by Tamsin Ley
The alien who’d bid on Georgie was unmistakable as she wove between the tables toward him. His gaze remained fixed on her. She moved slowly, taking time to look him over. He was shirtless, and except for his blue skin and strangely dark eyes, he looked human. Gorgeously human. She gulped and forced a smile, wondering why he was shirtless. His broad shoulders and god-like chest and arms made it difficult for her to raise her attention to his face.
When she did, she was equally stunned. His square jaw was the epitome of handsome. Midnight blue eyes with no white seemed to bore directly through her. And a sensuous mouth smiled at her without actually turning upward, as if he knew a great secret only they shared.
She paused at the chair next to him and stuttered, “Thank you for your generosity. You’ve helped a lot of homeless pets.” She lifted the bottle. “Shall we celebrate?”
He nodded and extended his empty champagne flute.
She filled it then her own before sitting down next to him.
He downed his in a single gulp, then resumed silently staring at her as the band began playing a popular Country Western song.
Her stomach fluttered. She downed her champagne, too, hoping it would calm her erratic nerves. She’d never expected an alien to be so handsome, much less seem to be interested in her.
The moment she set her glass down, he refilled it.
Strong silent types were definitely her thing, and everything about him had her mind going to naughty places. She hadn’t been on a date since her divorce, so perhaps it was just easy for a man to turn her head, but to be fair, the guy had just dropped half a million dollars for a date with her and also looked yummier than any Chippendales model she’d ever seen.
Except this wasn’t just any date, and he wasn’t just any guy.
He was an alien. He might look human, but that didn’t mean they were remotely compatible. Her gaze fluttered down toward his lap, suddenly wondering what alien peen might look like. Did he even have one?
She felt his smile on her, and heat crept up her cheeks again. Dragging her gaze back to his, she thrust out a hand. At least learn his name first, girl. “My name’s Georgette, but everyone calls me Georgie.” She had to half shout to be heard over the band. “What’s yours?”
“Name,” he said, as if feeling the word on his tongue. His voice was deep and smooth—another of her weaknesses. “Arazhi,” he rumbled.
She gulped. “Good to meet you, Arazhi.”
He looked like he wanted to lick her all over as he reached out and took her offered hand. The contact sent a jolt of awareness through her, and she immediately recalled Lora’s quip about doing more than making friends on a first date. Georgie tended to be more reserved, but for this guy…
Gripping her hand gently, he lifted it toward his mouth as if to kiss it. But instead of a kiss, his tongue flicked out along the slit between her index and middle finger, dipping in at the apex in a way that totally had her thinking of other slits. Was this how aliens greeted each other? Her panties felt suddenly wet.
“Oh, my,” she whispered, voice drowned out by the roll of the auctioneer. She clenched her thighs together and glanced around, worried someone might somehow notice how turned on she was, but everyone’s attention was elsewhere.
All attention except Arazhi’s. His thumb traced the trail his tongue had left, sending another shiver straight to her core.
She laughed uncomfortably and pulled her hand away, picking up her champagne. She really shouldn’t drink more, not when she hadn’t eaten all day. The alcohol was going to her head. That had to be why her body was responding this way. Her heart raced and her skin felt flushed.
There were supposed to be hors d’oeuvres at the event, but she hadn’t noticed any pass their way. Where the hell were the servers? She glanced around for one, but there were none in sight.
She set the glass on the table and stood. “I need to go check on something.”
Arazhi stood with her, putting a hand on her elbow. “Hungry.”
She wasn’t sure if he was saying he was hungry, or somehow sensing she was, but all the guests were likely feeling peckish by now. Hangry aliens were the last thing she needed. “I’ll be right back with food.”
But her alien apparently didn’t understand he didn’t need to tag along and trailed her between the tables toward the caterer’s tent. She found a harried looking woman in a white caterer’s jacket opening more champagne. “Why isn’t there any food out there?” Georgie demanded.
The woman wrinkled her nose. “We served the early arrivals, but those aliens with horns ate everything we had ten minutes after they’d arrived.”
Crap. Georgie glanced through the darkness toward the table in question. A horned, gray-skinned alien had apparently won the bid for Maise, who now sat between him and another like him, clutching her dog against her chest as if worried they thought it was the main course.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Georgie glowered at the caterer. This was exactly why her being in the auction had been a bad idea. She needed to be available to make sure everything ran smoothly. “Send one of your people out to pick up cheese and vegetable trays or something. Put it on my account. I have a feeling these aliens aren’t picky.”
“Yes, miss. Right away.” The caterer rushed off to do as instructed.
Georgie turned to find Arazhi grinning at her, once more looking like he knew a secret. He had a dimple on one cheek. God, she was a sucker for dimples. Was it possible for him to get any sexier? She swallowed and smiled back.
“Come,” he said, and once more took her elbow, guiding her away from the auction toward the park.
“I really shouldn’t leave.” She looked over her shoulder toward the stage where another auctioned woman in gold sequins was holding up her cat like Rafiki in The Lion King.
Arazhi’s hand remained firmly on her elbow, propelling her toward the fountain. “Please, keep talking.”
What a strange request. “About what?”
He tapped a finger to his ear. “Translator is learning.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t even given a second thought to whether or not aliens spoke English. Shit, what if he didn’t know how much he’d actually bid? Wouldn’t it be just her luck to learn the aliens were spending their version of Monopoly money? “Have you understood what’s going on tonight?”
He stopped and turned her to face him, his dimple once more in place. “Money is good.”
She was relieved to hear it. Still, she pretended to wave away her concern. “Oh, I wasn’t worried about that. I just want to make sure you’re having a good time.”
He stepped closer, forcing her to look up.
She inhaled a nervous breath. He smelled amazing, slightly sweet and a bit like good tobacco.
With one hand, he brushed a tendril of hair from her face, looking down into her eyes with a fierce possessiveness that made her legs feel like jelly. His baritone voice repeated, “Good time.”
Is he going to kiss me?
Even as she thought it, one powerful arm circled her waist, pulling her against him.
Her nipples tightened, and the place between her thighs pulsed with need. He was warm, hard muscles to her soft curves. She let her head fall back, closing her eyes.
The explosion of sensation when his lips met hers left her dizzy. It was as if unadulterated desire poured into her bloodstream. His kiss was soft yet firm, his tongue sliding hotly between her lips like ambrosia filling her mouth. He plundered her for what felt like an eternity, yet ended too soon. His big hand splayed at the small of her back, keeping her pressed against what was very obviously a throbbing erection.
At the edge of her awareness, sounds penetrated her fog of desire. A dog was yipping. Something crashed. Screams filled the air.
Jolted from the dream-like kiss, she pushed off Arazhi’s chest. Something was wrong.
Several party guests ran past her toward the parking lot.
She grabbed the arm of one woman who ran past. “What’s
happening?”
“The aliens are shooting death rays or something! A bunch of them dissolved into goo!” The woman jerked away and kept running.
“Oh, God!” This was not a contingency she’d planned for. What should I do? She hiked up her dress and kicked off her shoes, preparing to go back and stop the chaos.
The blue alien who’d been sitting next to Arazhi ran toward them, shouting something.
Behind her, Arazhi said, “Danger.”
Before she took another step, he jerked her back against his chest.
“Put me down!” She struggled. “I have to stop this!”
But his grip was like an iron band. Then, it was as if she was suddenly encased in shrink wrap. Everything went blurry. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. The ground seemed to wobble and shift.
And she was no longer standing in the park.
5
Arazhi’s security officer wasn’t one to exaggerate danger, so when Zhiruto shouted for the prince to transport off the planet, Arazhi’d quickly encased Georgie within his matrix and signaled his ship for pickup. Not the most elegant way to get her on board his vessel, but his transporter didn’t yet have her genetic signature, and he wasn’t about to leave her behind.
They rematerialized on the bridge, and Georgie stumbled forward, gasping. His Iki’i picked up on her shock, which was understandable; she came from a primitive species after all. She likely had no idea where they were or how they’d arrived.
While she stood with her back to him, gaping at the view screen displaying a portion of Earth’s blue-green horizon, he reassembled his matrix into the human form she preferred. He’d been making slight adjustments to his features all night and believed he’d achieved her standard of attractive. The next step would be assessing her likes and dislikes when it came to the more personal aspects of his anatomy.
He moved to the communication console. He needed to find out what had happened on Earth. Where was Zhiruto? His security officer should’ve arrived on deck right behind him.
“Zhiruto, are you still planet-side?”
A familiar blue face appeared on screen. “Yes. I’ve ordered all transporters blocked to prevent suspects from escaping.”
“Do you think someone was trying to assassinate me?”
“We must assume so.” A dog was barking, and the image canted sideways as Zhiruto glanced over his shoulder toward a woman in a crimson gown restraining a gangly, russet-furred quadruped.
Georgie pushed up beside Arazhi, placing her fingers against the screen. “Lora! Aryou kay?”
The universal translator seemed to be catching up, but still wasn’t perfect. The woman in the uniform turned to face the camera, looking over Zhiruto’s shoulder. “Georgie? Where are you?”
The screen resumed its focus on Zhiruto. “My prince, you must leave orbit immediately. I don’t know how many assassins there are or if any escaped back to their ships before the shutdown. You could still be in danger.”
“I’m not leaving without you.” Leaving his security officer behind was a huge breach of protocol, not to mention Zhiruto was his friend.
“I’m going to keep searching here. I’ll be fine, but you cannot be compromised. Now go!”
Arazhi hesitated, then hit the button that would execute the pre-programmed escape route. He hated leaving Zhiruto behind, but he trusted his security officer knew what he was doing.
A small shudder preceded the change of trajectory, then the view screen went black as they entered FTL.
Georgie grabbed his arm. “Call them back. I need to know if my friends are okay.”
Putting a hand gently on her shoulder, he transmitted calm. “Communication is impossible while the Faster Than Light drive is active, but my security officer has everything in hand. Don’t worry. We’ll find out more after we reach Kirenai Prime.”
“K-kirenai Prime? What’s that?”
“My home planet.”
“The hell?” She shrugged off his grasp. “I’m not going to another planet. I need to get back to Earth! Turn us around right now.”
He sensed that she was focusing on her responsibilities in order to keep her mounting panic at bay. Staying in control made her feel secure. She is going to be an impressive mother to our children, he thought. He smiled and radiated pleasure, anticipation, and an innuendo of desire. He couldn’t help the last part. Something about her made him want—need—to make her happy. Though she’d sold herself as a bondservant, he planned to treat her like a princess. “We can’t stop until we reach our destination. Come. We will eat now.”
She took a step back. “I don’t want to eat. I want off this ship. Take me back to Earth this instant.”
Now her stubbornness was becoming a nuisance. It was her job to make him happy, not the other way around. He set his jaw and wrapped one hand around her elbow to guide her from the bridge. “Your responsibility is only to me from now on.”
“What are you talking about?”
He frowned. Why did she continue to radiate confusion? She’d come to his table after he’d purchased her contract. “I purchased your contract. You belong to me now.”
She gasped and stumbled, even though she no longer wore those ridiculous pointy shoes. “You thought you were buying a slave?”
He blinked. “Of course.”
Her mouth dropped open. “It was a charity auction, for God’s sake! A benefit for our animal shelter. You bought a date with me, not a lifetime of servitude.”
He narrowed his eyes. He’d spent an exorbitant amount on her, and while money wasn’t the issue, he wasn’t about to let things go. She was perfect, and he wanted her more than he’d ever desired a female before. “Earth was only allowed to join the consortium because they offered us willing females. Did you not accept my bid?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Then, as a royal bondservant, you’ll be treated well. I’ll even grant you freedom after we successfully breed.”
A spike of arousal wafted from her, at odds with the sharp tone of her voice. “Breed? As in make babies?”
“Yes. I require a male child.”
She laughed harshly. “Well, joke’s on you, buddy. You won’t be getting a kid out of me, male or otherwise.”
He tilted his head. Georgie’s emotions were a whirlwind of contradictions through his Iki’i. She wanted to be with him and seemed to desire a child. But she also resisted her desires. “I’m offering you great pleasure.”
Her lips parted a moment, and she exhaled slowly before saying, “If you truly want to please me, take me home.”
Perhaps he was being too soft with her. Little was known about human mating habits, but many species required an interested male to press his advance until the female relented. Taking her shoulders, he backed her toward the lavender wall. “You’ll enjoy our breeding, I promise.”
Sexual energy flowed like a current between them. She did enjoy his forcefulness. Yet still she protested. “You don’t understand. This factory’s out of order. Condemned.”
He didn’t understand her idiom. The universal translator must still be updating, he thought. But language didn’t always require words.
Running his hands down her arms, he inserted his thumbs between her fingers the way she’d liked at the party. Her blue eyes had darkened, and her cheeks were flushed as pink as the sun on Hynodae. Dipping his head, he brushed her soft lips with his.
She sucked in a startled breath, body perfectly still.
Hovering a breath away, he opened his Iki’i, searching for her true desire. Bondservant or no, he wouldn’t breed with an unwilling female. There was something in her emotions he didn’t understand, a fear of something other than him. But even stronger was the sense that she enjoyed his mouth on hers.
He lifted one hand to her throat, tilting her face toward him. He slid his tongue along her parted lips, gently exploring the contours. She put her palms against his chest, as if intending to push him away. But she didn’t try to move him. Instead,
her fingers slid across his pecs, exploring the muscles he’d created.
A brief flicker of gratitude that he’d followed Zhiruto’s lead in choosing a form ran through him, then his tongue was pressing inside her mouth. Her lips softened and opened further, accepting his slow, questioning strokes. He delved deeper, his Iki’i thrilling with her rising desire.
She tasted like morning dew on happa fronds, slightly sweet with a hint of musk. No wonder the black market was abducting human females. Were they all this intoxicating? He didn’t think so. He hadn’t felt remotely attracted to the other women he’d seen at the auction.
The only one he wanted was Georgie.
He palmed her waist, loving the curve while at the same time imagining his child swelling within her. Never in all his experience had a woman made him think like this. Made him feel so right inside his skin. Georgie was special. He’d been right about his first assessment of her—she wasn’t meant to be a bondservant, and he wouldn’t enforce her contract.
But he was going to convince her to be his lover.
6
Making a baby had been a fantasy of Georgie’s for as long as she’d known about sex—a fantasy that had been ground to dust by years of fertility treatments, with the remaining particles blown away by her divorce. There would never be a baby for her. Yet Arazhi’s talk about breeding swept through her like a drug.
He prodded his tongue between her teeth, muscular chest pressing her against the curved alien wall behind her. A tingle of desire raced from her nipples to her center. She wasn’t small or dainty, but the way his body covered hers, the way his big hand cradled her head as he kissed her, made her feel more feminine than she’d ever felt before. Like she was made for kissing.
His kissing.
She raised her chin to meet him, sliding her hands up his bare chest to explore his muscles. He was ripped, without an ounce of fat on his body, and the fact that he wanted her was mind-boggling. He obviously didn’t understand that she couldn’t bear him a child, but she’d been honest, so for now, she was going to enjoy the pleasure he’d promised. It wasn’t as if she could do anything to help her friends from here, anyway.
