And yet, as I really looked at the harmony of his alien features, there was an undeniable beauty that just kept drawing my eyes back, irresistibly. And that skin of his… Good God! I had never found such an amazing texture. I wanted to rub my hands and my face all over him. It wasn’t cool or cold as my brain had somehow assumed it would be, but warm and soft, and yet firm from all the muscles. The absence of nipples also did weird things to my brain. As much as I loved a man’s nipples, the lack thereof did not turn me off but only made me even more curious as to what other differences existed.
Shifting in my seat, I tried to remain neutral and poised under the intensity of his gaze. I hadn’t missed the way he had responded to my touch. Knowing that I was the only person—the only woman—to have ever touched him was totally messing with my head. A part of me wondered if that was why he’d been so sensitive or if there was something more. As that thought crossed my mind, countless memories of previous times he had looked at me with that same almost wistful expression suddenly began flooding my mind. Had he been drawn to me this whole time, and I’d been blind to it? Was I imagining something that wasn’t there? Did I even want to explore that possibility?
The resounding ‘yes’ that immediately popped in my head freaked me out a little. Truth be told, ever since that presentation two weeks ago when he had so crudely kicked out the rude jerks from the Coalition, he’d been stuck in my head in a way that I couldn’t explain. If I were honest with myself, I would have to admit that my strange fascination with the Scelk leader had brought me here so that I could talk to him in private, away from prying eyes and indiscreet ears.
It shamed me to admit that a part of me still worried about his mind control ability. I wished he had spoken of that a little and how he handled such incredible power. I didn’t think for one minute that he had used it on me, even though he could have. Although I was only a rank four psychic, I didn’t doubt that I would feel it if he tried to make me do something. However, I would never know if he was reading my thoughts, and that was freaking me out beyond words.
Did he know I had started fantasizing about him and that, at this very moment, I was craving the feel of his dolphin skin beneath my palms again? I was mortified at the thought. But asking him about it was out of the question. Not only would that be offensive, but deep down, I actually believed he would not invade my privacy in such a way. Despite the nature he had been created to have, I genuinely trusted him with my life.
“I have been deconstructing the scenarios you have been putting us through,” I said forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. “Based on my previous battles against the Kryptids, they would make a far more savage use of their ground to air missiles. As their launchers are actually sentient creatures, the firing patterns and frequency of the shots would be a lot faster and a lot more accurate because they would move with almost the same speed as we do when aiming a blaster. I would like us to work a bit on that. They also love to use their Spitters Swarm, which you haven’t really made much use of in the simulations. Those little shits will obliterate us.”
A Machiavellian smile stretched Varnog’s sensual lips, sending a far too pleasant shiver down my spine.
“So, you want a brutal challenge, little human. I will gladly oblige,” Varnog said with that insanely haunting voice of his.
It was deep, breathy, with just a hint of gravel that almost made it sound like a purr. Over the past three years, he had finally shed the slight Kryptid clicking sound that used to accompany his words. His timber was terrifyingly sexy, just the way you’d expect a vampire lord, archdemon, or ghostly entity to sound.
“I’ll let you know that good things come in small packages,” I said, lifting my chin defiantly. “Don’t let my petite stature fool you. I can be every shade of badass.”
“You do not have to convince me of your awesomeness, Linette,” Varnog said in a soft voice, and undefinable expression on his face. “I am well aware of just how formidable you are.”
There it was again, the odd comment that made me think he might actually have a crush on me. If that was the case, how much did I want to encourage that? But Varnog didn’t give me a chance to dwell on the thought further.
“Give me a second to invoke the scenario,” Varnog continued, this time with a very professional tone. “Be ready to be pulled in any second. I will give you a psychic nudge as a warning before I pull you in, okay?”
“Okay,” I said with a nod.
Varnog closed his eyes, and his face went slack. I shamelessly took the opportunity to examine his features with no one to catch me staring. I’d never paid attention to how the dark scales along his cheeks were beautifully delicate, or the way those covering his head actually gave him kind of a trendy haircut. I kicked myself for not touching them earlier when I had his blessing to paw at him.
He did say I could touch him whenever I wanted.
But not while he was unaware. That somehow felt really creepy. I hadn’t noticed before the long eyelashes shading his cheeks, which made me a little jealous. And the slight bump that served as his nose was actually quite harmonious with his features. But it was his sensual lips that my eyes kept dropping back down to. I didn’t know what was getting into me, but I was definitely looking at him with new eyes. Just as I was indulging into another eyeful of his muscular body, the tingling at the back of my neck warned me that Varnog was about to pull me into the Dream Walk.
The falling sensation was brief, as well as the veil of darkness that settled before my eyes. In a blink, it lifted before me, revealing the most vivid Dream Walk I’d ever experienced. It was mind boggling already during the group training sessions. But this one-on-one with Varnog might as well have been taking place in the real world. I could feel the powerful rays of Kryptor’s sun grazing my skin. Even through the UV protected shield of the shuttle, I could sense that the scorching sun would probably have me blistering within twenty minutes of direct exposure.
Our shuttle was flying over the Queen’s Palace district with interconnecting buildings somewhat reminding me of towers surrounded by roller coaster rails connecting them and, dead center, the Queen’s Palace. The shapes of its multiple towers reminded me of a famous old Earth landmark: the Savior on the Spilled Blood church in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Like many other memorable human architectural achievements, the beautiful monument had been razed to the ground during the Battle for Earth, more than thirty years ago.
Sitting next to me, Varnog was observing me with an indecipherable expression. It was the first time that I could actually see him in one of these instances. Usually, I was either alone or with Tyonna while trying to beat the scenario.
“Do you wish me to activate enemies immediately, or do you want to do a fly over to indicate the places where you would like to see more challenges?” he asked as we hovered in place.
“A fly over is a good idea,” I said, adrenaline starting to pump through my veins in anticipation.
He nodded, and we immediately started to move at a slow enough pace that I could point out the locations I wanted—or at least what seemed logical from a tactical standpoint for enemies to have artillery and missiles waiting to mess with us. It was a lot of fun setting up the tools of my own demise. Unexpectedly, Varnog turned out to have many great ideas, suggesting a few tweaks to the layout I was doing once he understood what kind of challenges I was looking for and why his original setting had felt lacking.