They do?
Zelron shook his head, confused by the notion. Earth indeed was a strange planet. “Who protects? Do your males follow you to your jobs? To protect you?”
A small smile cracked the corner of her lips. “Many of us look after ourselves. Women don’t need men to protect them on Earth. I’m beginning to think our cultures are very different.”
Yes, he was realizing the same thing, but as confusing and disturbing as the notion was that many females chose to be unprotected, the fact still remained, they worked. She needed him here and now to protect her.
Claim her. No!
“Up there. You have no male? No father, brother?”
The corner of her lips fell and her eyes watered, before drawing in a deep breath. “No, not anymore. I guess I’m kind of alone. My father died a few months ago, and I took over running the family business.”
She glanced around the cell, her gaze coming back to meet his. “I guess right now, none of that matters. I stumbled into this mess, but no way in hell I’m giving up yet. We’ll get out. Do you…do you know what they are going to do with us?”
Us. The word hung heavy in the air for a long moment.
“Above you are alone, but here with me, I will protect, you are not alone.”
“Thank you for sticking your neck out for me; you didn’t have to protect me like that.”
How wrong she was, but he did not want to confuse or upset her. He assumed the duty of her protector.
Why?
Something about her called to a deeper, more primal part of him, something he struggled to deny. He frowned at the emotions assaulting him.
She blinked at him. Despite himself, he crept forward. A little, pale hand peeked out where she gripped the blanket around her delectable body. He reached out and put his hand on hers. The warmth and softness of her skin sank through to his arm. His body hardened further from the simple contact. It was a long time since he’d touched anyone.
I want her.
No, I must control myself.
He met her gaze, moving even closer to her, crouched down as low as he could, so that they were almost the same height with her sitting on the bunk. The folds of the blanket parted and she reached out and touched the scarred side of his face. “What did they do to you?” Zelron jerked back in surprise. No one willingly touched him, not since he had obtained the scars so long ago, during a battle with a Xerson raiding party.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend or hurt you.” Her hand disappeared under the blanket again and she nibbled on her lush, lower lip.
“No, not hurt, this…” He gestured to the ugly, scarred side of his face. “…old. It comes from the war, from an old fight.”
Her delicate, brown brows knitted together, her lips pursed in a frown. “So, those men didn’t give you the scars, but is it why he called you a beast?”
He nodded.
Her back stiffened, she looked right into his eyes. “Well, you’re not a beast. Your scars look painful; I’m sorry you got hurt. B-but I think you’re…you’re very handsome.” Her pretty, round cheeks infused with such alluring reddish colour.
For a moment he disbelieved her until she again reached out and touched the side of his face. The warmth of her touch seared into his skin.
“Sometimes, scars only make a man—or I guess in your case, Kelon—even more attractive.”
She was being foolish. “No.” He shook his head. “Scar not good, no female want me, so I become strong fighter, protect my people. Now, I protect you.”
“You certainly look big and mean enough to protect anyone. Thank you. But whoever made you feel not good enough for a female, I’d like to have some angry words with them. I know my opinion doesn’t matter, but your scar makes you look distinctive and badass sexy.”
Why her words made his chest feel funny and light, he did not know. Why did this female stir up so many unknown strange emotions within him? It was dangerous to let physical attraction rule his mind. He needed to protect her until they could escape. Nothing more.
As he watched her skin colour to different shades of pink and red, the more aroused he became. All too easily, he was losing the battle to fight his attraction to her.
Pull way, keep your distance.
Try as he might, he could not force himself away.
“What’s your name?”
“Zelron.”
“Cellroone?”
She misunderstood his strangled use of the human words. “No, Zell-ron.”
“Zel-ron?”
He nodded and her eyes lit up and her lips curved up in a smile.
Damn the Fires of Elron!
Her smile was the loveliest thing he had ever seen, brighter than any star nebula. He wanted to see more of her smiles and less of her frowns.
He reached out taking a few strands of stray hair, feeling their silky softness between his fingertips. He was certain humans did not have such brightly coloured hair. “Not human hair?”
“Oh, yes, that’s just me trying to rebel against, well, everything. I dyed it like this.”
He was confused. “Why?”
“I don’t like my real hair; trust me brown is plain and boring. You don’t like my hair colours?”
He frowned, not knowing the right human words to tell her how strange, yet beautiful she looked to him. “I like. It is like colour in sky of waterfalls.” He let go of her hair and made a sweeping, arch gesture.
Her bright smile again produced the funny, fluttery feeling inside his chest. Damn the Fire Demons, he is a warrior! Years of training helped him utterly control his mind and body, but before him sat the single creature who was easily unhinging everything he’d learned and mastered.
“You mean a rainbow?”
He nodded. “Hu-mon words hard. Rain-bow, yes.”
“Your human words, or English, are really good.”
“I listen, I learn what I hear.”
“See, you’re really smart as well as, uh, very handsome. But…” She lowered her voice, leaning in closer.
He inhaled more of her sweet floral scent. His hand reached out and gripped the metal frame of the bunk to keep from grabbing her and pulling her against him. Would all that round softness fit against his harder frame?
Why the hell was he thinking like that?
“Despite what those assholes said, people will notice I’ve gone missing. Someone will call the authorities and I’m positive someone will rescue us.”
Naive female. He thought that once also, but time continued to drag by. No one knew they were hidden away. By all accounts, his own people would presume him dead, killed in battle.
Zelron let out a vicious growl, startling the poor female. She paled. He pushed himself back from the bunk to the far wall, and turned around, drawing in slow, measured breaths.
She is not for me, even if she is not repulsed by my scars
.
I want her, claim her!
Every part of his soul screamed. He struggled to push the thoughts out of his mind.
He needed to get a tight grip on his body and wildly-swinging emotions. Maybe it was because he was so starved of interaction with anyone.
“Kelon! You going to share your little human female?” Brath, the Xerson in the cell next to his, called out. Zelron heard the dog sniffing the air.
“Silence, Xerson dog. I will never allow you near her!” Rage burned through him.
“She is ugly. I do not know why you chose to protect her. I would have liked to see a human dismembered instead of one of us.”
Zelron punched the wall, imagining it was the Xerson’s head, and welcoming the pain in his hand. It helped distract him from the throbbing need of his body. He shook his head, knowing what his body wanted, even though his mind resisted.
No, he could not give in, for either of their sakes.
Chapter 4
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
The reality of her situation started to sink in. Prov whimpered, pushing her body back against the wall. Everything went wrong and now she was stuck with a growly alien and a god-knows-what kind of creature next door.
The neighbouring creatures growled and Zelron growled back. She flinched when he punched the wall, his sudden rage frightening her.
He was so calm and gentle only a moment before. He hadn’t hurt her yet, but would he? People would notice her missing and ask questions
—she
had several appointments and expected deliveries.
She pressed her lips together. No, she wasn’t going to give up hope, yet. Her only worry was the alien in the cell with her. The words ‘girlfriend’ and ‘mating practices’ rattled around in her brain.
Stay calm, he won’t hurt you.
Although she was no featherweight, she was a heck of a lot smaller than her big, buff cellmate. No doubt, he could snap her in half without breaking a sweat. The black sweat pants covering his lower half stretched over his muscular legs.
Crap. Did she say something to upset him? Maybe telling him he was badass sexy was not one of her brightest moments, but the words tumbled out her mouth. She tended to get overly chatty when she was either nervous or drunk.
She saw the muscles ripple in his back as he moved, and she licked her lips. For an alien, he was damn sexy, every dip and sculptured inch of
him—even
when angry and all growly. He drew in several deep breaths, his fists clenched by his side and slowly turned.
The frown on his face made her heart thump against her chest. It had to be her. Yes, he was a big, sexy, yet dangerous alien package, but how could she know if he found beautiful? Their perspectives could differ greatly. Was he repulsed by her and not attracted? Well, at least he said he liked her hair, or was it an attempt at being nice for her sake? Somehow, she didn’t get the impression he would ever be insincere about anything, unlike so many people she did know.
He scrubbed a hand down his face and slumped down against the wall.
“Are…are you okay?”
He glanced up at her with another scowl on his face. Slowly, he nodded.
“I’m sorry you’re stuck with me. I guess the women, uh, females on your world are very beautiful.”
His scowl deepened as he stared at her, as if he stared into her soul. Unable to stand it, she averted her gaze.
“Many males think so. Many males also think human women very beautiful.”
She glanced up in surprise at his answer, a little confused, not sure where he stood on the matter. “And, um, do you think human women are more, or less, um, attractive than Kelon women?”
What the fuck is wrong with you, asking such a stupid question? Why do you even care if he finds you attractive?
It was as if a stupid person had taken over her brain, like some kind of body snatcher; as if life itself hinged on his answer.
“I have never seen a human female up close until now. I find you more desirable than I should. I struggle because I want to touch you. They want me to. They want us to mate, but I cannot.”
Miss Stupid’s heart did a little flip-flop at the thought of having sex with the big, sexy guy. If everything was in proportion to his size, she couldn’t; he would be too big for her, especially being a
…s
he shuddered, but was turned on at the same time.
I can’t have sex with him; I’ve never had sex with anyone.
Sure, her mind warred against the notion, but her traitorous body was all up for it. She couldn’t stop her nipples hardening, or her lower belly quivering as her panties moistened.
She groaned, placing her head in her hands. This whole situation was surreal, like some bizarre dream from which she would soon wake up.
“I know we can’t give them what they want, what will they do to us if we don’t?”
“They are bad humans. I hate them. They know if I get loose, I will kill them. It is why they always drug me. Keep me from killing them. I fear they will hurt you if we do not obey. You should not have come.”
“My being here was sheer accident, so don’t get it into your head I came to rescue you. But this is all wrong. Not all humans are bad. We have laws to protect others, but some idiots ignore the law. Trust me, I want to kill them too, the first chance I get.”
Her heart stilled…was that a ghost of a smile she saw on his handsome face?
“Pretty little one could not kill
—your
hands are too small.”
She snorted. “Thanks for calling me little. Don’t you know human women come in all different sizes? From tall, skinny and beautiful to me
—short
, fat and frumpy. I’m nothing special. At least, I had my dad’s talent with electronics.”
The scowl on Zelron’s face was back. He cocked his head to the side, again regarding her in a curious way. “I am big, you are little. I only see human women from afar. There are many on my planet now. If I did not see you were special, I would not offer my protection, even in here.”
Damn, she would need her chest examined if the fluttery feeling kept coming and going, like a kid standing in the doorway switching on and off the light over and over again. He really thought she was special?
Face it, Providence, you’re attracted to him. You’ve got the downright, dirty hots for Mr Sexy Kelon.