by Siren Allen
“Right now,” he nodded toward her plate. “I’m wishing I was that food you’re about to place in your mouth.”
Say what? His eyes were zeroed in on her lips. He looked like he hungered for something other than the food she’d prepared. Unable to help herself, she licked her lips. His grip tightened around the fork he was holding.
Yeah, this was definitely uncharted territory. She couldn’t stop the nervous laughter that bubbled up and escaped her lips. It was either laugh or climb into his lap and rub herself against him. Laughter it was.
“This is crazy.” She sat her fork down on her plate. “You’re making me blush.”
He grinned at her. “I’m also making you laugh. That is good. Almost as good as this meal. I’ve never tasted anything so flavorful before.”
Her cheeks burned hotter. She loved when people complimented her food. But this was no five-star diner. “You’re not from here, are you?”
Silver shook his head while forking another bite of food into his mouth. There was that groan again. Stars, she was a hundred percent sure that was the sexiest sound she’d ever heard.
“Where are you from?”
He paused, then forked another bite into his mouth. He chewed slowly, hesitantly.
“I only ask because I could’ve sworn I saw you disappear yesterday.” There. She’d said it. He tensed, but said nothing. Malia kept digging. “Venusians don’t disappear. So you’re not from here. I don’t think Martians disappear either. They say there are some magicians on Earth who can make themselves disappear, but I think that’s just trickery. Uranians don’t disappear.”
“You could name every planet in this galaxy and you still wouldn’t name my home world.”
“Really?” Interesting. “You’re not from the Milky Way?” She’d never met anyone from the outside galaxies.
“No, I’m not.”
Her first Outsider. This was amazing and a little scary. “Should I be afraid?”
His gaze jerked to hers. “Never.”
“I only ask because I’ve heard horrible stories of Outsiders.”
“Do you think I’m horrible?”
“I didn’t say that. It’s just that the stories I’ve heard are a little scary.”
“You never have to fear me. You never have to fear anyone, as long as I live.”
Wow. “Oh, uh, yeah, okay.”
“You understand?”
“I think so.” She didn’t.
“Good.” He resumed eating his food.
So was he going to be her waiter and her bodyguard now? She was confused. Before she could ask him to explain his statement, the exit/entrance bell rang. Duty called.
“I guess I better get back to work.” Malia rose. When Silver moved to rise, she placed her hand on his and told him, “Finish eating, you deserve a break.”
He glanced down at their touching hands. She should’ve moved hers. She really should’ve. But his skin felt so warm and memories of her dreams from last night were still circulating through her mind.
It had been so long since she touched someone, or something other than food ingredients. She had no social life and her books were her only friends these days. This day, this moment with Silver was making her feel some type of way. She liked it.
He hadn’t pulled away yet and he hadn’t told her to stop. Feeling bolder, Malia rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. He had big hands. She liked big hands. His hand clenched into a fist. She rubbed her finger over the spaces between his knuckles. What possessed her to do such a thing, she didn’t know. It just felt, right.
Silence filled the room that was already thick with tension. When his eyes met hers again, they were no longer silver, they were black, even the part that should’ve been white. Malia snatched her hand away, shocked.
“Your eyes, they turned black. They’re still black.” What was he?
He nodded, looking away. The bell out front rang again.
“We will discuss it later,” he told her, no longer sounding like he had before. His voice was deeper, darker. His tone serious, rather than playful.
“But…”
“May we discuss it later, when we’re alone?”
She wasn’t sure she wanted to be alone with him again. The bell out front rung once more. Damn it, she had a business to run. Malia shoved her hands into the pockets of her apron.
“Okay, we’ll discuss it later. Just know, if you harm any of my customers…”
“I would never harm them unless they were a threat to you.”
“Well, I just want you to know, I’m not as weak as I look.”
His gaze swung back to her. “You don’t look weak. You look beautiful, strong and beautiful.”
“Well,” Malia pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She wasn’t about to allow him to erase her fear with sweet words. “Well…. I have to get to work. Finish eating.” Okay, so maybe she was.
With that said she left the room knowing she should be frightened as hell, instead she was turned on. Maybe she was just as insane as the creature she knew nothing about was. The creature, whose eyes had turned from silver to black in a heartbeat.
What kind of creature had she allowed into her diner?
Chapter Four
She still couldn’t believe his eyes turned black.
For the rest of the workday, Malia kept her distance from Silver, only talking to him when he asked her a question about diner stuff. Luckily, he only talked to her when he had a question about diner stuff.
Lack of conversation didn’t stop his eyes from straying to her throughout the day. Neither did it stop her from blushing whenever she bumped into him when entering the kitchen while he was exiting.
At the end of the night he cleaned the tables while she counted the register. Today had been a very profitable day. She’d made enough to give him more funds than she’d originally intended.
After locking up, Silver followed her to her vehicle. Before getting inside she gave him his earnings for the day. When she handed him the currency, he frowned down at it before swinging his confused glare her way.
“This is too much.”
“No it’s not. You earned it.”
Shaking his head, he shoved the currency her way. “It’s too much.”
Malia pushed her hands into her pockets. “It’s not too much. You did great today. This is enough funds to put you up in a suite for a week.”
His frown deepened, brows creasing, creating lines across his forehead. “You’re giving me this large sum to get rid of me, aren’t you?”
“Of course not…”
“Please, let’s not lie to each other.”
Damn. “Okay, yes. But with these funds you can pay for a room to stay in while you look for another job. You’re a hard worker. Someone will hire you. Someone who can pay you more.” And who won’t daydream about you while you wash dishes.
“I thought you wanted to talk, to learn who I was and where I’m from?”
True, she was curious about him. She was also a hundred percent certain getting to know him was something she shouldn’t do. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. I really have to get going.”
“I want to tell you.”
“That’s okay, really. It’s not my business. You’re not my business.” She pulled her keys out of her pocket, preparing to enter her rover.
His lips thinned and she knew her words angered him. Silver grabbed her hand and shoved the currency into her palm. “I never wanted the funds.”
“But you worked...”
“It was a ruse so I could spend time with you.” His words were just beginning to seep in when he stepped away from her. “My eyes changing colors frightened you, correct?”
“A little.” A lot.
“That’s why you’re acting this way. Pushing me away even though earlier we seemed to get along well.”
She nodded, though she didn’t know if he was asking her or telling her. “But it’s okay,” she started.
“My eyes t
urned black because I wanted you. I mean, I want you, then, now. All the time.”
“Wait, what? I don’t understand.”
“That’s what happens when my kind get aroused. Our eyes turn black. It also happens when we’re angry. But trust me, I wasn’t angry when you touched me.”
“Ohhh.” She’d read about creatures like him. Was he a vampire? Their eyes turned black. Or maybe he was a demon smuggler? No, their eyes turned red not black. She didn’t have much experience with males, but she knew she hadn’t done anything to arouse him.
“How were you aroused?” Her cheeks heated just from saying the word out loud. “All I did was touch your hand.” And rub it a little. Seriously, what had she been thinking?
“All you have to do is look at me and I hardened.”
Not blushing was impossible. The silent kinky diva inside of her leapt for joy. Ignoring the kink, she listened to the shy rational side of her that screamed for her to be cautious of this male.
That didn’t prevent the kinky side of her from conjuring up images of him… hard. Malia wrapped her arms around her body to prevent her shivering from being visible. When he sniffed and stepped closer to her, she knew she’d failed. Self-preservation forced her to ignore her inner kink and move closer to her rover.
“Well I should get going.”
“Malia you don’t have to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you.”
“So you say. But I don’t even know what you are or where you’re from. You could be wanted for murder in another galaxy and I wouldn’t know it.” He tensed, it was subtle, but noticeable. She’d struck a nerve. “You show up at my diner out of nowhere, asking me ridiculous questions and then all of a sudden you want to work for me. Can’t you see why I’m wary?”
He opened his mouth then closed it, only to open it again but slowly shut it. The next time he opened it he actually spoke, “Yes, I can see why you’re wary.” He looked to her diner. “You’re a female, working alone, leaving your facility alone at late hours. You should be wary. I have approached this wrong. Forgive me, this is all new to me.”
“What do you mean?”
He turned to her once more. “No more lies.”
“Okay, no more lies. So tell me what’s really going on.”
“I am not homeless. I am not fundless.”
“Why did you ask for a job in my diner if you didn’t need the funds?”
“I simply wanted to meet you and get to know you, with the hopes of establishing a relationship. I’ve never tried to establish a relationship with anyone. I don’t know how to… uh…”
“Flirt?”
“That. I don’t know how to do that. Instead of causing you to want me the way I want you, I’ve made you feel sorry for me, even fear me. I thought us spending time together would make you notice me. You were supposed to feel what I felt, or at least I thought you would. I thought you would sense our connection instantly. I was wrong.”
Malia massaged her forehead. He was confusing the hell out of her. “Back up a second.”
Silver took a step back.
“I didn’t mean literally. Back up your story to the part where you said you weren’t homeless.”
“I’m not homeless.”
Malia waited on him to say more. When he didn’t, she raised her eyebrows in question.
“What?” he shrugged. “I backed up to the ‘I’m not homeless’ part.”
Malia laughed out loud, barely believing she was spending her waning discussing this behind her diner. “If you’re not homeless, what are you doing wandering around the Outlands night after night?”
“I wanted to be near you.”
Blush still in place, she said, “It’s not safe out here.”
“And yet you close up every night by yourself.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve lived here all my life. The so called ‘rebels’ know me.”
“I have encountered your rebels. They do not frighten me.”
“Does anything frighten you?”
“Losing you.”
“You don’t have me, Silver.”
“I will, soon.”
A chill raced down her spine at his declaration. “Excuse me?”
“I didn’t say that to scare you.”
“And yet it did.” Malia opened the door to her rover. She half expected him to prevent her from sliding inside. He didn’t, he just stood there staring at her with those silver eyes she would see in her dreams tonight.
“I’m still doing this wrong. I guess this means I’m fired?” He asked.
Yes, but surely he already knew that. She rolled her window down a fraction, then stuck her hand out. “Take the funds Silver, you earned it.”
He shook his head.
“Please. I really needed your help today and you did a great job. Take the funds. I’ll feel bad if you don’t.”
He gave her a sad smile then stepped back. “I never wanted the currency, just you.”
Stars, those words were forever burned into her memory. “Silver please take this.”
Walking backward, he shook his head. “See you soon, Malia.”
With that said he disappeared and she still had no idea what he was.
***
“See you soon, Malia.”
Lying in bed with her gray coverlet pulled up to her chin. Malia stared up at her ceiling. Silver’s words from earlier were on repeat in her mind. See you soon. Did that mean he was going to show up at her diner again?
Surely not.
She’d been very clear about him looking for work elsewhere. However, he did seem like a determined male. Perhaps he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She could always contact her cousins.
They were the rulers here. If she wanted, she could have Silver tossed in the dungeon before morning. Problem was, she didn’t want that. What she wanted was to wrap her hands around his tightly coiled locks and pull him in for a kiss. Since the day she saw him, she’d been wondering what his lips felt like.
Hell, she been wondering what every inch of him felt like. Now that she knew he was turned on by her, she wanted to explore these desires further. But she wasn’t that type of girl. She didn’t indulge in sex without love the way others did.
Of course, the last time she’d had sex had been a year ago. Maybe she could make an exception to her rule just this once, especially since the last male she had sex with had ended up stealing from her diner, nearly ruining her business.
Come to think of it, maybe she wasn’t as good at judging peoples’ character as she thought she was. Her ex, Terrance, had seemed like a great guy. He was shy and nerdy, like her. He was kind and liked to read, like her. They’d seemed perfect for each other.
Or so she’d thought. All of that had been a lie. Apparently the bastard was wanted across the galaxy for fraud. At first it had been scheming little old ladies with fake life-insurance policies. After going to jail for that, he’d gotten out with a new goal: to woo and rob business ladies.
She’d fallen for him hard and fast. He’d slowly stolen so much currency from her she’d thought she would have to shut the diner down. Her character judging skills were questionable.
Plus, Terrance never made her feel the way Silver did. All Silver had to do was look at her and she grew wet between the legs. Even watching his eyes turn colors had aroused her, though she’d only confessed the being frightened part to him.
He was different, unique, that didn’t make him dangerous. Then again, perhaps these differences she was noting, were red flags that her mind was trying to romanticize. Frustrated, Malia tossed her covers off of her and climbed out of bed.
Needing a night-time snack, she strode to her kitchenette and searched the cabinets for something to eat. Her chocolate and peanut butter snack bars that were full of calories begged her to grab them. Those were only for her cheat days.
It was hard ignoring their call but she managed, choosing to grab a protein bar instead. After ripping the package open she strode into her living room,
her bare feet sinking into the plush gray carpet on her floor.
She wiggled her toes, enjoying the feel of the fibers on her feet. Taking a bite out of her snack, she walked over to her couch and plopped down. She grabbed her book off the end table, turned the lamp on and flipped to the last page she’d read.
Reading until she fell asleep was a better plan than staying up all night thinking about Silver, wondering what he was doing. Wondering if he was thinking about her. Wondering if he was sad that they wouldn’t see each other again.
She would never see those silver eyes again.
Malia groaned in frustration and tossed her book to the other side of the couch. Reading wasn’t helping. Her mind was still straying to the male whose eyes turned black because he was aroused by her.
Stars, she needed to get him out of her head. A shrill noise rang out. Malia sat up. Her comm-phone was ringing. Her comm-phone never rung. She never got calls. She used to, when her parents were alive.
Now that they were gone, people rarely called her. It had to be her cousin Lola. Malia scrambled to find her phone, following the sound. She found it on the opposite couch underneath the cushion.
“Hello.”
“Hi Malia.”
“Lark? What’s wrong?”
“Why do you immediately think something is wrong?”
“Because you never call me. What’s wrong?”
“I do call you.”
“Yeah, when something is wrong?” Malia began to pace the floor “What is it?”
“Calm down. If something was wrong I would’ve called you on your emergency line. I still don’t understand why you keep that landline in your bathroom.”
“Because my pod detaches from that room. If you call and tell me I need to flee the planet, I can escape without leaving the room.”
“Oh, I forgot the older model homes still have the pods in the bathroom.”
“Lark, what’s wrong?”
“I just called to chat.”
“At this time of night? I don’t think so. Lola, yes, you, not so much.”
