Zaureth: A SciFi Alien Romance (Enigma Series Book 4) (6 page)

Chapter Eleven

Tears filled Zaureth’s own eyes as he witnessed Amy’s miracle. He saw everything she saw, felt everything she felt, but nothing prepared him for her reaction to seeing him for the first time.

She slowly turned in his embrace. Gratefulness pouring from her that he remained facing the mirror, allowing her to look her fill.

He lowered to his knees before her.

Amy’s trembling fingers traveled up his arms to his face. She traced the lines of his jaw, his nose, his eyelids…stopping on his lips.

The tears spilling down her cheeks tore at his heart. She openly cried, touching him everywhere at once. “
I never knew that you would be this beautiful, Zaureth. If this is the only time that I will ever see, I will carry the memory with me always.”

Zaureth couldn’t respond for the lump in his throat. He swallowed several times and blinked back his own tears. “
This will not be the last time, precious Amy. As long as we have a connection, you can always see through my eyes.”

She reached up and ran her thumbs over his eyebrows.
“Your eyes are breathtaking. What is this color called
?”

“
Most Bracadytes have green eyes in different shades. Mine are green, only a very pale green.”

“
And mine?”

Zaureth stared into her sightless eyes. “
Yours are the most stunning light blue that I have ever beheld.”

“Your hair!”
Amy excitedly exclaimed.
“Your hair is different.”

Zaureth slowly lifted his hand and pulled his hair free of its restraint before doing the same to Amy’s.

Taking a handful of her silky strands as well as his own, he held them up side by side. “
Your hair is as bright as the sun, while mine resembles the night.”

Amy ran her fingers through Zaureth’s long hair. “
You have some bright hair also.”

“
That is gray. I do not know from whence it came. The scrolls tell of a leader buried in the catacombs many moons ago that carried the same markings in his hair as I do. There are no records to indicate its meaning.”

“It’s lovely,
” Amy whispered, inching ever closer.

Zaureth couldn’t move. He knew he should end the connection and get out of there before he did something he would regret. But he couldn’t seem to look away from her innocent eyes. “
Amy…”

Amy was so tiny, that on his knees, they were the same height. She leaned in and timidly kissed him.

Fire flew up Zaureth’s spine. There was no other explanation for the heat burning up his insides.

His arms went around her without conscious thought, crushing her against him as his lips slanted across hers.

He couldn’t seem to get enough of her taste, her scent.

Her hands were in his hair, gripping him tightly while her delicious moans spilled into his mouth.

She sucked on the tip of his tongue. “
Zaureth…”

Zaureth lost his hold on reality. Without breaking their kiss, he slipped out of his sharkskin vest and went to work on unbuttoning Amy’s blouse.

He reluctantly broke off the kiss and coasted his mouth down her chest to the perfectly round globes of her breasts.

His breath caught as he took in her pink, straining nipples. Zaureth had never touched a female in a sexual way. And though his conscience screamed at him not to do it, he closed his lips over one of Amy’s rosy tips.

Passion unlike anything he could have imagined exploded inside him with the first suck of her nipple into his mouth.

A primal sound came from deep within her throat, and her body shuddered in his arms.

She pulled him more tightly against her, silently begging him for more, until everything faded from his mind but the impending release now throbbing in his sex.

He switched to her other breast, loving it with the same amount of passion.

“
Zaureth? I ache…”

Amy’s whispered plea through their mental link was Zaureth’s undoing.

He broke the suction on her breast, licked his way to her navel, and tugged her cotton shorts to her knees.

She quickly stepped out of them.

His hands shook as he coasted them up her thighs and nudged her legs apart.

The sight of her sweet sex would have brought Zaureth to his knees were he not already on them.

He gently slid a finger through her incredibly wet slit. Zaureth couldn’t think beyond the feel of Amy’s hot, wet heat. He now knew what other males lost their minds over. He wanted her bad enough to kill for her.

Applying a small amount of pressure, Zaureth attempted to slip a finger inside her.

A gasp escaped her, and her nails dug into his shoulders.

Zaureth stilled, more than a little surprised at his discovery. Though she’d been born without sight, it didn’t take away from her stunning beauty. How could she have made it to her age without knowing the intimacy of a man? Surely other males had courted her? “
You are untouched.”
It wasn’t a question.

Amy broke the connection she had with his mind. “I’m sorry, I figured you knew. I didn’t think it would be a problem.”

Zaureth gently removed the tip of his finger from her body and rose to his feet. “It pleases me that you have not known a man before. But I am far too large for you.”

“I trust you not to hurt me,” she whispered, embarrassment and determination seeping from her in waves.

“But I
will
hurt you, precious Amy. My body is much bigger than yours.”

She stood completely still, tears once again swimming in her light blue eyes. “I want you, Zaureth.”

Zaureth cupped the sides of her face in his big hands. “And I want you. More than I have ever wanted anything in my life. And that scares me. I cannot stay away from you.”

“Then don’t.”

An explosion rocked the building beneath Zaureth’s feet, followed by rapid gunfire.

He immediately scooped Amy up into his arms, taking her clothes with him, and placed her terrified body in the shower. “Get dressed, and do not leave this spot until I return for you.”

“Wait,” Amy cried, gripping his arm as he turned to go. “Don’t leave me.”

Zaureth opened his mind to her once more. “
This is the only way that I can take you with me. Stay down and keep quiet. I will be back for you as soon as I can.”

“Please be careful. I couldn’t bear it if something were to happen to you.”

With a quick kiss to her lips, Zaureth pulled the shower curtain closed and ran from the room.

Chapter Twelve

Amy slid down the wall of the shower and hugged her knees as gunfire continued to echo from the ground floor.

She’d never heard anything as loud and horrific in all her life.

Zaureth had opened his mind to her, allowing to see through his eyes. She hovered in the tub, watching with rapt attention as he ran through the hall and into the stairwell.

Most of the things she saw were confusing and foreign to her normally sightless eyes, but she soaked them in as best she could and attempted to stay strong for Zaureth.

“I will not let any harm come to you,”
Zaureth sent through their connection. “
Remain where you are, and open the door to no one that you are not familiar with.”

Zaureth arrived at a door Amy assumed led to the lobby. He slowly cracked it open and glanced around the room.

Amy could see people lying on the floor, their hands over their heads, while three men held something long and dark in their hands. Amy could only assume they were guns.

And then the unthinkable happened. Zaureth pushed the door wide and emerged into the chaos.

More of the armed men burst through the front doors, yelling and waving their weapons in the air.

“Hand over Nicho, and no one has to get hurt.”

Two more giants appeared in Amy’s line of sight. She assumed them to be Bracadytes.

Zaureth stepped forward. Amy could see his hands rise up in front of him. “I do not want to harm you.”

One of the men laughed before pressing the tip of his weapon against the back of someone’s head that lay on the floor. “Produce Nicho, or this man dies.”

“I am here,” a deep voice announced, stepping through the side door.

Amy watched in stunned silence as a tall dark-haired man sauntered across the room.

“
Is that Oz
?” Amy mentally inquired of Zaureth.

“
Yes
,” came his solemn reply.

“Nicho, it is good of you to join us,” a short balding man addressed Oz.

“It’s always a pleasure, Acosta. Too bad your daddy couldn’t be here to see your grand entrance.”

The one known as Acosta lifted his weapon higher. “That’s far enough.”

Oz slowly raised his hands out to his sides. “What do you want? Carlito?”

“I want the diamonds. Now. Or I’ll start picking your guests off one by one.”

Oz took a step forward. “The diamonds are not here.”

Acosta nodded to one of the men standing near him, obviously ordering the termination of one of the hostages.

Amy watched in horror as a shot rang out, and the man on the floor was struck in the back. His body jerked in reaction.

And then all hell broke loose.

Zaureth stalked forward, his hands open in front of him, his gaze on the man that pulled the trigger.

The goon dropped his weapon, his mouth opening in a silent scream while blood trickled from his eyes. He grabbed the sides of his head and dropped to his knees.

Zaureth continued forward, throwing bodies through the air without touching them.

Amy couldn’t look away from the carnage, the cries of anguish from anyone unfortunate enough to be in Zaureth’s path.

She caught glimpses of others fighting throughout the room, but her focus remained solely on Zaureth.

Another shot rang out, louder than the one before. Zaureth’s pain echoed inside her mind in tormenting finality. Amy opened her mouth to cry out to him, just as her vision returned to black.

“Oh my God,” Amy gasped, scrambling from the tub and pulling on her clothes. She didn’t care if her shirt was inside out or if her shorts were on backwards. She buttoned up her shirt as best she could and stumbled from the bathroom. All that mattered was reaching Zaureth.

She continued to call out to him, searching her mind for any evidence of their connection. But all that remained besides the deafening silence was the never-ending darkness.

Amy fell several times in her haste to reach the door. After several attempts at finding the knob, she jerked the door open.

“Thank God, you’re all right,” Mallory breathed, wrapping Amy in a hug. “Something is happening down stairs, and—”

“I have to get to Zaureth,” Amy cried, breaking her sister’s hold. “He’s been shot.”

Mallory grabbed onto Amy’s arm. “What? I can’t let you go down there.”

Another round of gunfire erupted, and Amy found herself on the floor with Mallory shielding her.

“Let me go,” Amy shouted, pushing at her sister’s immovable weight. “Zaureth is hurt.”

Mallory didn’t budge. “I’m not letting you go, damn it. Now stay down.”

Tears of panic sprang to Amy’s eyes. “He’ll die, Mallory. We have to help him.”

The gunfire suddenly stopped, and an eerie silence fell over the room.

“Is it over?” Amy whispered, straining to hear above the ringing in her ears.

Mallory rolled to the side, her breathing overly loud in the otherwise quiet room. “I don’t hear anything.”

Amy sat up and ran her hands down Mallory’s body. “Are you okay? Is the baby all right?”

“We’re both fine,” Mallory assured her. “What about you?”

Amy pushed to her feet. “I’m not hurt, but Zaureth is. Please, Mal. You gotta help me find him.”

Voices, raised in anger could be heard coming down the hall. Amy staggered forward. “Open the door. I hear Glenn.”

Amy wrung her hands as she waited for the crowd of voices to reach them.

“In here,” Mallory demanded, moving Amy aside to make room for the crowd.

Vaulcron’s deep voice rang out above the anxious-sounding murmurs. “Clear off the bed.”

Amy didn’t need to see to know that Zaureth was among the new arrivals. She could sense him. “Zaureth?”

“He has been shot,” Vaulcron growled, striding past Amy. “Someone get Abbie.”

Amy stumbled toward the bed in a panic. “Is he going to be all right? Somebody please talk to me.”

Glenn was suddenly at her side. He took hold of her elbow and guided her toward the couch. “He’s alive. We need to assess his injuries to see how bad it is. Stay right here so you won’t be in the way.”

Amy shook her head, the tears she’d managed to hold back now falling freely down her cheeks. “I need to be with him, Glenn. I won’t get in the way.”

“Let her go,” Vaulcron ordered. “It will help him to have her near.”

Amy lifted her arms and felt her way toward the bed, dragging her fingers over the covers until she came in contact with Zaureth’s hand. She sat on the edge of the bed and kissed his palm.

“What have you gone and done?” Amy whispered, running her thumb over his knuckles. “If you were trying to get out of our talk, you sure picked a hell of a way to do it.”

A moan slipped from Zaureth’s throat.

“Keep talking to him,” Vaulcron insisted. “He can hear you.”

Amy slid up higher onto the bed and arranged herself against the headboard. She ran her fingers through Zaureth’s hair while continuing to speak. “I really need you to wake up. I have yet to see the gulf. How can I go the rest of my life and not know what the gulf looks like?”

Another sound escaped the healer.

“You can’t do this to me,” Amy choked out, trying to think of anything to say that would awaken him. “I’ll be left at the mercy of Glenn and Oz.”

Glenn chuckled.

Zaureth growled.