“And it doesn’t matter to you that some of these women might not desire you?”
“They may not desire me…at first.” His grin widened. “I always change their minds.”
“I don’t want you,” I gnashed out. “I want another.”
The Targon merely shrugged. “You, too, will change your mind.” He sounded so confident, so completely certain of my capitulation. Watching me through those too-amber, amused eyes, he renewed his path toward me. “I could begin changing your mind right now,” he said, but he switched directions and stopped at a bureau. He lifted the white stone fruit bowl. Having searched it, I knew only small, azure spheres were inside.
I didn’t move when he closed the distance between us, though my every instinct demanded I attack. He merely brushed past me. Our bare shoulders met, skin to skin, his surprisingly cool, mine hot with desperation to leave. He eased atop the mound of pillows. The scent of exotic spices followed him and lingered in the air. He leaned back, assuming a lazy, seductive pose, and patted the seat beside him.
“Is this part of changing my mind?”
“So suspicious, little Raka.” He popped a fruit into his mouth and chewed. “Alas no, this is a getting-to-know-you moment. If you prefer, we can jump ahead. I am not picky. Come to me.”
I considered refusing his demand. I didn’t want to get to know him better; I didn’t want to sit next to him and play his silly game of seduction. The need to get to Lucius and the women intensified with every second that passed. Damn it! I’d never felt more helpless.
“Come,” Devyn said, his tone firmer and harder than before. The amused sparkle faded from his eyes, going flat with expectation.
I approached him and sank onto the pillows beside him.
“That’s better,” he said, reaching into the bowl and withdrawing a sphere. His stark white teeth sank into it, consuming half. “You will eat.” When he attempted to slip the rest past my lips, I ripped it out of his hands and tossed it across the room.
I grabbed a piece of fruit without Targon germs and shoved it into my mouth. The sweet, sweet flavor made each of my taste buds shoot to life. I found myself reaching out for another.
He sighed, pieces of his amusement having returned. “We will have to work on your stubbornness. It is an honor to eat with the king, you know.”
“I have to go back to Earth, Devyn.”
“Thisis to be your home.”
I leaned forward, beseeching with my eyes, my voice. “Please. Give me the necklace and take me back. I have a man, a mission, and Imust get back.”
Devyn reached out and sifted my hair through his fingers. The gold strands were beautiful draped over his pale skin. “The man who was shot. Hunter, I think was his name. He is your man, yes?”
“Yes.” I clenched the pillows, wadding the material between my fists. “How did you know?”
His huge shoulders lifted in a shrug. “The way you looked at him; the way he looked at you. I’m curious, though. If he is your man, why was he there to buy you?”
I ignored the question. “He’s hurt. You saw Jonathan shoot him. I have to help him, get him medical care.”
“He is not hurt, angel. He’s dead.”
Everything inside me frosted with ice. Cold, hard ice. Strong, vital Lucius was not dead. I would have known it, felt it. We were connected in a way that I didn’t understand, but now accepted—and was grateful for. I could not, would not, believe he was dead. He possessed too much life, too much strength. He was indestructible.Please let him be indestructible.
“How do you know that?” I said softly, my jawbone so tight it could snap at any moment.
“I saw the blood just as you did. He is human, and humans cannot lose so much blood.”
“Humans can survive with blood transfusions. That’s why I have to get to him.”
“If there was any life left inside him, EenLi would patch him up and sell him as a slave. This I promise you.”
Yes, I thought, hope melting the ice. Ever the businessman, EenLi would not let a prime specimen like Lucius die when he could be bringing in a profit. “I cannot let him become a slave. Nor can I allow the other women who were imprisoned in that house to become slaves. I have to go back. I’ll do anything you ask if you’ll just take me back.”
“What does this man give you that is so special, sodifferent from what I can give you?” Devyn’s tone was hard.
“He’s…mine.” It was the only answer I had at the moment.
Hands fisted, he shoved angrily to his feet. He glared down at me. “I will not send you back, because I am not willing to give you up. I have had enough talk of dead men and enslaved women.”
We’d see about that. He might be telekinetic, but perhaps if I worked quickly enough, I could defeat him. I kicked out my leg and connected with his ankles. He toppled backward, dropping the fruit bowl with a clang. Blue spheres scattered across the floor as I sprang on top of him, using my weight to cut off his air, my knee in his windpipe.
“I’ll kill you if I remain here,” I vowed.
Far from being intimidated, he grinned. “I see I will have to bring my guards back. I had hoped you would appreciate the privacy.”
I fought a wave of defeat. “You aren’t even winded, are you?”
“No.” A wicked gleam flittered over his amused expression. “I can put you to sleep with only a blink of my eyes, and then I can do whatever I want to you.”
I jerked back my elbow, making a fist along the way. As my hand flew closer to his face, his grin only grew wider…and the muscles in my arm stiffened completely, holding me in place before I ever reached his nose.
“I like your spirit,” he said, the words laden with excitement. “You will be my finest possession.”
I grated my teeth together so forcefully, I could have made powder. “Let me tell you something, Targon. I will never willingly give myself to you, and if you try and force me, I will carve you into little pieces and feed you to your people.”
His lips dipped into a pout. “It will not be force. You are my slave—”
“Itwill be force. Hunter is the only lover I desire.”
That angry spark lit once more in Devyn’s tawny gaze. “You are my property, and I will not allow you to think of another man.”
“I’ll think of him and desire him and long for him for the rest of my life,” I said, pricking his male pride. “Every time you touch me, I’ll pretend it’shim. Thathe’s the one giving me pleasure.”