Sarah, already in the pool, squealed and then splashed at him.
The sounds were familiar from growing up on Paradise, where water had been abundant. With a smile on her face, Dee turned her attention to the tunnels beyond the door. Nothing was going to sneak up and ruin this moment. Nothing.
Occasional echoes from The Den reached down their corridor, but no aliens came to investigate the playful sounds of Sarah and Paul enjoying the water. Still, Dee kept her finger lightly on top of the trigger; she knew that wasn’t normal but forgave herself the habit. After surviving Paradise, it was a holdover that made her feel safe.
“Hey, Dee! I’m finishing up. Get ready to have your mind blown,” Paul said theatrically. He even imitated a boom with his hands. When Lanie had dubbed him Drama Queen, she’d totally nailed the nickname on the head.
He got dressed quickly, clothes sticking to his wet skin. “Even back in these dirty rags, I feel a billion times better.”
Dee grinned and offered him her weapon. He handled it well, almost as proficient as she was. “Thank you, Paul.”
“No problem, sweetie. Enjoy it!” He leaned in the doorway, jovial air disappearing as he scanned the tunnels. He was flamboyant and silly at times, but he never—ever—shirked his duty. Which meant Dee felt safe undressing and getting into the warm, thick water.
“Um, ew,” she muttered, pulling a face as the thick liquid stuck to her body like a grabbier version of jello.
“It takes a bit of getting used to,” Sarah agreed, smiling before she plopped backwards to float.
Dee ducked under and blew out a breath; big, fat bubbles streamed from her nose. The blobs didn’t rush to the surface, but sort of just meandered around, popping into smaller bubbles. Dee broke the surface and grinned. The water felt weird, but it was cool to play with.
“I’m starting to prune,” Sarah sighed. “I guess it happens faster in thicker water.”
Dee looked at her own fingers; nothing yet. “I’ll finish up quick.”
“No, don’t worry about it.” The other woman pulled herself from the water and wrung out her hair. “I don’t mind walking back by myself, and you should enjoy this while you can. Those tornados on the ship are awful.” She had her clothes on in the blink of an eye.
The wind tunnels did suck, but Dee wasn’t going to be selfish—letting Sarah walk around alone would be foolish. How did the other woman not see that? She swam to the edge. “No, hold on. I’m done.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry so much Dee.” And just like that, she strolled to Paul, kissed his cheek, and was gone.
“What the fudgesticks?” Paul yelled. “Sarah! Come back!”
Dee was getting ready to pull herself out when she heard another familiar voice. A too familiar voice.
“Go. I’ll stand watch,” Tugarth told Paul.
“In your dreams.” Paul blocked the door with his body, weapon up.
“You want the other female walking around, soaking wet, without an escort?” the big brute asked. “We’re Peacekeepers, not monks.”
Paul cursed. “Dee? What’cha want me to do, hun?”
Dee pressed her forehead to the side of the pool, sighing. She didn’t think Tugarth would hurt her; in fact, her instincts screamed she was safe with him, but that didn’t mean she was comfortable with the situation. Still, Sarah needed someone to watch out for her fool self. “Go, Paul. And make sure to yell at her.”
“You bet your ass,” Paul muttered before racing off.
Dee braced herself. She’d tried to avoid Tugarth since first meeting him; something about him—his intensity, perhaps—made her shy. His abundance of muscles and softly spoken words turned her into goo, and it was a feeling she didn’t like. Not one teensy bit. Looking at him while she was naked and vulnerable was sure to be a thousand times worse.
When she raised her gaze, it clashed with his. The pale skin of his face was pulled tight with lust; his jaw was clenched, and it looked like he was holding on to the doorway…as if to keep from lunging at her.
Dee gasped and dropped her gaze, unable to deal with that.
“Would you turn around, please?” she asked. “I’d like to get out.”
Instead, he walked slowly to the edge of the pool and knelt in front of her. “Before you run and hide from me again, I wanted to speak to you.”
Dee swallowed her denial; he spoke the truth. She had been trying to hide. “What do you want?” she whispered.
“You,” he whispered back. “Just you.”
Dee blinked up at him, aware of how clear the water was, how exposed she was. She had huddled as close to the edge as possible, but it still felt like she was in a spotlight. Goosebumps puckered her skin as she tried to form words. Instant rejections piled up on her tongue, but her lips wouldn’t part.
When she didn’t answer, but instead began to shiver, he reached a hand out. An offering, a silent command. She stared at it for several long seconds, torn between her fears and the somewhat disconcerting feeling of the water around her body boiling with her own lust.
She didn’t lie to herself; she was attracted to him. He was everything she found sexy. But could she take that step? Could she…no. No, she couldn’t. Down that path lay nothing but more pain, so Dee dropped her gaze, denying him. Denying them.
His hand swept across her cheek, gently tucking an errant strand of wet hair behind her ear. “When you’re ready,” he told her, voice low and full of promise, “I’ll be waiting.” He stood and went to the doorway, keeping his back turned.
Dee let out her breath in a long, slow hiss, hating how disappointed she felt.
Still, there was no time to dwell. She wanted to get back to the others, to find comfort in their presence. And also smack Sarah upside the head.
Dee pulled herself up, the thick water trying its best to keep her submerged. She shook off the clinging drops and pulled on her dirty clothes, wrinkling her nose at the smell. The damp cloth hid nothing, as if on a mission to show off her assets. Her breasts—which were a good bit bigger than a handful—were no longer swallowed by an extra-large uniform.
She wrapped her curly red hair into a messy knot on top of her head, wishing she had a brush, clean clothes, and perhaps a bit of makeup. She wasn’t a girlie-girl, but Tugarth made her…want to be. Maybe. Kind of. His words left no doubt that he liked her, but that somehow inspired her to want more. Dee pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes and forcing herself to focus.
Being pretty was not important.
The mission came first.
There were billions of humans counting on the surviving Paradins. Her entire species was on the line—her hormones would have to wait.
With that in mind, she squared her shoulders and walked right past Tugarth. If she took a deep breath while passing him, soaking in his masculine scent, it was nobody’s business but her own.
**End of Sneak Peek**
Now Available on Kindle!
Bonus Scene: Speed Dating
*Paul*
Paul sighed as he watched Lanie blush.
Poor thing—she needed to get laid. So, so bad. One solid orgasm would squeeze the stick right out of her gorgeous ass. Considering the plethora of alien options, a candidate wouldn’t be too hard to find…
Probably.
Hopefully.
Eh…maybe.
He mentally tallied her appearance. Medium height. Long, damaged hair (seriously, how could a woman not know there’s more to hair care than owning a brush?!), and a thin but subtly curved figure. Not his cup of tea, but straight guys should be willing to tap that.
If only she’d smile and talk about something other than science-y crap.
As if her nerdgirl persona wasn’t tragic enough, her total lack of womanly confidence was a double-scoop of Lawd Halp This Hawt Mess. Lanie could talk about engineering until her audience died of boredom and still not know when to shut up—but ask her to be just Lanie? To interact on a purely social level? Pulling teeth wit
hout Novocain was more fun to watch. And that sweet little blush was doing her grown-ass-self no favors.
It was time for an intervention.
“I have an idea to help the process along,” he piped up. “How about we tell them more about you, Lanie? Like, the quickest speed dating ever.” He looked out at the eager crowd. “She’ll talk a bit about herself—her job, her interests, what kind of life she wants—and if it appeals to you, stand over here,” Paul waved at the left side of the stairs. “If you think you might find a human more suited to you later, go over there,” he waved to the right side.
Paul noticed that Muscles—the hottest hunk of alien in the galaxy—moved immediately to the right side. Two guesses who he was waiting for! Ha! Paul shot a look at his BFF, but Deegan pretended not to notice. He’d work on that later, after dealing with his immediate project.
Lanie was obviously panicking, her beautiful slanted eyes widening to comical proportions. The poor gal really was a hot mess if left all on her own. This would be a great experience for her, a confidence boost she desperately needed.
“Start with your job,” Paul counseled, putting a gentle, coaxing hand on her back. He had to resist the urge to grimace and wipe his hand off; she was sweating like a pig. “You worked hard to learn so much.”
She gulped down a nervous breath and then put her shoulders back. He smiled and stepped away, proud to have contrived this moment for her. His little project was going to soar—spread those wings, leap from the nest—
“I’m an environmental engineer. On Paradise I mostly worked with food supply; making sure irrigation and waste-disposal systems for high-yield crops were...”
Oh, no.
She sounded like a robot.
Damn it.
“…long-term research during my free time...”
More than half of the aliens moved to the right, probably intimidated by the raw passion in her voice. Ugh. It really was tragic—the only upside being that she didn’t seem to notice her waning pool of suitors.
What the hell? Paul watched one particular Gkiven straddle the invisible line in the room, looking torn between staying and going. He shuffled to the right, but then cocked his head as he listened and awkwardly waddled back to the left. If only there was music to accompany the weird, alien version of a redneck two-step…oh! Paul bounced with sudden excitement.
Maybe he could convince some of the big fellows to put on a talent show!? They didn’t have costumes, but with all the raw masculinity and testosterone emanating from the aliens, who cared? He could just imagine a wall of bare muscles flexing as they—
Lanie’s voice trembled, drawing Paul out of his fantasies.
“My mother, a bioengineer by trade but an avid botanist at heart, kept several greenhouses, and one of my most rewarding studies involved how—”
And there Twinkle Toes went again, side-stepping back to the right. Le sigh. Even the weirdos were jumping ship on his oblivious friend.
Time for another intervention.
Paul tapped Lanie’s shoulder, interrupting before all the aliens decided to run away instead of just moving to the right. “I think you’ve demonstrated a good dose of your enthusiasm.” He waved his hand at the audience, indicating the two halves of the room.
Lanie flushed bright red, and Paul resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How was it possible that anything still embarrassed her? Not only was Lanie brilliant, she was a natural leader and a survivor! A total package. Maybe an over-stuffed total package—but still a great deal! How could see not see that about herself?
The stabby-headed alien who’d first found them was still at the base of stairs, a smile pulling his lips back enough to expose his fangs. It was sexy in a don’t-eat-me kind of way. “I bet you’re a large part of how humans stole themselves a pirate ship,” he mused.
Lanie shrugged and answered modestly. Paul decided he’d work with her on framing quick, snappy comebacks. Girl needed to own her accomplishments!
But then a random Gkiven that had hovered to the left muttered, “Amazing.”
Huh. Maybe the aliens liked shy nerdgirls? The scaly guy sure sounded awed.
“I was an engineer aboard the ships before being marooned. It took a team of twelve to keep us running!” The Gkiven was buttering her up—perfect! Paul grinned as he watched the two nerds chitchat. They would be a smart match, pun totally intended!
“What about your interests?” The stabby-headed hunk—Lu’O? or was he an Abbaleer? Paul couldn’t quite remember which type of alien was which—cut off Lanie’s conversation with the engineer, and Paul suspected that he’d done it on purpose.
That a’boy! Paul silently cheered. If this didn’t raise Lanie’s confidence, nothing would.
“Do you want a family?” this from one of Stabby’s equally stabby-headed friends, who was slighter in frame but just as handsome. Paul wondered if those guys ever played ring-toss with their horns…that would make a fun drinking game!
Paul zoned out as he imagined a naked, well-oiled alien on his knees, hands clasped behind his back, chin lowered. No doubt he’d land every. single. ring. on his stabby-headed opponent—humans would kick alien ass at drunken ring toss! It would be a sweet, sweet victory. He’d forever cherish the cheers, trophy, and adoration from his Paradin team!
“What is love?”
Paul came back to reality with a wicked cringe. Lanie was going to kill him before he ever got that trophy. “Aaaaand now I regret suggesting this,” Paul muttered to himself. He pasted on a fake smile before turning to his nerdy friend. “How about you go and mingle for a minute, Lanie? See if there are any sparks?”
Her glare promised retribution—like, laundry duty for the rest of his life retribution. Without his magical lotion from the specialty store on Paradise, his hands would dry out in seconds. He scooted back with an apologetic grin and hoped she’d get so flustered by her few fanboys that she’d totally forget he’d ever existed.
“You’re in trouble,” Dee teased quietly. “She’s gonna gut you and then eat you for breakfast.”
“Better than laundry duty,” he muttered.
Lanie's Choice: Survivors of Paradise Book 1 Page 12
