“Wow, you’re brave. I’m sure that hurt.” Cherise grabbed a brush. “Okay, let’s work on the hair then. I’m just going to give it a quick trim then pin it up. After that, we’ll pick out an outfit that will have Daran drooling the second he sees you.”
Drooling?
She didn’t want a guy to drool when he saw her. That’s what the pirate had done when he’d come to Rebed looking for a wife. She just wanted to fit in on Earth and maybe, if she was lucky, find true love.
Daran ran a hand across the back of his neck. How the Castillos had talked him into setting up a 1Night Stand, he had no idea. He didn’t belong in this city. Or on this planet. Didn’t belong anywhere. Yet, without a means of transportation, he remained stuck on Earth.
He drummed his fingers on the hard plastic arm of the chair, gazing up at the graphic display of stars. Closed to everyone else for the evening, the observatory was a perfect spot for him to work and entertain his date. No place left him more at peace. Though, the butterflies launching within his stomach could hardly be called peaceful.
His evening was supposed to be fun and exciting. Not filled with the worry of his companion learning of his extraterrestrial origins, or of her outing him to the world. He’d kept his hair short, to hide the feathers that grew in when his locks reached a certain length. And, each morning, he covered his exposed skin with waterproof foundation to conceal the blue tinge of his skin. But, as soon as he removed his clothing later in the night, his façade would end. He wouldn’t be able to hide his differences.
Unless we stay in this part of the hotel all night
. The dim lighting would make his skin color less obvious.
Perfect!
He stood, his muscles finally relaxing, the tension melting away. Circling the room, he blew out every third candle. Just to be sure. In the morning, his one-night lover would leave, never knowing she’d had sex with an alien.
Daran returned to his chair, leaning back, hands behind his head. Or, if he was really lucky, he’d find an Earth woman who considered extraterrestrials to be sexy.
The door to the observatory rattled and he jumped to his feet, brushing sweaty palms across his pants. Heart pounding, he glanced up at the sky.
Gods, please let this evening work out
.
With a burst of light, the door opened. A woman stepped through, her long, lean body hidden in shadows. Clutching his fingers behind his back, he waited for her to move closer, needing to see her better.
A strange tingling filled him.
Not good. Something’s wrong
. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.
I should never have agreed to this
. Trying to step back, he stumbled when the message didn’t reach his feet.
His date drew nearer, her appearance becoming more defined. A silver dress hugged her body, both protecting and giving a hint of the delicious treat inside. The candlelight reflected off her wide eyes, leaving them glowing like sapphires. With most of her hair pulled back, the remaining long blue tendrils framed her face and highlighted her matching lips. But her radiant, mesmerizing eyes sparked his recognition. He knew her. His stomach sank along with all hopes for the evening.
“Oh, fuck.”
Of all the women on Earth—hell, in the universe—for him to be set up with, Madame Eve had to pick the one lover he could never have.
***
As she stared at her date, Skylar’s pulse raced. For a minute, she believed Madame Eve had matched her with her ideal man. Taller and broader than herself, he could hold her in his arms and keep her forever safe, never to worry about space pirates again.
Perfect
.
And then he spoke. With only two words, she recognized his deep, baritone voice. Years ago, she would have loved to have been set up with him. She’d dreamed of him coming to rescue her from Rebed. But not now. Only one purpose could have brought him to Earth. He’d been sent by her brothers to take her back. When Leah had said his name, she should have assumed it was him and run.
Her muscles tightened. Fight or flight. Pivoting on her heels, she dashed out the way she’d come. She couldn’t return to the planet her brothers had left her on. No way. If they had come after her themselves, she could have explained to them what really happened to the girls from the orphanage on Rebed and about the wicked Za’lar who had fooled everyone. But not Daran. He wouldn’t listen. That wasn’t his forte. He’d been the muscle for Galan and Volan when they’d found themselves in trouble. He never took grief from anyone. Including her. The number of times he’d dragged her back home after she’d told off her parents or brothers were too many to count. Those private moments with him were the ones she enjoyed. He always took the time to listen to her, understand what possessed her to leave. Sometimes, he even agreed with her reasoning. Galan and Volan never saw his gentle caresses, never heard his kind words. But, they did interrupt several near kisses. She’d always hoped Daran would take her someplace private before handing her back to her family. Though that never happened.
This time, she didn’t see the usual kindness in his eyes. He must have been paid well to leave the planet and overcome his fears. He had a lot farther to drag her to reach her brothers, but she didn’t doubt he would. Unless she escaped.
I have to
.
“Skylar, wait.” His voice echoed off the walls and down the corridor.
No flipping way
. Unable to get any traction with her shoes on, she ditched them. Cherise had finally consented to small heels rather than the spikes she’d originally strapped to her feet, but they still slowed Skylar down. Daran’s footsteps echoed behind her. Racing down the hallway, she spun around corners without looking back. Somehow she’d find a way out. Then she’d hide. Forever. She refused to go back.
The memory of Ghorkle’s slithering tongue and tentacles kept her feet in motion. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her vision blurred. But still, she ran, her legs pumping as fast as she could manage.
Rocketing around another bend, Skylar gripped the wall for balance then kept moving. Air entered her lungs in short gasps. She wouldn’t be able to keep that pace for long. Even when she’d escaped from Rebed, she’d never had to race so fast. But no one had been chasing her then.
The pounding footfalls behind her slowed, then disappeared completely. She heard only her own ragged breath. Slowing down, she glanced around. No one.
I’ve lost him. Thank the gods!
Now, she had to find a way out, a quiet exit where no one would spot her leaving. Pausing, she sized up her surroundings. Nothing appeared familiar. When Cherise had escorted her to the observatory, Skylar had been too focused on her shoes, putting one foot in front of the other to keep from falling, and on holding down her last meal. She hadn’t bothered paying attention to the environment.
We went up
. Stairs. There had to be stairs somewhere. An elevator wouldn’t do. Too long to wait. Heartbeat pounding in her ears, she sucked in deep breaths, hoping to calm her sense of urgency. If she couldn’t think and react quickly, she’d never get out. With slow, measured steps, she crept forward, trying every door for a way down, an escape.
A set of stairs lay ahead, through a glass and steel door. Freedom.
She increased her pace.
Bulging arms wrapped around her. Yanked against a large, muscular body, she lost her balance.
“There you are.”
Star snatchers!
She struggled in his grip, hoping the gravity of Earth would help her out. “Let me go.”
He squeezed tighter. “I don’t think so. You have some explaining to do.”
There would be no explaining. Daran loosened his grip for a split second, just enough for Skylar to put her feet on the floor and twist around. She jerked her knee, slamming it into his groin. “I won’t go back. You can’t make me.”
His grasp loosened. They both fell to the floor, but she scrambled to her feet. Guilt consumed her for hurting him. But he didn’t understand, didn’t know what that monster she was betrothed to would do to her, how he would treat her.
Keeping her gaze on the man sent to retrieve her, she stepped backward, closer to the stairs. “I’m sorry, Daran, but I refuse to return to Rebed.”
Cupping his groin, he shook his head, tears in his eyes. “Who said anything about Rebed? I just want to know why you’re here. On Earth. Why are you at
this
hotel to have a one-night stand?”
She halted, but remained ready to flee, her muscles tense. “My brothers didn’t send you? You’re not here to take me back?” Or was he trying to trick her, attempting to get closer before grabbing her again and hauling her back to his ship?
“No.” He stood slowly, as if expecting her to run again if he moved too fast. And maybe she would. One wrong move would be all it took.
“I work at this observatory. But I was also here to meet my date.”
Her heart fluttered. “Me?” Oh, gods, how she wanted to believe him, her fantasies finally come true.
He nodded. “But, as much as I love the fact that Madame Eve thought we’d be good together, I can’t follow through.”
She stared up at him, her chest suddenly heavy. “Why not?” Having Ghorkle change his mind would come as a relief, but Daran’s rejection stung like a dagger to the heart. If he wasn’t going to tow her back, he needed to sweep her off her feet, be the hero she’d always longed for.
“Because of Galan and Volan. They’d kill me if they found out I made love to their little sister.”
“Hey, I’m not little.” She might be thin, but she towered over every other female on Rebed. And she’d just hit puberty when he’d last seen her.
With hard eyes, he looked her up and down, no sign of interest at all. “No, you’re not. But you’ll always be their younger sister, and off limits.”
She whimpered. Sex with him would have been so sweet, too.
So much for my desires
.
Defeated, she stepped back, biting her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. “If you could show me the way out then, I’ll leave. Maybe you can find someone else. You seem to be pretty popular here.”
Daran held out his hand. “We can still spend the evening together, catch up on each other’s lives.”
Not at all what she’d come to Earth for. Though, she didn’t have a better offer and had no place else to go.
“Please, Skylar,” he begged. “I have missed you.”
Missed?
Yeah, right
. He’d had plenty of opportunities to visit her on Rebed. Just like her brothers. Why would he have even thought about her before now? Releasing a heavy breath, she grasped his hand, not getting her hopes up. “Okay, so long as you promise you’re not going to send me back. Even if my brothers tell you to.”
He smiled, squeezing her fingers. “I promise. But you can’t knee me anymore. Otherwise, I’ll break that promise and find some way to ship you back to Rebed.”
She relaxed, thankful he didn’t want to lock her up over her blast of self-defense. “Okay.”
Back down the hall she walked with him, clinging to his side, his arm resting across her shoulders. A warm tingling spread through her from their contact. He may not want her, but he’d always be the hero of her fantasies, the one guy who’d always had time for her before her brothers sent her away. Though the thought did nothing to ease her heartbreak.
Listening to Skylar’s stories of what happened to girls on Rebed, Daran cringed. Of all of the fucked-up planets in the universe, it had to be the worst. Pretending to take in orphaned girls to give them a better life, but selling them off to the highest bidder instead? Disgusting and deceitful. Not what his friends had expected when they’d arranged for their sister to live there. Rage built inside of him and he clenched his fists, ready to erupt. If he ever found out that someone had touched her, he’d kill them with his bare hands.
“Please tell me you weren’t defiled like that.”
Not that her answer would make difference, because he refused to let her return. He’d fight her brothers if he had to, to keep her on Earth with him.
The idea loosened some of his tension. Yes, she would live with him. He could protect her, teach her how to survive on Earth as—what they called—an extraterrestrial. He just needed to figure out a way to control his desire for her, a crush that had begun many years before, as a teen. And even though so much time had passed, seeing her again ignited a new craving. Pure lust.
She shook her head. “No, the men who came looking for brides always told me I was too tall, or too skinny, for them.”
Thank the gods!
Her gaze fell. The set of her shoulders dropped. Her chin trembled. “Until Ghorkle.”
Shit
. He knew the name and reputation of that monster. Why had her brothers taken her to Rebed? Didn’t they know what they’d subjected their little sister to? They’d always teased Daran about his undisguised interest in Skylar. Surely they believed him a better choice than the twelve-tentacled space pirate banned across the galaxy for defiling women. Even raising Skylar on their own would have been a better option.
She wiped the tears he’d caused by not ensuring her safety. Keeping an eye on her for her brothers had never been an issue and he never should have stopped. He longed to brush away her sadness, make all of her pain disappear. But once he touched her face, he would want to kiss her full lips, run his hands over her lithe figure. No one had haunted his dreams more than her, even when they’d been younger. After the tragic death of their mother, he’d learned her brothers had sent her to Rebed, expecting her to be safe there, to find a good man, marry him, and explore the galaxy with their brood of children.
“But we never…. He tried, slipped several slimy tentacles up my skirt, along my thighs….”
Anger burned through Daran’s chest.
“I always escaped his clutches, hid until he left, dreading his next visit. I fled just hours before I was scheduled to leave with him. As his wife.”