soon, and she craved more of this man who had dropped his guard and allowed
her to see his true self. That spark of devilment inside her prompted her to
speak without thinking. “Am I allowed to contact you for any other reason than
questions or concerns? What if I just want to say hello, or ask you about your
day?”
Korian’s eyes heated and he slowly moved closer to where she
was standing until she had to crane her head back to meet his eyes. “I would
like that very much, and I would hope that you feel free to call on me at any
time and for any reason. As I said earlier, I will always make time for you,
Jessica.”
He ran his knuckles down the curve of her cheek, and her
body shivered at his touch. She longed to twine her hands behind his neck and
pull him down to her lips, but he reluctantly dropped his hand and took a step
back. “Until tomorrow, my thalia ,” he murmured, his lips quirked with a
deprecating smile.
She watched as he turned and walked out the doorway without
another backward glance. As the door panel slid closed behind him, she shivered
with a sudden chill. She rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and pulled back the
covers on her bed. She was unaccountably sad all of a sudden, and exhaustion
seemed to pull her down until she was snuggled beneath the warm covers. It was
a long time before she stopped shivering, but even longer until her eyes closed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The following evening, Korian watched with narrowed eyes as
Jessica laughed, flirted, and chatted easily with the crush of nobles who
surrounded her at the after-party, but his wrath was not directed at them. His
ire was reserved for the tall warrior who stood at her side, his hand
proprietarily lodged at the base of her spine as they strolled from group to
group of excited nobles.
The evening was off to a resounding success. More than half
of the gathered upper class had not yet seen the Earth transmission of
Jessica’s movie, but gossip surrounding it had spread quickly and even more
delegates, politicians, and nobles had showed than he expected. The
anticipation for the viewing was high, and you couldn’t even hear a pin drop as
the transmission had begun. Korian had not expected to get so involved in the
tale himself, but he found that he could not tear his eyes away from the
unfolding action. The alien scenery and technology depicted in the movie was
distracting at first, but as soon as Jessica, playing the role of a young and
inexperienced new detective, appeared on the screen, he was hopelessly hooked.
He became so engrossed in the tale that he found himself
growing tense during the fight scenes and his hands balling into fists until a
voice hissed in his ear, “Relax, King Korian. I was the one actually doing
those stunts, not Jessica. It only looks like her because of camera tricks and
editing.” Korian released his tight grip and nodded his understanding to
Mahoney, who was sitting on his left. His relaxed enjoyment changed once again
when a steamy love scene between Jessica and another detective began to play
out on the screen. He thought his jaw would break with the stress of clenching
his teeth when the handsome male human proceeded to undress his thalia and kiss along her bare shoulders while she writhed and moaned beneath him. A
loud crack echoed through the room, causing all eyes to turn to him
curiously, and he waved an apology with a tight-lipped smile. Looking down at
the armrest, he was chagrined to see that he had crushed the structure with his
grip and it was hanging loosely down to the floor. Mahoney just rolled her eyes
at him and whispered that it wasn’t real and that Jessica actually despised the
actor who played that roll. Slightly mollified, he leaned back in his seat and
resolved to behave himself for the rest of the show.
When the transmission ended, there was a roar of approval
from the crowd of T’Kalans who had thoroughly enjoyed the climactic scene where
Jessica’s character shot and killed
her to see his true self. That spark of devilment inside her prompted her to
speak without thinking. “Am I allowed to contact you for any other reason than
questions or concerns? What if I just want to say hello, or ask you about your
day?”
Korian’s eyes heated and he slowly moved closer to where she
was standing until she had to crane her head back to meet his eyes. “I would
like that very much, and I would hope that you feel free to call on me at any
time and for any reason. As I said earlier, I will always make time for you,
Jessica.”
He ran his knuckles down the curve of her cheek, and her
body shivered at his touch. She longed to twine her hands behind his neck and
pull him down to her lips, but he reluctantly dropped his hand and took a step
back. “Until tomorrow, my thalia ,” he murmured, his lips quirked with a
deprecating smile.
She watched as he turned and walked out the doorway without
another backward glance. As the door panel slid closed behind him, she shivered
with a sudden chill. She rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and pulled back the
covers on her bed. She was unaccountably sad all of a sudden, and exhaustion
seemed to pull her down until she was snuggled beneath the warm covers. It was
a long time before she stopped shivering, but even longer until her eyes closed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The following evening, Korian watched with narrowed eyes as
Jessica laughed, flirted, and chatted easily with the crush of nobles who
surrounded her at the after-party, but his wrath was not directed at them. His
ire was reserved for the tall warrior who stood at her side, his hand
proprietarily lodged at the base of her spine as they strolled from group to
group of excited nobles.
The evening was off to a resounding success. More than half
of the gathered upper class had not yet seen the Earth transmission of
Jessica’s movie, but gossip surrounding it had spread quickly and even more
delegates, politicians, and nobles had showed than he expected. The
anticipation for the viewing was high, and you couldn’t even hear a pin drop as
the transmission had begun. Korian had not expected to get so involved in the
tale himself, but he found that he could not tear his eyes away from the
unfolding action. The alien scenery and technology depicted in the movie was
distracting at first, but as soon as Jessica, playing the role of a young and
inexperienced new detective, appeared on the screen, he was hopelessly hooked.
He became so engrossed in the tale that he found himself
growing tense during the fight scenes and his hands balling into fists until a
voice hissed in his ear, “Relax, King Korian. I was the one actually doing
those stunts, not Jessica. It only looks like her because of camera tricks and
editing.” Korian released his tight grip and nodded his understanding to
Mahoney, who was sitting on his left. His relaxed enjoyment changed once again
when a steamy love scene between Jessica and another detective began to play
out on the screen. He thought his jaw would break with the stress of clenching
his teeth when the handsome male human proceeded to undress his thalia and kiss along her bare shoulders while she writhed and moaned beneath him. A
loud crack echoed through the room, causing all eyes to turn to him
curiously, and he waved an apology with a tight-lipped smile. Looking down at
the armrest, he was chagrined to see that he had crushed the structure with his
grip and it was hanging loosely down to the floor. Mahoney just rolled her eyes
at him and whispered that it wasn’t real and that Jessica actually despised the
actor who played that roll. Slightly mollified, he leaned back in his seat and
resolved to behave himself for the rest of the show.
When the transmission ended, there was a roar of approval
from the crowd of T’Kalans who had thoroughly enjoyed the climactic scene where
Jessica’s character shot and killed
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