He waited.
"Who is it?" she whispered.
He met her gaze, initially to answer her, but he was stopped.
He felt it strum through him.
The Craving.
Miserable timing, for certain.
But he felt it.
Strong.
It was one of the few things that Rhimodians could date back to before their people became cyborgs. A primal instinct that the programming could never really abate. An intense desire for another being—at one point, it was how Rhimodians had found their mates.
Before, of course.
Now, it was merely a sign of arousal. At least, that was how it was treated. Kian had felt it before when he'd been around other humanoid females. However, it had never been this intense.
Perhaps he needed maintenance.
She shifted underneath him, which only amplified the feeling.
He groaned.
"Sorry," she whispered.
"Shh," he snapped. He did not like the passion burning now. It was distracting, and his programming could not keep focused.
"Sorry."
He glared at her.
She looked away as best she could. "Who is it?" she whispered again.
"Not Rhimodian," he replied. "They're scrambling their bio signature."
She sighed. "Terran Military."
"Bio scrambling tech is not usual." He'd done ground missions before against the Terrans, and he did not recall them using bio-scrambling tech.
"The Emperor likes his new toys," she muttered.
He raised his eyebrow. There was more to her comment than she had expressed. He recognized how her words were articulated.
Sarcasm.
The Terrans loved their sarcasm.
From around a corner came one humanoid. Though he was not Terran.
"Revo, over here."
"What?" another said, coming out to meet him.
Kian shifted, better covering the Ambassador.
