The Bad Boys Guide to the Galaxy

by Karen Kelley

  “My robe was getting dirty along the hem, so I removed it.”

  Her gaze traveled slowly over him, noting the bulge below his waist. It was quite large. Odd. She mentally shook her head.

  “Your clothes are quite dirty. Once again, I’ve proven that I’m superior in my way of thinking,” she told him.

  “You’re naked.”

  She glanced down. “You’re very observant,” she said, using his earlier words. “Did you know there’s a slight breeze outside? It made my nipples tingle and felt quite pleasant. Not that I would be tempted to stay on Earth because of a breeze.”

  “You…you…can’t…”

  She frowned. “There’s something wrong with your speech. Are you ill? If you’d like, I can retrieve my diagnostic tool and examine you.” He was sweating. Not good. She only hoped she didn’t catch what he had.

  “You can’t go around without clothes,” he sputtered. “And I’m not sick.”

  “Then what are you?”

  “Horny!” He marched to the other room, returning in a few minutes with her robe. “You can’t go around naked.”

  “Why not?” She slipped her arms into the robe and belted it.

  “It causes a certain reaction inside men.”

  “What kind of a reaction?”

  What an interesting topic. She wanted to know more. Maybe they would be able to have a scientific conversation.

  Kia had only talked about battles, and Mala had talked about exploration of other planets, but Sam was actually speaking about something to do with the body. It was a very stimulating discussion.

  He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m going to kill Nick,” he grumbled. “No one said anything about having to explain the birds and bees.”

  “And what’s so important about these birds and bees?”

  He drew in a deep breath. “When a man sees a naked woman, it causes certain reactions inside him.”

  “Like the bulge in your pants? It wasn’t there before.”

  “Ah, Lord.”

  “Did my nakedness do that?”

  “You’re very beautiful.”

  “But I’m not supposed to think so.”

  “No, we’re not talking about that right now.”

  She was so confused. Sam wasn’t making sense. “Then please explain what we are talking about.”

  “Sex,” he blurted. “When a man sees a beautiful and very sexy naked woman, it causes him to think about having sex with her.”

  He looked relieved to finally have said so much. She thought about his words for a moment. A companion unit did not have these reactions unless buttons were pushed, and even then, their response would be generic. This was very unusual. But also exciting that her nakedness would make him want to copulate. She felt quite powerful.

  And she was also horny now that she knew what the word meant. She untied her robe and opened it. “Then we will join.”

  He made a strangled sound and coughed again and jerked her robe closed. “No, it’s not done like that. Dammit, I’m not a companion unit to perform whenever you decide you need sex.”

  “But don’t you want sex?”

  “There are emotions that need to be involved. I’m not one of those guys who jump on top of a woman, gets his jollies, and then goes his own way.”

  “You want me on top?” She’d never been on top, but she thought she could manage.

  He firmly tied her robe, then raised her chin until her gaze met his.

  “When I make love with a woman, I want her to know damn well who she’s with, and there won’t be anything clinical about it.” He lowered his mouth to hers.

  He was touching her again. She should remind him that it was forbidden to touch a healer. But there was something about his lips against hers, the way he brushed his tongue over them, then delved inside that made her body ache, made her want to lean in closer, made her want to have sex other than just to relieve herself of stress.

  When he pulled back, she stumbled forward.

  Why had he stopped? She didn’t want him to stop. Maybe he remembered that he should ask for permission before he touched her.

  She puckered her lips. “You may touch me again.”

  He gazed into her eyes. His were filled with need. Yes, he would want to copulate now, and she would have the release she required.

  He shook his head. “I don’t think so. You’re not ready.”

  She nodded her head. “Yes, I’m very ready to have sex.”

  “But, sweetheart, you’re not ready to have sex with me.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  He studied her face. “When the time is right, then we’ll make love, not have sex. There’s a big difference.” He turned and went back to the other room.

  Frustration filled her. An Earthman who did not want to have sex with her, someone of superior intelligence? Ridiculous!

  She raised her chin and glared in the direction he’d gone. It didn’t matter. She didn’t want to copulate with him, either. In fact, the need had already left her.

  She bit her bottom lip. Now he had her lying to herself. She wanted to join with Sam very much. Her body burned to feel his touch again.

  Temptation wasn’t good. Not good at all. The sooner she found a cure for the Elder the better.

  Chapter 4

  S am scratched his head. A beautiful woman had just asked him if he wanted to have sex and he’d turned her down. What was wrong with that picture? Had he finally lost his mind? Man, he needed some air.

  He stepped out the back door and let the breeze wash over him. It helped only until he remembered Lara had said the light wind had made her nipples tight.

  Oh, yeah, she’d been right, too. Her nipples had been hard little nubs, and all he could think about was what they would feel like if he scraped his tongue across them. He closed his eyes, picturing sweeping her into his arms and carrying her to the bedroom, laying her on the bed.

  No, no, no.

  Dammit, he wasn’t a companion unit that could perform at the drop of a hat. When they made love, he wanted her to know exactly who she was having sex with.

  He drew in a sharp breath as soon as he realized he was going to make love to her before she went back to Nerak. Gut instinct? Yeah, he was always pretty good at sensing what was going to happen before it happened. It’d kept him and Nick alive more times than he could count.

  Besides, a woman who didn’t mind walking around naked wouldn’t be easy to resist. She might be an alien, but he was only human. Yeah, making love to Lara was pretty much of a gimme.

  He’d been having fantasies since he’d watched the hologram in Nick and Kia’s apartment. Every damned night since then, he’d dreamed about her.

  Yeah, he’d gone out on dates with other women since then, but it hadn’t worked out. No other woman came close, and it seemed as if he was always comparing them to Lara.

  Then he’d met the real Lara, and that had blown his idealistic fantasy all to hell. He’d put himself through misery fantasizing about someone who thought she was superior to someone from Earth. If it wasn’t so sad, he’d laugh.

  He turned when he heard a noise behind him.

 
“The floors are clean, but I don’t know what to do to clean myself. Do you have more cloths for that?” Lara asked as she stepped outside and joined him on the back porch.

  “I have a shower in the bathroom.”

  “What’s a shower?”

  “A thing where you stand under water and get clean.” How the hell did one describe taking a shower?

  “Show me.”

  There she went again with the attitude. That, he could live without.

  “You’re frowning,” she said.

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  “And so you shouldn’t. I never lie. Now, show me this device called a shower.”

  She never lied, she never did any work, she snapped her fingers when she wanted sex…. Could he drown someone in a shower? Probably not.

  Okay, he’d show her.

  For a moment, he pictured himself lathering a washcloth and rubbing it over her high-pointed breasts, her abdomen, slipping down…down between her legs…

  Her skin would have bubble trails, and when he took the nozzle down and sprayed them away…

  “You have moisture on your face.”

  He jerked his thoughts back to the present. “I have a feeling I’ll sweat a lot while I’m around you,” he mumbled. “Come on, and I’ll show you how to work the shower.” But that’s all he’d be showing her.

  His bathroom had shrunk considerably. It was difficult to keep from bumping against her. She felt all soft and womanly, and it seemed like a real long time since he’d had a female snuggled next to him.

  He cleared his mind, or at least attempted to, and turned on the faucet, tested the water, then hit the shower button. Water streamed from the showerhead.

  “Oh, this looks like more fun than our beams of light.” She quickly sobered. “Not that it would tempt me to stay on Earth.”

  “Of course not. Nerak is so much superior,” he said with dry sarcasm.

  “Yes, exactly!”

  “And that’s why everyone is leaving.”

  She pursed her lips. “They’ll realize their mistake and return.”

  “I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.”

  Her frown deepened, but he didn’t think she looked all that fierce. No, he pretty much had her number. She was all hot air. But cute. And sexy. And he’d better get the hell out of here fast.

  “The washcloths are in here, and the towels—drying off cloths—are below. This is soap.” He handed her a bottle of body wash.

  “I know soap.”

  “Yeah, I figured that one out fast enough when I returned from fishing. It goes on you , not the countertops.”

  He certainly didn’t want to try to explain how she should put some on the cloth and rub it all over her body. Hell, he didn’t even want to think about it. “Don’t get water on the floor. Make sure you close the curtain.”

  He hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He stood just outside, catching his breath. Yeah, he was sweating. And he had a killer hard-on. The reason he knew it was a killer—was because he was dying a slow death.

  He heard the shower curtain open, then close. Her musical laughter followed. He pictured the water cascading over her luscious body.

  He drew in a ragged breath.

  No one should get this damn much enjoyment from taking a blasted shower.

  Yeah, he was sweating a hell of a lot.

  Lara raised her hands upward, laughing when the water washed over her body. This was a good temptation. She poured a good-sized dollop of soap on the cloth and rubbed her face.

  And screamed.

  Burn!

  Pain!

  “Owwwww…”

  The door slammed open, then the shower curtain was shoved back.

  “What’s the matter?” Sam asked.

  “I’m blind! Your soap has made me unable to see!” She wailed. “It’s your fault. How can I heal someone if I cannot see?” The pain was unbearable.

  “I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you not to get it in your eyes. I’m going to spray water in your face. Close your mouth, and hold your breath.”

  His words barely penetrated past the burning in her eyes. Would Sam stop the pain? How could he? He wasn’t a healer, and his race was inferior. She was doomed.

  Water hit her in the face.

  And now he was torturing her with what she loved! The cruelty was unbearable.

  “Open your eyes.”

  She shook her head. “Hurts.”

  “I have to get the soap out of your eyes.”

  Okay, maybe that did make sense, somewhat. She forced herself to open her eyes. Sam sprayed them. The pain eased, but her eyes still burned.

  “Ouch.”

  He sprayed her off, then wrapped a towel around her hair and one around her body before lifting her in his arms and carrying her to the other room. She sniffed as she rested her head against his chest.

  This part was nice. She liked inhaling his scent. And she liked how it felt when he held her close.

  He sat in a chair that moved back and forth and spoke in a soothing voice. She didn’t know all the words, but she didn’t care. She liked the sound of his voice and the way he held her. No one had ever held her like this.

  “Feeling better?”

  She nodded. “You’re not supposed to touch a healer.” She sniffed again.

  “Want me to stop?”

  She shook her head. “Maybe it’s not so very wrong to touch a healer. This feels nice.”

  “Didn’t anyone ever rock you when you were little?”

  “No.”

  “What about your mother?”

  “We don’t have mothers on Nerak.”

  “You don’t come from a test tube already grown.” His laugh was shaky. “Do you?”

  “Each Nerakian is created in the laboratory, yes. We go to a special place where we are taken care of until we can go to a family unit that has the same DNA. Before that time, we grow and begin instructions on what we will do on Nerak. After we have learned the basics, we go to our family units where we grow into adulthood.

  “In our structure, we have Elders who rule, and those before us with our DNA, we call grandmother. If one should pass, then the oldest living is grandmother. My sister is now grandmother.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She moved until she could look into his eyes. “But why? This is a very efficient way to attain adulthood. Each Nerakian is well taken care of. We don’t have the wars that Earth has, or disease, or overpopulation. Our society is pure.”

  “And yet you’ve never been held like this.”

  She laid her head against his chest once again, heard the steady rhythm of his heart. It was a soothing sound.

  “No. Nerakians are not demonstrative. We bond in other ways. It’s different here?”

  “In my family, we hugged a lot. Still do.”

  She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it would’ve been like to hug Kia. No, she couldn’t see it. Kia was a code enforcer, a warrior. Kia wouldn’t have liked hugging. Although she hadn’t seemed to mind Nick hugging her.

 
But Kia would never hug a healer. It just wasn’t natural…and would upset the balance of everything. And yet, here she was letting Sam hold her.

  Now that she thought about it, her whole equilibrium did feel out of sync. No wonder her emotions warred inside her. She’d let this human who was so much inferior get inside her head.

  Temptation.

  This was exactly what the Elders had warned her about. Already she’d enjoyed the water and a man’s kiss. And now this. What other traps would she have to overcome?

  “Feeling better?” Sam asked.

  She scooted out of his arms and stood. “Yes…thank you.”

  He smiled, and she knew it was because she’d remembered to thank him.

  “You’re welcome,” he said.

  She arched an eyebrow. “Knowing some of your phrases might be useful. I’m only adapting while I’m here so I don’t bring attention to myself.”

  His heated gaze slowly moved over her, leaving her body tingling with pleasure. Apparently, being naked or partially naked wasn’t appropriate since he looked at her with heat in his eyes. Nakedness on Nerak wasn’t that important. You wore clothes, or you didn’t. It was as easy as that, and no one thought anything about one’s choice.

  Sam must be horny again.

  “I’ll dress now.” She went to the room she had chosen and closed the door, then leaned against it. Her body tingled from head to foot. She would meditate and restore the balance within herself.

  She opened the carrier that Sam had brought in earlier. Her mind needed to be cleansed to rid herself of the…the…horniness she felt.

  She placed her meditation rug on the floor, then donned her white robe. Already, she felt better. The shimmering transparency whispered around her. Next, she pulled out a scenting stick from her special packet.

  The sweet aroma from the stick drifted up to her. She inhaled. This was nice. The aroma reminded her of the air that was here at Sam’s cabin when she was outside—fresh and clean.