3013: UNITY: A 3013 Novella, стр. 6
When they arrived at Dock A, a few bored security officers snapped to attention at their approach. Lieutenant Nina Hale, Gabriel and Harris’ scarily efficient assistant, was typing furiously on her ever-present tablet. She glanced up and gave them a perfunctory nod of greeting before going back to whatever she was working on. While Nina could have commanded a battalion of soldiers if she wanted to, she claimed to enjoy working for Gabriel and Harris too much to leave her current post.
The last person in the group, Liaison Officer Chloe Deeks, smiled at them with sleepy eyes as she saluted. Then, she quickly raised her hand to cover her yawn. “Sorry about that. Nina got me out of bed for this. I was up early this morning dealing with two groups of Helios doing their best to destroy an entire floor in the visitors center.”
Chloe was one of the Alliance’s best liaison officers in the Capital. Her empathic abilities made her good at her job, but it also left her at the mercy of other people’s volatile emotions. Because of that, dealing with large groups could be very draining for her. That didn’t stop her from handling whatever assignments were given to her, though.
Gabriel frowned. “Why didn’t I hear about this?”
“It was taken care of, so there was no reason to bother you. Both groups were pretty remorseful once they sobered up. Still, I had one of the groups moved to a different floor in the visitors center for the remainder of their stay as a precaution.”
“How much damage did they do?”
Chloe winced. “Enough that they’ll have to pay to have it fixed.”
“If they give you any more problems, contact me immediately,” Gabriel ordered.
“Yes, sir. I don’t think they will cause any more trouble. I submitted a report to my director, and he assured me he will follow up with them tomorrow.”
“Now I feel bad for requesting you for this assignment,” Harris admitted.
“Don’t be. I’m happy to be here,” Chloe assured them. “I’m really looking forward to meeting the Xenon. I studied the information we have on them, but there isn’t much available. I can’t wait to learn more.”
“You’ll get your chance soon.” Nina finally stopped typing and glanced up. “The Xenon have just cleared the shield. They will be landing shortly.”
A few minutes later, they all turned to watch as a sleek space cruiser slowly landed. When the door slid open, a slim male and petite female stepped into view. The male wore a long, black cloak over a green tunic with golden inlays, black pants, and matching tall boots. He had one side of his cloak flipped over his shoulder, revealing the long sword hanging from the belt at his waist.
The female wore a long cloak made of a rich green material that looked as soft as a cloud. When she stepped forward, her cloak parted, revealing a lovely green gown with intricate gold lacing on the bodice and glittering gold leaves decorating the flowing skirt.
She was an ethereal beauty, with delicate features, pointed ears, and lush full lips that were meant to be kissed. Her long black hair fell loose down her back except for two small braids at her temples that were pulled back and secured on the top of her head like a crown. When her lavender eyes met his, they held a power that stole Gabriel’s breath. She was like a magical fairy princess from one of the stories his mother used to read him as a child.
Beautiful. Elegant. Utterly feminine.
Far too perfect to be real.
When she turned away to speak to her escort, Gabriel wanted to snap and snarl. It was clear by the protective posture of the male that he was either a guard or the mate of the beautiful female. Just thinking about that possibility made Gabriel want to smash his fist into the male’s fucking face.
What the hell was he thinking?
He couldn’t attack a visitor, especially an important one from a planet they had just formed a treaty with. That didn’t stop Gabriel from wanting to toss his ass off the landing platform, though. Logically, he knew that was a bad idea, but his muscles strained with the need to physically remove the male from her side.
No, damn it.
Look at me…only at me.
He couldn’t hold back the low growl that slipped past his lips. When her gaze shot back to meet his, Gabriel immediately felt better, but he didn’t relax.
He couldn’t.
Not yet.
Not while he was feeling so damn unstable.
Gabriel had never reacted to a female this way. Stars, he hadn’t even come close to feeling emotions this strong before…ever. It should have been impossible for a being this exquisite to be the keeper of his heart, but somehow, he knew she was. There was a connection between them that he couldn’t deny. Suddenly, his entire world had narrowed until she was the only thing that mattered.
She was his…the keeper of his heart, his body, and his soul.
And that fact both thrilled and terrified him in equal measure.
Gabriel could see shimmering markings on her skin that seemed to glow brighter as she drew closer. He wondered how much of her was covered in those marks and imagined tracing them with his fingertips and tongue. Just the thought of that had his body reacting with a hard punch of arousal. He ruthlessly fought to regain control of himself but felt drawn closer to the edge when her lips curved into a smile.
His heart seemed to stop, then it slammed into overdrive inside his chest.
She glided