Rilex & Severine's Story: Alien Warrior Mates IV, #6

By Grace Kensington

With the journey to Penthos nearly over, Rilex and newly-named Severine wake in each other's arms. Something has changed between them, but with the danger still building around them and so many more questions to answer, neither is sure they are ready to find out exactly what.

As the ship prepares to land they part to get ready, and Severine overhears a conversation that brings all of the changes that she is facing crashing around her. In an instant, she can no longer see the future that she thought she might be building, and she wonders if she can ever really get beyond her origins.

Reeling from Severine's sudden change of heart, Rilex heads out onto Penthos to find Ciyrs, starting a chain of events that will leave both of them questioning everything as the war waits just on the horizon

• Language: English
• Publisher: Grace Kensington
• Release date: May 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393061830

Book preview

1

Rilex felt too warm and comfortable to want to come out of the sleep that had unexpectedly taken him over only a few short hours before. He had thought that he was going to stay awake throughout the entire journey from Earth to Penthos and hadn’t felt any of the fatigue that the others seemed to show when they got onto the shuttle. As he stood with Severine staring out of the window of the lounge at the calm, peaceful space beyond, however, he had started to feel the tiredness settle into the muscles throughout his body and his eyes grow heavy until they had sat down into one of the large reclining seats positioned in the lounge and fallen asleep.

Just thinking of her name sent a thrill of excitement through Rilex and settled a warm, comforting feeling into his belly. He could still barely believe that the beautiful hybrid woman had chosen him to select her name for her. It was such a meaningful decision, and the fact that she had allowed him to make it for her felt intimate and precious in a way that he had never experienced. He couldn’t yet put voice to the hope that he held in his heart, the hope that someday, hopefully someday soon, they would be able to extend that intimacy and trust and move forward into a relationship that went beyond the simple and somewhat tenuous bond that had begun to grow between them.

He heard a soft murmur and wrapped his arms more tightly around Severine, who cuddled close to his body in the large, thickly cushioned chair. The sweet sound made him relax even deeper and he hesitated in opening his eyes for a few more seconds. He knew that as soon as he opened his eyes he was going to have to come back into reality. For now, as long as he kept his eyes closed and his arms cradling her, Rilex could pretend that this was reality and that it would continue on for as long as he wanted it to. Severine shifted in his arms and let out another cooing sound as she gradually came out of sleep. Wanting to see her sleeping against him, even if only for a few seconds, Rilex opened his eyes and looked down at her. They were curled around each other in the seat, her head rested forward on his chest as he held her, and his head leaned above hers.

He didn’t remember falling asleep this way. Instead, they had stood at the window talking until they both moved back toward the chair and sat in it. It was a gradual and natural movement, as if both of them were experiencing the same thought in the same moment. Their conversation had flowed just as naturally and by the time her voice quieted and her head rested back against the seat, he felt like he knew her on a new level, a level that confirmed both his deep and undeniable attraction to her, and his disgust and hatred for Ryan. Rilex had listened to Severine talk until the words stopped and watched her as each blink became longer, till finally her eyes stayed closed and her face softened in sleep. He remembered watching her for a few minutes, wanting to make sure that she was truly resting, but then his own eyes closed and he fell into a sleep that was deeper than any he could remember having in his recent memory.

Their bodies had moved toward each other during the night until they were lightly intertwined. It was as if they had been magnetized to each other by something that existed inside of them and recognized itself in the other when they were finally vulnerable in sleep. Now they were both coming out of that sleep and it was up to them to become aware of what was happening between them and decide how they were going to allow themselves to respond to it.

Rilex watched as Severine’s eyes briefly squeezed closed more tightly and then her long eyelashes lifted off of her cheeks and she let out a sigh as she stared across his chest at the window ahead of them. After a few moments, she raised her gaze to his. He offered her a soft smile, hoping that it would start to fill the space that existed between their minds even as their bodies remained closely linked. Severine stared back at him nearly expressionless. She blinked several times and then her eyes narrowed questioningly.

What is it? he said quietly.

He knew that no one else on the ship would be able to hear them even if he spoke to her normally, but something about the situation made him feel as though he should keep his voice low a quiet, almost as though he didn’t want the words to get far