Blaze: Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides (Intergalactic Dating Agency)

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Sev took a deep breath. He couldn’t even think the words. His brother couldn’t stay behind. Who would protect him? Who would get him out of jail when he ate too much ice cream and did crazy things? Who would make sure he didn’t get into the ice cream to begin with?

  Kal’s woman didn’t seem close to her family. Carrie had been in town for a family wedding and had spent the entire time trying to hide from her relatives. Though Kal, being Kal, was enamored with Earth and the non-ash mining opportunities the planet offered for work, Sev was convinced he could make the couple get on the spaceship.

  But, Vin’s situation was different. When the time came to leave, Sev wasn’t sure what his brother would do.

  If the truth were known, Sev wasn’t sure what he would do. He couldn’t imagine how lonely his life would be without his brother and cousin beside him in the mines. Yes, it was a little selfish, but he’d spent so long worrying about them that he hadn’t cultivated much by way of a life outside of his family. When the hard day of hauling ash was done, and it was time to go home, it would just be him—reading, drinking, reading, drinking. In a self-contained settlement, a man’s options were limited.

  Sev thought of Cynthia—her soft skin, her mesmerizing lips, her teasing smile. Could he have what Vin and Kal had found? What were the odds that each of them would find women on this matchmaking trip to Earth? He tried to imagine her in the settlement, in his home, in his arms, pregnant with his child. He wanted children, their laughter ringing in his home. He wanted a wife, someone he could make proud and provide for, a partner. Cynthia would make the lonely nights better, but he couldn’t take her there. Being human, she was too delicate.

  “Every time I see you, you look so serious.” Cynthia’s voice wove over him, pulling him from his deep thoughts.

  He looked up from where he sat, already smiling in greeting. As he stood, his eyes moved over her in a quick assessment. Instead of the normal dresses she wore, Cynthia had on jeans and a t-shirt. Seeing her sneakers, he smiled. “I like your practical footwear.”

  She followed his eyes down to her feet and laughed. “Thank you. I quite prefer them, to be honest.”

  “I was thinking about you,” he said.

  “I was thinking about you,” she returned. “Did you get your brother’s situation all settled? Did the grand gesture work?”

  “I believe so. He is waiting to reveal it to her, and will call me later.” Sev motioned for her to join him. “May I procure you a coffee?”

  Cynthia smiled and picked up his nearly full cup. She sipped some onto her lips and drank it as he did, letting only a small amount of the caffeine absorb into her system. “I think I’m good. I thought I’d see if you wanted to join me today? I’m taking a drive out to Hoover Dam and thought maybe you’d like to do the tourist thing with me away from the casinos?”

  “Yes.” He nodded enthusiastically. “I would enjoy spending the day with you.”

  “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. I have a car parked downstairs in the garage.” Cynthia gestured that he should follow her. “Ready?”

  Sev nodded, pulling out a fifty dollar bill to leave on the table to pay for his coffee. When she glanced at it, he said, “A tip is better than saying thank you.”

  “Hmm, I think I might’ve heard that somewhere before. Whoever said it must be very smart.”

  “Yes, you are,” he agreed.

  “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who just said what he thinks like you do without subtext or games.” Cynthia smiled. “I like it.”

  “I think being direct is easier. Then there can be no mistaking someone’s meaning.” Sev followed her as she led the way from the restaurant.

  “So, have you been to the Hoover Dam?”

  “At night. My transportation passed near there. The lights were lovely from a distance.” He almost added that they made an appropriate landing destination for the ship that dropped them off in the Nevada territory desert but refrained.

  “Lights are pretty, but I prefer it during the day when you can see the full scope of the structure. I like the idea of what people can build with their hands—thousands of workers toiling together toward the same goal. It would’ve been gruelingly hard work, yes. But it is also a beautiful sentiment. At the end of the project, you have this massive structure attesting to all the work that was done, standing long after everyone involved is gone—just like the pyramids, or medieval castles. They didn’t have the machines we have now, or computers doing every calculation for them. They had ropes and pulleys and manpower. I see it as a testament to the human spirit.”

  Sev ran his thumb over his rough hands.

  She noticed the gesture and reached for him. The contact sent a shiver over his body. He wanted to lean closer to her. Studying his hand as they walked, she touched a callous, “You’re not afraid of hard work. I appreciate that. She touched his knuckles. It would also appear that you’ve been in the couple fights. A man’s hands say a lot about his character.”

  He took her hands in his and ran his thumb over her palms. Her skin was smooth and soft, but he found a callous near the end of one of her fingers. “What do your hands say about you?”

  “That bump is from the years spent holding a pencil. My hands say I had wanted to be a writer at one time when I was very young, but that I stopped and I am now a woman of leisure. I do not build. I do not create. I simply am.” For a moment he saw the sadness pass over her features and wondered at it.

  “I think if you want to create something, you can create something. You have it in you.” Sev reluctantly released his hold on her, feeling that any longer might be inappropriate. She was a lady after all.

  “It should only take us about forty minutes to get there. If you would like, afterward we can stop for food on the way back into town.”

  “Yes, if you will require sustenance, we should stop for food.” He nodded in agreement.

  “Sev, you do realize that this is a date we are on, right? I didn’t want there to be any confusion as to my intentions toward you. Let me take a page out of your book of candor. I like you very much. I want to get to know you better. And I hope that you like me to.”

  “Yes, I like you very much,” he said with enthusiasm.

  “Good. I am glad we got that cleared up.” She took his hand in hers. Cynthia didn’t speak as she led him toward the parking garage to where her rental car would be waiting for them.

  Chapter Seven

  Hoover Dam, Nevada-Arizona Border

  As much as Cynthia appreciated Hoover Dam, it had not been her decision to take Sev there. Her bosses believed that the loading and unloading of grooms by Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides took place somewhere around that location. They hoped by taking him there he might slip and give her some information, or at least admit to having seen a certain part of the area before.

  The more time Cynthia spent with Sev, the more she liked him, and also the guiltier she felt about what she was doing to him. She did not want to betray him. But she didn’t have a choice. They never gave her a choice. If she didn’t obey at least the majority of the time, they would withhold the chemical restraint they had addicted her too. Not to mention they would put her back in the facility. It was a horrible place with flashing lights and images meant to brainwash her into obedience. If that didn’t work, she would be imprisoned and forgotten about. Stuck in some deep dark hole and left to rot.

  Taking the steep stairs that led toward the walkway near the bypass. The hot sun streamed down on them, but it didn’t bother her like it did other tourists who stopped in the shade to drink from their bottles of water. Sev seemed to enjoy the intense heat.

  A group of men passed with their t-shirts tucked into their belts. One kid wore his shirt over his head like a hat. Sev, seeing this, paused and pulled his shirt off his head. He looped it into his pants. Cynthia tried not to look, but the large circular tattoo of a sun was emblazoned on the middle of his chest, the circumference of the rays extending from nip
ple to nipple.

  Her breathing deepened, and her body responded with favorable sexual interest. It was amazing how human-like the Killian man looked. The main differences were the three bumps along his hip and the metallic sheen to his eyes. No one else would probably consider him an alien because of it. The effect on his eyes could easily be contributed to specialty contacts, and the bumps could be from body modification implants. When Cynthia pried her eyes away, she realized she was not the only woman staring.

  As they neared the top, the sound of traffic whizzed beside them. The walkway across the bridge to view the full scope of the dam below sat nearly fifteen hundred feet away from the dam itself, and nearly nine hundred feet above the water below. Just as she was about to lead the way forward, Sev pushed ahead of her, as if to protect her from the flow of tourists making the return trip to their cars. His steps were slow and even, and he insisted on walking on the side with the drop off rather that of the road. The road was on the same level with the walkway and appeared the safer of the two options. She imagined he thought he was shielding her from possibly falling down the ravine. The protective gesture was sweet and took her by surprise.

  “Isn’t it lovely?” she asked when they neared the middle of the bridge.

  He moved to the edge to stare down at the ravine.

  Cynthia joined him. “The first time I came up here my stomach leaped into my throat. Now the heights don’t bother me so much anymore.”

  “Very little scares me,” he said. “I am usually underground, not this far above it. Though we have a pit in the mines that centers around an opening, it is not so wide, and not so deep, but I sometimes walk to the top to see the view.”

  “Tell me one thing that does scare you.”

  “Losing family,” he stated.

  She nodded, but could barely relate to the fear. Her father was long gone and her mother was dead. “You said you’re usually underground?”

  “I work as a hauler in the mines,” he said. “I am a miner.”

  “What kind of mines?” she asked.

  “Ash. I mine ash.” He turned away from the ravine and focused his full attention on her. “I suppose that being in the tunnels, facing death at work on a daily basis, it tends to harden the nerves.”

  She peered at the view, trying not to meet his searching gaze. Her heart beat faster, but it had nothing to do with the heights and everything to do with the man at her side. The wind blew her hair off her shoulders.

  When he didn’t speak and only continue to stare at her, she turned to face him. She finally met his gaze. Without stopping to think of what she was doing, she lifted up on her toes and pressed her mouth to his. His hands instantly went around her waist, and he pulled her close to his body.

  The warmth of his lips rivaled the heat of his body. Her hands ran over hard flesh and found hold on his shoulders. She felt safe with him. His embrace tightened, and he moaned into her mouth. She slipped her tongue past the seam of his lips, encouraging him to deepen the kiss.

  She lightly rubbed against his hips. The unmistakable feel of his erection grew between them. She wanted him. She wanted him right then and right there.

  The sound of clapping broke through her hazy mind. In a daze, she pulled away from his mouth and glanced around. It appeared as if they were performing for a live audience on the top of the walkway. Several people had stopped to watch them, and even a few had turned on their phone cameras to film the event. It was then that she realized her hand had somehow moved from his shoulder to his ass. And she was gripping the firm mound very tightly.

  Cynthia let go and stepped back. She cleared her throat, doing her best not to blush. “Ok, so this is the dam, and this is the…” She paused as she looked around the area. With a small laugh, she said, “And this is the end of the tour.”

  Cynthia hooked her arm in his and led him back the way they had come. It was slow progress getting through the crowd that had gathered to watch them. Not everyone was done filming them, and so made it difficult to pass by on the narrow walkway.

  “I must apologize for my actions,” Sev said. “I should have contained my feelings better.”

  “Why? I am the one who kissed you, and I’m not sorry it happened.” Cynthia didn’t let go of his hand as the hit a clearing. She walked faster, leading him down the steep steps toward the parking lot. Desire swam in her blood, and she wanted nothing more than to keep kissing him.

  “Are we going viral now?” he asked. “Is that what those phones were doing to us?”

  “I doubt it,” she dismissed.

  “What I said just before, I did not mean to imply that I was sorry it happened,” he explained. “I have wanted to kiss you since the first moment I saw you walking toward me along those rows of noisy slot machines.”

  She glanced around the area to see if anyone was watching them. Even though her bosses claimed they trusted her to go out alone. She didn’t always believe them.

  “What do you say we skip the restaurant and go somewhere a little more private?” she asked, digging in her pocket for the rental car keys.

  “I would say lead the way. I will follow you anywhere.”

  Chapter Eight

  By “private,” Cynthia had meant a nearby hotel. The facility appeared as if it hadn’t been used for a long time if the overgrown grounds were any indication. However, the staff was friendly, and the man who checked them in was very excited about the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet in the morning. Apparently, it featured something called a waffle bar. Sev was not sure what a waffle bar was, but evidently, the drinking establishment was sensational and worthy of an enthusiastic five-minute conversation. He would have to try one of these waffles but doubted it would get him drunk just as other Earth liquors had been too tame to do the job.

  The rooms were in need of an update, and they were definitely nothing like the luxurious suites they had on the strip. The furnishings were sparse—a bed, a table, a chair, and a TV sitting on top of an old dresser. On the plus side, it appeared to be very clean. It was not the kind of place he would have thought to take a woman like Cynthia, but he felt comfortable in the surroundings.

  “We can order a pizza if you’re hungry,” she said. “It’s probably the only thing that will deliver around here.”

  “I am not hungry, but please, order one if you wish.” He glanced from her to the drab room and then back again

  “You look worried,” she observed as she set the room card and her car keys on the small table. “You have no reason to be.”

  “I was worried that this place was not nice enough for you.”

  “You’re very sweet,” she said. “But I think you have the wrong impression about me. I’m not some pampered lady who has to have the most luxurious of everything. Sure, I like nice things, but I also like this room away from this city, and being alone with you.”

  Blast it all. She was beautiful. Sev wanted to touch her. He wanted her to kiss him like she had before.

  Cynthia’s smile instantly brightened the humble setting they found themselves in. Standing so close to her in a room on their own could only lead to one thing. The longer he held back, the better it was going to feel when that time came.

  Her t-shirt did little to hide the curves he’d been hooked on the moment he laid eyes on her. The way her jeans hugged her thighs and molded into her so he could almost taste her womanhood from where stood made him ache. He was sure she could see his appreciation of her in his expressions as well as the growing desire between his legs.

  He blinked slowly as Cynthia unexpectedly took hold of his t-shirt and lifted it up over his head. Flinging it away from her, she made his heart skip a beat. He looked to where it landed on the floor. Her sexual intent was clear, and he wasn’t going to stop her.

  Chapter Nine

  Now that they were alone, Cynthia could not stop staring at his sexy body. The tribal sun design on his chest drew the eyes, and she reached to touch him. Her fingers traced the marking, skating over his
chest down the individual rays. Heat radiated off his skin.

  “The more I think about it, the more I think Blaze is a very appropriate name for you.” She gave a small moan of approval.

  He let her explore not hurrying her along. Her finger slowly moved down to the three bumps on his hip. She touched them gently, and he inhaled a sharp breath. No matter how much she wanted to forget everything, there was so much she needed to say to him.

  “I have to tell you something important, Sev. I know what you are.” She traced her fingers around each individual bump. “I know where you came from. I know about your planet. I know that you’re Killian. And I know that you came to Earth looking for a bride.”

  He took hold of her hand, stopping her gentle exploration. “How do you know all of that?”

  Cynthia took a step back and studied him carefully. She contemplated what she was doing. This could be one of the biggest mistakes of her life. But she had to know more. She needed to know the truth of who her father was, and where his people came from. Sev might be her only chance to have any kind of answer.

  Time seemed to slow. Making up her mind, she grabbed the bottom hem of her t-shirt and slowly put the material over her head. Cynthia stood before him in her jeans and bra. She directed his attention down to her hip. Three tiny bumps protruded there, her own set of regulator glands.

  “I don’t understand.” Sev dropped to his knees to examine her hip. When he touched one of the small bumps, her body jerked with desire. “How can this be? You are Killian? But your eyes. What happened to your eyes? You look like a human.”

  She nervously licked her lips. He was the first outsider she’d told about who she really was. Even as a kid she’d managed to keep the secret.