“You know. At some point, you could’ve mentioned that everyone and everything on your planet is totally insane. I would’ve appreciated the head’s up.” Alex glared at Damon. She watched him with narrowed eyes. He was attempting to avoid her gaze from across the room.
A smile curved his lips. “I didn’t have enough time,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, what fun would that have been?”
Fun? Is that what he thinks we’re doing here?
She didn’t call almost being eaten by a pack of flying monsters, and then being led to believe she would somehow save a civilization she hadn’t known existed, to be a good time. She was confused, and a headache had crept up on her after the woman who called herself Aleena bored her with details Alex didn’t care about. She’d zoned out after a while, more interested in checking out the immaculate, landscaped gardens than whatever the woman had been raving about.
When she hadn’t been able to get a single word in, she’d figured out Aleena wouldn’t provide any of the many answers she wanted.
More and more, this was starting to feel like some sort of nightmare.
She pressed her fingers to her temples.
“What’s wrong?” Damon asked.
“I have a headache. Do you have some magical way to fix this, too?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” Before she could stop him, Damon closed the door and was once again standing within touching distance. He certainly had a problem with personal space-he didn’t know the meaning of it.
Alex made a move to step back, but he put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her steady. “You don’t have to run away from me. I won’t hurt you.” His green eyes were twinkling but still amused. He removed her hand from her temple, softly replacing it with his. He then rubbed his fingertips over her skin in small, circular motions, until the throbbing completely faded. “Does it feel better?”
She swallowed. He certainly knew how to get her sensual juices flowing. How could innocently massaging away a headache make her gut clench with desire? She managed a nod.
“Good. Now, I need you to sit down so I can fix your arm, as well as take a look at the other wound on your hand.” Damon turned away, leaving her a little breathless. He grabbed a small, wooden cart pressed against the wall and wheeled it toward her.
They were inside a vast room with a bed, a large armchair, and several wooden storage units. The walls were all painted white, and a significant, curved window was placed opposite the bed. Not bad for a guest room.
It looked like the ladyof the planet had assigned this hunk as Alex’s keeper, while he’d decided to be her protector. Maybe he can help me in other ways, too.The way he kept holding and touching her, she wouldn’t be able to control herself much longer.
“Damon, you need to be straight with me,” she sighed. “I have no idea what the blonde woman was talking about. Most of the time, I don’t even know what you’rebabbling on about, either.”
He chuckled. “I’ll answer as many of your questions as I can, but not until you let me heal you.” The seriousness made him even more appealing. He reached for her arm and helped maneuver her into the armchair.
She sat down. Being forced to spend too much time alone with this man would definitely lead to a lot of trouble. There wassomething between them, and she couldn’t deny it. It echoed in the way he looked at her-the small smile continually curving the corners of his mouth. She didn’t want to analyze it too closely just yet. I’m certainly not going to admit it out loud, either.
Right now, she wanted her skin repaired and properly bandaged. With a resigned sigh, Alex removed her jacket.
Damon looked at her while he grabbed a short stool. He placed it directly in front of her and sat down. He was positioned very close, with his long legs spread apart for better access to her wounds.
“So, what do you want to know?” He unwound the makeshift bandage he’d made out of a piece of his previous shirt.
While the woman, Aleena, had walked with Alex across the most beautiful gardens she’d ever seen, Damon had disappeared long enough to change his shirt. Now, he wore a cream-colored, sleeveless shirt with a cord keeping the top of it together-definitely not enough to conceal most of his impressive chest. Matching pants covered his legs and fell over his bare feet. She’d noticed most people here walked around barefoot, but Alex decided to keep her boots on…for now.
“I want to know everything.”
“Okay, but where would you like me to start?” he asked, pausing to raise his dark eyebrows at her.
“How did you know where to find me?” To be honest, Alex didn’t know where to start. This situation seemed surreal. He was affecting her so much, she couldn’t think straight.
He dropped the dirty bandage on the cart beside him and met her eyes. The intensity in his stare made it hard to breathe.
“Can you stop looking at me like that?” she blurted. Alex was starting to get annoyed with those bedroom eyes. The smoldering looks he kept giving her were playing havoc with her body. She couldn’t help but fantasize about what his long fingers would feel like all over her naked flesh. Would his eyes hold the same intensity while touching her? Or was this part of his seduction? Maybe he was just a tease.
“How am I looking at you?” He grabbed the small washcloth floating inside a porcelain bowl filled with water.
“Like you’re…like…”
“Yes?”
“Ah, never mind,” she said with a frustrated sigh. What was the point? One way or another, she already knew where this would lead. “Just answer my first question. How did you know where to find me?”
“I didn’t.” Damon dabbed the washcloth against her arm, cleaning it. “You fell onto Eden hours ago, so I think you must have been unconscious for a while.”
“Yeah, I was.” The watch wrapped around her uninjured wrist had confirmed it. She winced.
“Sorry,” he said, dabbing softly. “I spent hours out there and walked past the same spot many times before you fell on me.”
Heat rose up her neck and face. She cleared her throat. “That doesn’t explain why you were looking for anyone.”
“Oh, yes. Priestess told us of the breach.”
So, they did have ways of knowing when someone neared or entered their atmosphere. It gave her hope for getting out of here.
“This must be terribly confusing for you,” Damon said with a small smile. “If it’s any consolation, we’ll take very good care of you. Priestess Aleena has been talking about the prophecy of the space traveler since I was a kid.”
“You sure know how to make a girl feel special.” Special…and weird.
“Alex, you arespecial, and not just because of the prophecy. Magic is woven deep inside you. I can feel it.”
“Listen, you’re gonna have to stop with the magic talk, okay? I’ve already told you. I don’t believe in it.”
“Just because you don’t believe in it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Were either of your parents magic users?” He dried the skin of her forearm with a small towel.
She snorted. “No.” If either one of her parents had access to any sort of mumbo-jumbo, she would’ve known about it, because they’d have used it for self-gain.
Damon stared at her for a moment. “Would you like me to show you some magic?”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you going to pull a rabbit out of a hat or something? Trust me, I’ve paid good credits to see many an illusionist. Although most are good, they’re all frauds at heart, using sleight of hand and other acts of trickery.”
Alex had been involved with an illusionist-a man who lived in a spaceport on the other side of the galaxy. Wondrous William had amazed her with a great many illusions, both in and out of the bedroom, but mostly he was good at swindling credits out of her. Will had been trying to contact her for weeks, but she’d ignored every message he sent to Promise during her stay on the Anteris Space Station.
It was just her luck to now be stranded on a planet where magic and prophecies existed. It would have been easier to live the rest of her days naked on Zeal, the Aphrodite-worshipping planet.
“There’s no trickery in magic.” Damon dropped the washcloth back into the bowl and placed the towel beside it. Then, he leaned over, pulling her arm closer to his face.
“What are you doing?”
“Just relax and watch, okay?”
Damon’s mouth hovered over her skin, and for a second, she thought he was going to kiss her, but he didn’t. Instead, he blew a line of warm breath along the cut he’d made when scraping the worms out.
A shiver raced through her body. The skin of her forearm tingled-a thousand tiny pinpricks soothing her so much, she wanted to lean back into the armchair and close her eyes to the unbelievable sensations. Her nipples tightened inside her bra, and something hot stirred between her legs. For a moment, Alex felt as if she was going to have an orgasm.
“Don’t close your eyes. Keep watching,” Damon whispered. His breath made her skin buzz.
She squirmed in her seat but kept her eyes pinned to her arm. Alex watched, in disbelief, as the separated skin blended with the rest of her arm.
“What the hell?” She pulled out of his grasp to take a closer look. The wound was completely healed over. She ran her fingertips over the smooth skin. It felt and looked as if it had never been cut. “What did you do? How did you do it?”
“I worked some magic to heal you.”
“No, really. Howdid you do it?”
“I used the arcane all around us and connected it to your own magic to heal you.” His eyes were bright with wonder.
“I’ve already told you, I don’t have any magic!”
He shrugged. “Every living soul has some sort of magic within them. Wouldn’t you say that being alive is magical enough?”
She didn’t answer. She just kept looking at her flawless skin. There wasn’t even a scar to mark where he’d cut her.
“There are some who have it inside them but don’t know how to connect to it, but I can help you with that.”
“No, thanks.” Alex refused to believe his insane claims. They lived in a time of technology and space travel, where most of the galaxy’s population chose to live inside space stations rather than on planets. Yet this place was different, starting with the tall walls surrounding the gardens, all the way to those hideous bird beasts, and whatever other dangers lurked outside this seemingly safe sanctuary.
What was she doing here? More importantly, how the hell was she going to get out?
“In time you’ll feel it, yourself. You won’t be able to hold it back any longer,” Damon said.
“I don’t intend to be here too long.” Alex met his gaze with a harsh glare.
Something crossed in front of those gorgeous green irises and seemed to disappear just as quickly. “I don’t wish to have the same conversation with you over and over again, Alex. It seems like you continue to dwell on the fact that you’ll soon leave, but you won’t. This is where your destiny lies-”
“My destiny is out in space, delivering cargo.”
“No, your destiny is here with me.” His jaw was clenched tight, gaze pinned on hers. He lowered his voice and said, “Besides, carrying stolen cargo originating from our planet isn’t exactly a destiny.”
Alex didn’t bother to ask him how he knew for sure when she hadn’t confirmed anything about the liquid.
She tried to keep the goosebumps at bay, but they were spreading all over her body. “No, your destiny is here with me.”Why would someone who was practically a stranger say something so bizarre? It reminded her of Ulric’s confession of love. What was going on? Why was everyone acting so strangely around her? Even Sackor’s sleazy advances had increased in tenacity lately.
“Besides, you need to help us,” Damon said.
“From where I stand, it doesn’t look like your society needs any help.”
Damon dropped his gaze and took her injured hand in his. He unraveled the bandage she’d wrapped around the Sackor-induced wound and stared at it silently, for too long.
“What’s wrong?”
“How did you get this wound?”
“Someone accidentally scratched me.”
“I think it’s infected.” He reached for the washcloth again and rinsed it to clear off the blood clinging to it. He wrung the excess water out and dabbed at the taut skin between her thumb and index finger.
She winced at the instant sting and tried to pull out of his grasp, but he held on tighter. “Don’t move. I need to clean this before it gets any worse. Tell me who did this to you.”
“An idiot. It’s not important.”
“This might take some time to heal.”
“Can’t you just blow on it and make it go away?” She wasn’t comfortable with his bogus claim to magic, but if it made the sting and the ugly redness disappear, she was all for it.
“I don’t think it’ll work on this.” Damon seemed to be concentrating a little too hard on her hand.
“Can you at least try?” She met his eyes with the same intensity he used with her. Why would his mojo-magic only work selectively? Now, thatsounded far-fetched.
Damon nodded and lifted her hand to his mouth. He pressed his lips together and blew out a soothing breath, making her giddy.
Alex closed her eyes to once again enjoy the sensations travelling along her skin. She opened them in a rush and watched the open skin seal then split again within seconds. “What the hell just happened?”
“Whoever did this to you wanted to make sure it couldn’t be healed,” Damon answered, frowning.
“Why?” Questioning, or trying to understand, Sackor’s motivations seemed a waste of time. The bastard always had a reason for everything he did. No matter how corrupt or creepy.
Damon took a closer look. “This looks like a marking of some sort.” He leaned forward, and the proximity of his body made her nervous. He smelled so nice.
“Why would anyone want to mark me?”
“Maybe he wanted to keep you on his radar, so he can track you down whenever he wants to.” He was concentrating hard, as if he could see something she couldn’t. “I’m not sure why, but it feels strange. Almost like there’s something in there.”
“He put an actual bug inside me?” Why would Sackor bother? She’d delivered his crap many times before, and never needed any sort of tracking. Alex was good for the delivery. Well, except this time. Was it possible that he somehow knew this would happen? Was he responsible for messing around with her ship, so she would crash? Why here? Could such a petty thing really be his intention, or did he want to eliminate her for some other reason?
Like everything else, it didn’t make any sense. It was as confusing as the way Damon’s fingertips made her feel as they travelled up the underside of her arm.
“Maybe. Probably.”
“What are you doing?” she snapped.
“Don’t you like it?”
She made a move to pull away, but he didn’t let go.
“I can’t help myself, Alex,” he whispered, shifting in his seat until his face was close enough to feel his breath on her cheeks. “Whenever we’re together, all I want to do is touch you.”
“Stop it, okay?” She barely managed to get the words out, because her voice cracked. The tingly sensations he’d roused raced beneath her skin. He was turning her on so much. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself if he continued. Not a good idea when there was so much other crap going on.
“I can’t. Trust me, I’m trying to stop this as much as you are…but I find myself very attracted to you. It’s more than physical. Your magic is caressing mine.” His pupils were larger, darker, allowing his desire to shine through.
“I’ve already told you. I don’t have any magic.” How many times would she have to say this? Why doesn’t he believe me?
Damon pressed his mouth closer to hers, until their lips touched for just an instant. The softness of those full lips made her swoon, but he pulled away and gazed deep into her eyes. He paused long enough to return a second later, for a proper kiss.
She found herself opening her mouth to his and parting his lips with her tongue, so she could slip inside. The connection of their tongues stirred an indescribable sensation, like none she’d ever felt before.
Her hands remained in her lap, Damon’s at his sides. The only part of them touching was their mouths, and there was something very arousing about that.
“We’ll need to head out soon. The feast being held in your honor will be starting in an hour,” Damon said, breaking the kiss. “Aleena will be upset if I make you late.”
“What would Aleena say if she knew you were trying to seduce me?” Her breath was ragged. Alex dared to reach out, running her fingers over his smooth cheek. Her fingertips heated at the barest touch of his caramel skin. It excited her, encouraging her to give in to the undeniable rush of attraction she’d experienced since falling on this man. She might not believe in magic, but she believed in lust.
He shook his head, making the dreadlocks sway in front of his face. “I’m not trying to seduce you.”
“Why did you kiss me, then?” She wiped the strands of hair away from his face.
“Why did youkiss me back?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It just felt like the right thing to do.”
His eyes lit up. “So you do feel it, then? The magic flowing between us is affecting you, too?”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t-”
“Do you believe in the magic of two bodies drawn to each other?” His voice was low and husky, more like a rumble.
She nodded. “Now, you’re starting to make sense. I definitely believe in that.”
The smile on his lips widened. The desire darkened his eyes. “Would you accept my advances if I pursued them further?”
Alex nodded. What was the point of lying to him? She wanted him as much as he obviously wanted her. After all this time of staying away from other men-the thought of eventually returning to Ulric’s bed had kept her company even during the loneliest of times-Alex felt it all slip away. The only thing that mattered now was being with Damon, with this stranger. She was prepared to throw caution to the wind, just like she used to, instead of dwelling on the fact she didn’t know a single thing about Damon or that they’d only met hours ago.
None of it mattered to her before Ulric, and it didn’t matter now.
Something she couldn’t even begin to put into words had taken over-a desire so strong and feral, she couldn’t wait to enjoy Damon’s body.
Damon pushed off the stool, kneeling in front of her. He lowered his eyes, staring at her chest while he licked his lips. He gripped her thighs and slowly spread them. She wasn’t sure what he was going to do next, but when he moved in closer, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
She was glad she’d unstrapped her thigh holster and left it on the bedside table. She wouldn’t need her blaster right now.
Damon clamped his mouth over hers. He ran his fingers up and down her bare arms, stirring her into a fevered frenzy. The warmth she’d felt near the wall-when she first thought he was going to kiss her-seeped from his skin and into hers. He kissed her soft and slow, and she couldn’t tear her mouth away. The buzz of pleasure swelled up inside her, as if he were caressing her into climax but hadn’t touched her intimately, yet.
“I want to pleasure you,” he whispered in her ear. His mouth closed around her earlobe. “I’m going to do it by using magic.”
This time, she didn’t bother correcting him.
Damon’s fingers were now running down her sides and had reached her waist. He gathered the fabric of her tank top enough to slip his warm fingers underneath.
She squirmed at his touch, pressing her breasts against him and trying not to let the discomfort of her hurt ribs show.
“I want to heal you, too,” he said, slowly kissing his way down her neck, shoulders, and arms. He lifted her tank top, and she leaned back into the armchair. His lips were now hovering above her abdomen. “Your ribs are bruised.”
She lifted her hips and rubbed up against him. Her breath quickened, but he shook his head.
“Not like this. Not yet.”
She stilled, wanting to know what he had in mind. He was driving her crazy with those expert fingers of his. If he started using his mouth, she doubted she’d be able to stand it.
“What are you going to do, then?”
“This.” He leaned over, his lips just a centimeter away from her burning skin, and blew a line of hot breath over her.
She squirmed again, feeling heady and so desperate to reach climax, she felt like she would melt into a puddle at any moment. “Damn it, Damon. You’re driving me crazy.”
“I hope so.” He kissed her ribs, and a zing rocked her body.
“What the hell was that?” She was so hot and ready for him.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he kissed her skin again, slowly leaving a line of kisses over her ribcage and following it down to her lower abdomen. When he reached the waistband of her pants, he paused. Lifting his face to look at her, he kept his eyes pinned on hers as he pressed his hand to her bare skin.
“This is magic I’m sure you’ve never felt before.”
Alex was about to respond, but her breath caught in her throat. He’d flattened his palm over the skin below her bellybutton, and her body convulsed. The heat of his skin pierced through hers in a sudden explosion, erupting between her legs. An orgasm teased her into submission. It was so gradual, she couldn’t help but moan and groan, biting down on her bottom lip to keep from screaming.
She’d experienced plenty of different ways to climax before, but nothing quite like this. When it should have been over, and she felt spent, another orgasm shook her to the core. She arched her back and whimpered, wishing he would stop torturing her with this endless pleasure yet hoping it would never end.
The door on the other side of the room was suddenly pushed open. “Damon. Damon, you must hurry. We need you down in the courtyard. Something has…oh, my apologies.”
Damon removed his hand from her lower abdomen and looked over his shoulder. “What do you want, Levi?”
The orgasm’s intensity slowed but didn’t completely fade.
She looked across the room-feeling a little hazy-meeting the teenager’s wide eyes. He was staring right at her, but when she caught his eye, he looked away. His gaze roamed around the room, but he couldn’t hide the red darkening his cheeks with embarrassment. If the tendrils of orgasm weren’t still chasing pins and needles of ecstasy beneath her skin, maybe she would’ve felt a slight tug of embarrassment, too. Then again, maybe not. Alex never apologized for an orgasm, especially one this miraculous. Why should she? How the hell had Damon made her come without even touching her where she’d experienced the full brunt of pleasure?
“Levi, what’s wrong?”
“I’m so sorry, Damon. Ah, we’ve found a dead body in the gardens, and the Priestess would like you to come down to the courtyard.”
Damon frowned. “What do you mean by a dead body?”
“A body was found mutilated along a garden path,” Levi answered in a low voice.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s why she needs you to take a look. Priestess would like to know if you can read anything that’ll tell us what happened.”
Damon nodded. “Okay. I’ll be there right away.”
Levi hesitated for a few heartbeats before he nodded. “I’ll tell her you’re on your way.” He turned around, left, and closed the door behind him with a small thump.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Damon whispered more to himself than to her. His eyebrows were furrowed, knotted in a look she hadn’t seen on him since they’d met. Not even the birds had seemed to affect him this much.
She touched his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Murder doesn’t happen in our society.”
“Crime exists in every society.”
“Not in ours,” he whispered. Damon refused to meet her eyes. “I’ve never seen any evidence of murder within these walls.”
She sat up straight, enjoying the last of the pleasurable aftershocks. “What about those bird creatures? Haven’t they killed some of your people? You mentioned the lake with the worms, too.” She cringed at the reminder, but when she looked at her arm, all evidence was gone. Too bad the cut on her hand remained. What the hell had Sackor done to her?
“Yes, I’ve seen the birds kill some of our people, and the lake too, but that always takes place outsidethe walls. Harm is never inflicted by one of our own.”
“That doesn’t sound right.” She’d never heard of such a thing. Violence, abuse, and murder occurred all over the galaxy.
“We live in Eden.”
Alex was confused. If they lived in such a wonderful world, with absolutely no violence, why was sheneeded to seal their utopian society? “Okay, so if everything’s so perfect here, why do you need me?” She’d just had her first Damon-induced orgasm, and whatever unfamiliarity had existed between them before had diminished. The warmth of his body remaining close to hers was comforting.
She couldn’t explain it and didn’t particularly like to admit it, but there wassomething flowing between them. She refused to refer to it as magic, though. It was more like raw and passionate lust. If Levi hadn’t charged into the room, she knew what would’ve followed. At the thought, a few things she wanted to do to Damon raced through her mind.
“Alex,” Damon began, pushing a few stray curls away from her forehead. His eyes were shiny and filled with knowledge. She wondered if he would ever share any of it with her. “We need you, because the prophecy states that once the space traveler is amongst us, a chain of events will begin. Events which will help us become forever segregated from the dangers beyond our boundaries. Without the lakes, birds, and other predators out in the jungle, my people will be able to live in eternal harmony. All thanks to you.”
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to do all of that. Besides, aren’t you already segregated by those tall walls?”
Damon shook his head. “Those walls are secure for the moment, but it’s only a matter of time before the barrier starts to slip.”
“So, you’re saying this dead person is the start of these events?”
“Maybe.”
The thought made her uncomfortable. “I hope no one blames me for this.” If they all knew about this bizarre prophecy and she’d been unwillingly cast in the lead role, would these people eventually turn on her? She looked at Damon and didn’t think he would, but she couldn’t be sure about the others.
“I won’t let anyone accuse you of killing, or of any other wrongdoing. I’m going to protect you.” Damon pressed his hands against her upper arms, glaring into her eyes. “Will you come with me, so we can see what’s happened?”
She’d much rather strip her dirty clothes and see what he had to offer once he took his off, but he seemed too distracted. Besides, after the overload of satisfaction he’d unleashed on her, she wasn’t sure she was up to more at the moment.
“Sure, let’s go.” Let’s see what other freaky things this place has to offer.This planet was starting to feel more like hell than Eden. “I’m not going anywhere without my blaster, though.”