Page 18 of Alien in the Depths

“You’ve been outvoted,” Elena said. “Four to one.” As if what she said wasn’t clear, she clarified. “I’m saying I want to help you as well. That’s why I said four instead of three.”

The emotions swelling up in Zaraq’s chest were difficult to identify. The closest he’d come to feeling them before was when he and Ryka agreed to go into business for themselves. Never truly having a family, he did not know what it felt like to have someone willing to treat him as an equal. When compared to what Sofia and her family were proposing, that was nothing.

When their meal was finished, Zaraq asked Sofia if he could have some time to think.

“You’re not going to run off. Right?” she asked.

“No,” he answered honestly. “I need to collect my thoughts.”

With a hint of reluctance painting the shadows of her face, Sofia nodded. “There’s an opera thing going on tonight,” she said. “I’m going to try and look crazy hot for it. Will you be my date?”

“I’ve never been to the opera,” Zaraq said. “Is dressing warmly required?”

Sofia laughed and gave him a polite shove. “Do you have a suit?”

He nodded.

“Wear that,” she told him. “Come by my quarters at seven. You’ll see what I mean then.”

Zaraq walked slowly back to his room, considering everything he had learned that day. How could these people he barely knew be willing to risk their lives for him? Were they playing him in some way? Was this all a ploy to turn him in to the authorities?

After years of having to second-guess what everyone around him was thinking, attempting to diagnose their ulterior motives, his ability to sense deception had been refined to a sharp point. This also meant that he could recognize when a person was being earnest.

Every inch of his nerves warned him against trusting these people, but his heart told him otherwise. Its slow, steady beat advised him to remain cautious and protect them, not distrustthem. As he put on his suit, he promised himself he would let them in. It felt right. However, at the first sign of real danger, he would have to find a way to leave them behind and settle the score on his own.

He arrived at Sofia’s quarters as she was opening the door.

Her dress was stunning. Caressing every slope, it highlighted her figure in ways he had yet to notice before. It sparkled in the lights like silver stars falling through the sky on a crystal-clear night. He tripped at the sight of it.

“Does hot mean very attractive?” he asked her as she beamed at his clumsiness.

“Oh, yeah, it does,” she said.

“Then you have succeeded,” he told her. At that moment, he had no desire to sit and watch singing. He wanted nothing more than to stay here with her.

Once again, as if reading his mind, Sofia made a suggestion he didn’t know he was hoping she’d make. “We have some time before the show starts,” she said. “Want to come in for a drink?”

“Yes,” Zaraq blurted out. “I am very thirsty.”

Sofia let out a single laugh. “I bet you are.”

“Your living space is very nice,” he said, really taking it in for the first time. He didn’t get much of a look at it the last time he was there. The arched ceilings were especially impressive. He found them soothing in a way.

“It’s the most incredible apartment I’ve ever had,” she said, walking over to a small bar near the balcony. She filled two short glasses with golden liquid and brought them over.

The first sip helped to calm his nerves.

“I don’t really like the opera,” Sofia said. “What if we stay here instead?”

Zaraq finished his drink. He placed the empty glass on the bar and walked slowly over to her. He could see her chest rising and falling with anticipation as he loosened his bowtie. As he came to a stop in front of her, he cupped her face, getting lost in her emerald eyes. This woman could be the end of him, and he would go with a smile.

Chapter 7

Sofia

Sofia looked at Zaraq with wide eyes. The desire she felt coiling in her belly released itself in pulsating waves and liquid torrents.

“Stay with me,” she whispered.