Page 35 of Sublime Target
He’d never feared the specter of death.
But now, for the first time ever, he was hesitating.
All because of this delicate creature standing before him, her lips curved downwards ever so slightly in a disapproving frown.
She’d come outside in the middle of a wild protest, undeterred by the raucous, potentially dangerous crowd.
Unquantified threats were everywhere. Humans shouting, their faces contorted with emotion.
The so-called protest was pure chaos. Jerik had never seen anything like it. On Kythia, the slightest whisper of dissent would have been crushed instantly, and sometimes, he would have been the one doing the crushing.
Were humans so free and naive that they allowed their own people to run amok like this?
Evidently.
And when he saw her standing there, staring at him from across the way, her arms folded, her expression stern, as if she were quietly chiding him for causing trouble, something triggered inside him, and the thought that she might come to harm in this infernal crowd had driven him a little mad.
So he’d dispersed them as quickly as he could—to save himself from killing anybody. Those impertinent humans had given him the information he sought, anyway.
Once they’d realized that he was indeed not messing around, they were quick to capitulate.
They were fortunate Clarissa showed up when she did. Otherwise, he would have terrorized them a bit more.
How dare they douse him in this ludicrous substance? This lurid pink filth?
The only good that had come of it was that he’d gotten her alone, and he’d secured her agreement on a further meeting.
Now, she was asking him to reveal himself.
It was a fair request.
But what if she found him undesirable?
The fear was real, for once he inhaled her scent, he would be undone, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to control himself.
What if she decided she didn’t want him? What if he was left writhing in agony as the Mating Fever overtook his body and his sanity?
Tarak knew about the situation. There was a contingency plan. They would drug him up with suppressants and protect the female from him.
Surely, it wouldn’t come to that.
A sense of awe came over him as he allowed himself to bask in her curious gaze. She was staring at him unashamedly now, her dark eyes wide and questioning, as if he were the most interesting specimen in the Universe.
What was she thinking?
He couldn’t even fathom.
“If you’re planning on staying, you should at least make use of the facilities,” she said matter-of-factly. “I insist. The protest was our problem. You didn’t have to intervene.”
“It was my security concern. It’s my job to assess and neutralize any potential threats, no matter how benign they might appear. You have no idea of what can happen when you least expect it.”
“Like Kordolians showing up at my workplace,” she said drily. “And one of them gets covered in pink. You know, it almost suits you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried to stifle a laugh. “Pfft. Now I really want to see what you look like. It’s not fair. I want to see your expression right now.”
A hundred possibilities ran through Jerik’s mind. He thought about the worst possible thing that could happen to him…