Page 19 of Zar

At Kade’s solemn vow, all the energy seemed to be sucked out of Zar’s body and he slumped. “Thank you.”

Kade nodded, then lead him to the bedroom. After he placed him on the bed, he stepped back. In a softer voice he asked, “An earth-born?”

Zar closed his eyes to keep the room from spinning so fast. “Garra has willed it. She is mine.”

“Damn, that sucks,” Kade muttered. It was the last Zar heard before he was engulfed in the wild storm brewing inside him. His body was on fire. He needed release, but he would never ask it of Callie. She didn’t know their ways. They’d only just met. For her, he was a stranger. For him, she was everything.

****

Callie paced the living area. She didn’t know what was going on but it was clear Zar was in some sort of inebriated state. She tried to think back to the meal he’d served. She could swear Zar only drank water, same as her. How could he have gotten so wasted? It made no sense. The steady pounding of feet drew her attention to the hallway where Zar had disappeared. The man who’d helped carry Zar to bed stood there watching her. His wings flexed behind him, thumping in a steady rhythm against the wood floor. He was every bit as large and intimidating as Zar. He had the same facial features. A wide, square jawline, full lips and eyes so dark they appeared as black as the enormous wings hitting the floor behind him. He wore black pants and boots similar to Zar’s, but he had a grey t-shirt on. Definitely a relative. He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at her, as if this was all somehow her fault. That got her fired up in a hurry.

She stiffened her spine and held his gaze. “Look, Mister High and Mighty. Zar had Flare bring me here for a supposed meeting, which has yet to actually take place. Imagine my surprise when I learn there are aliens living on Earth and they can fly. Then Zar tells me I’m his ofelia, which apparently is Zenarian for soulmate. The entire concept completely freaks me the hell out, but he seems like a decent guy all the same. Even if he did kidnap me. Winged-man and I were getting along okay, all things considered. Then all of a sudden, the only person I feel remotely connected to in this crazy scenario that is now my life is completely wasted. As in drunk. Also, I don’t even know how that’s possible because he did not have a drop of alcohol. I’m terrified. Exhausted. And ready to just run screaming into the forest. Except I can’t because Zar lives in a freaking treehouse a hundred feet off the bloody ground.”

Several tense, quiet minutes pass before Mister High and Mighty asked, “What is your name?” His deep, firm voice let Callie know that the big guy was totally used to being obeyed without question.

“Callie,” she answered. “Callie Wilson. I work at HealthTec. And I’m million miles from home and I have no idea how to get back.” Her breathing increased. Short ragged gasps as if she’d run a marathon. Her face began tingle and her cheeks heated as if she stood in the summer sun. “Shit, I think I’m having a panic attack,” She muttered.

Kade swiftly crossed the room and took hold of her upper arms. He nudged her towards the couch. “Come. You need to sit down.”

She nodded and let him help her. After she was seated, Callie tried to get control of her breathing by closing her eyes and counting backward from ten. She felt a warm, soothing hand on her back and it helped immensely. When Callie was calm, she opened her eyes to find the man sitting next to her, a look of concern on his handsome features. God, what was wrong with her? She never panicked. And she certainly never let a man take charge. Then a loud, sing-song voice from the other room began to call her name.

“Callie, sweet little dove, come to me!” Zar shouted, his speech slurred and a little too high-pitched.

Callie shot the stranger a frustrated glare. “Okay, start talking. What in the holy hell is happing to Zar?”

Kade smiled, which seemed way the hell out of place, considering the seriousness of the situation. “It’s called the influr’ite.”

Yeah, that made as much sense as everything else she’d been told. “The what?”

He chuckled. “The influr’ite. It occurs when…I’m uncertain how to put this delicately.”

“Just be blunt. I’m not some fragile flower.” How shocking could it be, considering she’d already discovered an alien race inhabited Earth?

“When he took you on a flight on his back your exposed lower body touched his wings. And you must have been in a state of arousal at the time.”

She stiffened. “That isn’t true.” Liar, liar pants of fire. Yeah, she’d gotten aroused, but who wouldn’t when riding on the back of Zar? Feeling his muscular body between her thighs and watching his wings as he soared through the air with such ease. It had been a major turn on.

He cleared his throat. “When that happened, your fluids mingled with his and ignited the influr’ite.”

Now she was confused. “His fluids? I was riding his back not his crotch.”

“Our wings secret droplets of fluid. Similar to, I think Earth-born call it, precome.”

Callie was starting to get the picture now. “So, when I became aroused and slid along his feathers it aroused him?”

“Exactly.”

“So, that still doesn’t explain why he’s singing my name from the bedroom right now.”

Right on cue, Zar began another out-of-tune song involving her name and a dove. Kade shook his head and appeared as if he were trying hard not to laugh. “For Zenarians to have our ofelia caressing any part of our wing is a major turn-on. When your sex caressed his feathers, it sent his libido into overdrive, so to speak. And for us, if we cannot find release the feeling can overwhelm us to the point where we are literally drunk on it.”

“So, he’s drunk on unspent desire?”

He shook his head. “No. He’s drunk on you, Callie. Nothing will sober him now except for your touch.”

“Me?” she practically screeched the word. “You’re saying I’m supposed to go in there and have sex with him? A virtual stranger?”

“Zar doesn’t view you as a stranger. For Zenarians, our ofelia is a connection that runs deep. Even at first meeting. We know. We feel it.”

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