Alien Intent (Captured by Aliens Book 3) (6 page)

Seducing
a disinterested woman was more difficult than Dar imagined. He hadn’t had to
make an effort to fall into the good graces of the harem women. They’d just
been so grateful for a friendly face and tenderness that they’d practically
fallen into his arms in spite of the fact that being caught by the king for
infidelity would mean swift, fatal punishment. The previous king had had more
women than he could possibly bed or please—in fact, he’d made no effort to
please them.

Dar’s
run as a guard for the harem had sadly ended when he enabled the insurgents to
enter the palace, unknowingly setting into motion the downfall of one ruler to
another. He still marveled that he’d managed to not only survive, but thrive.
Sometimes having friends in high places could be beneficial. In his current
situation, however, he wasn’t so certain since they’d targeted him for a
seemingly impossible mission.

Why the
hell they were so determined for him to settle down, he didn’t know. He’d
pacify them if it killed him. Give her some orgasms, put a baby in her belly,
and then she would be hooked and disinterested in returning to her home planet.
Or so he hoped. If more effort than that was required, he wasn’t sure he was up
for the job. Ignoring the effect she had on his body was more difficult. There
was something about her big brown eyes that snared his attention.

He had
trouble not imagining his fist tangled in her thick black hair as he arched her
head back and tasted her dark skin. The contrast between them was intriguing,
but not his sole attraction. She had a body to make a man sweat. An ample
backside, narrow waist, and breasts large enough to fill his hands—these assets
made him able to bear her razor tongue.

No doubt
the woman was hungry. She’d chewed on his wit enough to demonstrate she had an
appetite. They hadn’t eaten all day and walked for hours. He knew he should
have gotten his packets off the zhala before releasing it to its own
cognizance, but she would have been immediately suspicious. For now, she had no
reason to doubt him. He’d known the beast was ready to bolt and find a mate.
The signs were apparent when working around them and during training. Jerik
thought he was out of his mind for wanting to take a zhala that was obviously close
to or in a mating heat—they could be counted upon to fly off at the slightest
provocation, especially when rider-less. And Jerik had been correct.

That
part of his plan to strand them together had worked entirely too well. An extra
few days where he could show his prowess and fortitude in adversity should
impress her. The whistle would call his ride back when they got to the bottom
of the valley where the vast orchards the zhala loved grew. No one at the
seventh division would question his delay in reporting back, since he’d often
spent time in the wild for days on end without calling back. He could be her
hero, and soften her feelings towards him. The guilt at his deception he would
deal with later, and if he was lucky, she’d be so enamored with him by the time
they returned to the city that he’d never have to tell her the truth. The only real
kink had been their disturbing discovery—that was wholly unplanned.

He
wasn’t certain, however, that his prowess in bed was enough to bring that
termagant to heel. The woman had too much brain for his own good. Her smart
mouth should be put to better use than cutting him down and snubbing him.

Dar
scrubbed his jaw, looking at the darkening sky and the first of the two moons
already rising above the mountains. A cool breeze wafted the familiar scent of
ripened fruit. The dwarf trees grew naturally in the valley and along the
river—one reason his people had developed the area over time. He followed the
scent until he found an abandoned grove behind one of the houses. A quick check
in the building gave him other finds—a basket to carry fruit, a soft leather
jacket trimmed with fur along the neck and cuffs, soap and oil, and a dress.

He
thought these things would please her. Women liked presents. A distant memory
surfaced of his father bringing his mother gifts to keep her happy. Was it a
birthday? She’d always seemed delighted and smiled so brightly. He’d been just
a boy then though, so he couldn’t be certain. He frowned, trying and failing to
remember her face and the color of her eyes. She’d died along with the all the
others.

Dar
slammed the door on the way out and quickly gathered as much fallen fruit as he
could see. Rounding the grove, he saw an Uzel tree and stopped to collect some
of the nuts from the grass. The shells were thin enough they could crack them
with their hands, and the sweet flesh would give them much needed protein. By
the time he’d collected their feast, it was fully dark and the second moon had
begun rising over the horizon.

With a
heavily laden basket, he returned to the house he’d selected for them for the
night. She’d located some candles and had spread them around the room, bathing
the walls in soft, flickering yellow light. He caught her attention with his
entrance, and with the firelight limning her face and hair it gave him pause.

She was
a damned fine sight to look at—he could admit that much. He’d seen her entire
backside and it’d looked good. He’d averted his gaze before seeing anything
else—more’s the pity.

“I found
us something to eat,” he said. She smiled in surprise and stood from the couch,
walking to the table where he set his bounty. The smile transformed her face,
and he found he liked it worlds better than her frown. “Give this a wash,” he
said, handing her several round fruits. While she rinsed them at the sink, he
cracked nuts.

They sat
at the table, eating their fill in silence. This was the difficult part which
made his stomach tighten uncomfortably. What to say to a woman? Lovemaking
didn’t require a lot of talk, nor did riding or walking, but here in the
stillness with nothing to do…he hated to admit he was as nervous as a schoolboy
walking up to the front of his class completely unprepared for his report.

He said
nothing, opting for silence and mystery while he watched her eat and lick the
sweet juices from her lips and fingers. She looked embarrassed when she caught
his notice.

“Sorry,”
she said. “I thought I’d have to eat a pillow or grass in the morning. Thanks
for the food. You can sleep tonight without worrying about me going Hannibal
cannibal on you.”

Dar
lifted a brow, a smile teasing his lips. He had no idea what she was talking
about. They’d all done studies on Earth culture, but just the basics. Hell,
until he’d seen the princess sisters, Adrienne of Anehtar and Ebony of New Chalcydon,
he hadn’t even known the women of earth had such exotic complexions. In spite
of her headstrong ways, he found her incredibly attractive. The hue of her skin
was most becoming, and he couldn’t stop wondering what she had hidden beneath
her clothing. Did her nipples match the rest? And was the hair the same black
curliness betwixt her legs. He had to stop picturing her naked or he wouldn’t
be able to think straight without his cock going hard. “It brings me pleasure
to know you enjoy my offerings. I hope to give you more.” His voice was hoarse
when he said it.

She
shifted in her seat, sipping water and taking her eyes off him, though she
couldn’t stop glancing in his direction. “Uh. More what?”

“Pleasurable
gifts,” he said, then took a drink and watched her over the rim of his glass to
gauge her reaction.

Her
cheeks darkened and she covered them with her hands. He found the process
intriguing. “Why do you do this?” he asked, motioning to her hands.

She
patted her cheeks. “No reason. Nothing to see here.”

Dar
continued watching her, thinking her reaction over. “Ah. I have embarrassed
you, have I not?”

She
swiped her forehead. “Of course not.”

“You are
certain? Would you like me to gift you now?”

“Whoa,
buddy,” she said, standing and making the chair scrape noisily. “Where are you
heading with this?”

He put
on his most innocent face and pulled the coat, soap, oil and brush from his
basket. “These. I thought you would enjoy this...after the ride and hike
today.”

“Oh,”
she said loudly, taking the items. “I thought you meant—never mind. That’s
nice. So you were thinking of me out there, rummaging around?

He
allowed a slow smile to spread across his face, enjoying her flustered
response. At the crux of the matter, he found himself intrigued with the
possibility of having his way with her. Perhaps the prince and princess were
right in choosing him for this mission. “You want the sex. It is on your mind,”
he said, matter-of-factly.

She
gasped and set the items back onto the table. Turning and giving him a look
that could melt stone, she poked a finger into the middle of his chest. He felt
a bruise form under her fingertip. “Why the hell would you think that? I don’t
know how casual y’all are about hooking up, but I’m not about to let just
anyone stick their dick in me. Take this stuff back. I don’t want it if you
think it’s going to get you into my pants.”

He
stared at her in silence, resisting the urge to rub the spot on his chest she’d
poked. The blood that previously had engorged his cock had risen to his head
and made his temples feel near to explosion. His cock retreated into hiding to
fight another day—lucky bastard. He had to stand there and endure her wrath,
reminding him once again why he’d initially vowed never to take a wife. Cock be
damned, the pleasure from a woman wasn’t worth the agony of their
displeasure
.

“Well?
Nothing to say now, I see. Good thing you aren’t as dumb as most men, digging
your grave deeper with excuses and more bullshit. You know what, I think I’ll
sleep upstairs in that bed and take my chances that more aliens won’t be coming
for us tonight.” Jasmine retrieved the pillow and blankets he’d brought down,
grabbed a candle, and stomped up the stairs.

Dar
heaved a sigh. That couldn’t have gone more wrong if he’d tried. He’d never
failed at a mission before, and he had the sinking feeling this might be a
first.

***

Jasmine
set the candle down carefully with its tiny flame barely lighting the room. She
dropped the bedding on the bed, but before she could do more, she heard the
door slam from below. Alarm jolted through her. She rushed to the window,
peering out to see Dar walking through the front lawn clearly illuminated by
the light of the moons.

Was he
going to abandon her?
she thought with another shot of alarm. She
wasn’t above running after him and demanding him to come back. The hell if she
was going to be lost on a strange world! He stopped, throwing his hands up, and
then continued pacing back and forth with agitated movements. She couldn’t hear
what he was saying, but it was clear he was arguing with himself. Finally, he
raked his hands through his hair, spun, and headed back inside.

She
heard the door shut again, this time softly.

Jasmine
chewed the inside of her lip. Guilt swamped her. She’d jumped the gun downstairs
and she knew it. He hadn’t propositioned her—not enough to get that kind of
tongue lashing from her. She realized if she didn’t make an effort to smooth
things over with him, her mind wouldn’t allow her to rest tonight. She could be
her own worst enemy, and the least little turmoil in her brain would keep her
from sleep for days. She knew she’d been acting like a hormonal bitch lately,
and she disliked facing the truth and her effects on everyone around her. Part
of her reasoning for going along on this ride had been to chill out. Besides,
it wasn’t like Dar had been nasty to her—she heard worse than that walking down
the street back home.

Making
up her mind, she exited the room and fumbled her way back down the stairs in
the dark, catching her toe on cracks in the wood flooring and nearly losing her
balance. The bannister saved her and warned Dar that she was coming. So much
for subterfuge.

“Back to
lash me with your tongue some more? My apologies if slamming the door
interrupted your beauty slumber. I’ll try, forthwith, to be more considerate of
you,” he said from his position on the couch. He was stretched along its
length, his head on a pillow and his arm draped over his eyes where she
couldn’t see anything but his mouth and stubbly jaw, which admittedly looked
darkly sexy. He’d also removed his shirt, exposing a riveting amount of hard,
muscled flesh. With irritation, she noticed he looked like he’d been
constructed from a mold of the ideal man—broad shoulders, washboard abs, narrow
hips. He couldn’t be any leaner or more defined.

She took
a deep breath, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach and the throbbing pulse
that had suddenly picked up in the most unwanted of places—smack in the middle
of her sex. She was not a sucker for big muscles and handsome faces.

While
she struggled for words in silence, gorging on eye candy, he finally uncovered
his eyes and glared at her, making her want to scurry back up the stairs and
forget about making apologies.

“You
come down to gloat? I didn’t think you were capable of extended silence when in
my presence,” he muttered sullenly.

Jasmine
cleared her throat, shifting from one foot to another. “Uh. No. I…I just want
to say I’m sorry. I had some time to think it over and I realize I shouldn’t
have reacted like that to you. You brought me food and water, things to make me
comfortable, and I threw it in your face. You were just flirting with me, am I
right?”