War Games (Alien Instincts) by Cynthia Lore Page B

looked up at him only to see Markar glaring down at her. Rae’s eyes moved downward to gape at his bare chest. Droplets from his damp hair moved slowly over the exposed muscles and Rae felt as if the sensuous fall of the water over his skin put her into a trance.
    “We are leaving.” he said in a low tone, and was all the more intimidating for the silence that seemed to envelop him like a cloak, his mood darker than the shadows by the lake had been.
    Rae panicked when she couldn’t think of any way to change his mind. She could fight him, but ultimately they would just end up hurting each other, and neither one would really come out victorious. As their staring contest continued, Rae began to feel desperation overwhelm her.
    Despite the tension that Rae could see in Markar, he slowly reached out one hand and trailed a calloused finger along her jaw line. His touch was gentle, but his hand trembled slightly as he lifted her chin so that she would look up into his eyes. “I will not lose you.” he stated. His voice had deepened and the gruff tone sent a thrill through Rae’s heart.
    She didn’t even notice stepping towards him. Rae felt as if she was moving in a dream. If she had awoken, she might have retreated and put more space in between them. As it was, there was no more personal space, their bodies so close they were practically one entity. Rae’s head was still craned back in order to see Markar’s eyes. “I don’t want to end this.” she responded, but her anger had left her and her words came out as a plea.
    Markar’s face contorted into one of anguish and he placed his hands on her waist as if he was afraid she would flee from him at that very moment. Before he could deny her again, Rae raised her arms and placed them over his broad shoulders. She lifted up onto her toes, but still it wasn’t enough to match his height. In frustration, she leapt the last couple of inches in order to latch her mouth onto his. Markar’s eyes opened wide in shock, and his grip on her waist tightened to an almost bruising hold.
    Rae couldn’t quite think what else to do. She was desperate to keep what she saw as her only chance at true adventure. She didn’t want to return to Earth just yet. She could think of no other argument to convince Markar to keep her with him, especially after she had almost just died. Her mind was fragmented and desperate, and in a dreamlike state she had attacked his mouth with hers. When his grip had tightened on her waist, she expected at any moment for Markar to shove her away from him in anger at her outburst.
    Instead, he held her aloft with her feet dangling towards the ground, his eyes widened in shock, and then he took control. His arms wrapped around Rae and crushed her against him. He groaned into her mouth, and his face contorted once again into an expression of pain. Rae tried to retreat, thinking that she had hurt him somehow in her desperation, but he refused to release her. Keeping one arm around her waist, his other hand moved to cup the back of her head and held her in place as his lush lips descended back towards hers.
    It was Rae’s turn to be startled at his reaction. She wanted to distract Markar from his decision to take her back, and she seemed to have accomplished her goal. Her body was awoken out of the trancelike state it had been in and then Rae’s iron control snapped.
    Rae had been forced to surrender herself to death in the water. She had taken her final breath, and it had not revived her. Now she craved to feel alive again. When she felt Markar’s tongue breach her mouth and his potent drug enter her system, this time she welcomed it.
    Rae moaned in appreciation as her whole body was set on fire. The chill she had sustained since coming out of the lake was burned away, and in it’s place the embers of desire heated her skin till Rae couldn’t help but move to try to alleviate some of the fire. She pulled her arms more firmly around Markar’s neck and hefted