Until Midnight by Melissa Landers

Author:Melissa Landers [Landers, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2834-5
Publisher: Hyperion
Published: 2015-01-30T05:00:00+00:00

Prologue

Cara frowned at the starched gray duffel bag at Aelyx’s feet. It was identical to the one he’d brought to Earth last fall when he’d traveled from L’eihr to stay with her for senior year.

“We only have a few minutes,” he said, taking her hand in both of his.

She glanced out the spaceport window to the ship that would jettison Aelyx back to Earth—without her, this time—while she continued on to his planet. A shiver of anxiety skated down her spine. The exchange wasn’t supposed to happen like this, without Aelyx there to guide her. As much as she wanted to go home, that wasn’t an option. The Elders had made their demands painfully clear. Her chest tightened and heat prickled behind her eyes, but she refused to cry. Repairing the alliance between their worlds could save the human race.

That trumped a broken heart.

She summoned a smile and met his silvery gaze. If they had only one minute left, she’d make it count. “I love you.”

The corners of his lips quirked in a grin. “Show me.”

“I’ve been trying to show you for days,” she said suggestively. “You’d think on a ship this big, we could find someplace to be alone.”

Her lame joke didn’t deter him. “Do it.”

“Right here?”

He checked over both shoulders to ensure no one was watching. “Go ahead. It’s safe.”

They’d kept her ability to use Silent Speech a secret, but Aelyx made her practice every day. It didn’t come easily. Communicating with her mind was more grueling than advanced trig.

“But it’s our last minute together,” she objected. “Don’t I get a break?”

“No.” He took her face between his palms. “Show me.”

Of course she couldn’t deny him, not when she knew how good it felt to experience his emotions, to know on a cellular level how much he loved her.

“Okay.”

Closing her eyes, she pulled in a deep breath and released the tension in her shoulders. Aelyx used his thumbs to lightly brush her temples, helping her relax and reminding her to clear her thoughts. That was the hardest part—banishing her inner voice.

She rested a hand over Aelyx’s heart, feeling its rhythmic beat against her palm while she focused on the rush of sentiment she felt for him in the moment—attraction, respect, adoration, and, more than anything, need. She let the feelings multiply until she couldn’t contain them any longer, and when she opened her eyes, she channeled her passion through his wide pupils and into the consciousness beyond.

He felt it—his expression left no doubt. He closed his eyes for a moment as if to savor the sensation, then locked gazes with her. That was amazing, he communicated. You’re getting better.

“Now it’s your turn,” she said.

Aelyx tapped her forehead. Ask me the right way. From up here.

“Slave driver.”

You’ll thank me one day.

Cara heaved a sigh and restarted the process of clearing her mind. When she was ready, she gazed through Aelyx’s pupils and formed two simple words in her brain: Your turn.

But nothing happened.

Try again, he encouraged.

She did—three more times—but without success.

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