The doors to Enki’s quarters unravelled, and Layla stepped inside, feeling a little bit deflated. She’d returned to Alexis’s pod only to find Enki gone. Another warrior had been standing guard in his stead, and she recognized him as one of the three who had been in the labs earlier—the guy who looked like a bruiser—huge and solidly muscled, with a broad-featured face and a good-natured smile, although Layla was certain that smile could turn into pure thunder in a heartbeat.

“Enki told me to tell you that he’s sorry,” he’d said with an apologetic shrug. “He was summoned. You know how it is. Can’t keep the boss waiting. He’ll be back as soon as he can. Says his pod is probably the best place for the two of you to meet. Don’t worry, we’ll look after Alexis.”

After delivering a tray laden with a few of the most delicious offerings from the kitchen-bot—a bowl of steaming ramen, fried chicken wings, cinnamon croissants, and a banana smoothie—Layla had sat with Alexis as the frightened woman devoured the food, her unease and paranoia melting away with each bite.

Good food tended to have that effect on humans. Layla knew all about that.

Then Abbey had appeared, and introductions were made, and Alexis really seemed to calm down a lot after that, although Layla thought she’d caught a slightly paranoid glint in her eyes from time to time.

Well, the woman had just come back from the fucking dead, so she was entitled to be a little paranoid.

Layla had left Alexis in Abbey’s practical hands, and that had been fine, because the diminutive woman had a way of disarming just about anyone.

In a twist that made perfect sense, it turned out that Abbey was married—married, as in Earth-style married!—to the red-eyed boss-mercenary with the semi-permanent scowl. To Layla, that made perfect sense, because he needed someone like Abbey.

Seriously.

And she needed Enki, right now.

She sighed as she flopped down on Enki’s pod, closing her eyes and spreading her arms wide, trying to lessen the ferocity of the sudden need that coursed through her.

A slow-motion sequence of events played through her mind—leaving Earth, traveling on the Malachi, the devastation of the asteroid storm, the sheer torture of waiting for death in the escape-pod, the horrors onboard that nightmare Kordolian warship—and she wondered how she was still sane.

“Layla.” And just like that, the answer to all her questions loomed over her, materializing out of her very own thoughts.

“Enki.” Her eyes fluttered open. Her heart hammered. A tender ache spread between her legs. “When did you…”

Seriously, the man was a fucking ghost.

She stared at him, taking in his formidable appearance. He’d discarded his casual robes in favor of the sleek black armor that perfectly encased every contour, every hard plane, and every chiseled line of his body. As per usual, his face was impossible to read, laced with a hint of darkness… and lust.

Layla didn’t know why, but she sensed that he’d just been… fighting. He had that look about him again, the one she’d seen when he was in warrior-mode on the Kordolian nightmare ship. Controlled savagery. That was it.

“I guess the term dressed to kill is a real thing,” she said dryly, but judging from the blank expression on Enki’s face, he didn’t appreciate her irony.

“Come with me,” he said instead.

“Wha…?”

“Don’t question, Layla. Just come.”

If anyone else had tried to beckon her like this, she would probably have kneed them in the balls and run away very very fast, but this was Enki, and she was in love with him.

She rose. Placed her hand in his. Walked out of the pod, down the corridor, past numerous closed doors, until they reached a wider passageway. Here, a hovering platform awaited; a dark, alien chariot, ready to whisk her away to…

“Where are we going, Enki?”

He put a finger to her lips as he stepped onto the platform, standing behind her, curving his arms around her waist. He held her tightly as the thing drifted away, taking them into darkness.

Darkness stole away her vision, immersing her in a world of dizzying motion and hidden secrets. But none of it was disorienting with Enki’s strong arms around her waist. A cool breeze buffeted her cheeks and tugged at her hair, and although she couldn’t see a thing, she felt perfectly safe.

They didn’t speak. They didn’t need to. Enki wore his silence about him like a second skin; it was as much a part of him as his striking silver coloring, and Layla found it strangely calming. With her back pressed against his hard body, she let the steady rhythm of his breathing and the gentle caress of his fingers lull her into a trance-like state.

Her beautiful, flawed, lethal alien. How was he even doing this to her?

After a few minutes, they came to an area that was illuminated by soft blue lighting. The hovering platform slowed to a gentle stop, and they found themselves at a vast entrance. At least, that’s what Layla thought it was.

Enki stepped off first. He offered his hand. “Come.” There was an air of tense expectation about him, as if he were taking her to see something important.

“I never used to like surprises,” she murmured, thinking about how controlled her life back on Earth had been, with every shoot, every appointment, and every appearance so carefully scheduled. “But nothing can surprise me anymore.”

“You said that the last time,” Enki said dryly as he led her through a black-walled corridor with a soaring arched roof.

“Well—” Layla stopped dead in her tracks as they stepped into the most stunning room she’d ever seen in her life.

There was a massive hole in the floor, and someone had scooped up part of the Universe and filled it with stars.

That was what she thought at first, but then it became obvious that the hole was actually filled with water, and the stars were beyond; millions of tiny pinpricks of light in a canvas of pure black.

Black like his armor, like his claws, like the blood that coursed through his veins. Black was beautiful. She could drown in it.

“This is where I come when I crave solitude,” he murmured, his amber eyes filled with hunger. For her. The sleek outer shell of his armor slowly melted away from his body, disappearing into his skin like millions of tiny pixels until nothing was left but his magnificent naked form. “The concept of using water to soothe the mind is not a typically Kordolian thing. Rather, it comes from the Lost Tribes, who have learned to swim beneath surface of the frozen oceans on Kythia. There are many amongst us who are of the Tribes. This pool was custom-built at Tarak’s insistence. A small comfort to help us maintain sanity. A small connection to the Vaal—the frozen sea.” He tucked his fingers under the hem of her t-shirt and pulled at it, a small and rather adorable frown of concentration appearing on his face. “How do these strange human garments work?”

Layla had chosen the simple black t-shirt from the items in her wardrobe, pairing it with baggy grey track pants and slip-on sneakers. “It goes like this.” She crossed her arms and pulled it over her head, leaving her breasts covered only by the thin contours of her bra. “Are you from the… Lost Tribes, Enki?”

“No. My bloodline is a cursed one.”

“Oh.” Layla realized she didn’t know anything about the structure of Kordolian society. Before, she might have balked at Enki’s abrupt, icy tone, but now she just looked at him with genuine curiosity. “How so?”

“Noble blood brings with it a kind of madness.” He hooked his thumbs under the waistband of her pants and slid them over her ass, her hips, her thighs. Layla shimmied out of her sneakers, stepping out of the pants as they dropped to the floor. Now she stood in just her underwear, the cool air raising goosebumps on her skin.

Or maybe that was just Enki’s silken touch.

“But you’re not mad,” she whispered as he removed her bra, letting out an appreciative growl as he cupped her breasts. “You survived having a sentient being stuck inside your head… amongst other things, and look at you now. Definitely not insane.”

He placed his hand into hers and led her toward the shimmering pool, where the stars beckoned. Tiny wisps of steam rose from the water, telling her that it had been heated.

Wordlessly, Layla followed.

“Jump,” he whispered, and stepped off the edge, taking her into his arms.

Whoosh.

They dropped into the water, and it was warm and silent and perfect. Layla opened her eyes and saw a blurry version of the universe; a million brilliant white diamonds shifting and swirling, as if her entire world had just turned fluid.

Her hair swam around her face. The feeling of pure immersion reminded her of the many hours she’d spent swimming laps in the her private pool in the sky, suspended over the edge of a towering condo in the desert. That had been pure luxury.

This was a trillion times better.

Whoosh.

They came up for air, and Enki kissed her. “Ever since I found you, my craving for solitude has disappeared.”

“The lone wolf finds a mate,” she quipped, letting him pull her toward the far edge of the pool, where the starry bottom became continuous with the soaring window. Suspended in nothing but water, it felt like she were actually floating in space itself, only this was warm, and Enki was beside her, wrapping his slick wet arms around her as they drifted through infinity. “You know, back on Earth, I was the sort of person who could never get a moment’s quiet. People were constantly wanting to know what was happening in my life, as if my existence could somehow substitute for theirs. But the scrutiny was never meaningful, like yours.”

“And you accepted this?”

“At first, it was thrilling. Exciting. The money was phenomenal. When you’re young and stupid, you get sucked in by certain things. I couldn’t believe my success, because I was just a…” she searched for a word he might understand, “a commoner. My former manager spotted me jogging in the street and brought me in for auditions because I fit a certain profile, and I was athletic enough to do the necessary stunts.”

“You entertained the masses… for credits.” Enki spun her around, curling his powerful legs around her body, locking her in place. Somehow, he was able to keep both of them afloat with slow, undulating movements of his hands and feet.

“On Earth, we have this thing called Virtuariwood. It’s an entire industry built around telling stories—movies—through virtual simulation. People want to feel like they’re living the experience. They want to feel like they’re right there in the scene with you. I was a mega action star, until…”

Enki radiated absolute patience as he waited for her to explain the strange events that had led to her downfall on Earth. The gentle caress of his thumb on her lower back told her he wasn’t angry; wasn’t judging her.

“This manager of mine… Damien. He discovered me, made me famous, connected me with the best directors and scriptwriters in the world.”

Enki hissed softly as he clutched her just a little tighter.

“At first, he was so kind and charming, and I was young and naive. He had a partner then. I mean, they were engaged to be married and all. I never thought he saw me in that way. I didn’t think he could possibly…” She was only seventeen, and he’d dazzled her with promises of wealth and fame—a future she’d never even been able to dream of—and so she’d signed her life away, entering into a terrible contract. “But when success came, things started to change. He became controlling, violent, erratic. Obsessive. His partner left him.”

Enki went very still.

“There was a sense of entitlement about him. He wanted more from me, because in his mind, Layla Rose was his creation.”

“Did he…?” His voice carried the promise of death.

“We were never, ever involved.” She shuddered. “At some point, I sensed what was going on and I always tried to make sure there were others around, so we were never alone together. But he tried, several times, even when I started avoiding him.” That terrible night was still so fresh in her mind. Damien entering her apartment—how the hell he’d gotten access, she didn’t know. He’d professed his desire for her and demanded sex. The stench of alcohol on his breath made her feel nauseous. “I made you, Layla Rose. All of this,” he gestured around her sumptuous living room, “you wouldn’t have any of it without me. You’d still be a fucking street-seller.”

Really, the little innuendos and ‘slips’ of his hand and subtle public humiliations had been going on for months before that, and when Layla started refusing certain roles—the ones where she was supposed to play a certain type of heroine—his behavior became more and more controlling, manipulative, stalkerish.

And then one day, the illusion had slipped away completely, and Layla had seen Damien for what he truly was.

The day he’d put his hands on her; around her neck. If Layla hadn’t fought back with all her strength…

And he’d stepped away, his eyes widening as his anger faded away, and even he knew he’d gone too far.

After that, Layla had taken small steps to regain legal control of at least some of her vast wealth, quietly transferring credits to a secret off-planet intermediary until she’d hoarded enough to guarantee herself an escape route from Earth… and enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life.

“To spite him, I intentionally screwed up the biggest, most lucrative VR-film deal in the history of Virtuariwood.” Oh, she’d bombed the audition spectacularly. It wasn’t hard to act fucked up when you were. “And then he released the Black Tapes, without my consent.”

Layla Rose: The Black Tapes. Ha. What a fucking disaster. Overnight, the pay-per-use VR-movie series was viewed one billion times, with each view earning the uploader—Damien—a single credit. When Layla logged onto her Network link and watched the footage, she’d become physically sick.

“He had a composite made. Took secret footage of my face—my expressions, words, sounds—and fused it with footage of another woman’s body. He made a fake virtual sex tape, with me as the subject.”

It was the ultimate violation of her privacy, of her dignity, and it had been streamed to billions, making Damien Andross a hefty profit in the process.

You shouldn’t have stolen my money, Rose. You left me with no choice. I had to recoup the money somehow. And don’t try any legal avenues, my love. Read the fine print in your contract. You’ll find that they’re all closed.

It irked her now that she’d let him chase her away from Earth—that she’d let him get away with it—but she’d always thought she might return to Earth at some point, and the years spent in deep cryosleep would keep her young while everyone who’d known her grew old and forgot.

But it was all okay now. She’d been to hell and back. She could handle anything.

“This so-called manager…” Enki said quietly, his breath feathering the side of her cheek. “Where can I find him?”

“Don’t worry about that guy. He’s trash.”

“Do you want to return to Earth, Layla?”

“I…” There was that yearning again; a deep, primal tug that surprised her with its intensity. She’d never anticipated she would feel so strongly about the big old blue-and-green. “I do get homesick sometimes, but…”

“But?” Enki’s tone warned her that he would see right through any attempt to minimize her true feelings. Because really, she missed home like crazy. It had only taken a deep-space accident and horrifying alien abduction for her to realize it.

“I would like that,” she whispered at last. “I couldn’t give a shit about what people down there might think of me anymore. Really, Earth is just a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things, but it is home.”

“Hmm.” Enki kissed the tender patch of skin behind her earlobe, before gently sucking her earlobe itself. “Layla, I am willing to return to Earth, but the one thing I will never tolerate is disrespect to my mate. We will go back to Earth. I am going to handle this intolerable situation, and you are going to walk freely on your planet without fear of intrusion or violation or anything else that I deem unacceptable.”

Stars, he sounded so dangerously sure of himself. Layla almost believed he could do it, but the genie was already out of the bottle. “You can’t take back what people have already seen,” she said wistfully, “but I don’t care. Truth and reality always divorce at some point. They can try and throw all kinds of shit at me, but it ain’t gonna stick. I’m not going to let it ruin my life, especially now that I’ve found you.”

“Layla,” Enki growled, a note of irritation entering his voice, “you must believe me when I tell you that I’m going to do something. A man laid his hands on you without your consent. That is unacceptable.” Despite his arctic tone, he was actually trembling with anger. In that moment, Layla knew Enki would kill Damien if he ever laid eyes on the bastard.

Holy hell. What have I gotten myself into?

He wanted to protect her honor in the only way he knew how. Layla was incredibly moved and a just little bit apprehensive, because she knew exactly how dangerous he could be.

One of these days, she was going to have to have a serious talk with Abbey about how to temper her Kordolian’s violent tendencies, if such a thing was even possible.

She suspected not.

“I’ve seen enough blood to last me a lifetime.” She gently kicked her legs, maneuvering her body so that her back was pressed tightly against his torso. She felt the hard length of his erection, and the brilliant starfield below exploded into a million blurred points as her arousal soared to new heights. The warm water lapped around them, making her feel truly weightless. “Whatever you end up doing, you don’t need to spill any more blood on my account.”

“You know what I am, Layla.”

“Try and be creative,” she whispered. “I didn’t say I don’t want you to hurt anyone, but you can’t go around killing every single person who’s seen the Black Tapes.”

“Hm.” Enki paused, as if he were actually contemplating whether he should kill several billion humans.

“No,” Layla said softly. “Whatever you’re thinking about, don’t do it.”

“Even this?” He slipped one hand down her belly, delving beneath the waistband of her panties, which were still on. The tip of his sneaky finger came to rest against her tender clit. “You do not wish for me to do this?”

“Devil. Only you could go from thinking of bloodshed to sex so quickly.” She wanted to swim away, to make it a little harder for him to catch her, to make him work for her pleasure, but she couldn’t. She was already melting under his touch.

“No bloodshed.” He spun her around until they were face to face. “I promise.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not being entirely—”

Whoosh. He disappeared beneath the surface, and the next thing she knew, his lips were pressed against her throbbing sex.

With the warm water all around her, the brilliant stars below, and Enki submerged before her—a hot silver blur who possessed the power to turn her into a quivering mess with just a single flick of his tongue—all her fears of potential chaos on Earth fled.

There was only Enki and the stars.

And she was floating.

Her panties had disappeared. She was completely naked now, and as Enki made deliberate little circles with his tongue, teasing the exquisite bundle of nerves that was her clit, her consciousness dissolved, and she became nothing.

Nothing but the rasp of her own breathing and the rapid thud of her heartbeat in her ears. Nothing but her long hair floating around her head as she lay back in the water, her arms outstretched, her ears filling with water so that all sound was dampened, allowing her to focus on pure sensation below.

Nothing but his mouth on her, his fingers thrusting inside, slow-fucking her, stretching her until she had no choice but to grind her hips against his hand, seeking more, craving more, becoming little more than a desperate, wanton creature held hostage to his touch.

“Aaah,” she cried out, the sound echoing throughout the cavernous hall. All she could hear was her own cracked voice, because beneath the water, Enki was perfectly silent, not even a plume of bubbles rising from him as he pulled her into his undeniable vortex.

A force of nature she would never ever be able to resist.

She’d fallen for darkness and silence, and he’d caught her before her feet touched the ground.

Whoosh. He pulled her under.

Water engulfed her. Everything blurred. All she could hear was the sound of her own thudding heart—ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump—and the faint swish of the water all around them as he withdrew his maddening touch…

And kissed her on the lips, hard, his mouth crushing against hers, his tongue demanding, insistent, possessive, his fingers threading through her hair.

Whoosh. They came up for air. Gasping, she sucked in sweet oxygen even as he thrust inside her, because apparently, Kordolians didn’t need to breathe.

He fucked her.

They went under, again.

Twisting, writhing, clutching, tumbling through the stars.

Floating.

Even as Layla’s pleasure zones went into overdrive, she remembered something.

His horn-stumps. Apparently, if he wanted to, he could grow them back—so she had been told. Holy hell. She circled his temples with her thumbs, earning herself a low, rumbling groan that reverberated through the water and into her very bones.

Inside her, he grew harder still—impossible! The ridge along his cock was driving her absolutely nuts in the best of ways, and still he rode her, harder, harder, his arms around her neck, her back, his roving hands sliding over her slick wet ass.

Pulling her against him.

Submerged.

Breathless.

Transcendent.

Sweet fucking stars.

Whoosh. She broke through the surface, her gasps turning into a wild cry of release.

He came inside her, dragging her under yet again, holding her in his unbreakable embrace, claiming her with a full-throated roar that shattered the underwater silence.

They rose up, floating. Enki kissed her with frantic, desperate hunger, as if he were a drowning man and she was his oxygen.

“I was a dead man,” he whispered, “and you gave me life.”

“You saved my life,” she countered. “Does that make us even?”

“No. You belong to me now.” He grasped her wrist and kissed the back of her hand, a possessive gesture if there ever was one.

“And what are you to me?” Layla asked slyly, refusing to believe he meant that in a bad way. Enki’s fierce declaration of his claim over her simply had the effect of making her swoon.

“Your servant.”

Sweet fucking stars.

She was completely undone.