“No…” she whimpers with no conviction. Her heart races. She’s breathing heavily. But her body leans into mine.
I have to bend to get my lips near her ear. “Yes, Little one. You feel it, too. It’s undeniable.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. Oh, God. My father is going to kill me.”
I can’t resist kissing her neck, and I love the way her breath hitches. “He won’t, Baby girl. He’ll never be near you again to do so.” I try to convey all of that without sounding harsh. The reality is I’m stating a fact. I don’t know what sort of relationship she has with her father, but she’ll never see him again. I hurt for her. When human females find out they will never see their loved ones again, they mourn the loss. Some more than others.
We’re facing the closed door now. It wouldn’t have mattered if she’d gone through it. I would have followed her at least through to the entry room. I wouldn’t have been able to step outside, but our connection had already been established. Even if she’d left the club and gone home, she wouldn’t have been ableto shake me from her mind. She would have eventually returned, drawn back like I’m the largest magnet in existence.
“You don’t understand,” she argues. “My roommate is outside. I only came into the club on a dare. It was a game. We— We— We were playing truth or dare. Allisa dared me. Mary is outside. I have her phone. I’m supposed to take a picture of one of you and, and, and…”
Her anxiety is rising as she rambles. I ease her away from the door when it opens again. I don’t want to scare her to death by dragging her out of this room. I need her to go willingly.
I also can’t nick her skin with my quill to calm her. Not while we’re here in the club. No humans are allowed to know about our ability to affect our mates’ emotions by piercing their skin to inject them with our serum. Not even the highest government officials on Earth who work with our Eleadian leaders to maintain this alliance are aware of that feature behind our front teeth.
I want to, though. I desperately want to calm my Little girl.
“Is everything okay?” a male voice asks.
I turn my head to find Zack, the manager of Club Zoom, standing to my right. He’s well aware of the fact that this female has been claimed. He knows how this works.
Nodding, I ask, “Do you have a room we can use for a minute?”
Zack nods. “Of course. Right this way.” He turns toward another door a few feet away that leads to his office.
When he opens it, I look down at my mate. “Zack is the club manager. Follow him, Little one.”
She gives a curt nod and obeys me. A part of her simply can’t help but follow my demands, but she most likely also finds comfort in the fact that Zack is human and runs this place. She’s probably still trying to figure out how to wiggle her way out of this unexpected change of events.
My entire body relaxes as soon as Zack closes the door, cutting off the annoyingly loud music and banter. My arms are still around my mate. I have no interest in releasing her. I need to be touching her. It’s innate. Just like I need my next breath.
Zack is not unfamiliar with females who balk at the idea of being chosen. I’m sure it happens often. Some of them probably end up crying on his shoulder, begging for freedom they’ve already forfeited.
His face is unreadable as he sweeps a hand toward the loveseat in his office. “Would you like me to stay or step out?”
I usher my Little girl the few feet toward the offered sofa and lower to sitting, keeping her between my legs. This seat is way too low for me. All of the furniture on this planet is too small for Eleadians, but other than an instance like this, we don’t often find ourselves faced with trying to fit on it. The furniture we have in our apartments above the club is much larger.
“You can stay,” I tell Zack, my attention on my mate as I turn her around so she’s facing me.
Her eyes are so wide. Partly that’s just how they are. They’ve been big since I first spotted her. But they’re even larger now because she’s scared.
I slide my hands up to cup her face. My fingers are so long that I can rest my palms on her shoulders and thread my fingers in her hair, all while stroking her cheeks with my thumbs. My presence alone is calming, but it’s not enough.
Meeting her gaze, I close the distance so only a few inches separate our faces. I remember exactly what she told me, so I decide to address her initial concerns. “You have your friend’s phone, Little one?”
She nods, her teeth sinking into her lower lip.
I ease my thumb over to pluck her soft flesh free before she can draw blood. “Take a breath, Baby girl.”
She hesitates and then inhales deeply.
I smile at her. “Good girl.”
She shivers in my arms.
Fuck, she’s adorable.
“How about we let Zack take a picture of us with the phone, and he can return it to your friend. She’s waiting out front?”
