Before I could open the door, it flew open, smacking against the wall and bouncing back a few inches. I jumped, startled. Then I stared. And stared. There, standing before me, was a really good likeness of Kass.
Someone had gone all out. This guy had the same dark hair. The same crooked smile. The same small scar under his left eye. The same dark brown eyes. The same fucking dimples that made him look like a mischief-making, super-sexy space pirate. He was dressed head to toe in black, the cut and tailoring exactly matching the in-game uniforms of a Starfighter MCS, but he had no adornments or anything else that indicated he was in the military. Any military. And fool that I was, my gaze darted to his chest to look for the Starfighter insignia. Which was there. Black on black, but the damn swirl was there. I even recognized the buckles on his boots.
What the hell? This space alien uniform was absurd. Laughable, which meant I was the brunt of the joke now for the half second that my heart leaped and my body tightened as if he was real. Two heartbeats later the stupid organ ached ten times more than it had before as the leap of joy crashed back into the pit of despair. Because this man looked exactly like Kassius Remeas, in the flesh.
So, was this man a model? Maybe the game developer had placed him in front of a green screen and based the avatar of Kassius Remeas on him. Maybe I was hallucinating and a pimply-faced teen with a half-grown mustache and gangly legs was staring back at me. Perhaps the stress of the job had finally sent my mental health into a tailspin.
But I couldn’t tear my eyes off him. Fuck that, I couldn’t blink. Or breathe.
“Mia Becker.” He didn’t say more but inspected me with the same intense scrutiny I gave him.
I wasn’t going to call him Kass. It would hurt too much. Uttering that one syllable meant that I was buying into the entire joke. And I felt that it was all on me.
Without tearing his gaze away, he pulled me into the room and shoved the door shut behind me. He even turned the lock. The sounds of the reception desk, security checkpoints, and scattered voices dropped away, leaving us very much alone. The room was sealed and searched every morning for surveillance equipment. The walls were thick, and there were no windows.
I still didn’t speak, and he narrowed his eyes. Then he closed the distance between us, gently placed his hands on each side of my head, and kissed me.
Scheisse.
For a second I froze because a paid actor or model—a complete stranger—was kissing me. With soft lips. With a need I felt seep through his fingers, his mouth. Every inch of him radiated desire. For me.
Damn, he was good. I almost believed what his lips were telling me.
I whimpered because it was one hell of a kiss. He took advantage when I opened my mouth, to plunge his tongue deep and take. To claim.
His hands angled my head as he wanted, taking us deeper into… a connection. A fusion that was more than just our lips and tongues touching.
I didn’t even know we’d moved until my back pressed into the wall and his hard body leaned into me. I felt how hard he was. Everywhere.
I had no idea how long we kissed, but when he finally lifted his head, I realized his hand was beneath my shirt and his rough palm cupped my breast.
“Mia,” he said again. This time the rasp was deeper. Darker. “I found you.” He spoke in English, which confused me further but I responded in kind.
“Wow.” I licked my lips, and his gaze dropped to the motion. “I don’t know who you are, but you kiss really well.”
The corner of his mouth tipped up. “I am Kassius Remeas of Velerion, as you well know, Starfighter MCS Mia Becker of Earth. I am your partner and pair-bonded mate. You had better not greet all your visitors this way.”
He looked down to where his thumb was moving slowly back and forth beneath my silk blouse.
I was wet. Achy. Needy for this stranger.
“Thank you for the fun because… sure, you look just like him. I’ll even give you a bonus for excellent kissing, but if you would like to keep your hands, you need to take them both off me. Now.”
He slowly shook his head as a grin spread across his lips. He called my bluff. I didn’t want to hurt him. At least not yet.
“I’m just getting started. We’ve been fighting side by side for months, and I’ve been waiting to silence that sassy mouth all this time.”
I eyed him now. Wary. He wasn’t dropping his game, but I wasn’t quite ready to knee him in the balls either. He looked like Kass. He sounded like Kass. He was wearing a Starfighter MCS uniform so detailed even the boots matched. But the leap my hopeful heart wanted to make was impossible.
“You don’t believe me,” he said, studying me closely.
“That an avatar from a game I’ve been playing is actually a real person, a real alien, who’s come to my office to kiss me? And that you are from another planet but you just happen to speak English?” I played Starfighter Training Academy in English since Jamie and Lily spoke it. German was my first language, but I was fluent in both. For an alien, he spoke English really well.
“I learned your language while playing the game. I am not well versed. And I did not come here to kiss you,” he said; then his cheeks darkened. “That is a lie. I have ached to kiss you for months.”
“Who sent you? How long have you been watching my apartment?”
“General Jennix approved your retrieval. I know nothing of your home. I would very much like to see it before we leave.”