The Patriarch thanked Grady once more before leaving the group just outside the building. Sinclair Prime gave them a speculative glance before saying goodnight himself and leaping into the air to fly away.
“May I walk you to your accommodations?” Grady Prime asked politely.
“That would be nice. Thank you.”
They walked together down the dark pathway toward the main area of the compound. Neither of them seemed to want to move very quickly. Instead, they set a leisurely pace to maximize the amount of time they could spend together.
“I confess…” Gina spoke hesitantly, trying to make conversation. “I’m intrigued by this guy Harry you talked about at dinner. You sure got the Patriarch hopping, though I don’t understand exactly why.”
“Harry’s DNA is important to our people. You may have noticed the significance of bloodlines to us. Well, Hara—the progenitor of Harry’s line—was one of our greatest explorers and leaders. He was believed lost to us, as was the rest of his exploration party. Finding residual evidence of them here on Earth is an amazing discovery that will affect every Alvian.”
“This young man is really that important?”
“Not him per se, but his genetic code could spell great changes for Alvians and humans alike. The Alvian population would no longer be able to believe themselves superior genetically if the native humans were proven to share not only Alvian DNA but that from one of the most highly respected of our ancestors. It would change things—most likely for the better for humans.”
“Which is probably why your Council has hidden this for so long. What you did tonight, by telling the Patriarch the truth, was a good thing, Grady.”
She tried to see him in the darkness, but her night vision wasn’t up to Alvian standards. Instead, she reached for his hand, gratified when he seemed startled for just a moment, then interlaced his fingers with hers. She squeezed his hand, hoping to convey the very real admiration she had for him. It was a simple gesture, but she knew how rare it was for Alvians to touch, even in friendship.
She suspected that since gaining emotions, Grady needed to be touched. Like an infant, he needed reassurance from other feeling beings and she liked that he’d taken her hand and seemed unlikely and unwilling to let it go.
“Harry is a good man,” he said with genuine warmth in his tone. “I read a human book once called The Once and Future King by T.S. Elliot. Mick O’Hara loaned it to me when I asked why they referred to Harry as the second coming of Merlin.”
“You mean Merlin like in Camelot and King Arthur?”
“The very one.” She could hear the approving smile in his voice. “Apparently Harry’s gifts were so many and so strong even his gifted family thought he was a magician of some kind.”
“That’s cool.”
His warm chuckle sent a river of warm lava down her spine. “It also indicates to me—although I am no expert on the genetic intricacies—that the mixture of human and Alvian DNA might very well produce more beings like Harry. The humans we’ve encountered are many generations removed from their original Alvian progenitors. It could be that a fresh infusion of Alvian DNA into the human race, or human DNA into Alvians, would produce the next evolution of both races. Psychically gifted beings that can be stronger than either one of our races are alone.”
“I bet your Council would consider your words as treason. Aren’t you concerned by their reaction should your candor with us be discovered?”
“At this point there’s very little they can do to me. I gave up my occupation and most of what had been important to me in order to participate in Mara 12’s study. I wouldn’t change it for the world, but it’s put me in a unique position. I can take risks now that I wouldn’t have before.”
She turned to him on the darkened path. A shaft of moonlight filtered through the trees, lighting his face enough for her to read his expression. She found her own desire mirrored there, and her breath caught.
“You’re a dangerous man, Grady Prime.”
His head lowered, and she knew he was going to kiss her. She didn’t pull away. She wanted to feel his kiss more than anything. She stood on tiptoe to meet his descending lips.
His mouth was warm and tasted like spiced wine, heady and exciting. Gina hadn’t experienced such feelings in far too long—perhaps not ever. Grady Prime was an excellent kisser.
She reached up to twine one arm around his neck, drawing him downward as she rose up to press closer to his muscular body. He lifted her other hand, fingers still entwined with his, to his chest, pressing close but not releasing her fingers. She barely noticed, reveling only in the feel of him, the sheer brute strength of him and how gently he treated her. How he tempered his strength to fit her smaller body.
And they did fit. Really well.
She loved the warmth of him against her and could even feel the large bulge of his cock pressing against his uniform pants. His hips moved in a sensuous pulse against her legs, her stomach, the tops of her thighs. He was massive and hard.
She wanted him.
And that’s when he pulled back, breaking the kiss.
He held her gaze, both of them breathing harshly in the dappled moonlight. His body pressed close to hers so she could feel the heat of him, the need echoing loudly in her own body.
“I don’t need a crystal to know that we more than Hum, Gina. We glow.”
She didn’t really understand his statement, but at that point, she didn’t care. All she wanted was another kiss like that last one and he obliged. Only his next kiss was even deeper, even hotter than the first. This time he knew exactly what to do to make her moan.
He unlaced their fingers and pressed her open palm over his chest so she could feel his racing heart. The rapid beat echoed her own, their excitement building together as he kissed her deeply.
His tongue traced hot, wet patterns against hers, commanding, demanding, turning her on. She liked his domination, his absolute expectation of being obeyed as he asked silently for all she had to give.
Her fingers itched to touch his skin. She sank one hand into his soft golden hair, tugging the short ends to draw him closer. She stroked her other palm over his chest, looking for a way inside his uniform shirt. She was unable to find it or focus much beyond what he was making her feel.
Grady’s powerful arms surrounded her. One hand moved low to cup her ass, lifting her closer to the erection tenting his pants and teasing her through the layers of their clothing. She couldn’t help the pulsating movements she made against him. It had been a long time since she’d felt pleasure like this. Too long since a man had made her come alive with just a kiss. In fact, she didn’t think she’d ever experienced anything quite this explosive before in her entire life.
Grady Prime was one of a kind. If she ever got the chance to make love to him, she wasn’t sure she would survive the encounter. Not if this kiss was anything to go by. She could very well just spontaneously combust and float away on the wind, never to be seen again. But what a way to go.
His presence was nearly overwhelming. At the same time she felt protected, even cherished. He gave as much as he took and she could tell from the gentle way he handled her, he was being very careful not to hurt her in any way. He was almost too careful, as some big men were prone to be around her. In her father’s dojo, big guys had often made the mistake of treating her like a China doll just once before she’d taught them otherwise.
She’d relish the chance to teach Grady the same—in the bedroom, however, not the dojo. She didn’t want to fight with him. She wanted more than anything, to feel his strength as he slid home into her needy, greedy body.