He had to admit, she had a point.
“I’ve humped heavier loads than these over much rougher terrain, so relax. We’re just going up to the communicationsroom, anyway.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you have any more Xargek to kill?”
“Not right now.”
“No rowdy humans to guard?”
“They’ve been surprisingly well behaved ever since…” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
“No take-over-the-world secret strategy meetings to attend with your boys?”
“We’ve figured out our plan. We understand one another. There’s nothing further to discuss.”
She regarded him with an odd look as they passed rows and rows of empty cargo containers, shaking her head slightly. Humans occupied some of the empty containers, which sat on long metal tracks. Strange smells reached Rykal’s sensitive nose. There was the typical slightly unpleasant human-smell. It combined with the aroma of roasting food and the lingering scent of processed metal. Hushed whispers followed them, uttered in strange, exotic tongues.
It took a great deal of walking, but they finally reached a wide elevator. Its doors slid open as Arin touched her hand to a panel beside it. The panels didn’t work for Rykal and his team. They had to make do with the labyrinthine stairwells and hidden passageways that riddled the freighter.
They stepped inside the elevator, and the doors slid closed. Arin stood in one corner, staring straight ahead and keeping a slight distance away from him as the elevator groaned and started to ascend.
“You were excellent,” Rykal said, admiration creeping into his voice.
“Excuse me?” Arin turned to him, looking slightly perplexed.
“The way you controlled the situation, asserting your dominance. When that big oaf tried to disrespect you, you smacked him down. You are not one to waste time.”
If she was at all moved by his praise, she didn’t show it. “We have a time-bomb on our hands,” she said quietly. “Any dissent has to be stamped out quickly. It’s been a while since I’ve had to manage a full-scale riot, but as time goes on, those people down there are going to get more and more volatile.”
“Sounds like it’s time to go,” Rykal said, moving closer to her. “We’ll use that human transport to enter Earth; the one you returned on.”
Arin shook her head. “You do what you want. I’m not leaving here until every last person is off the freighter.”
“Oh?” Rykal paused, trying to understand her mindset as she turned away from him, her expression stony. With the exception of Arin, he didn’t think much of the humans he’d encountered so far. The idea of selflessly sticking around to ensure the safety of a bunch of humans was something he never would have considered, but Arin seemed to be protective of her people.
Her scent was taunting him again. As Rykal clenched his teeth, his fangs broke the skin of his lower lip. The bitter taste of his own black blood filled his mouth. Arin looked away, staring at the wall, refusing to make eye contact with him.
Why don’t you melt just a little bit, my ashika?
They were alone inside this primitive metal box. Rykal had been alone with her before, but this was the first time they were confined together in such close quarters.
What was he supposed to do now?
A hundred possibilities ran through his mind. He could disarm her, restrain her, strip her naked, and make her his. Physically, she was no match for him. He would claim her body and make her experience the greatest pleasure she’d ever known. Surely humans possessed the same pleasure centers and erotic zones as Kordolians. She’d crave only his touch. She would beg for it. After he was done with her, she wouldn’t be able to evenlookat another male. The thought had crossed his mind more than once.
It was the Kordolian thing to do, but subjugation had always left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“I like you, Arin,” he blurted instead, affection swelling in his chest. He smiled, licking his lips to get rid of the aftertaste of blood.
The elevator shuddered, lumbering slowly upwards on the crude mechanism that propelled it. A strong, rapid thudding sound reached his ears.
It was the sound of her beating heart.
She slowly turned to face him, and her lips were slightly parted, glistening with a trace of moisture. “Rykal,” she said in a serious voice, “are you flirting with me?”
CHAPTER TEN
The elevator shuddered again, its rough metal floor shaking under Arin’s feet. Rykal blinked, appearing confused. “Flirting? I don’t know what that is. I was just speaking the truth.”
His smile, when she thought about it, was rather endearing. It was as if he were completely unaware that his fangs and his sharp, elfin features made him appear totally menacing, and that wasn’t even taking into account the arsenal of weapons strapped to his body.
