He casted a glance toward the woman still curled beside him.
A little while later, Daphne sat up and not even two minutes had passed since they’d finished. Zaeryn had been hoping for at least ten minutes of just laying there, cuddling her. He couldn’t lie; he was enjoying having her in his arms, his hands lingering on the soft curve of her breast, his thumb tracing the dusky rose of her nipple. He wanted to feel the quiet intimacy of their shared heat a little longer.
"Already?" he muttered. Zaeryn didn’t consider himself the romantic type; however, for so reason, the more tis he had sex, the more he found himself enjoying these small monts of closeness afterward. The soft warmth, the quiet connection that wasn’t just physical. It was a subtle kind of intimacy he hadn’t expected but found himself wanting. And frankly he didn’t mind. Who would? He was with a captivating woman,
Daphne looked at him, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face."Yeah, unless you want to wait until soone badges in. And for Lysara to know what we did? I’m pretty sure she would not be happy."
Zaeryn sat up. She was right. Daphne was at work, and soone could walk in at any mont. He could get in trouble too, which was sothing he was trying to avoid here.
The two of them quickly cleaned themselves up, using the small but surprisingly well stocked bathroom attached to her office. As he stepped out, Zaeryn saw Daphne already dressed in a fresh set of clothes, a dark blue jumpsuit that was sleek, practical, and perfectly tailored to her. She looked less like a woman who had just been ravished and more like she was about to command a starship. Not that Zaeryn was complaining; the form fitting suit still showed every delicious curve of her body.
He blinked, noticing the change. "You have a wardrobe here?"
She arched a brow, adjusting one of the fastenings on her hip. "Of course I do. I think of this lab as a second ho. Sotis I work late and just... stay."
Zaeryn gave a half smirk. "That explains a lot. You really are a mad scientist."
"Careful," she said, brushing past him with a smirk of her own. "You’re sleeping with that mad scientist now."
After putting on her lab coat, she pressed a button. A low whirring sound ca from the wall, and a sleek diagnostic chair slid out from under a holographic monitor. She motioned for him to sit. Zaeryn sank into it with a small grunt, still feeling pleasantly drained. Daphne, on the other hand, didn’t look tired at all.
"This won’t hurt," she said, already prepping a needle. "Much."
"You’re enjoying this," he muttered, watching her fingers work deftly. He was terrified of needles,"I can’t believe even after we just " He paused, a teasing grin tugging at his lips. "Aren’t we supposed to have so kind of bond by now? Or is that just in the stories?"
Daphne’s lips twitched in amusent as she leaned in closer with eye contact, her breath warm against his skin. "Oh, the bond’s definitely there. But, obviously, my job is still enjoyable. Don’t think you will get special treatnt from , when it cos to my job."
Before Zaeryn could reply, her fingers brushed lightly along his arm. Then, with practiced ease, she slipped the needle into his vein, drawing blood with a slow, almost deliberate touch far gentler than before or he was expecting , as if she was careful not just to avoid pain but to savor the closeness between them.
She moved back to her console. Zaeryn got off the diagnostic chair, watching as she placed the sample in a small, glowing centrifuge. A holographic display blood in the air, showing his blood swirling as it was analyzed. The initial readings were normal, but then the screen began to flicker.
Daphne’s eyes, usually unreadable, widened. The corner of her lips twitched, then curved into a smug, almost playful smirk. She glanced at him and said dryly, "Well, looks like we cracked the code. It’s official, you’re like an incubus."
Zaeryn narrowed his eyes. "Incubus? Really?" He didn’t like that label. It made him feel like he was taking advantage of the won he slept with or was going to sleep with which wasn’t true. She, for example, had given herself to him willingly. "That’s not a flattering diagnosis."
"Too bad it’s accurate." She teased, then tapped the console, pulling up detailed readings.
"Your blood isn’t altered, it’s integrated with my Vitae at a fundantal level. This isn’t contamination or infection... It’s fusion. Symbiosis."
He leaned forward, looking at the scrolling data. He already knew most of what she was discovering, but it was oddly satisfying to watch it unfold in clinical, scientific terms.
"So what’s next?" Zaeryn asked, a sudden rush of excitent running through him. The idea of being a male who could use Vitae had him over the moon.
She waved off the holographic screen and closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, her body brushing against his leg. Taking his hand, she held it with a quiet firmness. "Do you know what this ans? You’re now a Vitae wielder."
Zaeryn stare at their clasped hands, nodding.
Daphne’s eyes were bright too bright for soone who was supposed to be neutral and professional. Plus, she was supposed to look at him as a threat now. But, she didn’t. She didn’t even want to entertain the thought of him being any kind of bad person. Because what she saw wasn’t danger,it was sothing not even she could explain. All she knew now was that she liked him, and he could never be a threat. She would do a lot to protect him.
The excitent there was real, almost personal, and Zaeryn caught it instantly. It made him relax in a way he hadn’t realized he needed. This ant freedom, power... and options.
Before he could say anything, Daphne kissed him on his lips without warning. It wasn’t calculated; it was soft, lingering, just long enough to feel deliberate. Her soft lips were warm and confident.
When she pulled back, she looked at him with that trademark look of hers, a mix of challenge and amusent. She wasn’t smiling or smirking, but there was a spark in her eyes. "What are you thinking about? I hope it’s not so world dominating fantasy after sleeping your way through half the world."
Zaeryn’s grin was slow as he joked. "Not the whole world... just the parts worth my ti." His gaze lingered on her before he leaned in again, capturing her lips in a kiss that was deeper, more urgent this ti.
Daphne’s hands went from his shoulders to wrap around the back of his neck, her body swaying toward him. She kissed him back with a hunger that surprised them both.
’This is completely unscientific,’ Daphne’s mind scread, even as her body lted into his. ’Illogical. Unquantifiable.’ She had no data to support this level of attraction, no hypothesis to explain the chaotic surge of pleasure that coursed through her every ti he touched her. This was not control. This was not an analysis. This was a delightful, terrifying surrender, and she was enjoying it a bit too much.
’I can never get used to this,’ Zaeryn thought, savoring the way her body responded, how every touch and breath felt electric.
Outside the room, Kira ca to a stop in the hallway, a data pad clutched in one hand. She was on her way to discuss a new report with Daphne, but the silence behind the door was unusual. Daphne’s lab was almost never quiet, and while the room was soundproof, Kira’s auditory synth a small, sophisticated device built into her wrist gauntlet allowed her to listen in. Normally, the device was for battlefield surveillance, filtering enemy chatter through walls. Today, it had... other uses.
She slipped a nearly invisible earpiece into her ear, discreetly amplifying the sounds from within the room.
Kira’s hand hovered over the door’s interface panel, a small smirk playing on her lips. She didn’t have a direct invitation, but the rules rarely applied to her.
From inside ca a faint, breathy murmur... almost like a sigh. Or was that a moan? Her brow arched in curiosity. With a tap of her gauntlet, she activated the acoustic resonance filter, letting the subtle sounds bleed through. Another noise followed a quiet, almost breathless thud the unmistakable rhythm of an uninhibited mont.
Her smirk deepened. Oh, she definitely knew what this was.
With a glint of mischief in her eyes, she keyed in her override code. The door slid open with a soft hiss.
The door slid open with a soft hiss, and what Kira saw made her jaw go slack, then curve into the slow, predatory grin of soone who’d just found leverage for the next decade.
Daphne was half seated on the diagnostic chair, her jumpsuit undone to her waist, hair slightly mussed. Zaeryn was in front of her, shirt hanging open, one hand braced on the chair’s armrest while the other cupped the back of her neck. Their mouths were still locked together, and the way their bodies leaned in... it was obvious this wasn’t so sterile lab experint.
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