Hinekiri (27 page)

Richard set her on her feet. He bent to remove her boots and stood again to start on her buttons.

“Where you been?” Killer barked. “I starving.”

Richard groaned. “I’ll get something from the fridge. Hinekiri, I want you naked by the time I return. I want to celebrate.”

“Remember I impressionable,” Killer yapped.

“Yeah right.” Richard gave Hinekiri one last heated look before striding to the kitchenette area.

A hot ache grew in her throat. Celebrate. Hinekiri undid the rest of her buttons and shrugged from her shirt. Her jeans slid down her legs followed by her panties. Her bra joined the pile and she lay back on the bed, listening to Killer and Richard.

“That it? I want real food. Steak. Do ya have any?”

“That’s it until morning. I’m going to bed now. Don’t interrupt.”

“You have sex,” Killer barked.

“No, Hinekiri and I are going to make love. There’s a difference.”

They were going to make love. Hinekiri smiled at the thought. And that was the moment she fell head over heels, irrevocably in love with Richard Morgan, Kiwi cop from Earth.

The end

I hope you enjoyed Hinekiri’s and Richard’s story. Please turn the page for a glimpse of the next story in the
Alien Encounter
series –
Alexandre
, which features Richard’s daughter, Lily, and also an excerpt from
Captured & Seduced
, book 1 in my
House of the Cat
series. To learn more about my books please visit my
website
or join my
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if you’d like to keep up with upcoming releases, contests and other goodies exclusive to newsletter subscribers.

Excerpt - Alexandre

Copyright 2015 Shelley Munro

Book 3 in the Alien Encounter series.

Lily noticed the man straight away. Tall and golden, he prowled along the main street of Papakura, reminding her of a jungle cat. Proud. Determined. Aware of his surroundings.

Every other female in the vicinity noticed him, too, but he didn’t hesitate or take any notice of the admiration. An elderly woman preened, patted her silver hair and promptly dropped her walking stick. The man stooped to pick it up, and she rewarded him with a coy smile. Lily would have bet the old girl’s heart pounded. Hers certainly did.

A trio of teenage girls put their heads together to whisper then burst into giggles each time they checked out his muscular physique.

Mrs. Pappadopoulos, the proprietress of the kebab shop across the road, rushed out with her straw broom and pretended to sweep her doorstep. Her gaze never left the golden cat. She might have fooled the man but Lily saw through her ploy. A dangerous stud seated at the window booth would boost sales during the slow back-at-work Monday.

Lily shifted on her wooden chair as she stared out the huge, plate glass window that fronted her travel agency. A frown formed between her brows. She could do with some customers to browse through her brochures and bring business. Her bank account was so far in the red it glowed like Rudolph’s nose at Christmas time. The statements arrived on a daily basis, a not so subtle reminder by the bank manager that her overdraft was at the upper limits of acceptance. Maybe she should hire the golden man to stand in front of her building? Her gaze swept over broad shoulders and a truly tempting masculine butt. A sigh of appreciation whistled through her lips. Nice view—but not for her.

Lily picked up her pen and aimed her gaze at the flickering computer screen. A scant two seconds later, her eyes were right back on the golden man. He turned. She sucked in a loud, startled breath that echoed and filled the travel agency making her aware, more than ever, of the lack of customers. 
Probably for the best
. No one to witness the overweight divorcée making cow eyes at an impossible dream.

Golden man.

An apt description. His curly blond hair grazed his shoulders and shone in the early morning light, the gentle sun picking out highlights that Lily envied. Even features arranged in a tanned face. His dazzling smile was definitely worth a second look. She wished she could see the color of his eyes. Curiosity propelled her need to know. 
Maybe brown
, she decided.

Her gaze drifted downward. His faded blue jeans were skin-tight, highlighting muscles and bulges with loving care, and one knee peeked through a rip with each prowling step. A white cotton shirt accentuated his tan. White, Lily noted, bearing not a hint of what he ate for breakfast. She glanced down at her hip-length, cover-all-sins top. Two ugly brown splotches marred the light green fabric. 
Yep, definitely coffee splashes
, Lily sighed as she glanced up again to follow the man’s progress.

The man stopped outside the kebab shop. Mrs. Pappadopoulos beamed and hurried forward to greet her cash fall. She made a sweeping gesture with her right hand toward her best table. The golden man smiled.

Lily’s heart skipped a beat. “Holy heck,” she breathed in awe. There was a whole street and two footpaths between them yet she reacted to him physically. A tight sensation in her chest reminded her to breathe again.

The teenagers waltzed into the kebab shop, hips swaying, small pert breasts stuck out proudly. Lily didn’t blame them. She realized she’d sucked everything in while glued to the unfolding drama. Not that things moved into place as promptly as she liked. For starters, her breasts had never, ever looked pert.

Lily blinked rapidly to clear the sudden onslaught of tears. Past history. She was never going there again.

She sniffed and concentrated on the scene in the kebab shop. The elderly lady had found a friend, and they both stepped through the door Mrs. Pappadopoulos held open for them. Once they were over the threshold and safely inside, she shut it so they couldn’t leave in a hurry. Lily supposed the oldies could always break out using their walking sticks if they got desperate.

Mrs. Pappadopoulos returned to the golden man. He flashed his smile again, and warmth suffused Lily. The underwire bra she wore nipped at her delicate flesh, and she wriggled uncomfortably. Damn, she was gonna have to break the piggy bank to buy the next size up. Not good.

The golden man said something. Lily saw Mrs. Pappadopoulos’s shoulders slump as she spoke in return. The bell on the kebab shop door tinkled merrily as the golden man sauntered outside. Lily stared as he crossed the street without checking for traffic. With her luck, she would’ve ended up squashed flat as roadkill on a Sloan country road. He emerged with nothing more serious than disheveled hair, and dammit, that made him look sexier.

Okay. Show time over. Things to do. Bills to pay.

But Lily couldn’t drag her gaze off him. The view was even better since he was much closer. Chest pains forced her to suck in a breath. She stared, mesmerized. An urgent need to touch filtered through her brain. No. No. No! Why was her body not cooperating? The slow prickle of awareness that tightened her full breasts pissed her off. Her mouth firmed and her grip tightened on her favorite, lucky pen.

Not again.

Never again
. But still she looked, unable to tear her gaze from the wide shoulders, trim hips, and…uh…muscular legs. Lily shivered and tried to recall exactly what underwear she’d donned this morning. Just in case she outdid her usual clumsiness and sprawled at his feet. The memory wasn’t comforting. A white bra—well, okay, off white with a pink tinge and black granny bloomers. Not—Holy shit! It didn’t matter what she wore. Even if the golden cat was interested, she wouldn’t let him touch her. No way, no how was she letting a man close enough to rip her heart out again.

She tore her gaze off the male’s muscular thighs and barely resisted the urge to check out other bodily bits. The golden man paused outside her travel agency. He saw her through the window and smiled, his brown eyes glowing with an inner fire.

Lily’s jaw dropped. Her hand started to shake and her silver pen somersaulted through nerveless fingers to do a perfect backward half pike before it landed somewhere under her desk. The golden man reached for the door.

Shit.

Shit
.

He was coming in.

What the hell was she gonna do with him? That was assuming she could remember how to speak.

Alien Encounter: Alexandre

Excerpt – Captured & Seduced

Copyright 2014 Shelley Munro

Camryn woke to the sensation of the floor shuddering. Her head vibrated in time. Damn whiskey kicked like a mule. A moan escaped, the sound tiny and insignificant. Her eyes flickered, the glare of light intense. A jagged slice of pain cut across her temples. Everything ached, even her eyes. She stopped trying to open them and her world ceased spinning. Cautiously, she catalogued her body for aches and pains.

Dry.

Her mouth felt like a dusty paddock during the middle of a severe drought. And her tongue—heck, that felt too thick and furry to fit inside her mouth. She moved her arms, or attempted to, but they stuck fast against her sides. Her heart thudded, an erratic beat of fear. Her brother. He’d told her—told her yesterday she had to stop drinking. If she didn’t…

What had he done?

She struggled, hyperventilating in fear. He wouldn’t.
He couldn’t
.

For her own good, he’d said. Yeah, easy for him. He had a wife, a child. They were a family. A unit. She had nothing to live for. Not now.

Camryn forced her eyes open, her heart drumming like the thunder of horses’ hooves during a race. Her gaze lit on a large black shape on the floor. Camryn closed her eyes and moved her head in a cautious shake, wincing at the sharp throb. When she opened her eyes again, the object came into focus. A large black cat lay on the floor near her. It stared at her with its green eyes. Its mouth lay open and sharp white teeth glittered in the bright light. Camryn swallowed. A dream. No, a nightmare. She wasn’t awake.

Maybe Max was right—she’d started drinking too much alcohol.

The cat stood, stretched just like her mother’s used to, extending front legs and sticking its butt in the air. Then it prowled toward her, black tail swishing from side-to-side. A panicked whimper escaped. Camryn wanted to flee but couldn’t move.

Not her arms or legs.

Trapped.

The cat stalked closer until she felt the creature’s hot breath through the denim of her old jeans where her brother’s heavy coat had fallen away. The cat let out a sharp, fierce grunt, raising the hairs on her arms into a distinct prickle. She whimpered, the cry weak and thready. The cat moved nearer still. It opened its huge maw, globules of saliva visible. Oh heck. This was no dream. It intended to eat her. Camryn struggled fiercely, a ripple of pure terror pouring from her parched throat.

The thud of running feet sounded and two people burst into the room. Camryn’s eyes widened and she screamed again. And again. The black leopard bit her on the leg, the sharp pain silencing her scream abruptly.

They stared at each other before weird jabbers commenced, sounding like Chinese mixed with lots of clicks and guttural sounds too rapid for her to even start to understand.

Camryn moaned when they approached and halted by the leopard. Fear, stark and real, pummeled her body, her mind. She cried out as they moved closer in a collective step.

People. A loose term. Real loose.

One appeared female and had bright electric blue hair and…and pointy ears. Her flashing eyes and rigid jaw brought a warrior to mind. The tight-fitting trousers and brown tunic top, plus the huge number of weapons strapped on her slender yet muscular body confirmed the impression. The other was the palest person she’d ever seen. Everything about him seemed white. Totally colorless. Apart from his eyes. They were the palest violet and focused intently on her. While she gaped at the male—at least the bulge at his groin suggested the masculine gender—he changed color. Streaks of black swirled through the white, mixing to a slate gray. The black kept appearing in long ribbons across the part of his chest she could see until his skin and hair gleamed deep ebony. His eyes remained the same eerie violet.

Camryn’s gaze traveled to the black leopard. It sat on its haunches between the warrior and the creepy changing man. Changing Man carried a satchel in his hand. After snapping several clicks at the other beings, he pulled a glass jar from the bag. He opened it and tipped the contents onto the palm of his black hand. He frowned at them, white ribbons of color suddenly swirling across his chest. His head dipped in a satisfied nod, and the things on his hand wriggled like fat scarlet caterpillars.

She whined softly. God, this wasn’t a nightmare. These weren’t the orderlies at the clinic where Max had threatened to send her.

They were aliens.
Aliens
.

Her heart pounded, leaping against her breast. Camryn started to struggle. Not even a warning snarl from the leopard stopped her fear escalating into outright panic. With another grunt and three rapid clicks, the warrior approached her. She grasped Camryn’s head and held her still. Changing Man picked up one bright red caterpillar between gray fingers and shoved it in her ear.

Sharp pain. Intense. Worse than even the most evil hangover. The caterpillar crawled down her ear canal. She heard the crunching sounds when it attached itself somewhere inside. Her head rang, agony slicing across her temples. She keened, her strength sapped and no contest for the warrior’s superior power. The warrior held Camryn’s head, forcing it in the opposite direction, baring her other ear for the same abuse. Anguished tears slipped down her face. She sobbed, but that didn’t stop Changing Man from forcing a caterpillar inside her ear. Camryn felt every slither when it crawled inside. The pain felt just as intense, the crunching sound deafening while the caterpillar ate into her head.

“Gabriel,” she whispered, realizing she’d landed in hell. Gabriel wouldn’t be here. Only she had sinned enough to gain entrance to hell.

“Stop crying,” the warrior woman snapped, her blue hair flying around her head in a halo. “Can you understand us now?”

She could, but nausea tiptoed through her stomach. Camryn’s entire body shuddered with the depths of her misery. She’d heard hell was fiery hot, but ice enclosed her heart, her body. Nothing had changed. She still missed Gabriel.