Niko: Love me Harder (10 page)

“For the same reason you told me about your mother. I wanted you to see me. My past is violent. I was created to be a killer and I filled that role with enthusiasm.”

“I did things, not nice things.” Dee added.

“I know.”

“There is one last thing you should know about my mother’s people.”

“What’s that?”

“According to the males I’ve spoken with, they allow the women to believe they’re picking them. When a male picks a female, he never gives her up.”

Chapter Sixteen

She woke up on Niko’s chest. Nope, she wasn’t draped over him like a comfy throw. She was laying on him. Her whole body was on top of his and her head was pillowed over one of his nicely developed pecs. She could hear the thud of his heart in her ears. She’d slept like a baby. Not one nightmare had dared bother her.

She was doomed.

How did you ever leave someone like Niko?

Untangling her body, she tried to slip out the bed unnoticed. He was laying there with his eyes closed, but she wasn’t buying it.

She tiptoed across the room, dressed and picked up her cell phone. She dialed a number and waited for it to ring.

“Rena.” She whispered, darting a glance at Niko. “You have to come get me while he’s still asleep. No, I need to leave now. If he wakes up, he’ll never let me go. No, Rena. Last night was the worse night of my life.”

He surged up from the bed. “How could you…”

She fell to the floor laughing as she held up her cell phone that was off. “You know what they say if you listen to closed doors, or pretend to be asleep?”

His lips quirked, then he smiled. “You did that on purpose.”

“That’s what you get. Ask me. Don’t pretend around me. I hate that.”

“Forgive me. I know that. I thought it would be easier for you, if you thought I was still sleeping.”

“Don’t give up your day job. Your calling isn’t acting.”

He got out of bed and walked over to her, hugging her to his body. Leaning over, he kissed her long and hard.

“So if last night wasn’t the worse night of your life, what was it?”

She smiled and laid her head on him. Her big fierce alien needed reassurance too.

“It was one of the best nights of my life.”

He smiled and kissed her again. “I was thinking we could go to the mall and get you some clothes that fit.”

“Really?” She frowned in suspicion. “You said to yourself, what would Dee like to do? I know, let me take her to the mall and spend my money buying her clothes.”

He averted his eyes, staring over her shoulder at the wall.

“Well?” She nudged him with the same shoulder he was overlooking.

“It’s possible that Rena may have whispered in my ear on her way out last night that a trip to the mall might be something you’d enjoy.”

Her body hummed in joy. “See. People wonder why we’re besties, but she knows me so well and always has my back.”

“You’re not mad?”

“That my best friend told you to take me to the mall, buy me lots of clothes and ply me with strawberry lemonade? Nah, I think I’m good. Remember to bring all of your credit cards.” She said the last over her shoulder as she headed to the bathroom for a shower. She would try the tub again later.

She hummed while she got ready, thinking about last night. He was incredible. Forget him. She was incredible. She’d met him thrust for thrust and begged for more. He should be bow legged after what she laid on him.

She finished getting herself together and tossed him a saucy grin as she shot down the stairs. “Hurry up. We have a mall to conquer.”

She was in the game room playing call of duty when he walked in. She was focused on the screen. It wasn’t as much fun as actually being in the game. She was sure she shot one of the people on her team.

“Did you just shoot Nicolas?”

“Did he just step in front of my gun?”

“Poor Nicolas.” He leaned over her and helped with the controls, aiming away from his brothers and toward the enemy that was sneaking up behind her.

“I see I will have to make sure you know how to use a weapon before we have to do any real fighting in our VR world.”

“Don’t worry.” She said dropping the remote. “I can use the real thing. These two D games just get me turned around. Ready?”

“You really do like to shop?”

“Yes, but mostly I want clothes that fit. Besides, any man stupid enough to offer up his credit cards gets what he gets.”

“I don’t remember offering up my credit cards.”

“You did. I heard it somewhere between kitten you’re a sex goddess and damn that’s good.”

His deep laughter followed her out of the door. She got into the car thinking about how happy she was and almost fell.

She was happy. When had that happened? Had it been good sex, ok great sex, which was making her happy?

Yeah that was part of it, but it was more. He made her happy. He was open and honest with her, making her feel like she could trust him. He made her feel safe and even… She shivered when the word bounced around her head. He made her feel, she tripped over the word, even in her head before shying away from it. She would stick with happy for now.

The drive to the mall had been fun. They had fought over the radio like children. He liked country. She still couldn’t wrap her brain around that one. He said it was the twang in the voices and the fact that they sang about needing someone to love.

Seems it struck a chord in him. She liked the top forties. They traded stations and songs. He even got her to admit that there was a song on his station that came on that she sort of liked.

The male should be a lawyer, he was so persuasive. She reached her hand into a container of Rowl that just happened to be placed conveniently in the car.

The stuff was placed all over the house and she found herself dipping into it, even when she wasn’t hungry. First time she ever had meds that tasted good.

“First order of business is the food court, for strawberry lemonade, the drink of champions.” She looked around with a critical eye and found something she hoped was healthy to go with her very unhealthy drink.

“Why do you look so happy?” She asked him.

“Have you ever thought of the things you wanted to do and never thought you would be able to do them?”

“Yeah, lots of times.”

“When we were still on our planet we would see the others, those born not created, with their female halves. We spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like to have a female half, someone who would be what we were missing. Now I sit here with you, my female half. I never thought this would happen for me.”

She blinked rapidly. She wouldn’t cry. Ok, maybe she would cry just a little. He just told her he loved her. He hadn’t used the words, but the words he said meant so much more.

She cleared her throat. “Time for you to take me shopping.”

***

He slept with her. Her smell was all over him. He watched them from his place in the corner. He’d grown bolder. He wanted to be nearer. He watched as they walked out of the food court, hand in hand.

They looked like lovers from the same planet. They may fool the small brains of those around them, but he knew better. He saw an abomination walking around with one that wasn’t smart enough to know better.

They both had to be terminated. She would go first.

He trailed them through the stores. He stopped to talk to one of the human females, using her as a shield not to be discovered.

She smiled at him. He leaned over and whispered something into her ear. He reached out to touch the back of her neck and pricked her with his claw.

Her hand swatted at her neck.

“Sorry, I think something bit me.” She smiled back, her green eyes lit in anticipation.

“No problem. I have to go. My friends are leaving.”

“Oh.”

He left the store, following them. He smiled at the thought of leaving a trail of mindless humans behind him. It would give him something to do until he took the brothers, he laughed at the word, back for extermination.

He picked up the device this planet used for communication. He gave the caller his location and the location of the car he wanted followed.

He watched as Dee picked up a pair of shoes and tried them on. Humans and their needs, he sneered to himself.

He spoke into the phone one last time. Kill her when they leave the mall.

Chapter Seventeen

Today was as close to perfect as any day could get. They had gone in and out of the stores like teenagers, teenagers with money. She had tried on anything that caught her or his eyes.

The flip side was that he had to try on whatever caught her eye, too. She’d discovered that her too thin body had already gained weight. She ignored that fact. It had to be the Rowl. She figured tomorrow was soon enough to confront him and Dante.

She laughed as he carried most of their packages to the car.

“Tell me, how did I get all the packages with bright pink bags and you ended up with the ones that don’t stand out?” He complained.

“Just lucky I guess.”

She opened the trunk and helped him stow away the bags, putting the over flow in the back seat.

They had been at the mall for hours. She’d watched him walking around, flexing his muscles and showing off his hot rear. She’d glared several women down and kissed him in front of one to get her message across.

She’d always made it a rule not to touch another’s man. Now that she’d one of her own, she wanted the same courtesy. Was that too much to ask?

“I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. We should do that again soon.”

“Do you hear that?”

“No.”

“It’s the sound of my credit cards crying.”

“Oh you.” She gave him a swat on the arm and settled back as he pulled out of the mall lot.

“Did you enjoy the mall?”

She hated herself for asking, but a small part of herself needed to be sure he was ok with having spent the day with her. It wasn’t the money or the clothes. She could easily pay that back. She hadn’t really needed him to buy her anything.

She’d learned a long time ago to provide for herself. It was the investment in time she was concerned about. You could never get that back. Money wasn’t as important. You could get that one way or the other.

“Kitten, I’ve never gone to the mall with a female before. I’ve been there several times with my brothers. We go to the store we believe our purchase is in and then we leave. This was like another world.

It reminded me of combat without the actual killing, when you locked eyes with that other female customer going for the same one-of-a-kind dress. Although I’m positive that they had more than one of them in stock, the look in your eyes as you stared her down, was more fascinating than a video game. We have to come back soon.”

She flushed red. He’d seen the dress and his eyes had popped. ‘I can see you wearing that at our next company function.’ She had to have it. A hand reached for it the same time as she did.

The woman had looked down her long straight nose at Dee and practically ordered her to hand it over. Oh no she didn’t. Dee had smiled at her, the smile she used when she was about to make a grown woman cry.

The dress in question was in back of the car and the woman, well she would think twice before opening her mouth.

She’d done it all without one cuss word emerging.

“We should go show Rena my…” Her words turned into a scream as she felt hot pain tear through her shoulder.

The pain was followed by a loud sound and the car lurched sideways on the parkway making for the shoulder of the road and a long drop.

Pain ripped through her side as blood poured out. She gasped, trying to breathe as she saw Niko lose control of the car. They continued to head for the shoulder of the road with the car screeching as it side swiped several other cars before heading for the drop off. Her head flew forward and hit the dash.

Her world went black.

“Dee, please. Dee, wake up.”

“Niko.”

“Don’t move, Kitten. The car is barely hanging on. Any sudden movements and we are going to fall.”

“Thought we had already fallen.”

“We did, but the second time would be far worse. How do you feel?”

“Somebody shot me. Twice.”

“I know. You’ll be ok. We just have to get out of this little jam.

“We need to talk about your idea of what constitutes little, Niko.”

“We will, kitten. Just keep talking to me, ok?”

“Were you shot Niko?”

“No I think whoever shot you wanted me to watch. That’s why they shot the tires out so I couldn’t help you.”

“It was the best day ever Niko. You remember that, ok?”

“Kitten it was the first best day ever, not the last. What we need is a cell phone. I need to call Aran.”

“It’s in my bra but I can’t reach it. My arm is pinned. Both of them are. I can’t move them.” She panicked as she tried to move her arms.

“Calm down. It’s ok. I’ve no qualms about going into your bra. Stay still, I need to turn just a little.”

The car slid sideways as he turned. She bit her lip to keep from screaming. She was sure the noise of her scream wouldn’t help them at all.

“Why is your phone in your bra?” He kept his words slow and steady as he inched his hand closer to her.

“I don’t have any pockets. I took it out thinking I would call Rena and tell her we were coming over…” She choked, a little blood coming out her mouth.

“Dee?”

“I’m fine.” Her voice was weaker and her breathing was shallow.

“You’re doing a great job, kitten. Help will be here soon. Keep telling me your story.”

He leaned over a bit as he got closer, trying to make no sudden movements.

“I put the phone in my bra so I wouldn’t have to mess with my purse when I wanted it.”

“That was great thinking, Dee. I don’t even see your purse now.”

“That’s me. Always thinking ahead.” Her voice was a whisper. He had to strain to hear it.

“Stay awake, kitten.” His voice cracked, making her flinch some. His hand touched her breast feeling the coldness of her skin.

He stretched his fingers and was able to curl them around the phone. “I got it kitten.”