by KD Jones
Nina Sinclair ... strong, smart, good at her event planning job, and unbelievably sexy. Watching her deal with one problem after another with grace and a calm demeanor was a major turn-on for him. Even when she got flustered, he found her pink cheeks and bright eyes adorable. His attraction to the human was confusing and frustrating. He didn’t know what to do about it. Maybe having her there to actually go through the profiles would help him put his feelings for her aside.
He escorted her from the arboretum taking the elevator to the level where his suite was located. Nina’s scent filled the small space and he could feel her body heat. He wanted to take her in his arms again and feel those curves. Damn he had it bad for her.
Finally they arrived on the right level and got off the elevator. He used his access code to enter his suite. For a brief moment he worried that he had left his place in a mess, but he was relieved to see that the only mess was on his coffee table where profiles were scattered all over it.
“I have the profilesss in a box under the coffee table. Each one hasss a code that I can enter on my TV to pull up the video I want to look at of each female.”
“That’s efficient,” Nina commented. When she looked down at the box, she gasped. “Oh my God! How many profiles do you have in there?”
“I expected maybe twenty-five or fifty femalesss to apply. I received nearly two thousssand.”
“Two ... thousand?”
“Yesss, thisss isss why I needed your help. There isss no way I can look at all of them by myssself.”
“Maybe we need to call your friends to come over and help.”
“It’sss late and I’m not sure if I want anyone elssse involved at thisss point.”
“Just me?”
He gave her a wink, “You’re an expert at organizing eventsss. Thisss should be a breeze.”
She sat on the sofa and leaned down to pull a few of the profiles out of the box. “How have you been sorting them so far?”
He sat down next to her as he explained. “The pile on the left ssside of the coffee table containsss the rejectsss and the onesss on the right side are onesss I am considering. I would like to review their videosss before making a decision on thossse.”
She glanced at the two piles. “The reject pile is pretty big.”
“I know but I think I cut too many, I barely have any that are acceptable. What would you suggessst?” He had found one issue after another with the females. One didn’t have the right color hair. Nina’s hair was so shiny and soft. Several females had very thin lips. Nina’s lips were full and soft. Everything about Nina was soft. He liked that.
“What’s your criteria for picking a female?”
He couldn’t tell her that he compared everyone to her. “I didn’t have a criteria picked out when I first started looking.”
“What’s your preference?”
You he thought to himself. “Age-wissse, I would like no younger than twenty-five and no one older than thirty-five.”
“And height and weight?”
“Over five feet six inchesss if possible. I’m tall, ssso I had wanted my female to be a reasssonable height.” He noticed that Nina’s face flushed and her eyes narrowed a bit. Nina was short, probably five foot two, if that. He wasn’t trying to insult her, but that was what he felt he was looking for. He had always believed that was what he was most attracted to, but recently, looking at her small curvy figure, he was beginning to question that. He couldn’t imagine being more attracted to anyone else.
“Did you specifiy age and height from the Reptan council?”
“Yesss.”
“So all of the applicants should already fit that criteria. Is there anything more important to you than age and height?”
“I guesss what would trump everything would be whether the female would be willing to travel, possibly relocate to the ship with me. It wasss one of the questionsss I made sure wasss included in the application.”
“Okay, so how many of the ones you have already selected have checked off that they are willing to move around?”
Esan picked up the pile on the right and started glancing at the applications. “Half of them can be put in the reject pile becaussse they don’t want to travel.”
“Great. So we’ll start with that as one of the primary criteria. Are you really set on the height thing?”
“It’s not a great a priority, I sssuppossse,” he hedged.
“When you think of having a mate, what things are truly important to you?
“I would prefer sssomeone who doesss not have prejudice against halfsssies.”
“Why would they bother to apply to be your mate if they did?”
Esan shrugged. “I have money. The malesss of my home world hold the power with money, and usually money passsesss to the male descendants. It’s why my fossster father would like me to move back ssso that he can pick my mate and eventually passs his businesss and money to me.”
“What about your foster mother? How does she feel about everything going to you?”
“My fossster mother hatesss me. She was unable to have children herssself and only agreed to fossster me and Sssersssan because her husband demanded they have an heir. The femalesss on my planet who come from wealth don’t inherit that wealth themselvesss. Each female isss only given a dowry when she matesss which isss then controlled by her mate.”
“That’s bullshit,” Nina exclaimed.
He couldn’t help but find her anger on behalf of the females of his planet endearing. “I agree. It’sss one of the reasonsss I’m glad Sssersssan and I left. As a halfsssie female, my fossster father saw no value in Sssersssan and would not have given any kind of mating dowry to her mate.”
“You know what — your foster father is an asshole.”
Esan laughed. “I know that first hand. He, unfortunately, isss typical of the type of malesss that come from Reptan.”
“Good grief! What would happen if you have daughters and raised them on Reptan?”
That was something he had never thought about. Sure, he wished to eventually have children, but daughters ... they would be treated with no value by the rest of his people. Suddenly, living on his home world was looking less and less appealing.
Nina placed a gentle hand on his wrist. “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
“You didn’t, but you did make me think. The anssswer to each quessstion on the application can be a yesss, no, or maybe. The quessstion asssking how they feel about mixed racesss mussst be anssswered with yesss. Anyone who answersss negatively, with a maybe, or not at all getsss rejected.”
“What about living preferences? Do you want them willing to live with you here on board the GCFA ship?”
“I won’t have my children raisssed on Reptan ssso the female will need to be willing to relocate.”
“Good decision. Okay, let’s get started resorting these applications.”
*****
It took a few hours to do the first round of sorting. Nina let herself get caught up in reading some of the answers the females made on the applications. “Oh my God!”
“What?” Esan asked, trying to lean over to look at the profile she held.
“This female says that she has been medically evaluated and approved for birthing large-sized children.”
“Good to know,” Esan said with a straight face before breaking out into full laughter. It had not been the first time she heard him laugh, but it was always pleasant to see. It lightened up his serious expression and brought a light to his eyes. She liked his laugh.
Esan picked up another profile and scanned it. “They have been quite open about their ... attributesss.”
“Yes, they have.”
“Thisss one sssaysss she will provide ssstatementsss from her previousss loversss to prove her worthiness in bed.”
Nina rolled her eyes. “Really? Some of these women are ridiculous. Why in the world would they say this crap to guys they hope to marry ... er, mate?”
“I take it th
at thisss isssn’t how you attract a male?” Esan asked.
She snorted. “No way. If I like a guy, I usually ask if he wants to grab a drink after work.”
“Doesss that approach work for you pretty well?”
Nina kept her eyes on the profile without really reading it. “I haven’t had time to ask anyone out in a while. I’ve been too busy with my job.”
“You are very good at your job.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you, I have worked really hard to make this a real career. Not everyone believed I could do it.”
“I have ssseen you do your job and those who doubted you are ssseriousssly wrong. Give me their namesss and I’ll tell them for you.”
Her heart fluttered at his readiness to defend her. She didn’t even think twice as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, but I can defend myself.” She meant to pull back, but when he turned to face her, she got caught in his dark eyes. The next thing she knew, he was leaning down to kiss her, and she let him.
Electricity shot through her whole body as she opened up to him. A great need filled her, spreading to all her erogenous zones and even to places she had no idea were erogenous. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. At the same time, she felt her body turning and being lowered to the sofa.
He moved over her as he kissed her again and again, making her dizzy. It happened so fast and took her over completely. All she could do was hang on to him. She loved how his body felt over her. She felt him everywhere, consuming her. It was like she had jumped into the deep end of the pool and was not quite prepared for how deep it was. She couldn’t catch her breath, but didn’t want to stop or lose the amazing feelings he was bringing out of her.
Nina reached up to run her hands over the scales on his head but realized that she was holding something. She moved her hand higher and realized that it was one of the profiles. That was like a splash of cold water. What in the hell were they doing? She pushed at his chest. He broke their kiss and and moved a few inches away.
“What’sss wrong?” Esan asked, looking at her with desire and longing.
God, how she wished she could just kiss him and forget everything else, but she couldn’t. That wasn’t the type of person she was. Damn morals!
“I’m not here for ... this. I’m suppose to be helping you find a mate.”
His face turned pale. “You’re right.”
He moved off of her and she had to fight her urge to pull him back. She missed having him so close. She liked Esan. He came across as dangerous and cold but spending time with him had made her see another side to him. If only he was interested in dating humans, maybe she would have a chance with him, but he made it clear that he wanted a mate that was Reptan. If they slept together, it would be to slake their lust not any sign of something more.
“Let’s look at some of the videos of the profiles you have picked so far. You’ve got to narrow it down to thirty females by tomorrow.”
“Right.” Esan didn’t sound pleased but he picked up the remote control to type in the profile codes.
There was tension between them that had not been there before, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had a job to do and needed to keep distance between them. Easier said than done. She wanted him but she couldn’t have him. God help her get through this.
Chapter 12
The next morning
Esan sent the list of thirty females he had selected the night before to the Reptan council. He should have felt relief or excitement about it, but he didn’t. Nina went home right after they had completed sorting the profiles. It suddenly felt too awkward to have her help him look over potential mates. Maybe it had been a mistake to hire her. Well, upon second thought, his sister technically hired her. He couldn’t deny that Nina was good at her job. He wished that maybe she wasn’t that good, that she would have a him stop the planning altogether. It wasn’t that he had a problem with her involvement as an event planner. That part no longer bothered him. No, it was the fact that he wanted Nina Sinclair for more than her event planning skills.
The more time he spent in her company, the more he wanted to know about her. Every time they touched or kissed it made him feel like he was just discovering sexual awareness for the first time. It was fresh and real, raw and instant. Never in his past had he felt something so ... intense. If she hadn’t stopped them, he would have made love to her last night and throughout the morning. That was how much he desired her.
It was confusing. When he started this whole thing, his only thought was to mate with a full Reptan female. Yet, in just a matter of days, he found that his thoughts were changing. Nina was everything he wanted, except for the human factor. She was smart, confident, self-made, successful — and, of course, she was beautiful and sexy. It wasn’t just her sexual appeal, either. He loved how her mind worked. Their conversations were something he looked forward to. Even when they disagreed on something, the debate they had was just as stimulating. He rarely talked to the females he dated in the past. Each encounter was centered around the physical aspect and once that was satisfied, he didn’t have any use for the females. The didn’t intereste him like Nina did.
After he had sent Nina home he had sat there watching video after video comparing each female to Nina. The females he narrowed it down to were close to what he originally thought he wanted. Part of him wanted to call the whole thing off so that he could see if there really was something there between him and Nina. However, he made the decision to continue on with the gathering. He wanted both him and Nina to know that if he chose to pursue her, it was because he really did want her out of the other choices he had. It was important to make sure that what he was feeling for her was real and not some fleating feelings based on his desire for her.
Also, he wanted her to choose him as well. As long as he was her client, she would not allow anything more to develop between them. So that meant he needed to continue with the gathering and then make a final decision afterward.
He was now on his way to practice. He was performing on the Monday after his gathering event. If he did choose some of the female Reptans to stay longer to gauge their compatibility, they could watch his performance, learn more about the GCFA, and decide if they could handle his lifestyle. He was not willing to retire from fighting for the GCFA at this point. Maybe years from now that would change, but this was his home and he wasn’t going to give it up.
*****
“Your father told the priest that if he didn’t allow us to renew our vows in the chapel that all funds would stop coming in.”
“He threatened a priest?”
“Promised is all. You know how hot-headed your father can get.”
“Why is that chapel so important?”
“It’s the first chapel your father and I attended together when we first started dating.”
Nina leaned back on her bed as she listened to her mother go on and on. She should have let the call go to voicemail but she knew her mother would only continue to call her until she got a chance to speak with her. She should know. Nina once tried to dodge her mother’s calls when she was in college. Her parents showed up the next day and went to her sociology class, where they had interrupted the class just to make sure that she was there and okay. Still, that was not as bad as what they had done to her other sisters. She counted herself lucky.
“How’s the Reptan gathering planning coming along?” her mother asked.
“Fine. Esan picked the arboretum as his venue. Last night, I helped him narrow down the prospects. He’s sending a list to the Reptan council today on thirty females from his home world he would like to meet.”
“You don’t sound happy about that,” her mother said in a tone that was more inquiring than usual.
“Of course, I’m happy to help my client. The GCFA will be happy with me for doing a good job. I’m happy.”
“Darling, I know when one of my kids isn’t telling me the truth. What’s going on?”
> Nina sighed. “Mom, how did you know that Daddy was the one for you?”
“I wasn’t impressed with him at our first meeting. I had gone to a dance with friends and he bumped into me and made me spill my punch on my dress. When I was about to tell him off, I took one look at his repentant expression and laughed instead of yelling. He apologized profusely and offered to have me spill punch on him in retaliation. I took him up on the offer. Our friends thought we were nuts, but we ended up sitting to the side cleaning off our outfits and talking most of the night. He asked me to dance when the last song was playing and I knew I never wanted to dance with anyone else.”
“That sounds so ... romantic. But how did you know it was going to last?”
“Honey, you never know what the future will hold. People change, marriages change. A couple has to make the choice every day that they will dedicate themselves to each other no matter what they face.”
“I just don’t see how after one night — one dance — with Dad, you would know he was the one.”
“What’s all this about? Have you found someone that you feel might be the one?” Her mother’s voice sounded hopeful. Why had she asked her mom about relationships? It was her mother’s mission in life to see all six of her daughters married and producing grandchildren. She had to cut this off or she would find her mother and father on her doorstep.
“No, of course not. I mean ... I’ve been so busy with work when would I even have time to meet anyone?”
“Honey…oh your father is here.”
“Wait, don’t put Dad on…”
“Is that my Nina Banina?”
She cringed at the nickname her father gave her. It wasn’t as bad as some of her sisters’ nicknames, but it was still embarrassing. “Hi, Dad. How are you?”
“Great, now that Father Raines and I have come to an agreement. How’s my Nina Banina?”
“Just fine. Job’s working out better than I thought. No problems.”
“Have you had a chance to meet any of the GCFA fighters? Rage? Maxim? Oh, what about Hammer? Is he as big in person as he is on TV?”
