Without waiting for her response, Taber spun on his heels, nodded to the guard on duty and retreated back up the corridor.
Haylie stood facing Kamran"s door, left with the sinking suspicion that this was a bad idea. The guard beside her never made eye contact or gave any indication she was even there.
Now what? Ring the chime, she supposed. He was expecting her, after all. Haylie took a deep breath. The air outside his quarters held no sign of Kamran"s scent.
Maybe their bond wasn"t as strong as Kamran had led her to believe.
She lifted her hand to trigger the computer sensor when his door suddenly whooshed open. Kamran stood there, his tunic half b.u.t.toned, looking concerned.
"Are you well?" His voice sounded as grave as hers had a short time earlier. His eyes were wide, checking her over, looking for some invisible mark.
"Yes. Are you?"
His hair looked as if he"d been running his hands through it repeatedly. His tunic, which looked vaguely like the one in her dream, did little to conceal his body. Her heart began to pound as bits of her dream came rushing back. Her mouth watered at the thought of seeing him naked. She felt her body sway closer to his, the invisible push-pull between them more powerful than ever.
Kamran didn"t immediately respond, but instead checked the hallway and pulled her quickly inside. The room remained a mystery to Haylie, as his large frame blocked everything from sight.
79.
"What are you doing here?" His fingers tightened around her biceps.
"Kamran, stop that. I"m here because you asked me to be."
"I did no such thing. Having you here is the worst thing we could do right now. I have to get ready for a meeting first thing in the morning."
"Well, Taber brought me here at your request. Something about not trusting the vid screens, but needing information."
She looked down at where his fingers gripped her arm. His grip was firm, but not painful. It only took a single look from her and he released her.
"Sorry," he muttered and ran his hand through his hair.
"So, would you like your update now, Amba.s.sador, or would you like to continue with the interrogation?"
"Interrogation? I"m trying to do my job. "
"That"s what I"m trying to do as well. You need information, I have it."
He started to speak again, but only a groan came out instead. She knew how he felt.
"This is ridiculous. From now on, please use the vid screens. I"m sure they"re fine,"
he said, his breathing labored.
"You were the one who said we"d have to work together. Now, can we get this over with? I"m tired and, other than a ten-minute nap, I haven"t slept much recently." Haylie managed to sidestep Kamran, made her way over to what she a.s.sumed was a large couch and sat down. She refused to look at him and instead found a painting on his wall and stared at it. At least she liked his taste in art.
"I a.s.sumed..." he started.
Impatient, Haylie closed her eyes to keep her temper in check. "Amba.s.sador, would you like me to begin with the accidental death of our hacker in the bar fight last night?
Sorry, after the bar fight, but not when he was security"s custody. Or perhaps how he did an excellent job of covering his tracks? More than that, how it was surprisingly simple for me to discover his ident.i.ty after he was dead? Or perhaps we can discuss how the information contained in these doc.u.ments is relatively benign. If you are unwell and would like me to meet you tomorrow in your official office, I can do that also."
When she opened her eyes, Haylie"s breath caught. Kamran was staring at her with such hunger in his eyes, she felt her blush immediately warm her face.
"What"s wrong?" her words stammered out.
He took a deep breath before he spoke. "I"m going to kill Taber for bringing you here."
"Why?" Haylie felt compelled to bring her hand up to her neck to stroke the sensitive skin. She sighed. "What has you so upset?"
"Another matter, not you. I"ve been buried in my work all day. I try to sleep and I...have strange dreams. I wasn"t prepared to see you. Especially like that."
80.
Haylie felt a surge in her arousal. "Like what?"
She watched fascinated as the muscle in his jaw tightened.
"Sitting on my bed, touching your neck like that."
"Ouch!" Haylie whacked her shins on the edge of the table as she stood quickly.
Kamran didn"t move, smiling at her. He looked dangerous, like a predator who has his supper in sight. She liked that he was looking at her that way.
"I knew you were going to do that."
"Just like you knew I was at the door?" She bent to rub the pain from her legs.
When he didn"t answer at first, she looked up. "What?"
"You spoke my name through the intercom."
"When?"
"When you were at my door. You spoke my name and I answered it. I even had to scramble to get my shirt on."
Straightening to her full height, Haylie paused. It took her a minute to replay what happened in the corridor. Taber had left her, she was thinking about Kamran when she reached for the door...
"No, I didn"t."
"Didn"t what?"
"Speak your name through the intercom. You opened the door just as I was reaching for it. I was standing there thinking about you when the door opened."
"Are you sure?"
Haylie didn"t need to replay it again, she knew what had happened. Again she touched her neck. Her skin felt nice under her fingertips, her pulse beating strongly beneath them. She then traced the hollow of her neck.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the touch, small shivers driving the goose b.u.mps up on her skin. Lost in her own world, she didn"t even notice Kamran move beside her.
"Why are you doing that?" His voice was surprisingly close and gentle.
Haylie opened her eyes and felt her skin grow warm. "Doing what?"
"We were talking. You closed your eyes and started caressing your neck. Why?"
She had to give her head a shake, trying to clear the fog. "I...I don"t know. I had an overwhelming desire to touch myself there."
"I know why." Kamran brought his hand up, stopping just short of touching her neck. "I was looking at you and thinking how soft you looked. I wanted to touch you right here." His fingers skimmed the surface of her skin.
Her eyes fluttered closed, the sensation too overpowering. "What the h.e.l.l is going on?"
81.
He didn"t answer and Haylie was too distracted by his touch to question further.
Kamran slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close. It was only when he pressed his lips to her neck that he began to speak through his kisses.
"Whether we like it or not, we have a bond. That"s why we can"t stay away from each other. Not for long at least."
The small part of Haylie that wasn"t distracted grabbed hold of his words. "How is this possible?"
"I"m not sure, but it"s quite apparent." He pulled back from her neck and tilted her head forward so she was looking him straight in the eyes.
"Reading each other"s minds is part of this bonding process?"
Images of her naked, writhing in pleasure on top of him in his bed flooded her mind. His mouth quickly swallowed her gasp as he pulled at the zipper of her jumpsuit.
When she imagined pulling out his c.o.c.k and taking the length of him in her mouth, she heard him groan and he rubbed his groin against her stomach.
Haylie pulled back and smiled up at him. "I think I could get to like this."
82.
Chapter Eight.
Kamran knew he was in trouble. Images of Haylie licking his body, stroking him, riding him hard on his bed slid in and out of his mind. He could tell the minute Haylie stopped forcing the images and slipped into a haze of desire. The thoughts she was projecting became more sporadic and much more erotic.
And she hadn"t even moved.
They stood locked in each other"s arms, unmoving. When he envisioned unzipping her jumper and sucking her puckered nipple into his mouth, she shivered against him.
"We shouldn"t be doing this." She spoke, her words hushed. The heat of her breath was quickly absorbed by his tunic.
"We haven"t done anything yet."
She was unsure of what to do next, and he knew that upset her. He wanted to rea.s.sure her everything was fine. That this connection they shared was a natural thing.
He couldn"t help but think of Briel and the life they would have if they gave in to these impulses.
Haylie pulled back instantly and moved out of his arms. "This is crazy. I don"t know what"s real and what"s in my head. Or your head for that matter."
"That wasn"t fair of me. I shouldn"t think of my home, but sometimes I can"t help it.
What it would be like to bring you back with me. Make you a part of my family."
He picked up a flash of a dark sky, a bright blue planet far in the distance. Haylie"s home. Feelings of warmth, belonging, loneliness were quickly pushed away. He"d always a.s.sumed she"d been happy back on Luna. Kamran took a step toward her, but the look in her eyes told him she needed s.p.a.ce right then.
His head knew that he should make use of her uncertainty and encourage her to leave. Get her out of here before they did something she would regret in her present state. His body, however, had no intention of doing any such thing.
No matter how aroused he was at this moment, he couldn"t take advantage of her.
Kamran made his way over to the sleek black cabinet that held his special reserve of Hapes. When he set two gla.s.ses on the table and filled them with the black liquid.
Haylie eyed them suspiciously.
"This is a drink from my home world. It is similar to your alcoholic drinks. It has a sweet taste and has been known to calm many people in times of great stress."