With a pout, Cerria leaned closer, pressing her small breast against his shoulder, her breath hot on his ear. “I will fuck you.”
“Not tonight.” Not ever.
“How much?” she demanded.
She was determined. “I’m not for sale.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Everyone has their price. Even your pretty little flower here would have a price.” Her gaze raked over Madeline.
Madeline sipped her drink, curling into Lore. “What I want, you can’t give me. And unfortunately for you, Lore doesn’t want you.”
Cerria’s gaze sparked fire. “He wants you, but I can tell you haven’t fucked him yet. So maybe you don’t want him enough. Maybe there’s something more you want than him.”
The woman turned away, shouting for more drinks.
Lore pressed his lips to Madeline’s ear. “You okay?”
She nodded. “We’re here for a reason. An important reason. I can put up with that catty bitch any day.”
They stayed there for a while, pretending to enjoy themselves. Cerria laughed loudly, touching any male within reach. Vashto drank steadily.
Then Lore stood, setting Madeline on her feet. Vashto eyed them.
“I want a closer look at the fight.” Lore wrapped an arm around Madeline.
Vashto nodded. “Enjoy the party and all its entertainments.” His gaze moved to Madeline again. “I’ll be in touch.”
Lore nodded and pulled Madeline into the crowd, eager to put some distance between them and the couple.
They moved through the party, the music turning from a thumping beat to something with screeching strings. There were pockets of people dancing, and others shouting and cheering for the boxers in the ring.
Lore saw her glass was empty. “I’ll get you another drink. Stay right here.”
She nodded, her gaze on the fighters. Lore turned around and took a few steps to order with the closest server.
When he turned back, he saw a giant, red-skinned, horned alien towering over Madeline. She appeared to be telling the man to leave her alone and waving him off.
But the alien stepped in closer. His skin color deepened and the curled horns on his head started to glow.
That’s when Lore saw Madeline go stiff, her face frozen.
Fear. She was keeping her face blank but Lore saw below that mask of hers now. Realization burst inside him. The alien was a Gnashian, a distant relative of the Thraxians.
The alien grabbed her arm and she twisted, trying to jerk out of his hold. Lore charged forward, fury boiling inside him. He knocked several people out of his way.
“Leave her alone.” He grabbed the man’s arm.
A second later, the Gnashian gave a loud yell. He released Madeline and stumbled away.
There were two perfect scorch marks of Lore’s hands burned into the alien’s arm, and Lore’s hands still flickered with flames.
Chapter Eight
Lore cut off his power, and hoped no one saw his veins glowing gold beneath his skin.
“Go.” He glared at the red-skinned alien. “Before I hurt you far worse than that.”
With a strangled noise, the Gnashian hurried off. Lore wrapped an arm around Madeline, pulling her away from the crowd and toward the darker edges of the room.
Back near the entrance that led down into the kitchens below, he pulled her close, turning his back to the crowd. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, her gaze still on his arms. In the shadows, the fading glow of the veins in his arms was more noticeable.
“He frightened you.”
“I know. It was stupid. He just reminded me of the Thraxians.” Her gaze met his head-on. “The fire…it’s not just an illusion.”
Lore stiffened. Was she afraid of him? He was so used to keeping his ability secret, he wasn’t sure what to say.
She reached out and grabbed his palm, turning it over and studying it. She traced her fingers up his arm. She didn’t appear afraid. “How do you do it?”
“Males are rare among the Nomi for a reason. We have…extra abilities.”
“Pyrokinesis.” She shook her head. “And the water during the show yesterday…you were really manipulating it. It should be impossible.”
“For humans and most other species, yes.”
Her gaze was steady. “But not for you.”
“No, not for me. Or rather, the males of my species. We are born with the mental ability to control the movement of molecules in our body. Like water molecules. And we can also speed up their movement in order to increase the temperature.”
“And create fire,” she breathed.
He pulled her closer. “It’s always been kept a secret by my people, Madeline. Nomi males are believed to be extinct, and in the past, when people heard of one alive, he was usually hunted, killed, or dissected.”