The Alien’s Seduction by Zoey Draven

Chapter Twenty-Four

“It’s been two days,” Crystal said, gazing out the window, up at the dark sky above the canopy of trees, not that she could see anything. “Why isn’t he back yet? Do you think something happened?”

“If I didn’t know any better,” Beks teased, “I would say you’re a little in love with the guy.”

Crystal bit her lip, turning, but remained silent on that subject.

“He didn’t even rest when he was here,” Crystal said softly, nibbling on her lip with worry. “He barely slept when we were together and he gave me most of the food he hunted. He must be tired.”

Her chest squeezed just thinking about it.

“Cruxan is fine,” Beks assured her. “He’s a warrior, they are trained for situations like these, in much harsher conditions, I might add.”

It didn’t make her feel any better.

Beks looked a little pale that evening, considering she’d been bed-ridden with morning sickness into the afternoon.

“Are you feeling better?” Crystal asked, going to sit next to her.

“Yes,” Beks said, giving her a small smile. “Some days are worse than others. I can’t wait until this part is over with. According to Privanax, it hopefully shouldn’t last much longer.”

“Are you excited?” Crystal asked next.

Beks got a little shy, which was a strange thing to see. The brunette was outspoken and lively and wore her heart on her sleeve, pretty much the exact opposite of Crystal.

“Yes,” Beks said. “I want to be a mother, but I also can’t wait to see Lihvan as a father. He will make a good one.”

“It’s impossible not to be jealous of what you have with him,” Crystal told her, teasing. “Especially considering that I’ve barely gotten any sleep with you guys next door to my room.”

Beks burst out laughing and said, “Sorry, not sorry. My male is about as insatiable for me as I am for him.”

Crystal flushed but grinned nonetheless.

Beks’ boisterous laugh slowly died and she said gently, “And you shouldn’t be jealous. I know you’ll have it some day too. That’s what I wish for you.”

Crystal sobered. She was talking about Cruxan.

For two days, she’d thought a lot about him. He seemed to always be on her mind. She hadn’t realized how much she would miss him, his presence, his grin, until he was gone. She actually ached from it.

She hadn’t realized how much he’d situated himself into her mind until he was gone.

Beks had dropped little comments like that multiple times over the past couple days.

“Are you guys going to talk when he comes back?” Beks asked, taking a sip of her hot tea. It was delicious, actually, brewed from one of the plants native to Kroratax.

Crystal nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure we will.” Beks hesitated, seemingly on the verge of saying something, but then second guessing herself. “Just spit it out. You’re not one to watch your words,” Crystal teased.

“You don’t just want to give it a chance with him?” Beks asked. “Just for a few days even, to see what it’s like?”

Crystal’s smile died and she looked back out the window. They were sitting in what Crystal liked to call the living room of Luxirian houses, the center of which was a giant, sunken in fire pit surrounded by a plethora of colorful cushions and furs.

“It’s just I think about what I have with my mate. I think about what Kate has with Vaxa’an, what Cecelia has with Rixavox, what Taylor has with Vikan, and now Lainey and Kirov…” Beks said quietly. “I know I have no right to butt into your life or question your decisions. And I know you have your reasons…but I can’t help but think that these Fates, as crazy as it is, know what they’re doing. How else do you explain it?”

“I don’t know,” Crystal said softly, looking into Beks’ eyes. “I don’t know how you explain it.”

“I just…I would hate for you to regret anything, that’s all,” Beks said. “And I know it’s intrusive and not my business, but you’re my friend, Crystal. And if you knew that a friend could find happiness, wouldn’t you say something too?”

Beks blew out a long breath when Crystal didn’t reply.

“Just promise me you’ll think about it,” Beks said. “You never know how long it’ll take to get that crystal back from the Mevirax. You might be here a little while longer. And if you give it a chance and it doesn’t work out, then at least you’ll know for sure.”

I have been thinking about it, she wanted to say. More than she wanted to admit.

“You sound like my sister,” Crystal accused softly, trying to lighten the mood. “Lauren’s been trying to get me to date for a while.”

“Ugh,” Beks said, thankfully steering the conversation away from Cruxan. “One thing I will not miss is dating. Thank God I never have to do it again.”

Crystal smiled, her eyes straying to the tablet next to her, her belly going a little warm at the sight of it.

Cruxan must’ve told Lihvan about Crystal wanting one again, because Beks’ mate gave her one shortly after he told them the news about the tracker. After everything, Cruxan had remembered it.

The last two nights, she’d sat up in her bed and drew. Her nights always started with Krane and Jron, little doodles of them, or little scribblings about whatever adventure they were on that she wanted to expand into a book.

But her nights always ended with her drawing strong lines and honed muscles and jutting horns and dark eyes. He was always on her mind, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that she drew Cruxan when her thoughts wandered. They were just sketches, nowhere near the real thing, but she stared at her drawings before going to bed…and then she dreamed of him.

“Kate worked in publishing, you know,” Beks told her, catching her gaze on her tablet, “back on Earth.”

Crystal had told Beks about the book she wanted to create when the brunette had caught sight of her sketches.

“I think she mentioned it once,” Crystal told her softly.

“There’s a very decided lack of children’s books on Luxiria, don’t you agree?” Beks asked, her tone sly. Crystal’s brow furrowed in confusion. “There will be children again soon. And I, for one, would like to read to my child. Maybe you and Kate could create one…if you decide to stay, that is. My child will never know Earth, but maybe books can bring some of our home planet here.”

Crystal looked at her in surprise.

“We don’t have to give up everything, you know,” Beks said softly. “We just have to adapt.”

Lihvan entered the dwelling then, his eyes going immediately to his mate before dropping down to her belly, where their child grew.

His gaze warmed and Crystal’s lips parted, seeing that love and awe in his eyes for Beks.

“You’re home early,” Beks noted, rising, going to her mate.

Lihvan’s gaze shifted to Crystal and he told her, “Cruxan returned just now.”

Her heart stopped before tripling in beat and she stood. “Is he okay?”

“Tev, of course,” Lihvan said, frowning. “But unfortunately, the trail went cold, heading east like we thought. We’ve alerted the other outposts in that direction and they will send scouts out every span, but until there is a sighting of them, there is not much else we can do.”

Crystal nodded though her shoulders sagged. She knew it was a long shot. Cruxan had said it was difficult, almost impossible, to track hovercrafts. The only way he’d found them originally had been because of her scent and the little scraps of her tunic she’d left along the way.

“Thanks for letting us know,” Crystal said, biting her lip. Her gaze went to Beks before returning to Lihvan. “What happens now?”

“You can stay in Kroratax as long as you wish,” Lihvan said. “But if you prefer to journey back to the Golden City, I can have an escort prepared for you.”

Her stomach clenched. “What about Cruxan?”

“The Prime Leader wishes for him to return to Otala as soon as he is rested. He will probably leave for his home in the next couple spans or so.”

She felt a jolt of panic race through her at the prospect that he would be leaving soon. Crystal’s gaze went to Beks, who frowned up at Lihvan.

“Right,” she whispered. “Where is he now?”

“At his dwelling, just down the terrace.”

“He has a home here?” Crystal asked.

“It is the Ambassador dwelling,” Lihvan explained. “Though Cruxan passes through the most on his way to Otala.”

Crystal wanted to see him. The need to see him actually surprised her.

“Can you point it out to me? I’d like to speak with him.”

Lihvan nodded and Beks gave her a small smile as she passed her on her way out the front door.

“You want me to wait up, darling?” the brunette asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Crystal gave her a pointed look. “No, mom, but don’t worry, I’ll be home by curfew.”

Beks chuckled. “I won’t ground you if you’re not.”

Lihvan only looked baffled by the exchange between them, but once outside, he shook his head, as if used to his mate’s strange human ways, and gestured down the terrace. A small dwelling, hidden by the trees, peeked through, golden light pouring from its windows.

“He is there,” Lihvan said.

Her breath hitched with anticipation of seeing him. “Thanks.”

She gave him a small smile, wrapping her arms around her body when she felt how chilly it was outside. Beks had lended her a dress and a sweater she’d knitted herself out of threaded fur. It was warm and cozy and soft, but did little to keep the bite of Kroratax air from her skin.

Crystal walked towards the dwelling. It didn’t take her long and when she looked over her shoulder, she saw Lihvan watching. She gave him a little wave when she reached the front door, before hesitating, wondering if she should knock or not.

She decided to at first and waited with bated breath. But after a while, she frowned when he didn’t answer, knowing that surely he’d be able to hear a knock on the door, no matter where he was in the house.

Crystal pushed the door open, closing it behind her.

“Cruxan?” she called out, looking around.

Like all Luxirian dwellings, there was a familiar layout, with the fire pit/living room being at the front of the house and the rooms and bathing pool room connected through hallways towards the back.

There was a fire going in the pit, warming up the space, but the rest of the house was quiet and dark.

She furrowed her brow, wondering if Lihvan got it wrong. But she took down the hallway, peeking in the two rooms she saw until she realized that the door to the bathing pool was ajar, a soft light filtering underneath.

“Cruxan?” she called softly just outside it.

She frowned before sliding the door back, peeking inside. The light was dim, but his scent was undeniable. His clothes were piled on the floor and then she spotted his figure underneath the water of the heated spring.

Her breath hitched, wondering what in the world he was doing.

“Cruxan,” she called out louder, her voice echoing around the cavernous room, bouncing off the stone walls.

In an instant, he surfaced, his horns, his dark, inky hair, his strong, masculine features coming into view. He stood in the bathing pool, the water barely covering his pelvis. Those gleaming, thick muscles on display were almost too much for her to handle, especially since she’d been dreaming about him, especially since her fingers twitched to draw him.

“Luxiva,” he rasped, his chest heaving, drawing in air. He was surprised to see her there, she saw that clearly on his face.

Luxiva.

She felt so relieved to see him that it made her dizzy. Physically dizzy.

“What are you doing?” she asked softly, hesitantly stepping forward into the room, her bare toes making contact with his pile of clothes on the floor. His dagger lay on the top, she noticed, when she looked down at them.

When her eyes returned to him, she couldn’t help but dip her gaze down his body, flesh she knew well considering he’d been bare-chested around her the entire time of their journey.

She felt liked she’d been starved for just a glimpse of him. Two days had seemed like a lifetime.

He wiped a clawed hand down his face, wiping water from his eyes. His ridged tongue darted out to lap a drop from his lips and she felt her core clench at the sight.

She saw his nostrils flare but she wasn’t nearly as embarrassed about her arousal as she’d been before, especially after the night of the tevvax. He knew she was attracted to him. At the same time, she knew that he probably wouldn’t do anything about it, especially now that he knew about her past.

She didn’t know if that realization relieved or disappointed her. If she wanted to give whatever this was a chance, to test the waters so to speak, it was Crystal who would have to initiate that.

Which terrified the living hell out of her.

“My senses are dulled underneath the water,” he told her softly, his voice warming her like a shot of whiskey.

“Oh, I see,” she said, shifting on her feet. “I thought you liked your heightened senses.”

His lips twitched. “I do. But sometimes, I want things to...quiet down.”

Crystal’s eyes connected with his. She’d certainly felt that way living with Beks and Lihvan. They had sex multiple times a day and it wasn’t the quiet kind.

“Good, because for a second there I thought you were trying to drown yourself.”

“You will not be rid of me that easily,” he said and her heart sped at those words, that treacherous, treacherous organ of hers. Then he approached her, walking towards the wall of the bathing pool, the sound of trickling water meeting her ears. He craned his neck up to hold her gaze and asked, “You are well, female?”

“Yes,” she said lightly. He’d been worried about her, just as she’d been worried about him. She could see it in his gaze. “Are you?”

“Tev,” he said. “Though I am tired. I feel like I could sleep for spans.”

It didn’t look like he was getting out of the bathing pool, so she decided to sit down by the edge, close to him. At the last moment, she decided to dip her bare feet in, the water going up to her mid-calf, feeling the heat of the pool warm her. She bunched her dress up around her knees so it wouldn’t get wet.

“Thank you,” she said, looking at him. He was close. He was resting his arms on the edge of the bathing pool and his forearm touched her outer thigh. “For trying to track Erin, especially right after we had just arrived here.”

“I just wish I had succeeded,” he said.

“If you couldn’t do it,” she started, “then no one else could. Now, we just have to hope that Jaxor’an will do the right thing and let her return if she wants to.”

“If she wants to?” Cruxan repeated. “You believe there is a chance she might not want to?”

Crystal swallowed. It was something else she’d been thinking about the past couple days too.

“If she’s his mate,” she said carefully, holding Cruxan’s blue eyes, “then he’s hers too.”

Cruxan stilled. He even seemed to stop breathing for a moment.

“Maybe…” she trailed off, her heart thundering in her throat with nerves. “Maybe she wouldn’t want to come back.”

“What are you saying?” Cruxan asked slowly, watching her.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, looking down in the water of the hot spring, at the steam that curled off the surface.

“Are we still talking about Erin?” he asked next, just as slowly.

“No,” Crystal said.

He made a sound in the back of his throat, though it was a familiar sound.

“You drive me to madness, you know that, luxiva?” he rasped.

Her toes curled in the water.

“But I think I like it,” he admitted.

Crystal’s lips parted, feeling about a million butterflies in her stomach at his pronouncement.

“I missed you,” he murmured. “Two spans away from you felt like an eternity.”

She heard the truth of those words in his voice and they echoed in her own chest. He was always so open with her, so honest about what he felt. Yet, she hadn’t been able to be open and honest with him. She admired that about him. She envied him for that.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to smile.

God, how had he done it? How had he dragged feelings out of her, feelings that she’d tried to keep locked away for so long?

I think…I do want to give this a chance, a little voice in her mind sounded.

What could a few days hurt?

It scared the shit out of her, thinking about it. But, at the same time, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Something Beks said earlier came back to her. And she knew that if she didn’t try…she would regret it.

His expression sobered as he looked up at her. “We should talk about that night.”

That night. The one when she’d told him about Leo.

“Later. You’re tired,” she said, her hand trembling so she closed her palm around the soft fabric of her dress, a gentle hum in her ears. “Cruxan?”

“Tev?”

“I…” she trailed off. She licked her dry lips, telling herself to be brave. “Can I stay here with you tonight?”