“It’s nothing. Just a curiosity,” Rykker lied, his confusion now blending with jealousy.
Someone else had been inquiring about this woman, and he had a very good guess who it was.Arkness. The name flashed through his mind like the bitter aftertaste of a foul medicine.So, he is attempting to make this woman his. It figures. Always cocky. Always overconfident. He believes he is the best of us, but I know the truth. We are of the same age and rank, and we came upon her at the same time. He has no claim.Where confusion and curiosity had formerly been brewing in his mind, a fire now ignited in Rykker’s heart. This had just become more than casual interest. It was a competition. A competition for the first possibly compatible woman he’d ever come across.
“I turn here,” he said, patting the Skrizzit on the back as he shifted course. “Thank you for a lovely walk. I’ll see you around.”
“Of course. A pleasant rest of the day to you, friend,” Nijello replied, continuing on his way.
Rykker’s mind was racing as he walked home. He had dinner scheduled with Olivia that very night, but rather than a casual meal, he now felt there were tangible stakes, and high ones at that.
No matter what it takes, I will make her mine. Nothing, and no one, can stop me. Not even Arkness.
The rest of his walk passed in something of a daze, his erection still present but not nearly as distracting as the thoughts racing through his mind. He had never felt this way before. Possessive. Aroused. Jealous. It was almost overwhelming, the need he felt growing within himself, and by the time he got home he found himself thoroughly discombobulated.
“I must meditate. I need to be at my fullest potential tonight,” he said as he stepped inside, quickly shedding his clothing and activating his bathing unit.
He ran his hands over his body as he washed, as he always did, but when he reached his Infala he paused. “What is that?”he wondered. “Mirror,” he commanded, a projection appearing directly in front of him. “Is it actually shifting? How is that possible?” he marveled, the fateful rune slowly, subtly changing its design far too slow to observe, but he knew his runes well, and this one had most definitely begun to change.
It was impossible, of course. The only new variable was Olivia, but she’d only just received her runes. Far too soon for them to be healed and active, and there was no way they could affect his Infala so quickly even if they were.
“Could it be her smell?” he wondered. “Our kind’s secondary bonding system somehow reacting in a new way?”
There was simply no way to tell for sure. He would need to carefully document his own bodily reactions when he saw her later that evening, not just for the sake of curiosity, but to possibly cement some new form of bond and make her his once and for all. It seemed an impossibility, and his heart pounded at the thought.
“Is it possible?” he wondered.
Time would tell. For now, all he could do was bathe and focus. He had to bring his A-game tonight, and that was all that mattered. What would come of it was anyone’s guess.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Hot damn, Olivia thought when she opened the door that night.
Rykker was a handsome man, even with his red-toned skin and clearly alien lineage. Beyond that, he was more than she could ask for. Tall, muscular, with broad shoulders and big, meaty hands that looked like they could pull a car door right off its hinges if he wanted to. Then there was his smell.
Olivia’s nostrils flared, his musk hitting her senses before she’d even fully taken him in with her eyes. Where he’d been alluring earlier, his scent was even more potently affecting her than before. Her belly churned with a sudden ball of tingling warmth sending jolts of pleasure between her legs, which she subconsciously squeezed together as she took in her date with thirsty eyes.
“Hey,” she managed to articulate, while her inner voice was screaming,What the hell is going on?She was already getting wet, and he’d only just arrived.
Rykker, for his part, seemed equally affected, his pulse clearly pounding in the thick veins in his neck, his cock rousing fast and pressing against his trousers. No matter how he tried to shift to conceal it, there was no hiding his impressive erection.
Rykker swallowed hard. “It is delightful to see you,” he said, taking her hand and bending to kiss it.
Olivia nearly jumped at the touch of his lips on her skin but managed to keep herself under control, but only barely.
“So, are you ready?” he asked, a smoldering look in his eyes.
Olivia’s cheeks flushed hard and fast, her clit swelling in the most delightful way.
“Ready? Uh, yes. Food. Right,” she managed to say, a faint sheen of sweat forming on her face. Judging by the shift of his gaze, he noticed at once, and Olivia couldn’t help but picture his hot tongue licking the sweat from her upper lip. “We should go,” she blurted, stepping out of her domicile unit.
“Of course. Please, allow me,” was his gentlemanly reply.
Rykker offered his arm, Olivia tucking her hand just right as he led her down the pathway to a towering structure relatively close to her suite. She was glad he’d chosen a place that was only a short walk. With her clit humming like a plucked string, she didn’t know how much farther she could have walked in her state.
“This way,” he said, leading her to a faintly turquoise-colored patch of ground where the lift disc awaited them.
They stepped aboard and were whipped upward at an incredible speed, yet the alien technology negated the forces entirely, holding them in a state of perfect comfort during their ascent. They abruptly stopped at the top, far above the ground. Rather than a sterile rooftop, however, she found herself standing in a lush naturescape, one apparently hidden from view from street level.
“It–it’s amazing,” she marveled, slowly spinning, taking in the three-sixty view of the entire city as well as the surrounding hills, plains, and waterways.
