Cold Attraction

by Zoe Ashwood

  He shrugged as though to remove a fly from his back—Adriana supposed he barely felt her touch through the armor—but didn’t turn to look at her.

  “Stand down, Taron.” Lhett appeared next to Kol, his expression unimpressed. “You know he’s only playing with you.”

  At Hanne’s nudge and wink, Adriana had to wonder: Would Taron have reacted the same if Kol had kissed Mika’s hand? It was a slippery slope, following this line of thought. She could be imagining that his attention was specifically reserved for her.

  And she couldn’t afford to mess up this mission, not when so much depended on it when she returned to Earth. So she stepped back, even though she wanted to keep touching Taron, to run her palms all over his hard body. His strong arms had featured in some incredibly inappropriate fantasies she’d had in the privacy of her cabin on his spaceship. It had felt almost indecent, since the entire ship belonged to him, but his kiss had left her wanting, yearning, and she’d been faced with the option of either self-combusting or taking the edge off that lust herself.

  Swallowing a lump of regret, she reminded herself she was the first anthropologist in history to have the opportunity to study a non-human civilization. The first to observe their societal patterns and traditions.

  She’d still been an undergrad student when Rendians landed on Earth more than five years ago. Their discovery of Earth had been a fluke, a cosmic coincidence that had thrust Earth into a new era. The Chinese had launched a deep space probe similar to the Voyager spacecraft in 2002, and it had entered interstellar space, passing out of the solar system, by the end of 2013. The probe lost all contact with Earth before long and was promptly forgotten by most people, until a shiny, massive spaceship appeared over Greenland.

  The aliens had found the space probe and thought it had gotten lost, so they set out to return it. Interested in exploring a planet that had an atmosphere with a composition similar to theirs, they landed on the snowy island because it most closely resembled their home planet.

  Their arrival caused mass panic—and mass adoration, since they were unfairly stunning as a race. Adriana applied for an internship with the newly established Extraterrestrial Ministry of the United States the moment the position opened, and later for the coveted option to be a member of this pioneering team.

  She hadn’t even stopped to think about it—she’d filled the forms out, praying for a chance to travel into space. And when she’d been accepted, she’d known, deep inside, that it had been the right decision. She’d been born to do this. It would be enough to make her entire career on Earth.

  It might just be enough to impress her parents. But she wasn’t so sure about that. They’d wanted her to become a doctor—the real kind, as they’d often told her, even after she’d aced her own post-grad studies in record time—and their opinion of her profession hadn’t changed. She doubted it ever would. If they weren’t proud of their daughter for being among the first humans to experience interstellar travel, nothing could shake them from their set ways.

  She suspected even her straightlaced mother might have found something to admire among these gorgeous aliens, though.

  Kol retreated to a respectable distance, and Taron slowly lost his blue flush. His demeanor didn’t change—his voice was barely more than a growl when he forced out through clenched teeth, “Gather your personal luggage. Your gear will be delivered into the hall that will serve as your office space.” With that, he turned away and stalked to the door.

  Adriana let out a breath she wasn’t aware she’d been holding. They’d only been on Rendu for two hours, and already tensions were rising high. It wouldn’t do, not if their mission was to be a success.

  “I don’t really care where our gear goes, as long as I get some dinner,” she said, loud enough to be heard over the low murmur of her crewmates. Several people snorted, and Kol sent her an appraising look, as though he knew exactly that she was trying to diffuse the situation.

  “You won’t go hungry, Dr. Ribeiro,” he promised, then inclined his head toward the door. “You’d better follow him, though. He’ll be even more unbearable if we fail to obey his orders.”

  Adriana was conscious of how her colleagues fell silent the moment they stepped outside the sky port’s door. They’d all bundled up in heavy winter gear, so at least she wasn’t the only one who resembled a bread roll anymore. The air was biting cold, finding cracks between layers of clothing, stinging her eyes, her cheeks, her wrists, where hastily pulled-on gloves failed to insulate her skin.

  But it didn’t matter. Because she was standing on a freaking alien planet, watching a purple moon that hung low in the sky, impossibly large against the icy peaks of the mountain range. It was completely different from Earth and unbelievably beautiful.

  A small sob escaped her, and she covered her mouth with her mitten, but Taron was there in a second, taking her chin and turning her face up to him. The rest of the crew moved on, herded by Taron’s brothers, and it seemed to her that they were the only creatures on this desolate world.

  “Don’t be sad,” he murmured, swiping a cold thumb over her cheek with such tenderness, something squeezed inside her.

  She nodded, sniffling, and pressed her lips together to compose herself.

  “It takes a while to get used to,” he continued. “We’ll get some food in you, then you can rest, and everything will be better by tomorrow.”

  She managed a weak smile. “Is that a promise?”

  How he stared at her…Adriana had never experienced such intensity in a man, and she had no idea how she would navigate this complicated, inter-species relationship with him. If what they had could even be classified as a relationship.

  His gaze roamed over her face, as though he was trying to memorize every detail. Then he lowered his cool lips and pressed a hard, quick kiss on her mouth, leaving her breathless. He released her immediately, robbing her of a chance to react, to return the kiss like she wanted to.

  He didn’t look away from her as he replied, “It’s a promise.”

  6

  Adriana

  That kiss would be burned into her memory for an eternity, no matter how quick it was. One does not simply forget her first…or second kiss with an alien.

  It took every ounce of her will to stop herself from pulling him into her new room after he escorted her there. But her crew members were milling around the corridor, exclaiming over the luxurious apartments they’d been assigned, and she hadn’t wanted them to know just how infatuated she was with Captain Naals. With Taron.

  Whenever he appeared in her dreams, he asked her to call him by his name.

  Adriana swallowed, ruthlessly suppressing that memory before one of the Rendian crew in the big dining hall noticed her flush. They seemed to delight in making humans blush—though she had to admit her colleagues were just as fascinated by their hosts.

  Ben, the doctor responsible for keeping the human crew members healthy, had confided in her during their interstellar flight, that he’d tried getting a blood sample from a Rendian in order to study it. “They, uh, weren’t very keen on that idea,” the tall Dutch doctor had said, scratching his short blond hair.

  Taking a bowl of steaming soup from a man in a gray uniform, Adriana sat at one of the unoccupied tables in the mess hall, content to be alone with her thoughts at the moment. She’d wondered what it would be like to have sex with a Rendian, of course. Fine, not just any Rendian but one specific soldier, muscular and taller than her by a full head. Was all of his body as cold as his hands, his lips? A shudder ran through her at the thought of how amazing it would be to have his long, hard—

  “Good morning.”

  Adriana squeaked and whirled around, startled to find Taron and his brothers just a couple of steps behind her. She’d never been more grateful that these particular extraterrestrials didn’t have mind reading abilities. Luckily, her reaction was swallowed by a chorus of Hellos from the rest of the people.

  Taron strode to the center of the room
and said, “Since each of you has their own area of expertise, we thought it would be easiest if personal guides were assigned to you. That way, you’ll be able to pursue your own investigations without waiting for other crew members to finish their own work.”

  Murmurs of assent rippled through the hall. Then Mika’s bright voice piped up, “I want him.”

  They all turned to see where she was pointing, and Adriana saw, to her surprise, that Kol had flushed a light blue at all the extra attention.

  Taron even cracked a smile. “That can be arranged. Your assigned guides will find you soon.”

  Adriana knew it was foolish to hope that he’d assign himself to her, and slurped up some of the delicious noodles that floated in her soup. Breakfast choices were different from what she was used to, but the food was superb.

  When he walked over to the table where the two SEALs were sharing something that looked like an entire mutton leg, she swallowed a sigh. It was probably better that she got matched with someone else. Taron’s people skills were abominable, and he’d only growl at the Rendian locals she was supposed to be studying. Her guide should probably be someone nice and personable.

  A shadow fell across her table, and then Taron sat on the bench next to her. “Hello,” he murmured, low enough that she had to lean closer to hear him. Their thighs touched, and the scent of him, fresh and minty, invaded her senses.

  “You picked me?” She fought the grin that threatened to curl her lips.

  “We drew lots,” he answered but glanced away from her when she narrowed her eyes at him. Then he took hold of her hand under the table and entwined his larger fingers with hers, squeezing lightly.

  The touch sent shivers through her body, and a pool of warmth ignited deep inside her. She bit back a moan as he pressed the pad of each finger, his strong hands keeping her captive in that private moment.

  Adriana looked up, suddenly conscious they were sitting in full view of the others, but Taron’s voice pulled her back into the spell. “Nobody is watching us.”

  And yet anyone could notice at any moment, and the thrill of the thought was delicious. Adriana’s nipples tightened, and she was grateful her bra hid the worst of her reaction. But Taron turned a faint blue, clearly noticing, and he dropped her hand suddenly, placing it on her knee instead.

  She glanced into his lap, curious to see if his tight uniform showed any sign of his excitement. That was when she noticed he wasn’t wearing his usual form-fitting wonder of clothing design that had her wishing she could tear it off him with her teeth, but rather a set of what she supposed were Rendian civilian clothes. The pants were made of some dark, supple leather, and his pullover resembled cashmere. Adriana wanted to snuggle in close to see if it was as soft as it seemed, but that would be a pretty big clue for everyone in the room that she’d developed an obsession with Taron ad Naals.

  She shook herself from the daydream and forced her mind back on the task that had brought her to Rendu in the first place: observing and exploring their society.

  “So you’re going to be my guide?” she asked.

  Taron looked pained, his jaw clenching and unclenching before he nodded. “I couldn’t let anyone else take care of you.”

  This would have made her bristle—she didn’t need anyone taking care of her—but his expression was so earnest, she suspected this confession had cost him a lot. And if she was being perfectly honest…

  “I’m glad you picked me,” she whispered. “But I’m not sure how I’ll be able to concentrate with you around. This is highly unprofessional.” What she didn’t add was that she’d been just a little heartbroken when he’d cut her off after their first kiss. She didn’t want her heart bruised if he suddenly decided he didn’t want her anymore.

  “I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

  He moved a foot to the left, and Adriana mourned the space between them.

  “Right.” She swallowed a lump of something that felt suspiciously like regret.

  He looked around the room, where Rendians were chatting with humans, and Adriana tried to guess what was going on inside his head. Rendians had had contact with multiple other species in the universe, so this couldn’t possibly be as weird for him as it was for her. She searched for her friends and realized Mika had gotten her wish—Kol was leading her from the hall, already busy explaining something to her. To her surprise, mild-mannered Hanne seemed to be having a heated argument with Lhett, who was bright blue in the face and gesticulating wildly.

  Adriana got up to see if she could help resolve the argument, but Taron placed a hand on her shoulder, removing it immediately after. “Wait. If they’re going to spend the next three months together, they need to fight their own battles.”

  He was likely right, so she sat and watched nervously as Hanne threw her arms up and strode out of the room, and Lhett stalked behind her, muttering something under his breath.

  “She’s safe with him, though, right?” Adriana asked, eyeing the scarred alien’s retreating back.

  “I trust him with my life,” Taron replied.

  And weirdly enough, that was all she needed to hear. When had she come to trust Captain Naals so completely?

  “What do you want to do today?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Oh, right! I thought you could show me around the city,” she said. “I need to get a sense of the place, see where people shop, where they pray, and so on.”

  “I can do that.” He motioned at her soup bowl. “Do you want any more? You’ll need the energy in the cold. Vissnae tentacles are hardly filling.”

  Adriana stared into her bowl, where a lone noodle swam in the remaining broth. Tentacles?

  Sampling a culture’s food was a good way of getting to know its people, but she usually liked knowing what she was eating. Swallowing, she got up and carried her bowl back to the serving table. “I’m good, thanks,” she told Taron, deciding to search for something like bagels for her next meal if at all possible.

  He followed her to her room, where he watched her put on her winter clothes with such intensity, she was flushed red by the time she finished—and not from overheating, though the rooms were incredibly warm given the outside temperatures.

  Then he pinched the pompom on top of her raspberry-pink woolen beanie, and grinned at her, his white teeth flashing against pale-blue skin, and her heart skipped a beat. Damn, but the man was gorgeous. She hadn’t seen many Rendians apart from his crew and the emissaries who had visited Earth, but he was beautiful even by their standards. His high forehead, a straight, flat nose, and slightly pointed, high-set ears should have made him look too strange to her. But she couldn’t stop staring at him: his wide, clear blue eyes held so much intelligence, and his firm, sensuous lips promised so much pleasure.

  She mentally gave herself a firm kick in the butt. This was not the time to daydream about Taron.

  “How is the palace heated?” she asked as they strode out into the corridor, more to redirect his focus from herself than from actual curiosity. Their resident engineer, Jean, would be more interested in stuff like that.

  But Taron seemed pleased she’d asked. “Thermal energy,” he explained. “Most of the land around here is volcanic, though we haven’t had an eruption in centuries. But the thermal springs here allow for central heating and our greenhouses. It’s where we grow most of our plant-based food.”

  “That’s incredible,” she said, intrigued. Their geologist, Svetlana, would have a blast exploring the planet. “Will you show me that as well?”

  He laughed, the sound so rich and wonderful, she stared at him, half forgetting what they were talking about.

  “We have a lot of time, Earthling,” he said. “We don’t have to do everything today.”

  She found herself smiling back. “No, of course not. But I should probably start making a list of things I want to see and do.”

  They strode out into the open, but only for a short walk across a large, empty square. Her cheeks pinched with cold, and
she reminded herself to breathe through her nose to avoid searing her lungs with the frigid air. Soon, they ducked through a thick set of doors into a covered marketplace, and it immediately became clear to Adriana that most of Rendian life happened in such great, cramped spaces because the outside world was just too hostile.

  What also stood out immediately was her. In her lime-green parka, she was like a colorful tropical fish in a tank full of herring.

  The native population wore wool in cool shades of white and gray that fit their pale-blue skin well. Their clothes were simply cut and elegant, showcasing their long limbs and powerful muscles. Women and men alike were dressed in pants, rather than skirts, and seemed to favor practicality and warmth over frills and decorations. Adriana’s dark hair and brown skin were very noticeable, but she’d be able to blend in better if she picked Rendian clothes. There was no way she’d be able to observe the society as it was if everyone was too busy staring at her.

  Taron must have noticed everyone’s attention as well, because he glued himself to her side and frowned so fiercely, Adriana would have scuttled away if it wasn’t for her protection. When an older man jostled her shoulder in the crowd, and she nearly went flying from the impact, he simply tucked her into his side, his arm around her shoulder.

  Oh my. It didn’t help with people staring at them, that was for sure. Noticing how people nodded at Taron, almost reverently, and how many greetings he had to return, she poked his side so he leaned in closer.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “No one of consequence,” he murmured in her ear, his cool lips brushing her skin. “Not anymore.”