Her breath hitched when she heard the computerized chirping sound, to indicate it had located the patch…but then a moment later, it dropped.
Great.
Valerie blew out a breath, charging the receiver back up and inputting the patch number again.
Again, it chirped a few times…then dropped.
It was going to be a long afternoon, she knew.
* * *
An hour dragged by,given the timed clock on the door, which had activated the moment it had been unlocked. Valerie had tried the patch number over fifty times in that hour with no luck, a little under a call a minute.
And as the time dragged, her mind began to wander. She’d long memorized the full patch code and she dialed it on autopilot, all while she thought of Dravka.
That morning, she’d woken in his arms. It had been just before dawn and he’d still been asleep.
Valerie had been very careful not to move a single inch in his arms, wanting to prolong the sensation until she couldn’t any longer. Her head had been using his forearm as a pillow. Their thighs had been entangled with one another, his still-erect cock had been pressing low on her exposed belly.
His scent had been all around her as she remembered the night before—as she remembered his promise to her, that he would take care of her, that she didn’t need to worry anymore.
And wouldn’t that be wonderful? He’d sounded so sure, so certain and determined, that a part of Valeriehadbegun to believe him.
It had felt soright, lying in his arms that peaceful, quiet morning, watching his eyes flicker behind his lids in sleep. Valerie wondered if Dravka had watched her during the night as she slept, since she knew Keriv’i didn’t need as much as humans did. So, when had he fallen asleep?
It had felt intimate and warm and wonderful.
And it had needed to come to an end all too soon.
Valerie rubbed at her tired eyes, recharging the receiver as she typed in the patch number for seemingly the hundredth time. She’d somehow managed to sneak out of Dravka’s arms without waking him. Quietly, she’d snuck a fresh tunic from his drawers, dressed, and left his room in the early hours of morning. Waking up with him, seeing his beautiful eyes lit by sunlight, would’ve been too painful.
Last night had been a series of highs and lows for her, starting with the dinner at the Larchmonts. Despite sleeping a good portion of the night, Valerie was exhausted—but she needed to do this.
She was still so lost in thought in that second hour that she didn’t realize when the chirping of the patch connection went on a little longer than usual.
And shealmosthung up the receiver unconsciously.
Except a crackling, husky sound—aword, in another language, she realized—came over the line.
A gasp tumbled from her lips and she straightened in her chair, her back aching in protest.
“Hello?” Valerie asked, her voice sounding breathless. “Hello, is someone there?”
A pause. A static-filled pause.
“Who is this?” came that same voice, except this time it was in the universal tongue.
“I’m—I’m Valerie. I’m a friend of Eve Tesler. And Khiva,” she said quickly, fearing that the connection would drop. “Is this—are you Gorkan?”
“Yes, I am Gorkan,” came the staticky voice. “You know Eve?”
“Yes,” she said excitedly. “She gave me your patch number before she left Everton. I’m trying to get in touch with her. Do you know how I can reach her?”
Her heart was pounding in her breast and she laid a palm over it.
A long pause came and then the voice said, “You are in luck. She happens to be right next to me.”
Valerie’s breath hitched.
