Yolanda Sfetsos - Alex Wales - Promise

Alex nodded. “I can definitely live with that.” Although, she had no idea how that was going to work out. She still had no intention of staying on this planet.

I can think about that when the time comes. Right now, she’d finally met a man who wanted exactly what she did without acting like he owned her, or she owed him something-which had been a constant problem with the string of lovers she’d accumulated along the way. The only time she hadn’t encountered a problem was with one-night stands, but if she intended to hookup every time she was in their area, they’d soon start getting possessive. Not in the way Ulric had-by foolishly admitting love-but just a sense of ownership she found suffocating.

“Good.” He kissed her, again. “As much as I would love to lie you down right now, I think we’ve got some other things to discuss first.”

Before he could ask her any questions, she beat him to it. “Yeah, speaking of which, did you find out anything else about whatever killed those people?” Changing the subject seemed like a safe choice. So far, everything they’d thrown up in the air made her uncomfortable. Discussing Ulric wouldn’t help, but Damon didn’t know what she knew. Though, one look at the other books he’d piled at the end of the bed told her he had his suspicions.

“Nothing yet, but I have been reading about werewolves. Have you ever heard of them?” He sat back, watching her face.

She shrugged. Everyone had heard some version of the story at one time or another. Actually, her father used to tell her a bedtime story about a little girl who wore a red jacket and the werewolf that stalked her, until one day she figured out it was actually her grandmother. The story freaked her out when she was a kid, but never induced nightmares, so she’d asked her father to tell her many times.

Ulric would definitely induce nightmares, though.

Would his condition have any physical effect on her? Sure, she was totally protected against pregnancy and every sexually-transmitted disease known to humans, but did Ulric’s situation surpass the procedure she’d endured? Like most responsible adults in the galaxy who wanted to have sexual relationships without killing themselves, Alex had paid a hefty fee to have a microchip embedded into her wrist. I hope that’s enough protection.

“I know they’re both human and animal,” she said.

“Did you know most werewolves change with the phases of the moon?”

She shook her head. “What’s the moon got to do with it?”

“According to the book I read, every satellite affects a werewolf differently. In some locations, they won’t ever change, but other places can drive them batty and force a change so violent, they lose total control of themselves.”

“Oh.” She peered out the window and could see the huge orb of the moon already out and shiny. “Does your moon change phases?”

“No, it’s always full, which is the other peculiar thing. According to legend, that’s when a werewolf changes from a man into an actual wolf.”

“Yeah, very peculiar.” She refused to concentrate on the fact that Ulric lived inside a space station situated nowhere near a moon. How long had he been hiding this secret from her? “So, how do you think any of this relates to what you saw in the girl’s head?”

Damon shrugged. “I’m not sure. This is folklore, and I didn’t actually see the creature change into anything. I’d assumed the killer was just an animal.”

“Then, why are you reading about werewolves?”

“It was just something Elroy said.”

Uh-oh. If that bastard suspected something, did it mean he knew? Had Elroy actually seen Ulric change like she had? She bit her lip. As much as she wanted to keep what she knew from Damon, for fear of implicating herself, she had to admit what little she knew. The last thing she wanted was to cause a rift of mistrust between them.

“Does he know something you don’t?”

“Elroy always thinks he knows something the rest of us don’t.”

She looked at the key in his hand. “So, what should we do with the key?”

Damon handed her the photo and the leather choker. “Why don’t you put them away in your bag for now? No one on this planet has access to the arcane but me, so you’ll be safe.”

“Okay.” That made sense. She definitely didn’t want anyone else to get their hands on it. She headed over to the armchair and tucked both things into the bottom of her bag. While she was there, she grabbed some clothes and dumped them on the end of the bed. As much fun as it would be, she suspected they wouldn’t be able to walk around naked all night.

“I really should’ve arranged for someone to bring a fruit platter up to your room. I just got so distracted by everything.” His eyes were on her breasts. “One look at your body can really stun a man and make him forget about everything else.”

“Are you trying to distract me?”

His eyes glowed, and he nodded. “I think I am.”

Alex crawled onto the bed and knelt in front of him. She grabbed both of his hands and pressed them against her breasts. He had big hands, but they weren’t big enough to cup her entirely.

“Do we have to leave the room, tonight?” She traced her lips with the tip of her tongue, watching his groin for a reaction. “Maybe you should get some fruit brought up here…”

A groan escaped between his gritted teeth as he made a move toward her.

The door opened, and someone rushed inside. Levi slammed the door behind him and pressed his back against it. His blonde hair was wet and stuck to his forehead. His eyes were wide when he glanced their way. When he noticed they were naked, he lowered his gaze.

“I am so very sorry to barge in like this.”

“Do you ever knock?” she asked, still naked and kneeling in front of Damon.

Levi’s cheeks colored, but he didn’t look up.

Damon stood. “You can go and get dressed if you like. I need to speak to Levi.”

“I’ll get dressed, but I’m not going anywhere. Something’s obviously spooked him.” Alex couldn’t care less if she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on, and there was another man in the room. Moreover, Levi was more embarrassed than trying to catch a glimpse of what she had to offer. “Besides, he’s already seen me naked.”

Alex backed off the bed and grabbed the skin-tight pants she’d dumped on the end. As she stepped into them, she couldn’t keep her eyes off Levi.

“What’s going on?” Damon asked him.

She slipped her bra on next and covered it with a black tank top stopping just above the low-ride waistband of her pants.

“Another person has been killed,” Levi said.

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why you’re so worked up.”

“Elroy found the person and claims the victim wasn’t mauled this time but shot.” His chest rose and fell a little too fast. Was he hyperventilating?

Damon shook his head. “We don’t have access to guns. Aleena makes sure of it. Not even security has access to weapons.”

“Why’s that?” Alex asked.

“Because we don’t actually have any,” Damon answered without turning to face her.

She stared at his broad shoulders and watched the muscles twitch as he tensed.

Levi pointed a finger at Alex. “She does.”

“Yeah, but it’s always with me.” As she crawled back onto the bed to reach for the bedside table where she’d place her holster and blaster, she found only the holster. She grabbed it. “What the hell? I left it here. Where did it go?”

How many times had her father told her to always have her blaster nearby and to never take her eyes off it? She’d suffered so many careless moments lately-starting with her panic when she’d first seen the key, followed by sleeping for however long before Ulric paid her a visit, then ending with her long, hot session with Damon, and more sleep. She couldn’t pinpoint when anyone could’ve gotten their hands on her weapon, but they obviously had.