Free Obsession by Jennifer Armentrout Page A

warmth in my belly. At least, that’s what I was hoping was doing it. “The ones who killed Mel?”
    “And tried to kill you? Yes. They won’t look for you here.”
    My hands were still shaking. “Why wouldn’t they?”
    Leaning back, he grabbed a sucker from yet another bowl and unwrapped it. “If you go outside and look to the east, you’ll see a huge mountain. The mountain is stock full of beta quartz. That’s important.”
    “It is?”
    He nodded. “I’ll start at the beginning. Do you know anything about the Abell? It’s a galaxy about thirteen billion light - years from here. Where I’m from is even farther from that. So are the other aliens—the Luxen. If you haven’t realized it, their true form is what you would see as light. Beta quartz has a wonderful ability to block their wavelengths. The Flatirons are the same way. There will always be communities of Luxen near any large amount of beta quartz, because Arum—that’s what I am—can see wavelengths around any living creature, especially the Luxen. Follow me?”
    I needed more wine for this shit. “Kind of.”
    “The Luxen want you dead because you witnessed one of them being very bad. When you told the police and anyone who would listen that this guy lit up like a Christmas tree, the Department of Defense got involved. And yes, the government is well aware of aliens and they have implants everywhere.” He paused. “They took the senator’s son Phillip into custody. That is never a good thing. The senator believes that if you’re taken out of the equation, then the exposure threat is removed and his son will be returned to him. There’s also the issue of what your friend overheard, what she could’ve told you.”
    “She really didn’t tell me anything,” I murmured. Good God, there was an alien senator. “So, he wants to kill me to keep me quiet?”
    “Yep.”
    Stealing a peek at him, I saw that he was still staring at me, the sucker in his mouth. I looked away quickly. “And you really work for the Department of Defense? Like an alien liaison?”
    “Yep.”
    I almost laughed, but I didn’t because I was sure I’d never stop. It would be the insanity kind of laughter.
    “How are you feeling?” he asked suddenly.
    I turned to him, frowning. “What do you mean?”
    “How are you feeling?” he repeated, but he also reached over and placed a single finger on my jaw. He barely touched me, but it was like an electric shock rippled through me. For a brief second, I was reminded of how he felt when he’d pinned me to the bed.
    Hunter’s smirk turned knowing. “Serena?”
    “I…I don’t understand.”
    “You have a bruise here and you took a couple of nasty spills.”
    I hadn’t even noticed the bruise or paid much attention to the aches. “And you basically ate my energy or something?”
    He grinned. “That , too.”
    Well, he definitely had no shame. “It’s—I’m fine.”
    There was a pause. “You could’ve died.”
    “It’s really not important right now.”
    A second later, I felt his warm breath along my cheek as he spoke. “I know you have more questions.”
    I turned my cheek away from him, unnerved by how close he was and how he moved without making any noise. Heat crept over my cheeks when two cool fingertips pressed under my chin, and with surprising gentleness, Hunter guided my eyes to his. Our gazes locked. There was something in those unsettling eyes of his, a gleam of compassion that lurked under the coldness of the unnatural color.
    “Ask,” he said, not looking away.
    “So…you guys put me within spitting distance of a group of aliens that may want to kill me if they find out I’m here?”
    “They won’t find out.”
    I started to pull back, but his hand left my chin, curving around the nape of my neck. The grip wasn’t tight, but it was commanding. There was no moving away, no escaping what he wanted. His skin was cool and the pads of his fingers were rough, as if he used his hands a