“You sense that there is an energy between us,” Vikan said, his voice a dark rasp.“You dream of us.You are drawn to me and yet you do not know why.”
He waited for her to deny it, but knew she wouldn’t.Vikan spoke the truth.
“Or perhaps you do know why,” he added, wondering how much the mated humans—Kat, Beks, and Sessela—had told the rest of the group.
Taylor didn’t shy away from his gaze, but her lips pressed together in a thin line.Vikan marveled at her courage.
He heard her swallow before she said quietly, “Even if I suspect…” she shook her head and then, blowing out a sharp breath, said, “We were supposed to leave this planet soon.What did you actually want to accomplish by taking me away?”
“You were set to leave once the twin suns rose,” Vikan told her bluntly.“Vaxa’an told me as much.I could not let you go…not without knowing.”
There was a fire that began to burn in her gaze.“Without knowing what?”
“Whether you were mine,” he growled.
Taylor’s breath hitched, but then he saw her fists clench together at her sides.“You’re out of your mind.You have to take me back.I will be on that ship leaving in the morning.Ihaveto be.”
For the first time, a dark thought crossed Vikan’s mind and he was startled by the intense jealousy that ripped through him.
“Do you already have a male?” he grated, taking a step towards her.
His Instinct prowled in his chest, thoughts of a faceless human male flitting across his brain.His teeth gritted together at the thought of that male touching what washis.
Vikan pulled himself up short when he realized how quickly his mood had turned and tried to regain control over the primal instincts rushing through his blood.
Taylor was studying him, but he noticed she hadn’t backed away from him, even when he’d approached.She’d stood her ground and even tilted her chin up.
“Even if I did, it’s none of your concern,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
Vikan inhaled a sharp breath.So, his female had claws.
He…liked that.
“It is my concern, female,” he rasped.“Everything about you is my concern now.Do you have a male?”
“If you honestly expect me to—”
“Do you have a male?”
“No,” she snapped and relief almost made him want to sag to the floor.“This is ridiculous.Just take me back to wherever we were being kept.We’re wasting time.”
Vikan swallowed, slightly unnerved by his reaction.He’d never been a jealous male before.Even with Nitav, he wasn’t threatened by other warriors if they made their interest in her known.
So why was he so possessive of this human female, whom he had barely spoken to?
It was just his Instinct, he reasoned.His Instinct had never woken for Nitav.He’d accepted that, had loved her regardless.Fated mates were rare and he had never expected to discover his in his life span.
Yet…his fated mate was standing right in front of him, looking like she was on the verge of tearing his head clean off his shoulders.
If she weren’t so little and could reach, Vikan wouldn’t be surprised if she tried.
“Nix,” he grumbled.
Her eyes narrowed and she repeated slowly, “Nix?”
“No,” he said, in English.
“No?No, what?” she repeated, her eyebrows furrowing in what Vikan suspected was the human expression for confusion.
