Kenji shook his head, wide-eyed.
“There’s another test you can take to find out. I don’t have all we’d need here to do it now, but I can pick up a few items and probably cobble something together by tomorrow or the next day.”
Kenji couldn’t speak. A child? Growing inside him?
Wait, he said two eggs…“Just to be clear, you’re saying I might havetwobabies growing inside me. Right now?”
“Yes,” Qylar said.“Ifboth eggs took.”
Kenji couldn’t speak. His brain was overloaded with a mixture of emotions, led by denial at the forefront. Hadn’t it been enough for his mind to wrap around the fact he’d slept with an alien and also was part alien? Now he had to contend with alien eggs burrowing inside him?
Sure, mpreg was a kink.A fantasy.In real life—with an alien he barely knew? He wasn’t ready to deal with that.
“What if… I want them out? Can they be taken out?”
“It may be possible,” Qylar said, his voice flat. “But not here on Earth. We’d have to get you to Nefyria as soon as possible—ifyou’re pregnant. Which you might not be.”
“Take me back down,” Kenji spat. “Now. I want to go home.”
Qylar didn’t move for a few seconds. “I’m so sorry, Kenji. I didn’t do it intentionally.”
“Take me back,” Kenji repeated forcefully, not capable of discussing it any further in that moment. His brain needed time to process.
“Right away,” Qylar murmured before leaving him alone in the biolab.
CHAPTER 8
Qylar strode into the pilot’s deck, barely holding his emotions in check. Kenji could be pregnant… and give him the children he’d thought impossible. While unplanned, his heart had leapt at the thought of seeing Kenji grow big and round with his babies. Then he’d seen the cold, numb panic settle over Kenji’s face, and that elation had evaporated.
What if… I want them out? Can they be taken out?
Qylar forced back the rising bile and plugged in the coordinates for the surface. He felt a presence behind him and turned to see Kenji creeping in. He ignored Qylar and walked straight to the window overlooking Earth, his arms wrapped tightly around him once more.
Before punching the engines, Qylar gave him a few seconds for a last look at a peaceful planet, hoping it helped in some way. Once he did, the cruiser quickly made its way down and dipped under the surface of the ocean. He settled it into the mouth of the cavern. Qylar shut down the engines and did a quick systems check. When he looked up again, he was once again alone.
Qylar left the pilot’s deck and stood in the passage just outside it. “Kenji?”
Silence met his ears.
“Kenji?!”he called louder that time.
He walked back into the pilot’s deck to scan the ship. Before he was done, the outside proximity alarms went off.
Shit!
Qylar raced for the water wall and grabbed his pack. He dove through, shifting as he went. He searched the ocean around the craft but saw no signs of his tiny mate. Assuming Kenji would head toward San Francisco, Qylar sped in that direction, sweeping his gaze as he traveled. By the time he’d neared the coast, he’d found no signs, so he swam back, zigzagging as he went, but there was nothing.
Panic hit him squarely in the chest. He’d learned Kenji was Nefyrian, yet not gotten a last name, an address, or a phone number once again. He had no way to find the guy.
A guy who might have two of his eggs growing inside him.
Yeah, he’d given Tacoma his number, but it would be up to Kenji to call it, and something told himthatwasn’t happening. Qylar returned home, pausing on the beach to dress in the pale early morning light, all the while hoping Kenji might be waiting for him at the townhouse, yet sure that wasn’t going to happen.
There was no one waiting when he arrived, and he hated being right.
He went inside and took a long, hot shower to wash the ocean’s pollution away. His gaze kept going to the tentacle imprintinside his arm, a mark of possession among Nefyrians. Kenji hadn’t known what he’d done, but the mark still bound them in some small way. Qylar traced the mark over and over, almost as if touching it would touch Kenji somehow.
After his shower, he collapsed across his bed. As exhausted as he was, he fell asleep quicker than he’d expected, though it was fitful with lots of dark dreams, tossing, and turning. When he finally dragged himself out of bed, the sky was growing dark. He threw on a light sweater and knit pants and walked next door, hoping to feel less alone.
