Page 13 of Rescued By the Alien Hit Man

In that moment, the jungle seemed to hold its breath, the usual cacophony silenced by the gravity of his admission. His touch was gentle, a contrast to the strength and savagery I knew lay just beneath the surface.

Could I trust a creature designed to kill? Was the pull I felt towards him part of some grand design or simply the chaos of an uncharted heart?

As Cikarius’s arms encircled me, a protective cocoon in the wilds of Dufair, I realized I might never have the answers. But as I leaned into his embrace, feeling the steady beat of his heart against mine, I decided that, for now, it was enough.

Cikarius stood motionless, his yellow eyes fixed on me, waiting. My heart pounded a frantic rhythm, threatening to betray the fear I fought to contain.

“You could have killed me. Any time,” I said, my voice quivering as I spoke, the list of moments flashing through my mind. “When the slavers caught me, when we crossed the laghairt, in the cave, even now.”

“Yet here you stand,” he said, his tone steady but not unkind.

“It’s true then? You’re a hit man?”

“Resigned,” he said, as if tasting the word, letting it roll off his tongue. He nodded slowly. “For you.”

My mind reeled. Could such a thing be possible? A genetically engineered assassin, defying his own creation for… what? For me?

“Is that even possible?” I pressed, searching his face for any hint of deception.

“I don’t know. No one else has ever tried.” His shoulders tensed, the glowing marks across his chest visible even in the dim light from the bioluminescent moss clinging to the trees.

I looked up to see the conflict etched into the lines of his stoic face. It was a vulnerability I hadn’t expected from someone so formidable.

“Every instinct in me is engineered for killing,” he said, “but none of that matters anymore. Not since I found you.”

“Then show me,” I said, my voice barely audible above the hum of the jungle. “Show me I’m more to you than just another mission.”

His arms tightened around me, not with possession but with promise. He pulled away, clasped my hand, and led me deeper into the shadows of the jungle.

For the first time since I’d met Cikarius, I wasn’t thinking about tomorrow. Only the heat of his body against mine and the shared heartbeat that echoed our mutual resolve.

Unable to continue, I pulled my hand from his. Too many questions, too many reservations swirled in my head. The bioluminescent glow from the moss cast eerie shadows across Cikarius’s face, his yellow eyes reflecting the light like some nocturnal predator. My mind was a maelstrom, swirling with the desperate desire to trust him, to lean into the warmth of his presence, and the icy dread that he might still be what he was created to be—a killer.

“Can I really believe you won’t turn on me?” I said, my voice barely rising above the sound of our synchronized breathing. “Your genetics, they were designed for one purpose.”

Cikarius stood motionless, a statue carved from the very darkness that threatened to consume us both. His silence weighed heavily between us, and I felt the chasm of doubt widen.

“When I look at you, I don’t see the assassin,” I said, my gaze fixed on the undulating shadows that played across his muscular frame. “But it’s there, isn’t it? Part of you?”

My throat constricted around the next words, confessing more than just fear. “I can’t help but want you, even though part of me is terrified that one day…you might fulfill your mission. And that mission could be me.”

The intensity in his gaze never wavered, yet something shifted within those fathomless eyes—a flicker of something human, something kindred. My chest tightened at the vulnerability that bled through the cracks of his façade, my own defenses threatening to crumble.

“Every moment I am with you, Cikarius, I’m fighting myself. Fighting the instinct that says you’re my soulmate against the fear that it’s all just a prelude to my end.” My fingers grazed the cool metal of the pendant around my neck, a present from my mother before she died, a tangible reminder of the life I clung to.

He reached out slowly, his large hand enveloping mine with a gentleness that belied his strength. Warmth spread from histouch, seeping into the icy tendrils of fear that wrapped around my heart. His gesture, so full of intent and care, spoke louder than any reassurance could have.

“Please, I need to know,” I said, my voice trailing off as if the rest of my plea hung suspended in the charged air between us.

His hand tightened around mine, anchoring me to the present, to him, to the possibility that maybe, just maybe, we could transcend the past that haunted us both. His other hand rose, fingertips grazing my cheek with a tenderness that made my knees weaken. The simple touch was electric, sending shivers down my spine, awakening a yearning that I had no right to feel—not now, not when danger lurked within him.

I drew in a shaky breath, my resolve teetering on the edge. Would I choose to step back into the safety of solitude, or would I fall into the unknown, into him?

A distant howl echoed through the jungle, a reminder of the perils that awaited us beyond this brief respite. My pulse quickened, my decision hanging in the balance as the night closed in around us.

“Your fear… it’s a scent on the wind, Mia,” Cikarius said, his voice a melodic rumble. “But I swear on every star in this system, your safety is my commandment, one I would die to uphold.”

His declaration hung heavy in the damp air of the jungle, as substantial and tactile as the bioluminescent moss beneath our feet. My chest tightened with the weight of his words; they were an anchor in a storm, promising salvation amidst tempestuous doubts.

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