I cleared my throat, took Bahre’s hand, and tugged him offstage. I had a feeling if he hadn’t wanted to follow, I wouldn’t have been able to move him. He was like a freaking redwood in the middle of the set.
People moved out of our way as I led Bahre away from the set, down the hall, and back to the hair and makeup room. I had a desk, but it was in the main newsroom, not a place for privacy. I glanced back to see if any cameras were following, but couldn’t catch a glimpse of anything around Bahre’s huge body.
Thankfully the room was empty, and I shut the door behind us. Locked it. I was sure Susan had left for the day and I had no idea where Ellen had gone, but the room would be unused until the early hours before the morning news. I leaned against the only barrier between me and the nosy outside world. I wasn’t trying to keep us in. I was trying to keep any curious cameraman out, but the lock would do that. No, I was using it for support because my heart was beating out of my chest because of the way he was looking at me.
“You are my mate,” Bahre said, his gaze raking over every inch of my body from head to toe. His dark eyes continued to move as if he were memorizing every inch. I’d never been looked at with such intensity. It was heated, focused, intense.
“You don’t even know my name,” I replied.
He looked me in the eye. “Tell me.”
“Quinn McCaffrey.”
“You share a Hunter’s name,” he commented, although the way he was eyeing me meant it was probably a good thing.
I frowned, not completely sure. “How… how can you even know that I am your mate?”
The scar I’d seen on his forehead was even more pronounced now, as if he’d been sliced by a lion’s claw. There was another on the side of his neck that went beneath the collar of his shirt. He was handsome but scarred. He’d lived a hard life so far. Dangerous. Painful. Somehow it made him more attractive to me because he’d survived.
“Did you see the Bachelor Beast program with Wulf?” He took a step closer.
I swallowed hard. He was even taller in this room, the ceiling much lower than the set. “Yes.”
“It is the same with me. I noticed your scent near the stairs.”
“The stairs?” I turned my head and sniffed. I didn’t want to lift my arm to see if I had BO, but how else could he have smelled me? I’d have known if I smelled that bad. Ellen and Susan would have told me.
“Do not fear,” he began, reaching out slowly to run his fingers over my hair. I stilled at the motion. “Atlans have a strong sense of smell. Your scent is floral. Light. Like a gentle breeze. I knew it instantly as belonging to my mate.”
“How?” I asked, practically holding my breath. I wasn’t afraid of him, but he was… new. A stranger. A stranger who was looking at me as if I was everything to him. I’d seen that look before, and the guy had been a fucking stalker.
He shrugged his big shoulders. “It is not known exactly, but my beast recognized you without even seeing you.”
“Then… then why aren’t you going all beast and tossing me over your shoulder?”
Not that I wanted him to. That would have freaked me out. To say I was skittish around men was an understatement. Bahre wasn’t even a man. He was an Atlan who had a beast inside. He could hurt me in ways the stalker couldn’t.
“Wulf and Braun had mating fever,” he explained. “Their beasts were just beneath the surface, and when they found their mates, they were unable to control them. What you saw with Wulf will not happen with me. I do not have the fever. I am in control.”
I had a feeling his words meant more than just with his beast. He was so collected. While he was intense, I didn’t sense the same coiled tightness that I’d seen on TV with Wulf. There hadn’t really been any footage of Braun with his mate, only recorded interviews with him before he’d found her.
“So what now? I’m supposed to just say okay and we go back to The Colony to live happily ever after?”
My sarcasm turned up the corner of his mouth. “You can’t leave Earth without my cuffs about your wrists.” He glanced down at them as if imagining the wide metal there. “You must be claimed first. Then we can go to The Colony and live this… happily ever after.”
“Just like that?”
He frowned, cocked his head to the side. “That is not how it is on Earth?”
“No. We date. Get to know each other. It could take months or even years before a formal commitment is agreed to.”
He grunted, set his hand on the door above my head, leaned in so he was even closer now.
This close I could see the fathomless darkness of his eyes. The scar on his face, the whiskers on his strong jaw. I could breathe in his scent.
“I shall be patient with you, but I will not wait months or years to make you mine.”
“Um… yeah.” I sounded like an idiot, but what did one say to an Atlan who wanted to claim you? “Wait.” I set my hand on his chest. The heat of him seeped through the fabric of his shirt. He was hard against my palm, and I felt his steady heartbeat. “What about the show? I mean, you’ve got to pick one of the contestants.”
His free hand touched my hair again, as if he’d never seen it that color before. Maybe he hadn’t.
“The bachelor has yet to be chosen. I am one of five Atlans here. Obviously the male chosen will not be me.”
I exhaled, pleased to know that he wasn’t telling me I belonged to him while planning to go back upstairs and have twenty-four gorgeous women flirt and try to get in his pants.
“I’m not having sex with you.” The words fell from my mouth without thinking.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes. “While I know you are wet for me, I will not take what is not freely given.”
Oh. My. God. I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. And desire.
“It is my job to make you see we are perfect for each other. It is my job to make you beg for my cock.”
My panties had just gone up in flames. His deep voice, those words, they were hard to fight.
“I’ve got to go,” I said, ducking under his arm.
“Where?” He turned to face me. Now he blocked the door, and I became nervous.
“Home. I’ve had a long day.”
“I will come with you.”
I wanted to say yes, because he seemed nice. He was hot. Attentive. But I was not having sex with an Atlan within ten minutes of laying eyes on him. I remembered what had happened with Wulf and Olivia. He’d claimed her in a dressing room, up against the door. While the cameras had been on the other side of it and captured nothing, it had been obvious to everyone in the world what they were up to. On live TV.
I wasn’t into a quickie pickup. I wasn’t into a one-night stand. While I believed him, I’d been burned and put into danger in the past.
I had to be smart. He had to prove himself to me.
“No. I need time. As I said, get to know each other. If you want me as you say, then we’ll… date.”
I couldn’t see taking an eight-foot Atlan to dinner at my favorite restaurant. There was no way he could be anything but conspicuous.
He studied me, then nodded. “Very well. I shall ensure you arrive at your quarters safely.”
I frowned. “What?”
“You are mine, Quinn McCaffrey. I protect what is mine.”
He stepped to the side, allowing me to leave the room. I didn’t say anything more, just nodded my head and left, although I knew he followed.
* * *
“You walked away? Are you insane?” Ellen asked. I pulled my cell away from my ear. I’d made it home, showered, and changed into my new silk pajamas, cute ones with the embroidered flower detail on the lapels that were perfect for the hot Florida nights. Then I’d grabbed a glass of wine before she called.
“Of course I walked away. I know nothing about the guy. What was I supposed to do?” I countered, sticking the bottle back into the fridge. I padded barefoot across the tile floor into the living room and looked out at twinkling lights
that were blurry through the rain. I’d been right in my on-air report, and if the data was correct, the storm would blow over in an hour or so.
When I’d been a national meteorologist, I’d been well compensated. Here in Miami, I’d chosen a small but well-appointed home in a quiet neighborhood that backed to the water. One side of the house had floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the view, which could be opened to let in the warm air and gentle breeze. I often did so during the day, but at night I was still paranoid and afraid of someone getting to me. I always felt exposed, even through the glass, so I went to the button on the wall and the blinds lowered all around the room.
“Like I said,” she replied. “Climb that tall drink of water.”
I laughed. “I don’t pick up strange men.”
“He’s not strange, nor is he a man.”
I rolled my eyes at her reminder. “Whatever.”
“We were supposed to go down to the Bachelor Beast floor together.”
“I didn’t summon the guy,” I reminded her. “He interrupted the live broadcast.”
“I know! It was so romantic!”
“You’re insane,” I countered. “Where were you? The makeup room was empty.”
“In the coffee shop in the lobby waiting for your segment to finish. So now what?”
I dropped onto my sectional, grabbed a chenille blanket, and tossed it over my feet. “What do you mean?”
“He said on TV that you were his mate. He’s not going away. What are you going to do about him?”
I sighed. “You know very well I don’t like guys chasing after me.” I shivered, pulled the blanket up a little higher.
“Bahre’s not a stalker, he’s an alien.” She softened her voice, all teasing gone. “Not all guys are bad, girlfriend.”
“I know, but I have a horrible track record. I collect lunatics like others collect glass figurines or shot glasses.” I frowned. “I’m trying to get past it. I am.”
“He’s a good guy. A warlord, for Pete’s sake. He wouldn’t have gotten to where he is today, and I don’t mean Earth, by being an asshole. He’s going to be on you like white on rice. Mmm mmm, that sounds good to me.”
“He said he protects what’s his.”
A whimper came through the phone. “I think I just came.”
I laughed, rolled my eyes. “Ellen!”
“That’s so hot. You have to admit that’s really, really sexy. A guy to protect you? He’s like a hot alpha out of a romance book. Gimme!”
I pursed my lips. “Yeah, that is hot. I mean, if I’d had a guy like Bahre around in Chicago, Jeff Randall wouldn’t have gotten near me.”
“Bahre would have squashed him like a bug.”
That made me feel good, because I had a sense that’s exactly what Bahre would do. Based on the scars I’d seen on his face and disappearing beneath the collar of his shirt, he’d been in a lot of fights. And survived. Which meant he wasn’t just a warrior, he was strong. Tough. His scars made him look scary as hell, but I remembered the way his beast had looked up at me when he’d knelt before me on set.
The beast worshipped the ground I walked on. How I knew that, I wasn’t sure, but I did. And if that beast so much as thought I was in danger, I had no doubt he would kill to protect me. Bahre wasn’t human. He didn’t live by human rules. Knowing that made my entire body hum with excitement like I had a thousand bees under my skin. Jeff Randall was an asshole who got off on my fear. But now maybe I had a big, mean, deadly beast to protect me. Maybe, if Bahre worked out, I would never have to worry about carrying Mace while I walked to my car. Or buying specialty locking window guards, not to keep me in but to keep Jeff out. He hadn’t tried anything like that, but I was sure he knew I would take those precautions. That effort was what drove him.
“You still there?” Ellen asked.
“Yes. Bahre said he would make sure I got home safe,” I added. “But I didn’t see him.”
“You think he followed you?” she scoffed.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, if he followed you home, he wouldn’t leave. Would he?”
“I don’t know,” I said again. I hadn’t thought about that. I assumed he would promise to see me safely home, escort me to my door and then leave, like a normal human. But he wasn’t human.
She was quiet for a few seconds. “He wouldn’t leave you. Those Atlans are very protective. I bet he did follow you home. He’s probably outside right now.”
I sat upright, never imagining Bahre would be out there still. After I’d walked out of the makeup room, I’d tried to push him from my mind. When I’d gone to my car in the parking garage, I hadn’t seen him. Nor driving home or when I pulled into the garage. I doubted he had a car or even knew how to drive one. I wasn’t even sure if he’d fit in one.
I set my wineglass on the coffee table and padded to a front-facing window, pulled the blind to the side.
“Oh my God. He is.” He was standing on the sidewalk, staring at the house. At me. In the rain. All he needed was a trench coat and a boom box for it to be like an edgy teenager’s eighties movie.
“He is?” she squealed. “Don’t lose your shit. He’s not a stalker. He’s an alien. If he said he was making sure you got home safe, that’s what he did. Is doing. Don’t knee him in the balls or Taser him.”
As if I would do that to him. Well, come to think of it, I had resorted to those tactics in the past. When I had to. Instinct said I wouldn’t need to worry about my safety with Bahre.
“I gotta go,” I said. Before I hung up, I heard Ellen’s voice calling my name.
She could deal. I had an Atlan to figure out.
4
Bahre
Skin soaked as if I’d walked into a warm river, I stood at attention outside my mate’s home and wondered if I would see the stars this night, or if I were destined to stand beneath clouds and rain until morning. She was not yet ready to welcome me inside. With my size and scarred features, I did not doubt I would need to work twice as hard as any other Atlan male to win her heart and claim her body.
Quinn McCaffrey was hypnotically beautiful. The fact that such a perfect female would be unlucky enough to attract my beast was in irony only the gods themselves could ever comprehend. Tall, lithe, and stunning, she made my cock constantly hard. I was not familiar with what she did professionally, but it appeared she was well respected and shared her knowledge through the television with the entire community. Her intelligence was just as attractive as her fiery red hair.
Her perfection would only enhance my imperfections, and I had to hope she would not be repulsed. Yet no matter how mismatched our pairing, she was mine and I would not give her up. Yes, I was scarred. I was a warlord, an assassin, and a hunter. I had killed many, many enemies with Dr. Helion as my commander. I regretted none of those deaths. Evil needed to be destroyed. Who better than a beast to see it done?
Today was the first day my sensitive hearing and acute sense of smell had brought me pleasure. Content to listen to the muffled sound of my mate’s voice through the rain, my face split into a grin when I heard her laughter coming from inside the house. Not for the first time I was grateful to Dr. Helion for the secret integrations he’d given me to help me do my job. I knew he was a selfish leader. The enhancements I’d been given had been for his benefit and the advancement of the Coalition in the fight against the Hive. They were not a gift. He’d made me into a weapon.
So completely unlike my feminine, delicate mate.
Quinn.
Her name rolled around in my mind, and I knew I would proudly and gladly stand guard at her door all night.
I saw her peek out the window, and my cock went rock-hard at the sight of her. Then she opened the door and came out onto the stoop. “Bahre? What are you doing out there?”
I heard her exasperated voice, but my gaze was fixed on the way her pale blue clothing became instantly soaked from the rain. The fabric caught the soft glow from the lights on either side of her front door.
A sleeveless shirt and pants—that were so short they must have another name—that stopped mid-thigh. Her arms and legs were bare. I could discern decorative elements on the top that made her even more delicate, contrasting our differences even greater. She was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen the way the skimpy outfit clung to her lithe frame. My gaze followed the water’s path, and I fought not to step forward and trace that same path with my tongue. I wanted to explore and touch and taste every inch of her body. Everywhere. Skin. Lips. Hard nipples. Pussy.
Soon, I would. For now I bowed slightly at the waist and responded to my female’s question with every cell in my body devoted to her. “I am protecting your home, and you.”
Her lips opened. Closed. She crossed her arms, and I noticed her bare feet were firmly planted in a small puddle. A glossy pale pink color coated her toenails as well as the tips of her fingers, a shimmering glitter of some sort making them sparkle like tiny stars were embedded there. She was so beautifully adorned, so perfect. Unblemished.
“Bahre. You shouldn’t be out here. Go back to the studio.”
I rose to my full height and watched as she squinted in the rain, her gaze taking in more of me this time, as if she’d been afraid to see me in the light but welcomed the cover of darkness to hide her interest. I both welcomed and feared her inspection. I was hideously scarred and thankfully most were covered by my clothing, but I was a male of honor. Worthy. A strong protector. I would win her heart with my devotion and strength, not my pretty looks.
I was not Braun.
“Bahre?”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Are you going to answer me?”
“I did.” I crossed my arms and resumed my former stance. Resolute. I was not leaving her unprotected. No discussion was necessary.
A perfectly arched brow curved up. “Seriously? That’s your response?” She shoved her wet hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ears as if stalling for time. It was not pristine and perfect as it had been when I’d first seen her on the news program, but it did not mean she appeared unkempt. Watching her touch her hair had me wonder if the gesture was what she did when she was uncomfortable. I had much to learn about her.
Beauty and the Beast: Interstellar Brides® Program: The Beasts - 3 Page 3
