—
“Better, yes?”
“Yeah, much better. Thanks, Zezvar,” said Karen, awarding the red-spotted alien doctor a weak smile.
She wiped away the droplets of water still lingering around her mouth with the back of her hand. The contents of the breakfast she’d had this morning with Megan now resided in the toilet. The roiling in her stomach had subsided thanks to Zezvar’s miracle liquid which he stored in a glass vial.
Karen lay on the bed as Zezvar instructed and allowed him to examine her. She covered her eyes with her forearm to block out the daylight streaming into her room. She felt a little on edge that something was wrong with the baby, and she waited in dread for Zezvar to confirm her worries. Where had Megan disappeared to, anyway? When the terrible nausea had hit, Megan had fetched Zezvar for her immediately before scurrying off. Perhaps she’d gone to check on Kelan.
The door to her room slid open and Karen lifted her hand away from her face to see if Megan had returned with Kelan. Or maybe it was Jillian with Tamiah. The sight of her nephew and niece would definitely cheer her up right about now.
But it was neither of her sisters.
Kess stood just inside the doorway. His violet eyes locked onto hers immediately and he stalked into the room with the slow purposefulness of a predator.
Zezvar beamed at the sight of Kess. “Ah, Yen Kess. You’re well enough to be walking around, I see. Any pain?”
“Some, but rest will take care of it,” Kess replied.
“Good. Very good.” Zezvar nodded. Then he frowned at the scanning device hovering over her stomach before he peered at Karen. “Yena Karen, your temperature and heart rate have suddenly increased. Is there a problem?”
No matter how much she liked the alien medic, she wished in that moment she could strangle him.
She shook her head quickly. “No. No problem. I’m fine.”
“Well, you’ll be happy to hear that the implantation was successful and the foetus is healthy,” Zezvar announced. He scribbled on his translucent tablet before he stowed it in his bag and began packing away his equipment.
Relief swept through Karen yet new anxiety followed on its heels. In a matter of months she would be a mother. The thought was so surreal, she barely registered what Zezvar said as he gave her advice on how to ensure she and the baby remained healthy. But she was super aware of Kess, though. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, taking it all in. It weirded her out and she wished he would leave even if a tiny, traitorous part of her was happy he’d come to see her.
“I must return to the infirmary,” Zezvar said cheerily, bag in hand. “My research awaits. Visit me when you feel strong enough, my Yena. I’ve much to show you.”
“I can’t wait,” Karen said, sitting up and smiling at him. When Zezvar left, the smile vanished as she rounded her gaze on Kess. “Why are you still here?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to leave?”
His long hair was tied back, the usual defiant wisps curling over his forehead and his temples. His healthy bronze colour was restored and the dark shadows beneath his eyes were non-existent. He wore the jacket from that night except the hole in the shoulder from the shot was gone. The jacket had a dull shine like leather, but Karen remembered the texture being much softer when she’d opened it to bandage him. Black pants and boots completed his outfit. Combined with the tattoos curling around his thick upper arms she’d seen when he was naked in the infirmary, his muscular frame, and the dangerous, distrustful look lurking in his eyes, Karen realized Kess epitomized ‘bad boy’ one hundred percent.
Her Achilles’ Heel when it came to men.
Oh, the irony.
Karen pursed her lips. “Yes.”
Instead of leaving, Kess grabbed a chair and dragged it near the bed. He plonked himself into the chair and pinned her with the intensity of his violet-eyed gaze.
“Make me.”
Karen glared. “The first time I met you, I thought you were unpleasant. You had one bright moment where you changed my mind and then you squandered it.”
“You speak as if I care what you think of me.”
“You don’t have to care, but you should consider an attitude adjustment.” Her glare persisted. “You’re alive right now to give all this lip because of me.”
“And you are alive because of me.” His features remained stony and emotionless. “If you consider frankness to be rudeness then you will be further disappointed in your conversations with me.” He leaned forward, his mask cracking to reveal the anger burning in his gaze. “Furthermore, you might be with child, but rid yourself of any illusions our relationship will go any further because of it. I will support you but I will not marry you, human.”
Karen reared back like if he’d slapped her. She shoved off the bed to stand and appear in control but it was a futile attempt. Even seated, Kess had this dominant aura that reminded her he could snap her in two like a dried twig if he felt like it. She saw what he was capable of the night he rescued her. But like she’d said the night before that, she wasn’t afraid of him.
“My name is Karen. Human isn’t my name, it’s my species and referring to me as such doesn’t make you superior in anyway. It just makes you sound narrow-minded.” Karen sneered, anger bubbling up inside her. “Also, I don’t want to marry you. Not in a million years.”
He watched her intently as if he didn’t believe her. “Your sister insinuated differently when she came to tell me you were unwell. I thought perhaps you wanted to use the Klara’s power to force my hand.”
“Wow, who died and made you king of the universe?” Karen shook her head in disbelief. “My god. If I’d known you were this big of a jackass, I’d not have gone through the trouble to save you.” The anger rose, burning her from the inside out along with her rational thought and self-control. “You know what? To rid you of any illusions I want our relationship to go any further, I might as well ask Zezvar to get rid of this baby and—”
He moved so fast, Karen let out a startled gasp when he lunged and grabbed her hand.
“No.”
“Let go of me!” She tried wresting her hand away from his grasp but his fingers might as well be steel. He stood, towering over her, scowling down at her like if she’d just called his mother a whore then spat on her grave. He used his strength to intimidate her. This wasn’t the way a man should treat a woman—or any other being for that matter—and she despised him for it.
Christ, he was tall. Built as solid and immovable as a tree that had survived for centuries. Despite the fury raging in her chest that he manhandled her, she had this inexplicable and ridiculous urge to climb him.
“You will not destroy my child,” he said, his gaze as hard as ice and his voice just as cold.
“Your child?” she spat. “You’re laying claims now? You don’t want it so how is it yours?”
“I have never said I did not want it. It is my essence, therefore it is my child in your body.” His true emotions on display, his gaze swept over her, equal parts assessing and hungry. His eyes met hers again, his voice low and insistent. “And you. You are mine, too.”
Nonplussed, amazed, indignant, Karen knew she should shout at him she wasn’t some goddamn property for him to own, that he was a colossal jerk for restricting her movement with the clamps he called fingers. Instead, his possessive tone and the blatant hunger in his gaze flipped the switch on her arousal. A wave of heat rolled through her and settled between her legs. What the fuck was wrong with her? She likened herself to one of those female leads in some of the romance books she read when her medical textbooks turned her brain to mush—too stupid to live.
“I’ll be yours the day hell is as cold as my dead Nana’s backside.” She scowled at him. “Why are you so insecure that you need to intimidate me?” She tugged on her arm. “Let go of me, Kess.”
It seemed like he would ignore her demand and do more than just hold onto her arm. Perhaps he’d kiss her like he did in the infirmary. Karen’s breathing slowed and she hated herself for the anticipation building inside her. She willed her arousal to go shoot itself in the head, and she convinced herself she wasn’t disappointed when Kess released her hand.
“I apologize,” he said quietly, surprising her. His features were stoic as he shuttered away his emotions again. She held her hand against her stomach, tempted to rub it against her shirt to eradicate the feel of him still impressed on her skin. She didn’t know what to say and clearly he had nothing left to say either.
He turned away from her and strode out of the room.