Not the Man She Thought (33 page)

Her mother gasped.  “Edrick, you don’t mean that!”

“Damn right I do!” He turned hard eyes on Laken.  “Take
whatever belongings of yours that you want, Laken, then I want you and this
traitor you’re married to out of this house.”

He didn’t wait for a reply, but turned on his heel and
stormed out of the room.

Laken’s mother took her hand, tears shimmering in her
eyes.  “Your father didn’t mean that, dear. He’s just still upset about
what happened on Marlon Prime.  He’ll accept Rade as your husband. 
He just needs time to get used to the idea, that’s all.”

Laken blinked back tears of her own as she shook her
head.  “He meant exactly what he said, Mother.  He won’t ever accept
Rade.  All he’s ever cared about is money, the Federation and his standing
in it.  I’ve seen firsthand how cruelly the Federation treats people who
oppose them, Mother, and knowing that my father is party to it sickens
me.”  She gave her mother a small smile.  “Rade and I will be on
Tellune for a few days.  I might not be welcome here, but that doesn’t
mean you and I can’t see each other outside of the house.  I really only
came here to see you, anyway.”

Her mother gave her a tremulous smile.  “I’d like
that.”  She put her arms around Laken and hugged her close before pulling
away to look at Rade.  “Take care of my daughter.”

He nodded.  “I will.”

Her mother smoothed her hair back again.  “You’d better
go before your father sends someone to escort you out.”  She looked at
Rade again.  “He might think you’re going to steal the silverware.”

Laken would like to have stayed and talked with her mother
some more, but she knew the other woman was right.  “I’ll call you.”

Her mother smiled.  “I look forward to it.”

Taking Rade’s hand, Laken led the way into the foyer.

“Don’t you want to get any of your things before we leave?”
he asked when she started for the front door.

She shook her head.  “Everything was bought with
Federation credits.  I don’t want any of it.”

His brow furrowed.  “Are you sure?”

Laken nodded.  “I’m sure.”

Going up on tiptoe, she gave him a kiss, then turned and
started for the door again, only to stop in her tracks when she saw Mallin
standing there.  From the look of surprise on his face, he was clearly
taken aback at seeing her.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rade
give her a curious look.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“That’s Mallin,” she said softly.

Rade’s eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to the
blond-haired man.

“I can’t believe you have the nerve to show your face here
after what you did,” Mallin said.

“I could say the same thing about you,” Laken shot back.

“At least I’m not a traitor to the Federation,” Mallin
sneered.  “Don’t even try to deny it.  I know you eavesdropped on
that meeting at my country house just to get information about the attack on
Marlon Prime.  Then you ran back to your lover with the information.” 
He shook his head.  “You really had me fooled.  I thought you were
the shy virgin you said you were and all the time you were just Karsten’s
whore.”

Rade reacted so fast Laken barely saw him move.  One
minute Mallin was standing there glaring at them, the next he was on the floor
rubbing his jaw with her husband towering over him.

“If you ever call my wife a whore again, they’ll need a
broom to clean up what’s left of you,” Rade ground out.  “Got it?”

Mallin glared at him as he got to his feet.  “I got
it.”

Rade turned to her, anger still clear on his face.  “Is
there anywhere else you’d like to go before we go back to the ship?”

Laken smiled and took Rade’s hand.  Ignoring Mallin,
she led her husband toward the door.  “Don’t you mean before we go home?”

“Right.  Home.”  He smiled warmly.  “So, do
you want to go anywhere else?”

She shook her head as they left her parents’ house. 
“No.  Home is the only place I want to go.”

About the Author

Paige Tyler is a full-time, multi-published, award-winning
writer of erotic romance. She loves writing about strong, sexy, alpha males and
the feisty, independent women who fall for them. From verbal foreplay to sexual
heat, her wickedly hot stories of romance, adventure, passion and true love
will bring a blush to your cheeks and leave you breathlessly panting for more!

For more of her sexy, erotic fiction visit her website at

http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com