PART SEVEN

The door to the apartment opened, and Liz heard Max enter quietly, dropping his backpack on the kitchen table. She trembled, knowing he was coming to her now, as she heard his soft footsteps in the hallway.

She rolled over in bed, and saw his form enter their dark bedroom. Heat crested within her at his mere proximity.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he answered quietly, settling on the edge of their bed. He stroked her hair lightly away from her face. "Have you been waiting up?"

"Couldn’t sleep," she laughed throatily, as he bent down toward her, his warm lips grazing her own. His kiss was so surprisingly soft, incredibly gentle, as their lips slowly parted. She cupped his face within her palm, pulling him closer against her.

"I missed you," he whispered against her cheek, his warm breath fanning against her skin.

"Umm…" Liz replied, deepening their kiss, and their tongues began a slow, erotic dance.

She felt his energy skitter across her body then, as he opened their connection, and she shivered in response. His kiss grew hungrier, more demanding, as he eased slowly on top of her, and it struck Liz that he hadn’t even taken his jacket off, or his shoes—he had simply begun this tantalizing assault on her. And now, he was escalating things, by slowly and deliberately unfolding his energy across her body, so that it sizzled all her most delicate spots. She felt it simmer across her skin, inviting her to open to him…beckoning her to come so much closer than even their physical bodies were at this moment.

And she could feel exactly how she’d already affected him--a tight bulge had formed in his blue jeans, and was brushing against her thigh. Something about feeling his firmness, pressing so low against her, caused her breathing to escalate by quick measures.

His fiery energy swept over her body in dramatic waves, pleading with her to simply open their bond, and all the while his mouth plundered her own so incredibly desperately, his kisses wild and deep. Their tongues flicked forcefully together, and his hand toyed with her waistband, pressing it lower. How could this have escalated so incredibly quickly?

"Liz," he moaned. "Open to me, sweetheart. Please." He begged, gasping softly, and Liz’s resolve melted. How could she not let him in, when he wanted it so badly--when she wanted it more than her next breath?

So she allowed the bond to open wide, and felt an explosion rip through her chest. Nothing had prepared her for how much Max’s energy had escalated—it was simply stronger than ever before. He was heady and intoxicating and she could only draw her breath in sharply, could only whimper as she felt their bond unfurl wildly.

Oh, my love…he sighed softly. I missed you so much…so much.

Me, too. She whispered quietly, stroking his face as their tongues began frantically, desperately entwining.

I couldn’t even study. All I could do was sit there and dream of this, he moaned.

Oh, I need to tell him, Liz thought quickly.

Max’s kisses stilled. Tell me what? He asked, and she didn’t miss the note of apprehension.

"Oh, God, Max," she groaned. "You weren’t supposed to hear that."

He raised up onto his elbows, and met her gaze. Even in the darkness, she noticed how moody his amber eyes looked, the pupils large and dark. These brief kisses had already left his face flushed, and his hair slightly disheveled. He was so incredibly sexy when he looked like that.

She stroked his cheek gently, feeling his stubble beneath her fingertips. He kissed her forehead, then met her gaze again.

"Tell me," he urged.

Liz chewed her lip and rolled him off of her slowly, so that he lay facing her in the darkness. "Don’t you want to take your shoes off?" She offered.

"Not particularly," he answered, staring at her. "I want to know what’s going on."

"Oh." Her mind raced crazily. This was harder than she’d imagined, especially since she’d thought the truth would come out so effortlessly. Yet now Max lay close against her, waiting expectantly for her to speak. She swallowed hard, rolling onto her back so that she didn’t have to meet his gaze. She could hear his soft breathing next to her in the darkness, and noticed that it was heavy and staggered.

"It’s just that I learned something tonight," she continued, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Okay," he encouraged, stroking her hair beneath his fingers.

"Yeah…well its really kind of funny," she said, and felt her face flush deeply. Oh, God…and they were completely connected….not joined yet, but connected. Didn’t he already know? She glanced at him quickly in the darkness, and his face was eager, waiting—yet he didn’t seem to know her thoughts.

"Liz, sweetheart," he offered softly, stroking her hair. "What do you want to tell me?"

"Oh, God, Max. This is incredibly difficult for some reason, okay?" She said, and felt tears well within her eyes, even though it was ridiculous. This was her husband…but more than that, he was her lifemate. So she decided simply to plunge forward.

"It’s just that I’ve learned why it is we can’t seem to get enough of each other lately. And there’s a very definite explanation."

Again, Liz cast a tentative look at Max and saw that he seemed very calm about this. He’d settled his cheek against her pillow, nestling his hand underneath. Now he simply gazed at her, with such deep love in his eyes—his whole demeanor so encouraging.

"That’s good to know," he answered.

"Yeah, well…it’s that we’re…." Oh, God. Oh, God. Why was this so hard?

"That we’re?" he encouraged.

"Well, Tess says that we’re like…in some kind of mating cycle. This is some kind of alien mating urge…thing." She finished, covering her face with her hands. Her cheeks were blazing hot, and in fact, her whole body flushed with absolute embarrassment.

She lay like that, eyes covered, listening for his response, yet he only remained completely silent. "Max?" She asked tentatively without looking at him.

Then she heard him laughing very gently next to her. "Liz, baby…why are you so embarrassed?"

"I don’t know," she groaned.

"This is me. Your husband. Your lover…your mate of five years."

"I know."

"Besides that fact, I’d begun to basically suspect something like that was going on."

"You had?"

"Well, it only really began to hit me in the past couple of days. It’s been intensifying tremendously."

"Yeah, it has."

"Yeah," he whispered huskily. "And that was the clue for me." He paused a moment, rolling her to face him. "I can’t think of anything more beautiful to share with you. I love it."

"You don’t think…it’s weird?" She asked, reluctantly meeting his gaze. She was surprised to see him smiling softly at her, such love in his eyes.

"Not at all," he answered and sat up. He began untying his shoes quickly, and tossed each of them onto the floor at the foot of their bed. "It would be weird if I made love to you in my shoes. Now that would definitely be odd," he laughed.

With that, he shrugged out of his jacket, throwing it over the side of the bed, and leaned back down over her. She could feel his heart hammering against her chest, as he lowered to kiss her, his lips teasing her own.

Nothing between us could be anything other than beautiful, sweetheart, he assured her. Nothing. Especially not this.

"This isn’t," he answered, slipping firmly on top of her. He was so incredibly erect, pressing just against her thigh. She shifted below him, easing him closer against herself, as she quickly pulled his shirt out of his pants. His skin was feverish to her touch—much warmer than usual, especially for such a cold night. She ran her palms up his back, feeling the taut muscles beneath them.

He slipped his thigh between her own, so that he settled more firmly just within her legs, and his hands slipped easily beneath her back. She rocked softly up against him, thinking how much she yearned to feel his bare skin against her own. Now. He began thrusting his hips, kissing her greedily…desperately. Their tongues began flicking wildly together, and their desire spiraled in intensity.

Oh, God. We’re in heat, she groaned softly, before she could stop herself. Max stilled against her, and Liz knew she’d just made a big mistake. He began laughing, a deep throaty thing right against her cheek.

"Well if you put it that way, I suppose even I could get embarrassed."

"Max!"

"Then again, I think the idea is pretty damn sexy," he growled, and with that began kissing her neck, trailing his tongue along her collarbone.

But these flannel pajamas must go, he asserted, as he began quickly unbuttoning her top. Must absolutely go.

She felt his warm fingers graze her breastbone, as he opened her top. It fell open, exposing her chest to the cool air, and she heard him gasp softly in the darkness as he lowered kisses down along her breast, taking one nipple within his mouth. He laved it with his tongue, and it grew instantly erect between his lips.

Well your shirt is next, Max, she answered, and began quickly fumbling with his buttons. His muscled chest grazed against her skin, so warm, and his heart drummed a fevered rhythm against her own…and she swore their heartbeats fell into crazy synchronization.

Max could only close his eyes and drink Liz in…he was dizzy with the sensations that had been cresting through his body. And somehow knowing what had been driving them together—having it spelled out so plainly—had only escalated his aching desire even more.

He reached within their connection, ready to mate…to join deeply and profoundly. They’d formed their bond moments before, but had stopped just shy of truly mating…so now he grasped for her. All of her…and saw the beautiful hue of her soul. Of course, it was never just one color, but several shifting together--and he felt her, too--as their souls shimmered together for one long moment.

His hips stilled against her, as he lost himself in their mating. It was delirious and primal…sexy as hell. Sacred. So many things all at once, that he could never have described to anyone.

He could only gasp as he felt them thread into one exotic union. He drew his breath in over and over. So satisfied…so loved. This is what Liz did to him, always.

And then his body quickly escalated its response, as he rolled her over on top of him. He slipped her pants on off her hips, low down, and slid his fingers within her silk panties. She was so wet and warm, so delicious as he rubbed her just between her legs. He cupped her bottom with his other hand, devouring her with his mouth. He could feel her tiny hand toying with his waistband, desperate for more of him. Her fingers pressed lower, stroking his abdomen as far as she could reach within his pants, and he rolled her onto her side. Now her hand found its way between his legs, rubbing him frantically. All he could do was cry out at her touch, burying his face in her luxurious dark hair.

Max…hurry. I need more, she panted.

Yeah…he answered, quickly unbuttoning his pants.

She eased them off his hips, as he slipped her panties off, and her hand immediately found him within his boxers, slipped around him firmly, rubbing back and forth.

Oh, God…was all he could even think. Oh…sweet Liz…Liz…Liz…

He stilled her hand, and shimmied out of his pants quickly, otherwise this would be over before it had even begun.

Max settled back on top of her, and he slipped in easily, she was so wet and ready—and she trembled once he was inside. The energy that had been building between them was unbelievable, surpassing anything Liz could clearly remember, and it just kept banking the further they went together.

It was like this night was some sort of apex, some point of culmination, and as he began thrusting within her, something began to come alive. All she could do was buck against him, yearn for more—yet there wasn’t anything more than this. Their souls were mated…and now there remained only this physical release.

More…I need more…more…it was like a chant in her mind. The frustration was immense, even as he was quickly meeting her need; she sensed it wouldn’t be enough, because she’d never felt so desperate for him before. Never. And with her urgency, she began to feel something incredibly primal emerge, something very foreign.

Oh, Max cried out, burying his face in her hair. I feel it, too, he cried. I feel it, too.

She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer, deeper.

Then the wild, alien thing within her roared to life, overpowering her senses. Max was changing her—this was transforming her. She could only gasp softly, over and over as Max plunged into her, thrusting frantically. They’d never been this rough with one another before, never been so primal in their desire.

A strange energy—something she’d never felt before—began pooling deep within her--whirling, spilling all through her body.

"Zillia," he moaned slowly in her ear, and the growing energy intensified. She didn’t even question why he’d just called her that, didn’t even think why it was part of this. He called her that sometimes, as the most tender name of affection. But this was different, she realized—at this moment, they were becoming totally alien, completely exotic and not very human at all. "Zan," she whispered in his ear, and he shivered within her arms. She’d never called him that out loud, not ever, only through their bond. She loved how it felt on her lips and whispered it again like a prayer. "Zan…"

It was as if something alien was being ripped open wide within her, and she began to shake softly. Max began rocking her back and forth in his arms, just holding her, his hips stilling a bit. She felt him inside of her, encompassing her fully, yet so quiet within her.

The gentle shudders that had been shooting through her body began intensifying…now she was shaking almost uncontrollably. Max gazed into her eyes, concern on his features. She shook her head, swallowing hard. "No, Max…I’m okay…just keep going." It was all she could do even to speak, the currents shifting through her body were so overpowering.

"Zan," he corrected with a low moan, and his voice was hardly recognizable to her it was so thick with emotion.

Fear began to crowd Liz’s mind, and he pulled back again, meeting her gaze. The amber depths of his eyes were flashing with something she’d never seen before, as his breathing grew more labored and frantic.

She stroked his face beneath her fingertips, his soft cheek so incredibly warm. His strong rhythm slowed within her, grew gentler, although their desire was spiraling wildly.

"Zillia," he moaned in her ear again. "Don’t you understand, my love?"

Liz began weeping, because she did understand exactly what was happening—and somehow he’d instinctively known what this was, too.

"We’re awakening, sweetheart," he breathed against her neck. She nodded, and laced her fingers through his soft hair, which was completely disheveled now.

The memories began flashing in quick succession.

The most golden field of energy, just humming all around her, enveloping her…loving her. The golden light was so familiar…so Max, and his energy was just shooting all through her, all around her, just like when they made love through the connection. But it wasn’t Max—he felt completely different…it was Zan. Then she saw a pair of beautiful dark eyes, large and soulful--fathomless in their depths, and so alien. She didn’t try to focus on other features, just the memory of the large black eyes, filled with love for her. As foreign as they were—as unlike anything she’d ever seen in this lifetime—they took her breath away.

She opened her eyes, expecting to find herself staring into them, but met Max’s gaze instead, and yet she recognized something in his lovely amber depths that was the same—something that was flaring to life within him. Very gently, he eased his palm onto her chest, splaying it across her heart, and she felt something release within her. Unlock.

Suddenly the memories flooded through her again, and she saw his blazing form of energy. But this time, she saw a second shape—her own-- and watched as their two walls of fire met, and roared into a heady blaze. She drew in a sharp breath because right as she saw it, something shifted within their connection. Her tears intensified as the burning she’d been feeling, the pooling energy, suddenly erupted through her like a crashing wave.

Max slipped his hand away from her chest, running it beneath her back, as his rhythm sped tremendously. All she could do was cry out, over and over, as her orgasm ripped through her, and as his body wracked with shudders. She felt his warmth spill within her, and even that had a slightly otherworldly feel to it—it burned softly within her.

And when it was over, she could only lie in his arms and sob in release. She was no longer the same woman—her husband had taken her across a barrier and parted it firmly. Finally.

Liz Evans was now more alien than she’d ever been in her life.