her chest. Waiting for him.

“What do you want from me, Zirkov? I don’t think I can stand you holding this information over me.” Her lips thinned as he approached. Anger focused her.

Zirkov wondered if she’d exhibit that same fire in bed. He inhaled. This was not the time to think of fucking her. “Come to my office, Marshal,” he said as he strolled past her.

“No. Here’s good.”

He halted and turned to face her. “Are you afraid to be alone with me?”

“I’ve gone up against the Brotherhood and assassins offworld. I can handle being alone with you in your office.” She charged ahead of him, through the main door to GI7 and into his office.

Maybe she could handle being alone with him, but he wasn’t sure he could. He feared he might lose control and act on his desire for her.

When he reached his office, he found her sitting in his chair, with her feet up on his desk, boots crossed at her ankles. “This isn’t a competition, Magdalena.”

“I just find your chair rather comfy compared to what they give us peons upstairs.”

He slammed the door shut. “Enough. We’re on the same side. You will speak to me with respect.”

“Respect?” She laughed, full of disdain. “You don’t see any need for me or what I do.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. “Why do you think I have such a low opinion of you?”

“Because you once said I’m an inferior human, an undisciplined female, and a token human marshal with substandard skills.”

He’d said that the first time his mating cock had risen in her presence. Shock, confusion, and fear had filled him and he’d reacted poorly, lashing out at the woman who had nothing in common with him. Worse, she wouldn’t listen to his orders and she’d unnecessarily risked herself.

That last part scared him. He’d seen too many warriors sink into a black hole of despair when they lost their sholanis. What if she truly were his sholani? No, he would not entertain the idea. No matter how much he wanted a sholani to raise younglings and grow old with, that path closed long ago.

Zirkov lifted his chin. “I misspoke that day. I was angry, and I lashed out at you because… you were there.”

The corners of her mouth hitched up, erasing the darkness in her eyes. “You’re admitting that you were wrong?”

“I said I misspoke.”

“That’s the same thing.”

“You are a competent marshal. Now, may we move past this?”

A smile overtook her face, returning the spiritedness he’d grown used to seeing in her. “You think I’m a good marshal?”

He clasped his hands behind his back, stood taller, and focused on the window beyond the beaming female who, if he continued looking into her bright eyes, would cause his cocks to rise again.

“Yes. Will you now cooperate with me, Magdalena?”

“I’ll even let you take the lead, Commander.” She swung her legs off his desk, sprang out of his chair, and rounded the desk to stand inches from him. “Who is the og’dal I met in the park?”

“You tell me.”

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