The Alien’s Obsession by Zoey Draven

Chapter Seventeen

Later that afternoon, Lainey was sitting in her room, at the end of her bed. Her leg was bouncing up and down and her fingers fidgeted over her thighs.

All morning, she had waited for Kirov to return to his house. All morning, she listened for the sound of a hovercraft with a racing heart.

He never returned. She felt sick about it. Vixron had told her he was leaving in the afternoon. Surely he would return to his house to pack up some things, but now Lainey wasn’t so sure. Perhaps he would leave straight from the command center.

I might not see him again, she thought, throat burning.

She needed to speak with him. She had to.

She had to tell him—no, beg him—that she wanted another chance. That she wanted to explore whatever was between them, as crazy as it seemed. Kirov was worth taking a chance on and Lainey was finally ready to.

If only he would come back to her.

Her ears perked up when she heard a gentle whirring sound coming from the terrace, but it was different than the sound of a hovercraft. Her shoulders sagged when she recognized it as the mini-hovercraft that delivered their meals.

A moment later she heard Vixron murmur something to Crystal in the living room. Another moment after that, she heard Crystal’s surprised gasp as she exclaimed, “Oh, they’re beautiful! Lainey! Come out here and see!”

Curiosity piqued, Lainey rose slowly from her bed and walked out to the living room.

Crystal was standing, holding up…a dress. A dress much like the one Kate had worn when she’d visited yesterday.

The dress was a lovely peach color, the color of a sunset. A shimmering band went across the waist and wide, cinched straps, secured with gold clasps, led to a plunging neckline. The dress swished, feather-light, across the floor when Crystal approached her.

“There’s four here,” Crystal said, her eyes bright with excitement. “Two for each of us.”

“Or one for Bianca and Erin,” Lainey corrected, eyeing the package that was lying open at Crystal’s feet. Inside, she saw three other dresses, all similar Grecian-like styles, in differing colors.

Crystal picked up a small, business-card sized, rectangular piece of metal that came with the package. She handed it to Lainey and said, “Kate said she sent some to them too.”

Lainey saw the piece of metal was actually very similar to the technology of Crystal’s tablet. She wondered if Kirov had created it to.

Written on the card, in neat, evenly spaced letters, was:

Sorry these have taken so long, girls—I hope I guessed your measurements correctly! I’ve sent some along to Erin and Bianca as well and I already have the seamstress working on more for you. These will get you by in the meantime until they’re finished. Hope you like them.

Love, Kate

It was strange seeing written English, Lainey realized, as she reread the card.

She smiled, thinking the gesture was sweet.

“Thank God we don’t have to wear these night shirts anymore,” Crystal said, sorting through the dresses. She held up a beautiful emerald green dress, followed by a cobalt blue one and grinned as she handed them to Lainey. “Guess these are yours, Miss Redhead.”

Lainey laughed. It felt good to laugh. She’d been upset since last night, worried about Kirov, that it felt nice to have something else occupy her mind for a bit.

It was nice that Kate had thought to pick out colors that wouldn’t clash with her hair. Lainey would’ve taken anything to get out of the damn grey tunics they’d been wearing, so it was nice to wear her favorite colors again.

Lainey marveled over the dresses, the material light and airy and so smooth that it felt like silk. They were beautiful.

“And these,” Crystal said, holding up the peach and sky blue dresses, “must be mine, since the waistline is bigger.”

Crystal was curvier and at times Lainey had definitely been envious over her hourglass figure. She had a 1950’s pin-up physique, with the features to match, all sculpted cheekbones, smooth skin, and pouty lips.

“Come on, let’s go try them on,” Crystal said, excited about the prospect of actual clothes. Hell, Lainey was too, but it didn’t keep her from listening for Kirov’s hovercraft.

They both changed into the dresses quickly. Lainey picked the cobalt blue to wear because it was one of her favorite colors…and it reminded her of how dark Kirov’s eyes got sometimes.

God, how cheesy was that?

She sighed and smoothed it into place. Looking down, she saw that the dress was slitted on both sides, coming up to her mid-thigh. It certainly made the dress not only sexier, but easier to move around in. Not that it wasn’t comfortable. It was probably the lightest, most comfortable thing Lainey had ever worn and she smiled, pleased.

She wondered if Kirov would like it. She wondered if he would ever see it on her.

Biting her lip, she went back out into the living room. Crystal had already changed and was admiring the material when she returned.

Vixron turned to look at her, his eyes scanning her from head-to-toe. Lainey did a little twirl and asked, “What do you think, Vixy? We clean up nice, don’t we?”

Their guard grunted and looked away.

Crystal was shaking her head, smiling, before she plopped down onto the cushions around the fit pit. The blonde sighed and said, “Okay, I’m happy now.”

“Finally,” Lainey teased.

Crystal pushed her shoulder but then quieted and asked, “Are you okay? You’ve been in your room all morning. Still tired?”

“Yeah,” Lainey said.

Crystal looked at Vixron and then asked slowly, “Are you sure that’s the only reason?”

The blonde gave her a pointed look and Lainey’s spine stiffened. Of course, she didn’t think that Crystal was stupid by any means. Her friend had to have picked up on the tension between her and Kirov the night before.

Lainey swallowed, looking away. She didn’t want to lie anymore, but it wasn’t like she could tell Crystal that she might be Kirov’s fated mate with Vixron in the same room.

Luckily, something unspoken went between the two women and Crystal squeezed her forearm. Quietly, she whispered, “Just be careful okay?”

After a brief moment of hesitation, Lainey nodded, clearly confirming whatever suspicions Crystal had.

The blonde looked worried, but then sighed and gave her a soft smile of reassurance that made Lainey feel a little better.

“I will,” Lainey whispered back.

That was, if Kirov ever gave her another chance.

* * *

The afternoon cameand went before night settled in, the darkness casting shadows across the floor of her room.

Lainey stared at them. As they deepened and stretched, she wanted to cry because they meant that Kirov wasn’t coming back.

He’d probably left for Troxva hours ago.

She’d driven him away, just like everyone else in her life. And she was the only one to blame.

Maybe I can get a message to him,she thought, trying to figure out what to do. But would he get in trouble with Vaxa’an? Would the Prime Leader suspect something if she demanded to speak with Kirov?

Lainey was running her fingers over the metal sphere Kirov had given her. It had become a kind of stress reliever for her when she wasn’t using it as sun protection. When she wasn’t pretending to play the piano on stone window ledges or balconies, she usually had the ball in her hands, tossing it back and forth, giving her fingers something to do.

A distant sound met her ears. Just a slight sound, but it made her heart stop in her chest.

When she was certain that it was a hovercraft, Lainey flew to the open window, listening.

She heard the hovercraft land further down the terrace and she gasped, knowing that it was Kirov.

Would he come see her? Or was he just there to pack up his things and leave?

Determination went through her. No, she needed to take action. She wouldn’t wait for him. She would go to him, for once.

Tossing her ball back onto the bed, she turned to the window and as quietly as possible, she tried to pull herself up, her arms straining and shaking.

I seriously need to lift some weights, she thought, huffing.

After a very ungraceful shimmying motion and more than a few quiet expletives, she’d managed to sit on the ledge and swing her legs through. And then, she jumped down softly, her bare feet hardly making a sound.

Lainey paused, listening for movement inside the house, wondering if Vixron would catch her.

When she heard nothing, she made her way through the alley and rounded the back of the house before following the path that Kirov had taken when he’d snuck her out.

Soon, she was at Kirov’s house and she tip-toed down the alley she knew well, the one she’d been in when she’d watched Kirov masturbating through the window.

She went to that same window and with bated breath, she peered inside.

He was there, crouched over a chest against the wall, sorting through it.

Dizzying relief made her knees shake and without another moment of hesitation, she tapped her fingernail on the window.

Kirov straightened and spun around.

When their eyes connected through the glass, his expression shifted, tightening, and Lainey swallowed, nervous.

After their argument the previous night, after how Lainey had left him on the balcony, she wouldn’t be surprised if he never wanted to see her again.

Please. Please open the window. Let me talk to you, let me apologize, let me explain.

Again, relief swarmed through her when he walked over the window, his magnificent body shifting and moving. Lainey’s eyes drank him in, every step he took towards her tightening her belly. She felt like she’d been starved for him. She could just…watch him all day.

Kirov opened the window, the glass disappearing into the wall. He watched her carefully, made no move towards her. Instead, he leaned his forearms on the ledge, waiting.

Lainey blew out a breath. He wouldn’t make this easy for her. Rightfully so.

“I—” she said, her voice breaking a little, which mortified her. She cleared her throat, suddenly so nervous it was hard to speak. “I thought you’d left already. Vixron said…”

“I got held up at the command center,” he said, his voice even.

His voice was like a drug to her, smooth and deep.

Her fingers picked at her skin and she pressed closer to the wall, closer to him.

“Were you going to say goodbye?” she asked, wanting to know. She hated how small her voice sounded.

Kirov blew out a breath, running a hand over one of his black horns. “You made your position clear to me last night, female,” he said, instead of answering her question directly.

Dread pooled in her stomach and Lainey wondered if it was too late. If he’d already decided that she wasn’t worth it, if she screwed it all up.

“Kirov…” she nibbled on her lip, feeling like an invisible clock was ticking somewhere. “Can we talk? I have some things I need to say. I wanted to apologize. Please.”

“Lani, I—”

“I’ll beg if I have to,” she said, words she never thought she’d say to him. “Please.”

Kirov looked at her, his eyes moving over her face, trying to read her, trying to determine what she was up to. The fact that he didn’t trust her stung a little, but then again, Lainey had given him no reason to trust her.

Finally, he straightened from the window and said, “Tev. We can talk. But not here.”

“Where then?” she asked, her knees shaking again. “I’ll go anywhere.”

His expression flashed with something that Lainey couldn’t read.

“The meadow?” she suggested, hoping that he would understand her unspoken meaning. That by going back to the place where she’d opened up to him a little, where they kissed for the first time, where they were intimate, he would understand that she wanted a re-do of that night, that she wanted to start fresh.

Kirov told her, “Go down the back of the dwelling and meet me at the hovercraft. Stay hidden until I come get you. Tev?”

Excitement and relief mingled in her breast. Kirov was much too good for her. If their positions were reversed, Lainey would’ve slammed the window in his face.

Then again, maybe that was balance.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll meet you out front.”

She didn’t deserve him, but Lainey hoped that maybe he would see she was trying to be better. For him.

One step at a time, she thought.