Chapter 5

Kat'Chinna felt a change in the room as Jeffrey stared at her. She knew her tactics had been having an effect on the man, and he'd even started to open up. But suddenly, things had changed.

"You're damned cute. But you know that," he said softly. The human began to pace around her. "You showed off your body to me, leaned in close to blow in my ear and drown me in your enthralling scent. But it was all part of your game to make me talk."

Kat'Chinna didn't dignify his words with a response. So he'd seen through her tactic. It didn't matter. He'd been responding. She could tell by the way his breathing had grown more rapid when she was near. She'd seen it in the way his hard facade had begun to soften.

But it seemed he was no longer content to play along. Kat'Chinna steeled herself for whatever might come next.

He came to a stop behind her, and she could feel him there, looming. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "It's time to stop playing games. The safety of my crew is paramount. If you want any more information, you'll let me contact the Earhart."

Kat'Chinna stood rigid, refusing to let his closeness affect her. "The safety of my crew is just as important to me. I'm sorry, but I cannot let you do that."

"Afraid I'm going to let the enemy know you're on to them? If the safety of your crew is so important, then you should want me to contact the ship. We should be working together to help each other."

"I'm sorry, but we just can't trust you. We need more information before we can plot a means of discovering the shapeshifters."

"You can't trust me?"

Did Kat'Chinna detect an undertone of hurt in his voice? The thought gave her a start, causing confusion to coil around her insides. It doesn't matter. Carry out your task. Don't let him distract you.

He put a hand on her shoulder and whirled her around. Kat'Chinna was temporarily thrown off guard by his strength.

"What was all that you were saying earlier then? About space being lonely? About needing a friend you can trust?"

She stared into his hard features, saying nothing. What was there to say?

"All a ploy to get me to let me guard down, huh? You never had any intention of cooperating with us humans, did you?"

His eyes narrowed, and he moved to grasp both of her shoulders in his tight grip. "We're just too primitive, too stupid? Is that it? Or are we already corrupted by the enemy?"

Kat'Chinna stood tall, her expression tightening. She stared over his shoulder, refusing to answer his questions.

"Ah, the Ice Queen is back I see." His voice was rough, his hands gripping her harder. "Your little act was very convincing, but I see now that it was only that. An act. You're a cold fish, aren't you, Kat?"

She was startled for a moment by the use of her nickname. Only her mother had ever called her that. To hear it on this human's lips made her chest ache in a way she didn't understand.

"You're probably too cold to ever display the passion you just hinted at in reality, aren't you?

Kat'Chinna lifted her chin, trying to ignore his words. They hit too close to home for her liking. She'd always held herself apart, always been distant from others. She'd felt that she'd had to be that way in order to earn the respect of her crew and her commander.

She knew that some of her crew felt that way about her. She'd heard the gossip when others hadn't known that she was around. 'Cold-hearted Kat'Chinna' they called her. She'd told herself that it didn't hurt, that it didn't matter. When she chose to take a mate, he would discover that she could be as passionate as anyone else.

At least she hoped she could. She longed for the day when she could let herself be free to just feel.

But that day wasn't today.

Suddenly his hands were moving, slowly sliding up from her shoulders to her neck. He held her throat, loosely, in his hands. His fingers caressed her gently.

"What's the matter, Kat? Afraid I might put some cracks in that icy exterior of yours?"

"Hardly," she said with as much disdain as she could muster. Unfortunately, her voice was soft, her words unconvincing.

"That's right, you'd never stoop to enjoying a human as a bedmate, now would you? Such a primitive, backward race that you've so easily outgunned and outmanned?"

Kat'Chinna closed her eyes. She didn't want to look into the piercing blue of his gaze any longer. His words had too much bite.

As handsome as she found him, he was absolutely right. She could never act on her attraction to him or she'd be the laughingstock of her planet. Sure, it might be acceptable for the Supreme Regent to take a human as a consort, but she wasn't the regent. She was just another cog in the Zantharian military's wheel, and being friendly with an alien who might be conspiring to plot the downfall of her planet would be career suicide.

"Look at me, Ice Queen," he said, his voice guttural with some emotion she couldn't name.

Kat'Chinna shook her head, her eyes remaining firmly shut.

He gave a soft laugh, and she tensed in his grip. "Shhh..." he said, his fingers massaging her shoulders, tempting her to relax. "Let this primitive human show you how good it could be."

His touch was like fire across her skin. The warmth he created caused her muscles to lose their tension. Her breathing evened out. Slowly, without her control, her eyes began to slip open.

He was staring at her face, a look of hunger in his expression. Kat'Chinna shivered, wanting to surrender to that hunger.
She'd never had a man look at her like that, as if he wanted to devour her. For a moment she let herself imagine what that might feel like, to fully give herself over to him. Her knees started to give out as her pulse spiked.

"That's right, Kat, just relax." He maneuvered them around so that her behind touched the table. His hands moved up from her shoulders, along her neck with a teasing sweep, and then buried themselves in the tightly-wound tendrils on her head.

"Amazing," he said, his voice soft with astonishment. "I've never felt anything like this."

She saw the wonder in his eyes and it eroded the last of her strength. She leaned back against the table, needing the support.

Jeffrey returned his hands to her shoulders and pushed, forcing her to lean back against the tabletop as his breathing got a little off.

He stared down at her for a moment, and she noticed how flush his skin was. He wanted her, and Kat'Chinna had to admit to herself that she wanted him too.

"So magnificent," he said, running his hands over her bare skin, down her shoulder, onto her stomach.

She closed her eyes and let herself feel for the first time in a long time. His touch was like wildfire and her body was ablaze, her pleasure points humming with energy.

"Your skin," he murmured. "It's changing."

She opened her eyes and looked down to see what he meant. As she watched, a faint purple glow began to mix with the green, soon overpowering it.

"You're turning violet," he said with wonder. "Why?"

Kat'Chinna shook her head, not willing to admit that she was aroused and her skin had betrayed her. She sat up before pushing his hands away.

"Oh no, no no," he said with a chuckle, using his strength to hold her down. He climbed up on the table and covered her body with his, trapping her beneath him. "We're not done getting acquainted."
"Let me go," she said, trying to put some power into her voice. The pressure of his strong chest pressed to hers left her faint. She was afraid she failed.

"I don't think so," he said with a charming smile. "We're friends, right? Let's become even closer friends." He dipped his head down to her neck and brushed his lips across her skin, causing her to shiver.

“Please,” she whispered and ran her hands down his back, memorizing the thick muscles that lined each side of his spine. She had no clue what she was asking for, but it didn’t matter. He wasn’t moving, and if she were being honest, she didn’t want him to.

"You taste like nothing I've ever known," he murmured against her neck. "Delicious."

His words made heat flare through her center. When he licked his way up to her ear, she thought she would burst into flames and scorch them both.

"So beautiful," he murmured. "Your body is the most perfect I've ever seen. Who cares if human females are more plush? You are exquisite."

“As are you.”

He put his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. "You're the loveliest thing in the galaxy. How could I resist you?"

He leaned down and pressed his soft lips to hers, and she understood for the first time in her life how it could be between a male and female. Her body felt like an exploding star as he claimed her lips. As he nibbled the bottom one, moisture pooled between her legs. Her surprise caused her to open her mouth, and his tongue took the opportunity to explore.

Although Kat'Chinna wasn't entirely inexperienced, she'd never been kissed like this before. He kissed her like he owned her, like she belonged to him.

And for a moment, she wanted to belong to him.

And then the sensation was gone. He lightly kissed his way across her cheek and over to her ear.

"Kat, I can see that you feel the way I do. I'm not your enemy, and I do want to be your friend. So how about a show of good faith? Let me call my ship, and once that's out of the way, we can get down to the business of really getting to know one another."

It took a moment for his words to penetrate the fog of desire that had wrapped itself around her. He was nibbling her ear, making it almost impossible to concentrate. But in a flash, she realized he could play the seduction game far better than she ever could.

"No." Kat'Chinna mustered all of her strength to shove against his shoulders.

He could have fought her, but instead, he let her push him and rose up. His hands on either side of her, he held his weight above her.

"What's wrong, precious?" he asked, his voice like gentle ocean waves.

"You. You're wrong. Now get off of me!"

His eyes turned cold suddenly, and his grin was feral. "So I am too barbaric, is that it? Can't mate with a dirty Earthling?"
"I don't even know what you're saying but it doesn't matter," she said, turning her face away. "I tried my little ploy, and you tried yours. Neither of them worked."

"Oh, I think they both worked pretty well," he said, his mouth coming down all of sudden to steal another kiss. "In fact, I'd call both efforts a success."

She turned her face from him, taking several deep breaths to regain her composure. "You're being ridiculous. Now let me up and we can continue this conversation like civilized beings."

His eyebrow quirked upward. "Civilized huh?" His gaze burned into her, so she made her expression as calm and cool as possible. Jeffrey shook his head and made a strange tsking sound with his tongue. "It's a shame, Kat. Such a beauty like you committed to being made of ice."

Her eyes narrowed, and her skin flashed yellow. She was tired of his baiting, tired of his words that aimed to break her down. "Get off of me, you ignorant creature," she said, then pulled up her knees and kicked out her legs while pushing with all of her might.

The human tumbled off and onto the floor. She leaped off the table, planting her feet on the bulkhead and readying herself to do more damage if necessary.

Suddenly, the world shook around them and she almost lost her footing. The human on the floor slid until he hit the wall with a dull thud.

"What the fuck is happening?" he yelled with a groan.

"The ship," she said, her cool shattered. "It's moving."

"What?" Jeffrey stood, rubbing his arm. "Where's it going?"

Kat'Chinna shook her head. They wouldn't be moving the ship if it were still attached to the human vessel. She hurried over to the room's console and brought up the display.

Hitting the button to display the ship's exterior, she let out a heavy breath. The flagship was moving away from the human ship, which already appeared to be a small toy in the distance.

Hands grabbed her suddenly and pulled her around. "Where are we going?" Jeffrey asked, his face full of anger.

Kat'Chinna's eyes widened. "I don't know."