Planet Athion: The Complete Series by Angel Lawson
70
Mercy
I’ve finally cooledoff some after my showdown with Damon when there’s a knock at my door. Dimka stands on the other side, quiet worry etched on his handsome features.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course.” I open the door and he walks inside. I wonder if he’s heard about the argument; it’s not like Kai doesn’t know.
He stops just inside the doorway, towering over me in height and width. He pushes my hair over my shoulder and says, “How I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” I say, feeling hope that he’s not here to break my heart. I touch his stomach, packed hard with muscles, and he bends down, kissing me with such a gentleness that’s hard to imagine from such a powerful man.
Releasing me, we sit on the couch and he takes my hand.
“Is something wrong?” I ask, getting a strange vibe off of him. Like Damon, I haven’t had a lot of time to spend with him since they arrived.
“I wanted to talk to you about the conversation in the office yesterday.”
“Okay. Go ahead.”
“I understand your upset,” he says. “Wanting to keep us in one place is all I want, too. I strive for peace. For freedom for all Athions, particularly the women and my brothers from the Southern Tip.”
He’d told me that many of his people had been enslaved due to their strength and brawn. I felt the same draw to protect the women from Earth.
“I want the same thing, but there are other fighters out there. With so much technology, can’t you do your job from afar? Do you really need to be there?”
“That’s the question I have, Mercy. I want to do the right thing for you, for the guys, and for my heart.” He looks at me. “My heart is torn, between the rage I feel at the Master and his system. I want to tear it down stone by stone with my bare hands. I want to throttle him when this is all over, but I don’t want to lose myself to that pain like I have in the past. Being here confuses me.”
I’m reminded of what Damon said about being in or out and how he can’t do both. Maybe this is more complicated than I realized. The difference between Damon and Dimka is that the man next to me isn’t denying his feelings for me. He’s just struggling with his role in this shitty situation.
I run my hand up Dimka’s arm. “I don’t want to force anyone to my will,” I tell him. “There’s too much of that in this universe already. But I want to make it clear; I don’t want to be away from you for a moment longer than I have to.”
“I don’t want to be away from you, either.” His dark eyes penetrate mine. I bring his large hand to my lips and kiss him, coax him to me with my mouth and tongue. A low rumble builds in his chest and the desire to be with him grows in my belly. It’s been too long and I desperately want to see his uniqueness again—feel it.
I cup his chin with my hand. “I know committing to me is choosing a different way of life—it’s pushing aside what you’ve focused on for a long time. I know it isn’t easy and may take some time. Just don’t shut me out and never walk out on me again without talking to me first, understand?”
“I understand. I’m sorry for that.” He exhales. “That’s the rage. It makes me not think clearly.”
“We’ll work on that.”
He smiles gratefully and pulls me into a hug. It feels nice being in his warm, safe arms. I think for both of us.
“As much as I don’t want to go,” he says a few moments later, “if I’m truly going to commit to this, there’s something I need to take care of.”
His voice is raw. Strange. “Are you okay?”
He leans forward and kisses me, and I feel a mix of emotions under the surface. He pulls away, eyes more intent than ever.
“I will be.”