And madness had never been so appealing.
Shay took another bite and shifted her attention to Drakkal’s prosthesis. She pushed the mouthful of food to one cheek. “So, what happened there?”
Drakkal turned his head to follow her gaze, frowning when his eyes fell on his arm. Only his hand was visible thanks to his coat, but she’d seen the rest already—she’d even seen him without his prosthesis.
“Someone from our past showed up unexpectedly and tried to murder me and my friend—the friend who’s good with computers,” he said after a brief silence. “Tried to murder my whole crew. I stopped to hold him back while everyone else escaped.”
The corners of Shay’s mouth fell. “You’re alive, so I’m guessing you took care of the fucker.”
With a humorless chuckle, Drakkal shook his head. “No, Ididn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I got in a few good shots after he did this”—he lifted his cybernetic arm off the table for a moment—“but he knocked me out cold.Zhe’gaashwas a cyborg. More machine under his skin than flesh and blood. Guess my hard head was all that saved me from brain damage. I got off with a concussion and a metal arm. My friend and his mate are the ones who killed him. She saved my life. He was about to finish me off before she intervened.”
“Damn.” For a few moments, Shay stared at him, brows raised and eyes wide. “Look, I’m glad you made it out of that okay, Drakkal, and I admire that you were fighting to save the people you care for, but… That’s exactly the kind of shit I’m trying to get away from. I don’t want that life anymore.”
“I’ve been in the Infinite City for a decade, Shay, running this operation with my partner. That was the first time anything like that happened. We’re not in a business that tends to garner that sort of attention.”
She lifted another piece of meat. “So you say, Kitty.”
Drakkal smirked. “Yeah, I do. You’ll be safe with us, Shay. You and your cub.”
Shay tore off a chunk of meat with her teeth and leveled that thoughtful, inquisitive stare on him again as she chewed. When she’d finished, her little pink tongue slipped out to lick her lips clean. “We’ll see on that. Can that thing do any other cool shit?”
The laughter that rose from Drakkal’s chest was rich and pure, and it felt good.
If thisismadness, keep it coming.
TEN
As the elevator doors closed, Shay peeked at Drakkal from the corner of her eye. Though she was average height for a female human, she felt incredibly small beside him; his presence seemed to fill the entire lift. His leather and clove scent permeated the air, and heat radiated from his body. Shay was tempted to move closer to him.
Reallytempted.
Spending time with him had been…nice. Nicer than she’d expected. Beneath his gruffness, he was actually quite funny, and he’d made her laugh several times as they ate. But his demeanor had changed as soon as they’d left the restaurant. He grew quieter, more alert, and kept so close to her that it should’ve made her uncomfortable. But she hadn’t felt uncomfortable, not even a little. She’d felt protected. For once, she hadn’t had to constantly look over her shoulder, hadn’t had to worry about someone following her and attempting to attack or kidnap her.
While she was with Drakkal, Shay felt like she could overcome anything this city threw at her. And it was nice to let herguard down a little. It was nice to have someone watching her back. To have someone she could depend on.
Getting a little ahead of yourself there, Shay. You barely know the guy.
With a faint shuddering, the elevator began its ascent.
Regardless, she had a feeling that Drakkal was what her father had calledgood people. That hecouldbe trusted. It had been a long time since she’d known someone like that.
The elevator jerked and stuttered, metal grinding and screeching. Shay threw out a hand to steady herself, but before her hand touched the wall, she found herself enveloped in azhera. Drakkal had wrapped his big arms around her and drawn her against his chest, leaning forward to shield her body with his. He was solid and steady. Warmth cocooned her, and she readily inhaled his spicy scent.
“I’ve got you,kiraia,” he said, his voice a low rumble that she felt as much as heard.
Shay cleared her throat and patted his chest, barely resisting the urge to run her palm over the hard muscle beneath his shirt.Fuck me, this male is ripped.“It, uh, does that a lot.”
The elevator stabilized, but it took Drakkal a few seconds to release his hold on her. Not that she minded. She actually…liked it. A lot. She liked his heat, his solidness, liked the way his arms embraced her and the feel of his strong, rough hands on her body. It was doing all kinds of funny things inside her. Funny,pleasurablethings.
When he finally stepped back, she glanced up at his face to find his pupils thinned to slits and his ears forward. His tail whipped through the air behind him, its movements fluid but restless.
“Still, Shay…I’ve got you.”
Somehow, those words found their way into her chest, sparking a warm, fluttering ache. Shay lifted a handto rub at it. Not a second later, she felt a little kick in her belly. She could imagine her baby giving her a nudge and saying,Well, Mom?
“Um, thanks,” she replied.
Yeah, that was totallynotawkward sounding. What the hell, Shay?