by KD Jones
“Yes, I’ve met almost all of the fighters. Hammer is actually very nice but even bigger than you would expect.”
“I would love to come and meet Hammer. He’s been my favorite for a long time. Maybe your mother and I could visit…”
“No! I mean ... I’m really busy right now planning another wedding and a Reptan gathering. It would be better to wait a little while before you two came to visit.”
“She’s right dear. I don’t want to cause problems for her at work.” Her mother got back on the phone.
Nina breathed a sigh of relief that her mother agreed with her for once. The relief was short lived.
“Oh! Why don’t we renew our vows on board the GCFA? I didn’t really want to do it in the chapel here. I bet they have a chapel there. Nina, check that out for us.”
“Wait...I don’t think that’s a good—”
“Your sister just started working for a travel agency. She can get us all discount bookings. This is wonderful!”
Nina groaned. This was going to be a disaster. “Mom…”
“I’ve got to go, honey, so I can call your sister immediately. I’ll be in touch with you on the final plans. Love you!”
“Mom!” It was too late. Her mother had already hung up the phone. Oh God, this was bad. If her parents came here, they would bring one or more of her sisters. She wasn’t sure the GCFA ship could withstand the presence of her whole family. How was she going to stop this disaster before it happened?
It wasn’t that she didn’t love her family — she did. She had the best family, but they could also be intrusive. Her mother was also very sharp. If she came and spent time with her and Esan, she might pick up on the chemistry between them. There would be no way her mother wouldn’t try to match them up, despite the fact that Esan was basically dating thirty other women.
She grabbed the pillow next to her and covered her face as she groaned in frustration. Maybe her older sisters could run interference for her. They had experienced the same kind of mom-tampering and would relate to her situation. Nina would call them and beg for help. Her phone rang and she was almost tempted not to answer, but it could be another client. She picked up her phone, which was lying next to her.
“Hello?”
“Nina, it’sss Sssersssan. I wanted to check on thingsss.”
“Oh, hey, everything is going fine. Esan should have sent the Reptan council a list of thirty females who are invited to the gathering. He picked a venue and I will have my team arrange everything just as he requested. The only change was that he moved up the time frame.”
“Moved it up to when?”
“This coming Sunday.”
“You have to be kidding me! I wanted to be back before thisss all took place.”
“I’m sorry, he’s insisting that it be done sooner.”
Sersan sighed. “What are the choicesss like?”
“I’ve only read their profiles. They seem ... interesting.”
“I’m not sure that isss a good sssign. Esssan doesss not alwaysss ussse the bessst judgment when it comesss to females. He asssumesss they mean well and doesssn’t realize that they are usssersss until it’sss too late.”
“I haven’t met these females, but the council sent a wide range of choices and the ones we chose when we narrowed down the group seem to be the best of the crop.”
“Pleassse call me and tell me how the gathering goesss.”
“I will. Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon.”
“Thank you again for doing thisss, Nina.”
“No problem.” Nina hung up and lay down on her back, staring at the ceiling. The thought of having to watch Esan flirting with thirty women did not appeal to her at all. However, she had taken the job, and she was determined to see it through. Maybe after he picked his mate, she would let go of the fantasy of him. Maybe.
Chapter 13
Saturday arrival day
Esan stood in the lobby of the GCFA ship waiting for the shuttles to arrive with the females the Reptan council was sending. The week had gone by quickly. He had met with Nina only twice and her assistant three times, who had given him the excuse that Nina was busy arranging the wedding that would take place on Friday. His calls to her went to voicemail and the calls back were always from her assistant. He was starting to get a little angry over his inability to be alone with her.
“Mr. Esan, you don’t have to be here for this part. I have some of the ship’s staff here to help me welcome the Reptan guests,” Mindy Lee, Nina’s assistant, told him.
He looked down at the small human female. She was thin and blonde, with big blue eyes. Some would consider her pretty but she paled in comparison to Nina’s bright, vibrant personality. “I asssked them to come and they made the long trip for me. It isss only right that I should be here to greet them.”
“I understand. Nina wanted to be here today, but last night she was busy putting out fires at the wedding and reception.”
Esan felt a moment of panic. “There wasss a fire on board the GCFA ship? Isss Nina okay?”
Mindy laughed, “It’s a human saying. It means there were a lot of problems that came up that kept Nina busy. She didn’t get home until after two this morning and from the way she sounded during our phone call conversation at six a.m., she was exhausted.”
He didn’t like hearing that Nina was being affected. Was planning his event pushing her over the edge? She had already committed to three events when they met. All he could think about was going to her suite to check on her. The sound of the lobby doors opening had him push that thought to the side. He had to deal with this welcoming first, and then he would check on Nina.
The first individual to walk through the doors wasn’t the person he was expecting — his foster father. Reptan Councilman Shrake was an inch taller than Esan and presented himself in the typical Reptan formal robes. The male had no hair; his head was scaled from his forehead all the way to the back and on the sides. Most Reptan children were born with small scales behind their ears and more scales grew as they aged. To have a head with the top almost completely scaled showed his age and prestige, and Shrake knew it. He looked down at everyone around him as if they were scum, hardly good enough to be in his presence. When he spotted Esan, that distasteful look never left his face. Yeah, Esan had gotten used to that look while growing up. Nothing he and Sersan did ever pleased the male. There were times he felt like Shrake wished he had never taken them in. Why the hell would Shrake even come here if he hated Esan so much? He waited until his foster father was right in front of him to ask.
“Councilman Ssshrake, I did not expect you to come here.”
“I had to come sssince my ssson insssisssted on hisss gathering off world. I’m the head of our family, it would sssully our family’sss reputation for me not to attend my only ssson’s big event. Besssidesss, I offered to essscort the potential matesss here.”
Of course, he was here only for appearance’s sake, not because he really cared for Esan. Yet, it was a long way to come to keep his reputation. Every time he referred to Esan as his son, it made Esan cringe inside. It irked him to claim any familial ties with the male who once called his foster daughter an abomination and should have never been conceived in the first place. Esan was all that had kept his foster parents from tossing Sersan out to fend for herself. They needed an heir and Reptans never gave up their children for adoption. Esan was their only option for holding their family’s wealth and power in place.
“I appreciate you essscorting the femalesss.” He felt obligated to say that even though it grated on his nerves.
“Where isss your sssissster? Isss she too good to greet her father?”
“You know that she got married and isss currently on her honeymoon. You were invited to the wedding but chossse not to come.”
“She married outssside our race. It’sss a disssgrace.”
Esan was about to tell the old man off, but Mindy interrupted them. “Would you like to say a few welcoming words to the rest
of the group, Mr. Esan?”
He turned to face the thirty female faces watching him and his father intently. This was not the time or place to have it out with the male. He approached the females.
“Welcome on board the GCFA ship. I’m Esssan. I hope that your trip wasss pleasssant. We have arranged sssuitesss to accommodate all of you. Thisss isss Mindy Lee, who isss the asssissstant to our event planner, Nina Sssinclair. Misss Sssinclair couldn’t be here today but if you have any complaintsss or needsss, you may relay them to her through Misss Lee.” He didn’t miss the haughty looks most of the females gave Mindy. Reptans were not very tolerant of different races and preferred keeping to their own.
“Esssan, I am—” one of the females tried to push through the crowd and was met by another who shoved her back. These females were definitely more aggressive types.
“Pleassse, let Mindy and her team essscort you to your sssuites so that you can ressst up for the event tomorrow evening.” His request was met with lot of disappointed moans and complaints. “I promissse I will give time to each and every one of you tomorrow evening.”
“You’re leaving?” shouted one of the females in the back of the group.
“I apologize but I have other obligationsss.” He bowed to them before turning to leave. He could feel his foster father’s eyes on him as he left but he didn’t turn back around just kept on going. The anticipation he once felt about this gathering was fading quickly, leaving him feeling impatient to have it all done and over. Tomorrow evening he would complete the gathering. Then it would be over, and he might be able to see what, if anything was between him and Nina.
*****
“How did it go? Are all the guests settled into their suites?” Nina asked Mindy, who had dropped by her suite to report about the day’s activities.
Mindy rolled her eyes and kicked off her shoes. “Those females are stuck-up snobs. They complained that they had to share four to a suite. They complained that Esan didn’t stay to talk to them. I have to tell you, they have no love for humans. If they could have gotten away with it, they would have spit on me and the others helping move their luggage to their suites.”
Nina patted her hand. “I am so sorry you had to deal with all of that on your own.”
“It’s my job. Besides, the women weren’t nearly as bad as the councilman.”
“Councilman?”
“Reptan Councilman Shrake escorted the women here. Oh, and he’s Esan’s foster father.”
“Oh ... that’s not good. Esan and his foster parents don’t get along.”
“It was obvious from the tension between them.”
“I bet it upset Esan to see him.” She wanted to reach for her phone and call Esan to check on him.
“I think it mostly made him angry. Mr. Esan can be quite scary.”
“He’s not as dangerous as he seems. Once you get to know him, he’s much friendlier.”
Mindy snorted. “I’ll take your word for it. I have a nice quiet boyfriend who doesn’t look at me and make me almost wet myself.”
“He’s not that bad.”
“Nina, is there something between the two of you?”
“What? No way. Why would you say that?”
“When he heard how you had a rough night with the wedding, he seemed concerned.”
“I assume he’s just worried I won’t put my all into his event tomorrow night.”
“It’s okay if you do but I don’t want to see you get hurt. He just brought thirty women to this ship to potentially date.”
“I don’t have time to date anyone right now.”
At that moment someone knocked on her door. She stood up and walked over to open the door. To her surprise, Esan was standing there. “Esan?”
“May I come in?”
She moved to the side to let him in. Mindy stood up with a secretive smile. “I’ll see you first thing in the morning, Nina.”
Nina followed Mindy to the door. “You don’t have to go.”
Mindy gave her a wink. “Oh ... I do.”
Closing the door slowly, she took a deep breath and turned to face the man pacing her floor. “What can I do for you, Esan?”
“Isss it posssible to have sssecurity tosss my father off the ship?”
She snorted. “We’ve left the space port so that’s not going to work.”
“He’sss driving me crazy. I tried to leave him in the lobby ssso that othersss would show him to hisss sssuite. He followed me inssstead and ssstarted to make hisss demandsss. He wouldn’t leave when I went to change for my practice. I thought I wasss going to have to call sssecurity to get him to leave.”
“I heard that he showed up unexpectedly. What kind of demands is he making?”
“He took five of the femalesss I had picked and replaced them with five of hisss own choicesss. He isss insssisssting that I pick from the five femalesss he brought.”
“What are their names? We can have them blocked from entering the gathering.”
“That won’t ssstop him. He’ll jussst find a way to bring them there anyway.”
“Well, you’ll know which ones he brought so just don’t pick any of them. You still have twenty-five women to choose from.”
Esan sat down a little too hard, making the couch move an inch backward. “Sssorry, I’m jussst angry and frussstrated. He made mine and Sssersssan’s livesss missserable while living with him. He refusssed to come to Sssersssan’s mating ceremony and he never callsss her hisss daughter, only my sssissster. He saysss that he wantsss me to come back and take over hisss posssition on the council when he retiresss.”
“Well, that’s sounds like a protective fatherly thing to do.”
“It’sss a controlling thing. There isssn’t any proof he’ll follow through. I thought leaving our home world and living on our own would make all his machinationsss mute. I wasss wrong. I’m tempted to call the whole thing off.”
Nina sat down next to him on the couch and placed a calming hand on his forearm. “Despite what your foster father thinks, you’re in control. You’re making all the decisions, not him. Do you want me to cancel the gathering?”
“No, you’ve worked too hard on thisss and I’ve had the femalesss brought here. I need to follow thisss thing through.”
“Whatever you need me to do for you just let me know.” She suddenly realized she was rubbing her hand up and down his arm. As she started to pull away, he cupped the side of her face and held her still while he lowered his mouth to hers. She saw it coming in slow motion and had plenty of time to push away or say no, but she did neither. She let it happen ... she wanted it to happen.
His strong warm lips pressed against hers slowly, but the kiss grew stronger and more heated. Nina didn’t even realize she had moved at first, but evidently she straddled Esan’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a better position for the kiss but it also let her feel ... everything. He was hard for her and they both groaned when she moved her hips stroking him. In response, he moved his hands to cup her ass and began squeezing and kneading. When they broke away for air, she leaned her head back and he nibbled on her neck.
“That feels so good…”
“Yesss ... I want more,” he agreed with her.
She wanted more, too. Then his phone beeped interrupting them. It was the only reason she came back to her senses. Quickly she moved hand away and stood up. “That shouldn’t have happened. I’m working for your sister to help you find a mate.”
“I’m paying for your ssservicesss not my sssissster.”
“Even worse. I’ve never come on to a client before. When I’m around you I seem to forget myself.”
He didn’t mind that at all but it was clear it bothered her. “Nina, it’sss okay.”
She fumbled to grab her bag. “I have to get up early tomorrow to start setting up the arboretum.”
“Nina…”
“Please, this is my job. I need to stay professional.”
He stood up and walked to the door
. “I want you to know that I appreciate everything that you have done for both me and my sssissster.”
“It is my pleasure to help. Besides, you’re paying me really, really well and I’m worth every bit.”
Esan laughed. “Yesss, you are.”
She closed the door behind him and leaned her back against it. Nina wished she could fix things for Esan with his foster father but that wasn’t her job. When he suggested dropping the whole gathering she couldn’t help but feel slightly wishful. She quickly pushed that down and got control over her selfishness. If things were different, if she wasn’t working for Esan to arrange a possible match for him, maybe they could have dated. Unfortunately, things were as they were. She had to deal with the feelings she had. Maybe they would fade in time. Maybe.
*****
Esan stood outside Nina’s suite and leaned his forehead against the door. He wanted to break down the door and sweep her in his arms, take her to her bed and make love to her. That was so not like him. He shared sex or fucked; he never made love. She was turning him inside out. Sighing, he turned to leave which was the last thing he wanted to do. Hopefully after tomorrow, he would finally feel free to pursue these feelings he had for her.
Chapter 14
The next evening at the GCFA arboretum
Esan was nervous for some reason as he walked through the entrance of the arboretum. He was surprised by the change that had taken place since the last time he had been there. Electric torches lined the pathways and a few light globes floated overhead. As the only light sources, they created an ambiance that helped bring out the view of the stars through the glass dome roof above. The environment went from resembling an outdoor wedding in a field to a hidden spot deep in the forest. The glass faded away and it was like he wasn’t on a spaceship at all.
“What do you think?” Nina asked as she came up behind him.
“It’sss beautiful. You outdid yourssself.”
He turned look at her. She was wearing a lovely pale blue dress with a deep V-neck showcasing her abundant breasts. He had felt those breasts against him the night before and the thought of her luscious ass in his hands had kept him up most of the night. Esan had to resort to relieving himself ... more than once. She was all he could think about. How was he going to get through an evening of basically dating thirty other females when the one he actually wanted was watching it take place?
