The Price of Discovery (20 page)

Drakor's headache returned. Now he not only had Erin to subdue, but his own brother as well.

“Do not touch her or I will kill you.”

Brundor managed a half-smile. “Then you will take me to that place, that dance club to find someone else.”

“I'm not sure you can handle yourself there. The females there are far too tantalizing and you could lose control.”

“You said some are willing.”

“Some are, but not right there, you would have to wait. It is not a good idea.”

His brother narrowed his eyes and pushed his arm away. “Either you take me there or I will find a way to go myself.” Then, he opened the front door and stepped inside.

Drakor followed. If there was ever a time he wished he were still a boy scouring through hot and dark caves and searching for hidden jewels, this was it. How could he survive the next five minutes, much less the amount of time it took for Ankra to get pregnant? He didn't want to be in control of this mission, of his family. He never wanted to come here in the first place.

He looked in all of the downstairs rooms for Erin but didn't see her or his sisters. Then a shout and door slams at the top of the steps sent him running. He bounded up the grand staircase taking two steps at a time.
 

But at the top he saw no one. All doors were shut.

He opened his brother's door first, struggling against the frenzied rush in his veins. But Brundor was alone. He sat on the edge of his bed, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Even from across the room, Drakor could see him trembling.

“Tell me.” Drakor managed to hold his voice steady.

“I–I can't take this. You have to do something.”

Drakor took another step closer. “Brundor…”

“Forget the dance club, take us home.”

He crossed the room until he stood directly before his brother. “What just happened?”

“I–I saw the door to Mother and Father's room open.” Brundor continued to shake and stare at the floor. “I went to look in and I saw Erin there. I mumbled something about her not going in there and she shrieked.”

Drakor sucked in a deep breath, needing to protect Erin rather than be concerned over her prying. “Then what happened?”

“She started to explain but I must have scared her because she pushed me out of the way and ran out the door. I think she went to Ankra and Sitora's room.”

“Did you touch her?”

“No. She touched me. I came straight in here.” Brundor glanced up with frightened, red eyes. “This is killing me. I can't deal with the Crossing on Earth. We have to go home.”

Drakor backed away and sat on his own bed. He wanted nothing more than to go home, to take them all and vanish from Earth forever. But he promised his parents, he owed it to them to complete the mission. He owed it to his brother and sisters to not let dishonor ruin their future.

If just a brush with a human female made Brundor this way he would have to keep him locked up for the remainder of their stay. And he was going to have to make sure that Erin did not come here again. She was far too dangerous. For everyone.

Drakor got up and went to his sisters' room. He knocked first, listening to the giggling and shuffling.

Ankra opened the door. Erin was lying on the floor and Sitora sat on top of her, straddling Erin's hips. For an instant he saw himself on the floor and Erin straddling him. A thread of desire snaked in his veins and he shoved his hands into fists trying to stave it off. No. He had to get her out of here.

He stood over the pair. “Erin, you need to go now.”

Her eyes narrowed and she bit her lip, just like she did after Father died when she wanted to stay to comfort Sitora. Or did she want to comfort him?

“Erin's not leaving.” Sitora crossed her arms.

“We're having a slumber party,” Ankra explained. “Erin told us all about this custom where girls get together and spend the night. We thought it would be fun.”

Drakor's pulse slammed at his temples. He could not allow Erin to spend the night here with Brundor ready to explode at any moment. And yet the thought of her sleeping nearby strangely pleased him.

“I am in charge.” He crossed his arms, feeling more like little Sitora than like the leader of this family. And yet, how dare they make these decisions without consulting him? Ankra and Sitora knew nothing about the risky games Erin played. “I make the decisions here.”

“Oh, but it was going to be a surprise,” Sitora whined. “For your anni—birthday.”

Drakor glared at Erin. “And was that
her
idea too?”

“No,” Ankra said from behind him. “It was mine.”

Chapter Seventeen

Once Erin heard deep and even breaths from Ankra and Sitora, she sat up. She never liked sleeping on the floor. Even as a girl in grade school, she hated slumber parties where she had to bring her sleeping bag. There was nothing like a nice, soft bed. But she could sacrifice one night's sleep for a chance at the object she saw still under the dresser.

The moon cast long shadows in the dim room. She couldn't reach the electronic thing from this side of the dresser, it was too far the other side. But Sitora's bed blocked the other side. The only way to reach it was to climb over Sitora and reach behind her head.

Erin crawled out of her blankets and over to the sleeping girl. An angelic face nestled close to the worn doll. There couldn't be a sweeter image anywhere.

Erin sighed. This would be easier if she had gone home to get her pajamas and other necessities, but a part of her feared Drakor wouldn't let her back in if she left. But he did let Ankra convince him to lend her one of his shirts. So here she was on her knees, wearing a green shirt smelling every bit like the man in the next room, ready to steal something she knew was important to him.
 

She scooted over Sitora and wedged herself between the girl and the large bed. Erin reached under the dresser but couldn't touch it. She pushed herself flat on her stomach, held her breath, and extended her fingertips toward the wall.

Contact. She crept forward another inch or so until her face was pressed against the mahogany drawer. With a small tip forward, the device fell against her palm. Erin snatched it and pulled away.

Finally, she held it safely within her grasp. This thing had to be something more than that light—or whatever it was. She clearly saw Brundor touch one of these and make the spaceship disappear.

Erin pushed herself up against the bed and stood. For a moment, she watched the two sisters sleeping. They looked so peaceful, so happy, so…unaware. Exposing Drakor for her article was one thing but it would also affect the rest of them. What would happen to these two once her story broke?

She stepped over Sitora and bit her lip. Her big bag sat near Ankra's bed and she tiptoed across the room to it. She didn't want to hurt them. In fact, despite the way Drakor treated her, she didn't want to hurt him either. But for once in her life she had to think of herself, of her professional life. Rita wouldn't let a friendship stand in her way. A reporter needed to be apart from emotional ties. She'd learned that lesson well enough. The shame from it all still burned her cheeks and twisted her stomach.

Erin opened the small zipper deep inside her purse and dropped the electronic PDA-thing in it. She took a quick check on the others and found them still sleeping, the moonlight spilling across Sitora's sweet face.

She bit her lip again and stole out the bedroom door. The hallway was nearly pitch black, save for a gray light coming up the steps from the window in the parlor room. Erin glanced at the next door and swallowed. Inside laid both Brundor and Drakor.

Something about Brundor worried her immensely. His hot eyes held desperation. And desperation drove people to do reckless acts. Even if Erin somehow knew Drakor would protect her, she didn't want to take that chance around his brother.

Erin wiped her palms on Drakor's shirt and tested the door at the end of the hall. The room she snuck in earlier. It was unlocked! She slipped inside and quickly closed the door behind her, locking it.

This room too was darkened by the shadows of the moon. If only she could have gone home and gotten her flashlight. Now, she'd have to poke around in the dark. There had to be something in this massive bookshelf to her left. She already knew that nothing was on the other side of the room other than a bed. This must have been his parents' bedroom. It seemed creepy to be in here when they only died two days ago. But still she had work to do and she couldn't let anything stand in her way.

She went closer to the screen on the desk. It looked similar to a computer monitor, but much flatter and shinier. Erin reached out to touch it when a sound startled her from behind.

Had someone come in? She locked the door, she was sure of it.

Erin tried to ignore the galloping of her heart and slowly turned to face the dark corner of the room. She could see nothing against that shadowed wall but then a figure stepped forward.

“So this is the real Erin.”

Her breath stilled but her heart jumped for an entirely different reason. Drakor.
 

But how did he get in here? Or was he in here all along? There was no sense in lying like she tried to with Brundor. Drakor knew what she did for a living and why she was here.

She folded her arms under her breasts, suddenly very aware of her bare legs and his scent on her collar. “And? What of it?”

He took another step forward and Erin had to muffle the intake of breath in her dry throat. The glow from the window lit up his bare chest, narrowed waist, and arms, casting shadows along the hard lines of his muscles. He wore a pair of shorts, unbuttoned but zipped, and nothing else.
 

Drakor leaned one hand against the shelves near her. “I never imagined you would use my sisters to get what you want.”

Erin tilted her head, trying to not be tempted by the allure of his body.
 

He moved closer still and Erin backed up until her butt hit the edge of the desk. Drakor put an arm on either side of her head, blocking an escape.

Erin stared up at him, wanting to run from him but knowing she could not. Not when he was this close. Not when shivers coursed through her body in the anticipation of his next move. She licked her lips but couldn't control the deep yearning crashing through her blood. He held her spellbound, intoxicated by his raw sexuality.

Drakor leaned toward her face, stopping just inches from her lips. “You and I are playing this game, but only one of us can win.”

Why couldn't she respond to him with some witty comment? One glance into those mysterious eyes made her heart skip a beat. His heady, masculine presence enveloped her so completely that all logical thought emptied from her brain.

Erin muttered something unintelligible and lifted her chin a little. Damn it, why didn't he kiss her?

A hot hand clamped down on her thigh and Erin gasped. Her pulse rocketed. She could see one corner of his lips curl as he slid a knee between her legs. “What do you hope to find, Erin?”

She tried to answer but her mouth was too dry to even swallow. If only he would kiss her…

His other hand came down from the shelf and slowly lifted her shirt. “I like the way you look in my clothes.”
 

With one hand on her thigh, the other resting on her bare hip, Drakor leaned forward to within a whisper of touching her lips. Shivers had long since been replaced by a spiraling heat inside of her. Her nipples reached forward, her legs weakened.

Still, he did not kiss her. The bastard was teasing her. He must know the effect he had on her, the way he could make her brain so fuzzy that she could concentrate only on him.
 

Erin had one thought only at that moment—to have the aching void deep inside her filled. And Drakor had to be the one to do it. But she'd be damned before she'd let him know that.

 

 

If Erin only knew how much this tortured him. From the moment he saw those firm muscular legs poking out from beneath his shirt, Drakor knew he had to have her tonight. Of course, the fact that it would distract her from prying around was an added bonus.

In the hazy light he saw her lick her lips. She wanted him to kiss her and yet she would not make the first move. If she wanted it so badly, why didn't she reach her arms around his neck and pull her to him? Maybe she enjoyed this other game they played.

“Admit it,” he said against her mouth. “You want me, despite everything.”

She didn't answer so Drakor raised his hand and caressed her breast, his thumb massaging the pointed tip. This time a whimper was his response. His whole body tightened with need.
 

Drakor pressed against her. “You can feel how much I want you. Tell me that you want me inside you.”

Erin arched her back, pushing herself against his palm and erection. Her actions gave him the answer he sought but she refused to say the words. Why could she not admit it? Because he wasn't human?

He moved his other hand around to cup her bottom. She lifted her leg and he slid a finger inside her underwear. Oh yes, she wanted him all right. Thank the Great Sun he'd learned much about his control within the last week. Clenching his teeth, Drakor held still while fire pumped through his blood, jerking his erection.

“I will have you answer me.” He nibbled on her lip. Erin closed her eyes, apparently waiting for his kiss.
 

Instead of obliging her, Drakor slipped a finger within the very wet and waiting spot between her legs. She groaned and bucked up against him. He had to suck in a deep ragged breath to hold himself under restraint.
 

But he would break her, he would make her admit that she wanted him. Then he would know that he could sway her with his touch anytime. He could make her forget everything about revealing who they really were.