They reached the elevator, the men all standing around in silence looking at it. Half a second later she realized the problem.
The elevator was rated and designed for humans rather than the larger frames of the Lathar. With all the senior staff and her as well, it was going to be a bit of a tight fit. There was polite murmuring and jostling into position as the emperor, the prince, the two senior B’Kaar and Cam all tried to get into the car.
“This is ridiculous,” Prince Rohn hissed as he was forced to stand against the back wall, Berrick B’Kaar invading his personal space. “The designer should be disciplined. This contraption is entirely too small.”
“I shall make it a personal mission to bring the designer to task,” Cameron said mildly. “And remind him that in future he should ensure to take into account the physical attributes of species we have not yet made the acquaintance of.”
The emperor gave a sigh, rubbing between his eyes tiredly. “For the lady's sake, Rohn, shut the draanth up.”
Cameron looked over to her and motioned to indicate she should get into the elevator as well. Before she could, Cade’s large presence at her side made her look up. A blush hit her cheeks at light speed as she avoided his gaze and indicated he should precede her.
“Guests first,” she commented in a soft voice. “I’m small. I can squeeze in after you’re all in.”
“Why does the Vorr have to come?” Rohn demanded.
Daaynal turned and looked at him. Whatever was in the look, the prince went pale and snapped his mouth shut with a click.
The emperor turned to look at Cade. “When you’re ready, warrior.”
Cade inclined his head and stepped forward. The instant he did, the metal floor of the elevator dropped a fraction and the elevator alarm squawked. The small screen by the control panel flashed with the word "overweight."
She frowned and looked at the number of people in the elevator again. She’d never seen it do that, not with so few. Even Cameron looked confused.
Berrick B’Kaar shrugged. “We weigh more than a standard human. Sometimes much more.”
“It’s okay,” Cade took a step back, his hand latching around her wrist. “We’ll take the next one.”
Cam pierced her with a direct gaze, a question in his eyes. She gave the minutest shrug. She was on base, and she trusted Cade… Nothing would happen to her—that she didn’t want to happen anyway. Besides, they were overdue a conversation. Long overdue.
Cam inclined his head and reached out to clear the alert from the control panel.
“We’ll see you downstairs,” he said with a smile she knew he didn’t feel. To say that Cam was overprotective was an understatement.
The door swished closed between them and the light above it indicated that the elevator was moving downward. She stole a glance at Cade under her lashes to find him looking at her. The heat and darkness in his eyes brought a flush to her cheeks.
“You got back in okay, then.”
She made sure to keep her voice soft and her back turned to the camera near the ceiling opposite the elevator.
He smiled. “Of course. Did you expect otherwise?”
No… she really hadn’t. Not now she knew that the B’Kaar could get into the city's surveillance grid. Since that was separate from the base systems, she assumed they were in there as well. Before she could ask anything else, a small group of women from the gymnasium joined them.
“I knew there was something about those two,” one of them whispered with a giggle, leaning into the group. “I knew they were related. You just have to look at them to see that.”
One of her friends elbowed her, casting a look toward Elise. She completely ignored them, but her cheeks burnt as another whisper reached her ears.
“No, Karen, you thought they were fucking…”
The temperature in the corridor dropped as Cade turned. Between one heartbeat and the next he seemed bigger and more dangerous than he had in the gym, his features were harder and older somehow…
Could the Lathar change their appearance? That thought was swept away as suddenly all the hackles on the back of Elise’s neck rose.
Dread filled her. The kind of dread she hadn’t felt since she was a small child worried about the monsters under the bed or in the darkness of the closet. The kind that had had her sheltering beneath the thin, ratty blankets that were all the Anselm Kid's Home provided, unable to sleep until the first rays of dawn peeked through the blinds.
“Errrr… we’ll take the stairs,” one of the women who was obviously more sensible than Karen said hurriedly. The group backed away, one of the women, possibly Karen, stumbling as they raced to get away like all the hounds of hell were on their tail.
A small quirk curved Cade’s lips as he turned to look at her again.
“Did you do that?” she whispered, trying not to smile.
“What did you do… I swear…” She shivered, unable to explain the feeling especially since she was sure Cade never felt fear in his life. Not fear like that anyway. “That was horrible… It was awesome!”
He shrugged, the movement strangely elegant and predatory all at the same time.
“Human hearing is on a different spectrum to ours. I just growled in a certain range and it triggered their survival instincts.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You knew it would do that?”
He shook his head as a ping in front of them announced the arrival of the elevator to collect them. “Not in so many words. I suspected. It works on most species.”
She shook her head as he placed a hand on the small of her back to usher her into the elevator. Her alien knight in black leather…
The door closed behind them, leaving her alone in the small space with a dangerous alien. The air swelled with tension but she didn’t feel threatened… Or in danger.
Not the physical kind anyway. Aliens didn’t seem to have any idea of the concept of personal space. Or perhaps it was just him. He stood so close she felt the heat of his larger body all against hers and a shiver rolled down her spine. Oh my God, she’d had this guy’s massive dick in her hands less than twelve hours ago, stroking him to completion. How the hell did she start a conversation now?
He solved that problem for her, strong fingers under her jaw to turn her chin so she looked up at him. His expression was back to being unreadable.
“Ineligible?” he asked, his voice a low rasp that sent tingles along her skin.
She closed her eyes and nodded. Shit, this was it. She knew a little of Latharian culture, enough to know that they were all looking for eligible mates. Women they could bond with and bear them children since they had no women of their own. She’d lied… at least by omission. She should have told him she wasn’t eligible for the program. After this he would want nothing to do with her.
“I’m married,” she admitted, opening her eyes to look at his face despite the fact she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to see the moment his expression shuttered and he turned away from her. “Or at least I was.”
His face hardened, his jaw working as his eyes went black. A chill filled her. What the hell had she done? She knew better than to be within striking distance of someone this mad. Fuck’s sake, she knew better than to be caught in an elevator with somebody she didn’t know and with no way of escape. No way could she could beat him in a fight—fair or unfair. She was just human, and he was some kind of uber warrior alien predator.