Odd Coupling (7 page)

She stepped back and surveyed his
position to make sure he wasn’t about to roll off. He looked
comfortable resting on his side.

Her gaze locked with his,
and they gazed steadily at each other. Bethany gave up and blinked
first.
No sense in trying to out-stare a
cat.

“
If you’re okay here for
right now, I’d like to take a shower.”

He stretched in a very cat-like way.
The movement showed off his nearly naked humanoid physique as he
rolled to his back. His gaze never strayed from hers.

“
Your bed is soft and very
comfortable. I know this must be difficult for you, and I do
appreciate everything you have done for me.” The corners of his
lips pulled up a fraction. The secretive smile gave him a playful
appearance. “Please come back when you are finished with your
shower.”

Bethany couldn’t help but smile back
at him. His expression was so appealing at that moment. He seemed
to want her company. She collected the ice pack off the bedside
table and gently placed it on his head.

“
Hold that on your bump.
There’s bottled water here if you’re thirsty. I’ll check on you as
soon as I’m done.”

Reluctant to leave, she forced herself
to turn and march to the bathroom. Without a backward glance, she
closed the door. For a fraction of a second, her hand hovered near
the lock. It was odd. She didn’t feel the need to turn the latch.
His presence, even though he was injured, gave her a sense of
security. Damn alien made her feel safer in her own home than her
collection of weapons ever did. It was scary how much she trusted
him.

And even more bizarre was how he made
her feel sexually. No human male had ever turned her on the way
Vren did. At that very moment, her body was primed for him. Her
breasts felt heavier, and the soft material of her satin bra seemed
rough against her tender nipples. Her pussy burned with need,
soaked and ready. Her clit was swollen and sensitive against the
rough material of her blue jeans. A wild, primal need threatened to
take over and undo all her control. She knew without a single doubt
that if she could find his dick, she’d be all over it. How could he
not have one?

Stop trying to jump the
alien.

Bethany shed her clothes and then
rushed into the shower stall. She adjusted the water temperature to
a few degrees cooler than her usual preference. A nice, brisk
shower should help freeze her libido. It was nice to know she was
capable of having sexual desires, even if they were for someone who
wasn’t human. For several years, she’d been frigid, and hadn’t
wanted a man’s attention or touch at all.

Darren had hurt her—bad.
He’d told her how much he’d loved her while he’d abused her.
Liar.
Bethany had been
riddled with guilt the whole time they’d been together.

For two solid years, he’d convinced
her that she’d been the reason for all their problems. He’d blamed
her for his bad temper and violent outbursts. It’d always been her
fault that he’d slept with other women because she’d been unworthy.
Too scared to seek help, Bethany had endured his abuse while she’d
hid her physical injuries from her brother and friends. To the
outside world, they’d appeared to be the perfect couple.

Bethany had been too young
and naïve to know any better. She’d been only twenty-one, her
parents were dead and her brother was always leaving to chase down
stories for the news media. Darren had come along and swept her off
her feet. She’d fallen head over heels in love with the handsome
thirty-year-old accountant.
Crooked
bastard
. She’d never guessed that he’d been
after her inheritance. He’d made it clear to all their friends that
he wanted to marry her, but as soon as he’d discovered that all of
her money was tied up in a trust until she was twenty-five, he’d
changed.

The abuse had been mental at first,
but it’d escalated. Eventually, he’d beat her for the smallest
infractions. Her friend, Shelly, had been the first to notice
something was wrong. If not for her, Bethany felt certain the abuse
would’ve continued until he’d maimed or killed her. It’d taken five
years of therapy for her to get over him.

She was one of the lucky ones who’d
come back stronger than before. At twenty-nine, she’d taken charge
of her life and stepped outside her comfort zone. She’d moved away
from home and friends to live alone on the ranch.

As a child, she’d looked forward to
each visit there, especially when her father would take her along
on his hunts. When she was older, she’d sit in the deer stand by
herself. It was an eerie sight to watch them silently appear at the
feeder, as if by magic, in the early light of a foggy dawn. Even
spookier was the occasional scream of a cougar out for an early
morning hunt. The sound never failed to make the hairs on the back
of her neck stand up.

The memory of spine-tingling fear
jolted her out of her daydream. The warm water would run out if she
didn’t hurry. She certainly didn’t want to rinse off in cold water.
Vren must’ve really enjoyed himself. She smiled at the picture her
mind conjured of him standing naked in the shower.

Bethany wondered how it might feel to
kiss and nibble those sexy lips of his while she ran her fingers
through his thick mane to fondle his ears. Did he like being
scratched there? And would he object if she raked her nails down
his chest all the way to his adorable tapa? Surely the man had a
sex organ of some kind on his body. Somewhere? The temptation to
launch an exploratory mission drove her crazy. She’d start with
that sexy mouth. Her stomach clenched, and she let out a low moan
as her whole body tingled at the thought of his lips against
hers.

Ridiculous. I’m a cold
fish. How can I be horny for an alien and not a human
man?

The intense attraction she felt for
him almost frightened her. No amount of therapy in the past had
revived her sex drive. Now, in a matter of minutes, an exotic,
hunky catman from another planet had her primed for action. Vren
was alien, in so many ways, but as far as her libido was concerned,
he was the best eye candy she’d ever seen.

Bethany tried to reason with her
desires, but nothing she could come up with stopped how she
responded. There was no sense in trying to deny the attraction, and
he seemed interested in her. At least that’s how she read his
earlier reaction. He’d been willing to wash her back, and he’d
talked openly about “coupling” to get closer. Would it be so bad to
jump an alien’s bones just once, to see if she responded as she
thought she might? Her body urged her on while she entertained the
idea of a sexual release, which didn’t come from a
vibrator.

Girl, you’re one sick
puppy.

Bethany dismissed the idea and turned
off the water. She grabbed a towel from the rack as she exited the
shower. She rubbed it briskly all over to dry off as fast as
possible. The evenings in late October were usually cooler, and
she’d need to turn on the central heating at night pretty soon. She
always waited as long as possible before she started the heater. It
was nice to enjoy the cool, fresh outdoor air at least until the
first frost. In the meantime, a long t-shirt and a plush terrycloth
robe became her favorite attire at night. After she finished her
nightly rituals of hair and teeth brushing, she slipped into her
robe, opened the door and strolled into her bedroom.

She tiptoed to the bed and gazed down
at her houseguest. He appeared to be sound asleep. Her attention
drifted to the side table. The two water bottles on top were empty
and a melted ice pack sat on a corner. Bethany collected the items,
took them into the kitchen and threw them into the trash.
Apparently, he’d been very thirsty and sleepy. The possibility he
might have a concussion occurred to her, but she hoped it was okay
for him to sleep. She returned to the bedroom to check on him
again.

As she drew near, the phone on the
bedside table rang abruptly. Roused by the jarring noise, his eyes
snapped open. Bethany choked back a startled gasp. The caller ID
read Caleb Black.

“
Damn!” She stared at the
phone as if it’d turned into a rattle snake. If she didn’t answer,
there was no telling what he might do. At least the jerk had given
her a phone call. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Vren
watching her curiously.

She picked up the wireless handset and
forced her voice to calmly say, “Hello.”

“
Miss Montgomery, I
wouldn’t disturb you, but I think you should know a murdering alien
is on the loose. We think it might be on your property. Perhaps
you’ve seen something?”

It? What a
dumbass.

Caleb had a rough, grating voice to
match his vulgar personality. Bethany detested the man. He was
always so full of himself—a bully, who used his position to
browbeat everyone in the community to his way of thinking. A
handful resisted, including her, her foreman, Juan, and his
family.

Bethany gritted her teeth, determined
to be polite, even if the effort broke her jaw. Vren’s life might
depend on it.

“
Everything is fine here. I
haven’t seen anything unusual. Thank you for the warning,” she
said, trying to dismiss him and the phone call.

“
We tracked it to your
fence line.” Caleb wasn’t easy to dismiss.
Damn.
“It’s dangerous, Beth.” She
always wanted to puke whenever he said her name, especially the
shortened version. “My men are here, ready to check out your
property, but your foreman won’t let us pass.”

Oh no.
They were at the front gate, only a mile away. Thank god her
foreman had stopped them. Bethany ran to the kitchen to check her
sat phone. No missed calls. Juan hadn’t called, which most likely
meant Caleb and his posse of ranch hands had surprised him
too.

“
Juan didn’t tell me you
were trying to…come onto my place.” Trespassing might be too strong
a word to throw out just at that moment. Bethany stormed back into
her bedroom. She needed to talk to her foreman. “If Juan is there,
let me speak to him right now.”

“
Hey, dumbass!” She heard
Caleb’s shout. “She wants to talk to you.”

God, she hated that man.

“
Miss Bethany?” Juan’s
voice came on line. It sounded strained and angry. “I told them you
were the only person who could give them permission to
enter.”

“
Good job, Juan. I don’t
want them coming onto the property. Please keep them out. I’ll call
the sheriff in the next county or the rangers if I have to.” Caleb
had the local sheriff stuffed firmly in his back pocket, so to
speak, since they were cousins.

“
Yes, miss.” Juan sounded
much happier now.

“
Also, Juan, just so you
know, everything is
perfectly
fine here. There’s no danger and I’m safe. You
understand?”

She’d given her foreman the code her
father had always used when he’d wanted Juan to know that no one
had a gun pointed at his head or was forcing him to lie about
something. Juan would know she was safe, and no one forced her to
do anything. She certainly didn’t need Caleb’s form of
help.

“
Yes, I understand, miss.
Perfectly.”

Bethany let out a relieved breath.
“Let me talk to Caleb again, please?”

Seconds later, Caleb’s voice blared in
her ear. He sounded furious. “You crazy…woman! You need to let us
track that thing. It might rip you to pieces the way it did my
guard dogs.”

Bethany glanced down at Vren, who
intently followed the one-sided conversation. She gave him a weak
smile before she tore into Caleb.

“
Get away from my gate and
take your goons with you. Don’t come back. If I needed help, you’d
be the last person I’d call.”

“
You’re gonna be sorry!
I’ll be back in the morning with the sheriff, border patrol and
game warden. You’ll let me in, Bethany. You won’t have a choice,”
he threatened. She heard him add, “Bitch!” before he ended the
call.

Furious, Bethany jerked the phone away
from her ear and glared at it. “You sick asshole!” she shouted at
the handset.

“
The male is not a
friend?”

Vren was stretched out on his side,
his upper body supported by one elbow. He appeared to be studying
her. His eyes were slightly narrowed and his ears were turned back.
The tip of his tail twitched back and forth. The resemblance to her
barn cats was uncanny. His body language suggested he was irritated
and prepared to pounce on something or someone.

She slammed the phone down onto the
charger, then gave him her complete attention. “No, he’s trouble,
especially for you.”

“
I heard what he said.” She
must have looked shocked, and he explained. “My senses are
heightened. He called you an offensive name. Did you mean to insult
him with your reference to the body part which eliminates
waste?”

“
Yes. He’s a huge
one.”

“
He did not hear
you.”

Bethany stared down at him. He looked
so sincere. So alien, she thought before a tired sigh escaped her.
“Come morning he’ll force his way onto my ranch. You need to rest
and recover as much as you can.”