by Sadie Carter
If it wasn’t for the men looking on, she was pretty certain she’d be curled up into a ball, crying her heart out like a teenager whose prom date had stood her up.
“Because I order you not to.”
Talk about arrogant! “You can’t order someone not to cry. It doesn’t work that way.”
“It will. Crying won’t help. We have things to do.”
She stared at him incredulously. How could he be so unfeeling? Wiping at her eyes, she pulled herself together. She had experience with pushing her own feelings and needs aside for others.
“I’m fine now. Let’s get on with things, shall we?” Standing, she moved towards the door.
Koran watched Mila leave with the sense that she was upset with him. What had he done?
“I do not think she appreciated that advice,” Safan stated.
“You are supposed to comfort a female when she cries,” Jaxan added. “Not order her to stop.”
Koran scowled at him. “How many crying females have you cared for?”
“None,” Jaxan admitted. “But Mila taught us about how to conduct ourselves should a female cry. You are to offer her comfort. A hug if you know her or find her some tissues.”
“And pat her back and say ‘there there’,” Torex added.
“What would that achieve?” Koran asked incredulously.
Torex shrugged. “I do not know. But she did not look happy with you.”
No, she hadn’t. Koran wondered where he had gone wrong. Emotions helped nothing, they got in the way of clear thinking and logical action. It was obvious to him that he had to help Mila get over this affliction of allowing feelings to cloud her thinking.
He stepped outside, frowning to discover Mila wasn’t waiting for him. “Mila?” He spotted her bright yellow top in the far distance.
He raced toward her. “Mila, wait.”
She turned, her eyes shuttered, as she waited for him.
“Did I upset you?” That wasn’t what he’d intended to say. “It is just that the others believed I handled that incorrectly.”
“Yes, you did.”
“I apologize,” he said stiffly. “I do not like to see you cry.”
“Why?”
He frowned, thinking that over. “Because I want you to be happy.”
“Oh. Well, that was kind of sweet.”
He scowled. Warriors were not sweet. “Emotions only get in the way of logical thinking.”
Mila placed her hand over her eyes to shield them from the bright sun as she stared up at him. “But you feel emotions. You got angry at Darac the other day. And you must feel other emotions, your damn eyes change color with strong emotions. You can’t say they don’t have a place in your life.”
“Of course, I feel emotions, but I do not allow them to rule me. You can feel emotions, but letting them control you is counterproductive.”
“Like when you yelled at Darac?”
“Perhaps. There is no point getting upset over things you cannot change. You must move on.”
“So you’re saying I need to ignore my sadness over Sally’s death and move forward.”
“Exactly.” He nodded. “Glad you understand.”
Mila rubbed her head.
“Are you unwell?” he asked with concern. Her pale appearance concerned him.
“Just a headache.”
“Perhaps you should lie down. I will conduct investigations this morning.” Her delicate constitution was a great concern. How would she cope with Zerconia’s harsh climate?
It was his job to ensure she remained healthy and safe. Even if he had to confine her indoors.
She shook her head, wincing. “Aline only agreed to let you investigate if I was with you. Besides, people won’t talk to you. I’ll be fine.”
“We will go to medical and get you some painkillers.”
“No, I’m fine. I downloaded a book on how to conduct a murder investigation. I thought we could sit down and read it before going further.”
Koran stared down at her. “A book?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yep, want me to send it to your tablet?”
“No.”
“But it has some good points I think we should consider, including how to question people, how to search the victim’s premises and what steps to take. There is a formula to this. Just take a look.”
“No.”
“Why not?” She glared up at him, hands on her hips, her face flushed with temper.
She looked adorable.
“Because I do not need a book. I know what to do.”
***
“Fuck off.”
Mila smirked as Koran attempted to question Doc Angus. The Scottish doctor had a bad temper and an even worse mouth. Angus turned, giving Koran his back.
It wasn’t nice of her to take pleasure in Koran’s frustration. But it kind of served him right.
She sat on a table and swung her legs back and forth.
“Bet you wish you’d read that book now, huh?”
Koran glared at her. “He is impossible.”
“Why don’t the two of ye piss off, I have things to do.”
Mila sighed. Angus was a cantankerous ass. But they needed his report.
“Just give us the report on Sally’s death and we’ll leave,” she told the red-headed doctor.
“I sent it to Zac.”
“Well, Zac is being a pain in the ass. Seems to be something afflicting the men around here.”
Both Koran and Angus turned to glare at her. “Just send it to my tablet, Angus.”
The tall doctor leaned back against his workbench and folded his arms across his chest. “And what are ye going to give me, lass, if I do?”
Mila sighed. “How about that vacation pass you’ve been wanting?”
“The ambassador said no.”
“Aline has given me the authority to conduct this investigation as I see fit.” She’d worry about Aline later.
“All right. I’ll send you the report. Nothing of interest in it, though. No defensive wounds, no skin under her nails, just bruising around her throat where she was strangled. Although there were some other interesting bruises.”
“Interesting, how?” Koran asked.
Angus ignored him, looking over at Mila. “Her arse was bruised.”
Mila frowned. “She’d fallen?”
Angus smirked. “Maybe. But that’s not the only way an arse can end up bruised. A good, hard spanking will do the same.”
Do not blush.
“You think Sally was spanked? Who would do that?”
Angus shrugged.
“Fingerprints?” she asked.
“That’s Zac’s area. Not mine.”
Yeah, but Zac was having a hissy fit over Aline allowing her and Koran to investigate and wasn’t telling them a thing.
“Time of death was about two a.m. Everything else is in my report. Now get the fuck out.”
Chapter Seven
“Now what?” Mila asked, sitting back with a sigh. She suppressed a yawn. She was tired, sad, frustrated, and hungry.
Baaad combination.
And no matter how Koran might wish she would suppress her emotions and just get on with things, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t forget that she’d found Sally dead, right here in this bedroom.
“We’ve turned this place upside down and there are no clues here about what happened to Sally. So what do we do next?”
“Someone must know something. We talk to her neighbors.”
She glanced around the room. “If we go on the theory that the killer sent Darac a note to frame him, then how did they know when he would arrive? How did they know someone would walk in and find him with Sally’s body?”
Koran looked up from where he was searching through Sally’s underwear drawer. “Perhaps there is a camera in here.”
“I really don’t think you’re going to find it in her panties drawer,” she told him dryly.
“What?” He paused.
&n
bsp; She pointed at the thong he held between his forefinger and thumb. “I don’t think there are any clues hidden in her thong.”
“Thong? Is this what this is called? How does one even wear this?”
“The wider part goes over your, um, front and the thin part goes between your, um, bottom cheeks.”
“You have gone bright red.”
“Look, how you wear a thong isn’t the issue here.”
“Do you have some of these?” he asked, still studying the thong.
Mila ground her teeth together. “No.”
“Why not? It looks very sexy. I would like to see you in one of these.”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
Koran’s gaze had grown amber. Shit. What did amber mean? Purple was happiness. Red was anger.
Holy crap. Amber was arousal, right?
Her body had been in overdrive for the last few hours as they searched Sally’s quarters. Each time he’d grown close to her, she’d found herself leaning towards him, wanting to brush her body up against his, to breathe in his scent.
This attraction was like nothing she had experienced before. Like he’d rolled himself in catnip and she was a kitten ready to pounce.
“Mila? Why wouldn’t I want to see you in this thong?”
“Because you don’t really want me.”
“Is that so?” he drawled, leaning back against the drawers and crossing his arms over his thick chest.
She’d never been attracted to men with muscles before. But damn if Koran’s muscles flexing didn’t make her pussy clench with need.
Shake it off, Mila.
Keep your pussy on task.
Mind. She meant mind. Keep your mind on task.
Holy crap, even her thoughts were stuck on sex.
“No. You just told Aline that to get her off your back. I get it. It’s not the first time I’ve been used as a scapegoat.”
“Scapegoat?”
“Someone you use to take the blame. To take the heat off you. Aline is pushy and she won’t take no for an answer. You told her I was your mate so she would leave you alone. I just wish you had chosen someone else.”
“Mila. I did not lie. And I would not use you as this scapegoat. Only a coward would do such.”
“But that means…”
“That you are my mate.” He kissed her. His mouth hot against hers. Arousal flooded her, making her head spin.
When he pulled back, she had to fight against the urge to beg him to kiss her again, to touch her, take her.
She cleared her throat, trying to force herself to think. “You believe there is only one mate for you, right?”
“We don’t just believe it. There is only one. Our population is decreasing and the hope of finding a mate has become increasingly unlikely for many of us. Without our mates, males go mad, insane. Females grow melancholy and fade away.
“Then Dex mated Zoey, giving my people hope. Over the last year, Dex and Zoey have been reaching out to Earth to ensure our races build a relationship. Only now, it seems someone wishes to sabotage it.”
“The vid. But not that many people saw it.” Her lips tingled. She was shocked she could think let alone speak with the need flooding her body.
“Enough did. They will talk. And now this murder. What next? How many Zerconians will die because they did not find their mate in time?”
“And what happens when they do find their mate? They have no choice?” she asked. “What if they refuse?”
He frowned. “They hold our lives in their hands. Mates need to be together. They connect each other. Once we join, we can sense our mates, their feelings.”
“And these matings are never broken? There is no divorce?”
“Zoey explained divorce to me. The thought is abhorrent. It is impossible for us to leave our mates. To cheat on them.”
“Sounds almost too good to be true. My father had five wives. He’s currently engaged to number six.” Not to mention all the women he’d slept with through the years who he wasn’t married to.
“I do not understand Earther males.” He scowled. “They have no honor.”
“Some do. They’re not all like my father.”
“Mila, I would never leave you. Never divorce you. I would be here for you always.”
“What is a joining?” she asked, trying to make her mind function.
“I believe you humans call it making love.”
“So we have to have sex to mate?”
He nodded. “That is correct. We will join and mate. Then we will be together forever.”
“Just like that, huh? No dating, no getting to know each other, just wham-bam-hello-mate.”
“I do not know this wham bam, but this is how it happens on Zerconia. We find out mate, we join, there is a mating ceremony and we are together until we die.”
“Very romantic,” she said dryly.
“If you think so. Warriors know little of romance.”
“Yeah, that’s obvious. I was being sarcastic. Don’t you think dating should play a part? Don’t you think that people should get to know each other before entering into something that will tie them to each other for the rest of their lives? What if you find out you can’t stand the other person but you’re stuck with each other?”
He frowned. “That does not happen. The fates choose our mate, the other half of our soul. Why date when everything is already set?”
“Why indeed?” she murmured. It seemed so cold, like an arranged marriage where the groom and bride let their parents arrange everything.
And yet a part of her felt relieved. If she believed him, then he would never cheat on her, never leave her. It was her greatest fear. That she would fall in love, only to end up abandoned and alone like her mother.
“You’re sure that I am your mate? I mean, could you have made a mistake?”
“No, I am certain. And I believe you know it as well. Do you feel a pull towards me? An attraction? Have you noticed yourself getting aroused more often than usual?”
“Oh my God, I can’t believe you asked me that!” Her cheeks burned. She turned away, trying to hide her embarrassment.
“When Zoey and Dex met, she refused to mate him. The idea of mating someone she did not know scared her. Gradually she grew more and more aroused. To the point where she stopped eating, where she could barely move.”
“What?” She gaped at him, aghast. “Are you saying that if we don’t…um…join that I’ll become so uh, well, you know that I won’t be able to do anything because I’ll be so…uh…”
“Aroused. Yes. Why are you stuttering over your words? Do you have a speech issue?”
No, she was just hopelessly naïve and embarrassed. Her gravestone was never going to read sophisticated and chic.
More like:
Here lay Mila Gray
Boring and staid
Not once did she get laid
Although if what Koran said was really true, it could read that could all change.
“Mila? Mila, are you listening to me?”
“Sorry? What did you say?”
“I said that soon we will not be able to deny each other. It is something you must accept.”
“It’s kind of hard to wrap my head around. I mean, you’re taking away my free choice.”
“I would never force you.” He looked horribly offended. “But eventually, your body will. Do you not find me attractive? Do you feel nothing for me?”
“That’s not the issue.”
“No? So you do find me attractive,” he said arrogantly.
“Well, look at you! You’re goddamn gorgeous. You’re like every romance novel hero brought to life. But you’re you and I’m me.”
“Yes. I know that.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I mean. It’s just, you’re more Aline’s type than mine.”
“I do not understand.”
No, she could see that. It didn’t help that she wasn’t making a lot of sense. “You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever me
t. You’re handsome, strong, and gorgeous.”
“Then what is the problem?”
“Men like you don’t want women like me.” She pointed at herself.
“Like you? You mean because you’re delicate?”
“No.”
“Because you’re emotional and illogical?” he asked.
“No, well, I don’t think so. Hey, what do you mean illogical? When have I been illogical?”
He raised his eyebrows. “You jumped over the edge of the terrace to avoid walking through the ballroom with a mark on your dress.”
Okay, so that didn’t sound like a smart move but she’d had her reasons. She was tired of always being an embarrassment. Of being Aline’s clumsy little sister.
“If it is not because you are delicate, emotional, and illogical then what is it? Your height? It might cause a few issues, but I’m sure we can work around them as long as I remember you are frail and make allowances for that.”
She ground her teeth together in frustration. “I am starting to realize why you have not mated already.” Because despite his good looks, no one else would have him!
“Because I had not met you.”
Okay, that was somewhat romantic. “This all feels like some bizarre movie.”
“Ah, Zoey has spoken of movies. She misses them greatly.”
“You don’t have movies? Our cultures are so different. There’s so much we don’t know about each other. I can’t mate with you without knowing you better.”
He stared at her thoughtfully. “I have waited for you for decades. Getting to know me better will not change what is meant to be.”
“I guess not. But it would make me feel less nervous and scared.”
“I would never hurt you. I would take care of you always. I will ensure that you come to no harm under my care.”
She smiled. Even though she could take care of herself, and had since she was a child, it was nice to have someone else care.
“Then wouldn’t you want me to be more comfortable with our, um, mating? If you really want to take care of me.”
He frowned, obviously thinking that over. “This is why I did not wish to take a human female as a mate. I knew she would make this difficult.”
“Sorry,” she replied stiffly.
