Alexandre (16 page)

He prowled to the bed and handed her a mug of coffee. She was about to put the coffee aside when she noticed the expression on his face. Serious. Maybe even worried. Lily swallowed to combat the tight, dry sensation that seized her throat. Perhaps now wasn’t the time to lick him.

“I’ll hit the shower. We need to leave soon. Killer will need a walk.”

Lily found herself nodding. The man was back in work mode. Her stomach swooped with nerves. Did he regret last night? Had she turned him off in some way?

Lily gulped her coffee but ignored the food in favor of grabbing a robe and starting her packing. By the time Alex emerged from the bathroom, she was ready to leave. All she needed was a quick shower.

They walked from the room together, stopping at reception to pay then headed for the car. As they rounded the corner to the car park, Lily noticed the back door of their vehicle was wide open.

“Did you leave it like that?” she demanded.

“No.” Alex frowned. “I shut it. Maybe Killer pushed it open.”

“I hope she hasn’t wandered off. Luke and Janaya will never forgive me if something happened to Killer.”

They rounded the rear of the vehicle together at a fast trot.

Killer leapt from the vehicle when she saw them. “Alex. Alex!” she howled. “Men break in. Try to dognap me. But I chased them way. Bit one. Taste very bad!” She paused to wag her tail. “Do ya have any food?”

Lily felt her mouth drop open. The…the dog had talked.
Killer talked
. She grabbed Alex’s arm for balance while she stared at Killer in shock. “Am I awake? I understood every bark she made.”

“Food?” Killer yapped at Alex impatiently. “Do ya have any?”

“She really talks,” Lily said.

“Of course I talk—” Killer broke off mid-bark to stare at Lily. Then her gaze snapped to Alex. She growled a menacing warning. “What you do to Lily?”

Lily clutched Alex’s arm harder, struggling to cope with the concept of a talking dog. “We have food in the front.” She marched to the driver’s side, keeping her eyes on Alex and the talking dog. “Time. I need time to assimilate,” she muttered to herself. “Time to work out if I need locking up in a straitjacket.”

“I haven’t done anything to Lily,” Alex snapped. That crafty smirk on the dog’s face made him nervous. He peered past Killer into the back of the car. “If you bit the men, where’s the blood? You’re exaggerating.”

“No!” Her eyes shifted off him momentarily before she looked back. “We talk about you. You know steak?” Killer demanded. “Favorite food. Steak.” Her eyes narrowed. “You give steak, I not tell Janaya. Might like shiny tag and collar, too,” she added, considering Alex carefully.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Must of,” Killer countered. “Luke and Richard didn’t understand till they slept—”

Alex snapped out a hand and held the dog’s muzzle shut. He suspected he didn’t want the knowledge Killer was about to impart. Hell, he didn’t want to think about what he and Lily had done to each other last night. Because it made him picture the jaws of a trap snapping closed. Even if the bait tempted, he must resist.

He needed to shut the dog up. The last thing he needed was Killer spilling her version of the truth. He maintained his hold on the dog’s muzzle while he contemplated a solution. Killer snarled and tried to shake free.

Lily returned with a small foil pack of dog food in time to witness the undignified tussle. “What are you doing to Killer?”

“Trying to shut her up,” Alex snapped, giving the dog a look of intense dislike. The blasted devil creature had tried to blackmail him. Damn cheek.

“Let her go. She’s only little. Here, Killer, sweetie.” Lily ripped the packet open and tipped it into a dog’s plastic bowl she’d retrieved at the same time. She set it down on the ground and filled a separate bowl with water.

Alex let go and stepped back warily. Hell, Killer might be little but she had attitude enough for six—make that a herd of dogs! Or whatever sets the blasted creatures traveled in.

Killer sniffed the meal before snorting in a disdainful manner. She plonked her butt on the ground. “It not steak. Want real food.”

“It’s that or nothing,” Alex snapped. “Tell me about the two men.”

“They taste bad.”

“So you said.” Alex stifled his impatience. “What else?”

“They smell bad, too.”

“Killer can tell us on the way to our first stop,” Lily said in a placating tone.

“I not finished food,” Killer said.

“I thought you didn’t want it.”

“I changed mind.” Killer stuck her nose in the air.

Infuriating creature. Alex left Lily to deal with the spotted devil and stomped around the vehicle to the passenger side. The locks appeared normal with no tampering. He climbed in and shut the door. The bloody dog could get in Lily’s side.

Five minutes later Lily opened the driver’s door, and Killer leapt inside.

“You buy steak later.”

“No,” Alex said.

“Lily said,” the dog barked.

“I promised her steak if she behaved.” Lily buckled up her seat belt.

“You’re safe then,” Alex muttered, spearing a sardonic look at the creature. “She couldn’t—”

The dog pounced, grabbed his arm and bit him. Hard.

“Quit that.” Alex batted Killer away. A blue mark the size of a New Zealand ten-cent coin had appeared on the back of his hand. He stared in disbelief then whisked it out of sight. Perhaps the dog wouldn’t realize the significance of the blue mark. “Or you can get out and walk.”

“Dognappers will get me. You be sorry then.”

“That’s debatable.” The spotted devil hadn’t noticed.

“Stop it or you can both walk,” Lily snapped.

Alex and the dog looked at each other.

“Must run in the family,” Alex growled in a low undertone to Killer.

Killer grinned to reveal a row of sharp, white teeth. “Yeah, like Richard,” she said. “Don’t forget you owe steak. I not forget.”

* * * * *

Mattio and Jabot spied on the couple from the café across the road.

“That’s not the Prince,” Jabot said, loud enough for several Earth people to turn in their seats to stare.

“Quiet,” Mattio instructed. He glared at each of the interested parties until their gazes dropped then picked up his glass of juice.

“But it’s not him.” Jabot shook his head. “That man hurts my eyes when I look. Prince Alexandre is beautiful.”

Mattio had to agree with his cuz. The dark-haired man was butt-ugly. Of course, it could be a wig, but the man’s features were hideous, and he limped like a wounded tigoth. It looked as though the man had one leg shorter than the other. Jabot was right. The man was not the Prince.

“What do we do?” Jabot asked.

“Follow them. They’re the only lead we have.”

“I don’t like this dumb planet.”

For once, they were in total agreement. Mattio stood and Jabot followed suit. “We must follow. The only alternative is to travel back to Dalcon and admit to the king we’ve lost his second son.”

“He’ll chop off our heads. I like my head. Saraphero likes my head. She kissed—”

“I’m rather attached to mine,” Mattio agreed, cutting in before he heard details of his cousin’s perverted sex life. “So, we go with plan B. We’ll follow them, and when the opportunity presents, we grab them, torture them and extract the truth.”

* * * * *

Lily started the engine and drove through the town. A taut silence reigned inside the vehicle until the dog started to whisper a series of terse comments when she thought Lily wouldn’t notice. Alex tried to tune her out, but it proved difficult since every second word seemed to be Janaya. Occasionally, Killer threw in steak as a variation.

At the entrance to the town, Lily pulled into a parking space near the lakefront and switched off the ignition. “Killer, if you don’t quit with the whispering, I’ll ship you back to Luke.”

Killer snapped her mouth shut so quickly Alex wanted to laugh.

“This is a good spot to see the mountains when the day is clear.” Without waiting for Alex to answer, Lily exited the car and left him and Killer staring at each other in consternation.

“I behave. Tell Lily.” Killer jumped on his lap and nudged at his arm. “Open.”

Alex sighed and did as she ordered. Killer jumped out and trotted down to the lake’s edge to Lily. Alex shut the door and went with her.

“Have to stay,” she yapped. “Have job. I good. Want collar real bad.”

Alex shook his head. He had no idea what went on in that creature’s head, and he sure as hell didn’t want to change that. He strode across the dew-wet grass to join them.

“Killer, did the men say anything? You haven’t seen them before?” Alex asked.

“No.” Killer wagged her tail. “But I know if I see again. One short and wide. One tall.”

“Probably opportunists. We’re lucky Killer scared them off.” Lily cast a sideways glance at Killer. “I can’t believe I’m talking to a dog.”

“I can’t believe I talk to a human,” Killer mocked.

“Do the mountains have names?” Alex asked hurriedly. Anything to avoid the impending squabble. “Will we drive closer to them today?” His words drew Lily’s gaze. Instantly, his body reacted, his cock sprang into primed-for-action mode. Bloody hell. He placed his hands in the relevant region then whipped them away. No point drawing attention to the problem.

“Your pants too small,” Killer said.

Too late.

Lily glanced down, giggled and clapped a hand across her mouth.

Alex was going to kill the dog, and damn the consequences. Walking wasn’t difficult. You just put one foot after the other and eventually you arrived. He could walk from here to Wellington if he had to.

Lily peeped over her hand, her blue eyes flashing with amusement.

“This is your fault,” he muttered.

Her brows rose. “My fault?”

Alex’s skin felt too small to fit his body. Heat from the early morning sun intensified the arousal that boiled through his body. If they hadn’t been right near a kid’s playground, he would have jumped her. Alex cleared his throat, his gaze resting on the curve of her lips. “Oh, yeah. Definitely your fault.”

“Maybe you should have a swim.” She gestured at the rippling surface of the lake. “Feel free.”

Alex snorted. “The cold shower this morning—” Damn, that wouldn’t help matters, admitting how attractive he found her.

“Why you have cold shower?” Killer asked.

“None of your bloody business.”

“If the two of you are finished arguing, we could drive to the falls then check out Huka Lodge. Who knows, we might even meet a film star or two. The Queen of England and the President of the United States have stayed there. Expensive,” she added, “but if you want a luxurious night, the Lodge is a great option.”

“Good idea,” Alex said. “Let’s go.”

He spent the next hour scrawling notes and talking to staff at the lodge. He found the woman who showed him around both friendly and knowledgeable, and he left with her business card along with several brochures.

“What do you think?” Lily asked as they drove back through the town, and headed south.

“I was impressed,” Alex admitted. “I’d like to have the tour stop here. As long as we can find parking for the spaceship.”

“Lady look at your butt,” Killer said.

Lily sniffed. “That’s not all she gaped at.”

“What lady?” Alex said. “I didn’t notice.” And he hadn’t. Why would he look at another woman when Lily was around?

“Believe me, she looked you over,” Lily retorted, but to his relief, she didn’t sound quite as irritated. “Did you want to stop anywhere else? The prawn farm or we could watch the bungee jumpers.”

Alex shook his head.

“Okay, we’ll drive down the Desert road and head toward Wellington. We can stop at Martinborough before we get to Wellington.”

“Ah, the wine-growing area. Sounds good.”

“Will we stop for food?” Killer barked.

“Yes.” Lily pulled a rueful face at the dog. “I can’t get used to talking to you.”

“I don’t have a problem talking to you,” Killer barked.

“Don’t try arguing with her,” Alex said. “You won’t win.”

“I be good,” Killer yapped. “But we need to stop for walks.”

Despite three stops during the drive to the bottom of the North Island, they arrived in Martinborough midafternoon.

“There are some wonderful places to stay around here. I wondered if you’d like to stay here for the night instead of driving into Wellington?” Lily grinned. “That way I can try some of the local wines without worrying about driving.”

Alex shrugged. “Sounds good to me. There’s a sign for accommodation. Should we try there?”

“They’d have room to park a spaceship.” She glanced across a snoozing Killer. “I presume you intend to camouflage the spaceship? Otherwise, you’ll have UFO hunters following you about as well as government agencies.”

“You haven’t asked many questions so far. I didn’t think you were interested.”