by V. Vaughn
Hunter - Greenville Mail Order Brides
Intergalactic Dating Agency
V. Vaughn
Contents
Copyright
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
About the Author
Copyright © 2016 by V. Vaughn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover by Croco Designs
Editing by Jodi Henley and Angie Ramey
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Foreword
When Lexi Boynton’s best friend Mandy gets in trouble on the planet Eroscia, Lexi negotiates a deal to get her back. Part of the arrangement means taking in one angry-looking alien and finding him a wife. The sizzling-hot Hunter TS-501 ruffles more than Lexi’s hair when she’s in his presence, and while she’d like to be his Earth match, he spells danger in too many ways.
Hunter knows Lexi is his mate, even though she refuses to accept it. He also knows his white-collar criminal history will never fit in with her rule following ways, so he tries to keep it a secret as long as he can. When a security breach piques his curiosity, he wins Lexi over with his expertise. But his past is revealed, and the truth could cost him the woman he loves.
Chapter 1
My palms are damp with sweat, and I swipe them over my fitted skirt before grabbing the doorknob outside the small room where Hunter TS-501 is waiting for me. There were only supposed to be five hundred alien men available for the beta testing of the Intergalactic Dating agency, a program I run for the United States government. But one of my best friends, Mandy, managed to get herself into trouble with her match, and I had to negotiate with the planet Eroscia to get her back to Earth.
Hunter was part of the deal. Not only do I hate that I have an extra alien on my hands, but who runs an experiment with five hundred and one test subjects?
My low heels click over the vinyl floor like a ticking time bomb as I walk toward the meeting table. Hunter is the hottest male I’ve ever seen, and I’m struggling to control my sexual desire for him. His body appears chiseled to perfection and on the border of being overdone like a bodybuilder without quite crossing that line. He’s got green eyes that make me think of mossy forest floors, and when he grins at me.... yeah. I clear my throat as if that will ensure my voice won’t come out in a breathy tone. I don’t want to let my coworker Nate know I have sex on my mind, because even thinking about Hunter’s physical attributes is highly unprofessional.
Hunter is on one side of the rectangular table, and my chair scrapes as I pull it out to sit across from him and next to Nate. I hold Hunter’s gaze as I get settled, and I lift my chin.
Nate says, “Good afternoon, Lexi. Hunter and I were just getting to know each other.”
Our file on Hunter is slim. When he was brought to me on Eroscia, he’d been handcuffed, and the fire in his eyes screamed danger. I was assured he was safe, and his restraints were removed before we left. Hunter’s been physically compliant since arriving here, which has tamped down my fears he was dangerous, but he also refuses to talk. While Caiden, my friend Mandy’s new alien husband, informed me Hunter knows our language, the test subject won’t prove it. I force my anger aside and manage to speak with a businesslike tone. “And what have you found out?”
“Nothing, but he knows a lot about me now.” Nate’s eyes twinkle with amusement. “I even tortured him with stories about my kids.”
My temperature ratchets up a few degrees as Hunter meets my challenge and continues to stare intently at me. I swear an electric arc sizzles between us when I look into his eyes. It’s as if I’m laid bare before him and he wants to devour me. Although, by the way Hunter’s chest heaves, I think he feels it too. I suspect he makes our chemistry happen on purpose, and I resent it. I’ve yet to uncover all the things the aliens can do.
“Well, well,” says Nate. “It appears TS-501 is affected by a pretty lady. Perhaps you’ll have better luck getting information out of him than I did.”
I take in the T-shirt straining to cover Hunter’s massive chest, and I wish it were me wrapped around his rock-hard muscle. A feral man is great in my fantasies but not in my real life. I need to get this guy a human female. Fast. And that starts with getting him to speak. “I know this isn’t where you’d like to be, Hunter. But if you choose to make the best of this situation, I’m sure you’ll like some of the perks Earth has to offer. I know Caiden loves the food here. Have you enjoyed your meals so far?”
According to Mandy, the food on Eroscia tastes like cardboard, and while Hunter has only eaten cafeteria-style meals on Earth, they have to be better than what he’s used to. He shrugs and follows the gesture by raising his eyebrows as if daring me. There’s a fire in his eyes as his gaze falls to my mouth, and my first thought is that I’m what he’d like to be eating.
I lick my lips and notice his pupils widen. “You know,” I say as I reach in my purse for my phone. “We haven’t given Hunter a good sample of what food really tastes like here.”
The phone is slick in my hand, and it clunks on the table when I drop it. A small noise comes from Hunter, and I glance up at him. He’s got a look on his face that makes me think he knows how he’s affecting me. I quickly pick my cell up again, and I pull up the menu for my favorite steakhouse. It takes me a moment to focus, and I pretend I’m still searching as I imagine the hot alien across from me with a beer belly and body odor that turns my stomach.
I look at Hunter as I continue to see him as someone unattractive. “Perhaps a full stomach will help you with your speech problem?” He gives me a stone-cold stare. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I turn to my coworker. “Are you hungry, Nate? I’m ordering from Silver’s.”
“You buying?”
I smile at Nate. He’s one of the good guys left on Earth who haven’t taken advantage of the serious lack of men. He believes in traditional values like monogamy and marriage for life. Because he supports a family with five children, and I make more money than he does I say, “The sky’s the limit.”
“Prime rib for me.”
I survey the steak options as I decide what would have the most flavor and manage to satisfy the hunger of the large alien sitting across from me. I consider ordering a whole cow, but go with the porterhouse for Hunter and a petite-cut filet mignon for me.
After I make the phone call, Nate says, “Dude, you might start talking after these steaks. Or at least make a few noises when you eat yours.”
Hunter leans back to cross his arms and lets out a low noise that reverberates through my body, making me vibrate like a tuning fork. Heat rises to my cheeks as I imagine his moans of pleasure, and I drop my gaze to my folder. This situation is tempting me more than it should. I am a stickler for rules, and there is no way I would ever get involved with one of the test subjects for the Intergalactic Dating Agency’s beta test. No matter how much he makes me want to strip naked, scramble across the table, and tear his clothes off.
I open the file in an attempt to look busy, but one piece of paper doesn’t offer much of a distraction, and
it flutters when I pick it up and then set it back down. I take a chance and meet Hunter’s gaze. “Let’s recap what’s got to happen in the next few weeks, Hunter.” The sexy alien’s chair creaks as sits up straight. “We---” He lifts his shirt up slowly to remove it, and it thumps softly on the floor. I manage to squeak out, “Um—you.”
He sexily sweeps his tongue across his plump lower lip. I blink to keep from launching myself across the table at him, sucking in his delectable lip and straddling his lap to feel him between my---
Nate asks, “Lexi, are you okay?”
I shake my head to clear it. “Fine.” A strand of hair has come loose from my neat chignon, and I tuck it behind my ear as I make a mental note to redo my hairdo when I get a break. “As I was saying, we need to get the information necessary to enter Hunter into our database and find--” The stray lock of my hair tickles my neck as it magically gets tucked back into the coil of hair on the back of my head. “--him a match.” I stare at Hunter. Did he just do that? A tingle dances across my scalp as if his fingers were combing through my hair to tug out my bun. I envision shaking out my hair and....
As if he heard my thoughts, Hunter gives me a lazy, smoldering smile as my hairpins give way. They rain down on the table as my locks tumble to my shoulders. Oh my god! I quickly grab my hair and twist it back into place. If he can move my hair, and make chemistry spark between us, what else can he do? What else will he do? I think about my friend Mandy and wonder if her alien, Caiden, can do the same. I shake my head. I’ve got to pull myself together!
Items rattle in my purse as I search for something to write with. “Since you aren’t going to talk, perhaps we can ask the questions and you can write down the answers.”
Nate produces a yellow legal pad and slides it across the table as I hand Hunter a pen. Big mistake on my part, because he latches onto my wrist with a tight grip. I inhale sharply as adrenaline and lust surge in my bloodstream.
“Hey!” Nate jumps up from his chair while Hunter grins at me and grabs the pen with his other hand. He lets me go.
He’s taunting me. And I don’t like this game one bit.
Nate uses a stern tone as if he could somehow overpower an alien twice his size and says, “Pull a stunt like that again and we will cuff you.”
Hunter scowls at Nate with what I think is amusement before he wipes at his massive chest as if he’s brushing off lint. All it does is draw my eye to his perfect body and make my pulse pound in my head. My thoughts are clouded with stripping him naked. Holy hot alien, I’m a mess. I say, “I’m going to go check on the food.” While I know an executive assistant would bring our take-out to the meeting room, I need to get away from Hunter before I do something stupid.
The moment I get out of the room, the temperature feels like it drops ten degrees, which is crazy since our building is carefully climate controlled. I think about how Hunter undid my hair and the way my insides are trembling with the need for him to touch me in other places. His presence is overwhelming me, and I’m embarrassed that I can’t get my desire under control. If anyone who works for me were this flustered, I’d yank them from the project so fast their head would spin. And then I’d send them to sexual harassment training for a week.
The door to the ladies’ room squeaks when I push it open, and I walk over to the sinks. My purse thumps on the counter, and I search for my brush so I can fix my hair. After two attempts, I achieve perfection and sigh. That hotter-than-Hades alien may think he has the upper hand, but he’s messing with the wrong human. In a test of wills, I always win.
Chapter 2
For an alien with little knowledge of our culture, Hunter has surprisingly good table manners. He places his napkin in his lap, and waits for Nate and I to be ready to eat before slicing into his steak. I put a piece of meat in my mouth and notice Hunter watching me before he does the same. His eyes widen slightly when the rich taste of beef hits his tongue, and a slow smile forms on his face as he chews and savors the flavor.
Nate says, “Pretty good stuff, huh?” I transferred our dinners to real dishes from our communal kitchen, and stainless steel utensils clang against my coworker’s plate as he scoops up more food.
Hunter rewards us with a tight nod before he forks up a big bite of baked potato drenched in butter, sour cream, and chives. His eyelids fall for a second in what I think is pleasure at the new taste, and I imagine what eating must be like if food doesn’t have flavor. I bet it was a bothersome necessity instead of an enjoyable experience. I flash to a scene where the two of us are in bed and I’m feeding him waffles with strawberries and cream. The cream and red juice from the berries dribble down his chin and when it drips to his chest I lean in to lick … Oh my god, I’m doing it again! I chomp down on a green been hard enough to make my teeth hurt.
I force myself to focus on a safer subject and begin to wonder about Hunter beyond his sexy exterior. How does an angry alien whose physical presence screams ‘feral’ end up being a graceful diner? And I’m dying to know why his planet pawned him off on Earth.
Hunter stops chewing and watches me warily. He’s a criminal and someone I shouldn’t even fantasize about. Besides, I’ve got more important things to do, like find him a mate. So instead of blushing and dropping my gaze I stare right back at him as I smile. If he’s not going to talk, neither am I.
I place a bite of potato in my mouth and remove the fork slowly, and I notice Hunter’s chest rise with his deep inhale. He shoves a roll into his mouth, and when he bites down on it, melted butter drizzles onto his lip. He reaches up and swipes it with his thumb. Now I’m the one with a sudden need for oxygen, because he sticks his thumb in his mouth to suck it clean.
My fork taps against my plate as I stab what I can only guess is green bean, since I’m not willing to drop my gaze first. I wrap my mouth around the end of it and suck it in slowly. Hunter’s upper lip shines with sweat as he clears his throat.
Our battle of wills is interrupted when Nate says, “That was one good eat.” He leans back, and sighs. “Thank you, Lexi. I’m so full I might explode, but that was so delicious it was worth it.”
I don’t say anything because I’m afraid my voice would give me away. I offer him a nod in acknowledgement instead. I notice Hunter is finished eating too, but when I reach to clear the plate and utensils in front of him, he grabs them first. He stands and takes Nate’s as well, and stacks them all in a neat pile.
“I’ll get Joan to come get those,” says Nate. He retrieves his laptop, and it thuds on the table. “Let’s get back to business.” Keys click as he pulls up the dating application, and he types as he speaks. “Hunter TS-501.” He pauses to scan Hunter with his gaze. “Six feet six?”
The alien stares at him without a word, and I’m not going to speak either so I shrug when Nate glances at me. We’ve worked together long enough, and he knows to take my lead. “O-kay,” Nate says. “I’m going to put two hundred and seventy-five pounds. Green eyes.” He stops typing to ask, “I don’t suppose you’d tell me your level of education would you?”
Hunter leans back and crosses his arms in response, which only makes his biceps look bigger, and my inner girl sighs in admiration. Who needs a guy with a brain? I could teach him to read in the morning.
“Fine,” says Nate. “We can get to that later.” He frowns as he scrolls down the computer screen. “Hmmm. There must be something else—got it. Let’s talk about your type. Nod or shake for the following questions. You like a girl with intelligence.”
Hunter offers a small nod as he stares at me. I keep my face expressionless and stare back.
“Blonde?”
Hunter shakes his head.
“Ah, a brunette man then.”
A strand of my hair flops down in my face, and I eye the brown lock before I squint at Hunter, who I’m sure just tugged it out of my chignon. Hunter’s eyes flash with a sexual heat that could set me on fire. He scans my body with his hungry gaze before he gives Nate a quick dip of his chin. I decid
e to let the lock hang in defiance so he won’t think he got to me. I hide a shiver of desire as I flash to a vision of me leaning over a naked Hunter with my hair falling on his chest. I blink to push it away, but apparently Hunter must have control over my emotions because the vision doesn’t go away.
“Does eye color matter?”
The alien shakes his head.
“Feisty or submissive.” When Hunter doesn’t reply Nate corrects himself. “Sorry. Feisty?”
The alien nods.
“Adventurous?”
Hunter stares at me. While I don’t tend to seek adventure, I certainly won’t back down when it comes to me.
“Okay, does that mean it doesn’t matter?”
The alien shrugs, and Nate sighs. “This would be so much easier if you would just talk. We’re not getting good data this way, and you’re going to be hard to match.” He gets up and shoves his hands in his pockets. “Lexi, even if we do manage to find him a woman with this incomplete profile, it’s not going to be very scientific and will probably fail.” Nate’s shoe scuffs across the floor as he kicks at an imaginary rock in exasperation. “And who’s going to want to be with a scary looking alien that won’t talk? They’ll think he’s an idiot.”
I recognize the good cop bad cop game we play, and I’m not surprised when the table shakes as Nate slaps his hands down to lean toward Hunter. “Are you stupid? Is that it?” Nate stands again and rakes his hand through his hair making it spike up on end. “Do you have any idea what kind of woman you want?”
Hunter’s eyes flash, and his voice is steady and much deeper in tone than I expected when he gazes at me and says, “Lexi.”
A mix of emotions rush through me and make me dizzy. My body is practically trembling like a live wire from his admission, while my brain is screaming, ‘No way in hell.’
