Tempting Rever (3 page)

“Argis Rever,” she said softly. “Is there anything I can do?”

The man growled. “No. I don’t understand her. She is nothing like my brother’s bound human who is devoted to him and is sweet. This one…” He took a deep breath, pushing out air harshly. “I may have made a mistake and I don’t know what to do 12

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about her, Ali. She tested my control on purpose by presenting herself to other males on the street. I think she wanted them to mount her, not caring if it caused me to have to fight to protect her. I think she wanted me to have to kill for her just for the entertainment of seeing a fight. I told her it would be to the death but she had no regard for their lives or my own.”

Ali lowered her head a little more before glancing up. “The other human is here.

You are so angry that you did not notice her scent.” Ali’s jerked her head in Brenda’s direction.

Brenda saw the man’s entire body stiffen as he slowly turned to face her. The ability to breathe right left her as she stared into a pair of gorgeous eyes that were the most beautiful things she’d ever seen—a bright, stunning blue framed by long, thick black eyelashes.

Argis Rever was a damn good-looking alien with finely chiseled features. His cheeks were strong and masculine, his nose was flat, wide and perfect on his face. Black hair fell over his broad shoulders and down his impressive chest, drawing her attention to the rest of his body. He was slightly bigger than Valho had been, his shoulders more impressive, with thicker biceps that were revealed in his tank top-style shirt, and he was a few inches taller too, probably six foot five.

He blinked a few times, staring at her silently as his full lips tightened into a firm line until that mouth parted as he took a deep breath. Tips of white sharp teeth were revealed a second before his lips pressed back together and his nostrils flared, inhaling sharply. When his lips parted again his tongue darted out, swiping a full, sexy lower lip. Brenda tore her focus away from his tongue.

The sexual attraction was instant and strong between them. Argis Rever was pure hot-blooded male. If Brenda thought Valho was attractive, she felt downright guilty at the knowledge that he was nothing compared to the man before her. A soft growl came from Rever a long minute later before he shook his head a little, swallowing hard enough that his throat moved with the action.

“Welcome to my home.” He had a deep, terrific voice when he wasn’t growling.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she got out softly. “Thank you for taking me in.”

He took a step forward before he stopped, the lines of his body going tense again. “I knew Valho and I was grieved to hear of his death.” He held out his large hand.

“Thank you. He seemed really nice and I liked him a lot.” Brenda moved closer to shake his hand.

She realized she was staring at the large, sexy man but she couldn’t stop herself from doing it. She felt her bare foot snag on something and suddenly she was pitching forward when she tripped. She would have landed face first on the floor but the big Zorn had super fast reflexes, launching himself at her to grab Brenda and yank her against his hard, long body to catch her.

Brenda stared up at him in wonder realizing he was that big yet that agile. Her hands were on his hot-skinned, muscular arms and her hold on him revealed he was 13

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really buff when her hands weren’t able to encircle his biceps. She inhaled pure masculine male scent and he smelled really damn good to her. His body was large, fit and pressed tightly to her smaller, softer one as their gazes remained locked together.

His long hair tickled her cheek where it fell over his shoulder toward her but neither moved away. She couldn’t tear her gaze from his knowing she’d never felt so attracted to a man before in her life. She wanted to slide her hands up his hot skin to wrap them around his neck and the urge to go on her tiptoes to tug his head down so their lips could touch was almost overwhelming. Her fingers itched to run through his long, thick mane of hair.

A soft growl came from the man, his nostrils flared again, sniffing at her, as his arms gripped her more securely and hugged her even tighter to his large frame. His incredible eyes expressed his shock and confusion over the instant attraction between them but desire sparked there too. She was sure he could see her own desire for him reflected in her gaze locked with his. Her stomach clenched and she felt warmth spread between her thighs, her body getting turned-on enough to react to him. It was as if a physical blow struck her when a sound made her realize they weren’t alone in the room.

“Her warrior never mounted her,” Ali said suddenly. “I don’t know how he resisted bonding to her.”

Shock tore through Brenda that the Zorn woman had just blurted it out that she’d never had sex with Valho and she felt her face heat with embarrassment. The Zorn man staring at Brenda with intense blue eyes tore his gaze away to give his attention to Ali.

Rever suddenly released Brenda very gently as if she were made of glass. He stepped back, completely withdrawing until they were no longer touching. His gaze slowly lowered down her body from her face to her bare toes and then back up until they were staring at each other again.

Argis Rever cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you bound to Valho?”

Brenda swallowed hard to rid herself of the lump that had formed there, feeling shaken up inside by her instant attraction to the Zorn male. She’d never felt such an intensely sexual reaction to a man in her life. It was crazy weird but she couldn’t discount what had happened since she admitted to herself that she still wanted to touch him. She had to mentally nudge herself to talk since he was waiting for an answer.

“I really liked him and he was nice enough to give me time to get to know him. We were spending a lot of time together but then the alarms went off and Valho rushed out of the room to go see what was happening. A few hours later a man came to our room to tell me that Valho had been killed by a Zorn enemy. I was told he died well in battle defending the ship that brought me here. After that they locked me in the room only bringing me food until we arrived here on Zorn.”

Argis Rever was silently watching her until Ali broke the silence.

“I showed her to the guestroom and I am making her feel very welcome in your home. Are you hungry? Should I prepare food?”

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“Hey, Rever!” Tina yelled from the back of the house. “Get your ass in here. I’m waiting!”

Rage twisted the handsome features of Argis Rever. He looked away from Brenda to glance at Ali with a jerk of his head.

“Please prepare food. Tina is being difficult more than usual.”

“Of course, Argis. I am sorry for…” She sighed. “She is very difficult. That is the problem with aliens.” Ali shot Brenda an apologetic smile. “You seem nice but that other one is not.”

At a loss for words, Brenda didn’t even try to speak. She watched Argis Rever turn quickly on his heel to storm away, heading for where Tina had disappeared. Ali sighed loudly when her sad gaze met Brenda’s curious one.

“I won’t give it many days until that woman does something really terrible. That one is serious trouble and she is going either run off with another male or drive my Argis to insanity.”

Nodding, Brenda had to agree. Tina was being a real bitch. From the back of the house a door slammed hard enough to make Brenda flinch. The memory of a pair of gorgeous blue eyes haunted her.

Rever, of the planet Zorn, was the sexiest damn male she’d ever set eyes on. It was a shame that he was taken and that Valho’s brother was coming to get her. If she could have Argis Rever she’d be one happy woman but it wasn’t meant to be.

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Brenda shoved the blankets off her body, sitting up, and thought no one could sleep through the loud shouting she heard coming from the other side of the house. The floor was cold on her feet when she got out of bed to go to the restroom, the noise only intensifying as she eased the bedroom door open.

“I don’t care,” Tina screamed. “Why don’t you bring your house helpers back? I see why you jerks keep a few of them. What are you? A walking damn hard-on? Go to Ali.”

Rever’s response was unknown since the only one yelling was Tina. Brenda crossed the hallway to use the bathroom quickly and washed her face, guessing it had to be sometime near dawn. Rever and Tina had fought late last night and now they were at it again. If the big Zorn killed his human, Brenda was all for it. She was even tired of hearing the loudmouthed, annoying woman constantly ranting and she thought Argis Rever was a saint for keeping his temper in check.

Dinner had been a nightmare the night before with Tina’s constant complaints about everything from the food to the things about the Zorn house she didn’t like. Tina had completely ignored Brenda at the start of the meal until Rever had tried to start a polite conversation with her, then Tina had hit the roof.

“You want to fuck Brenda, right? You keep looking at her when you think she’s not looking at you. I bet she’s more your speed. She hasn’t said two damn words since she sat down at the table and I bet she doesn’t have the balls to stand up to a man.”

Rever had growled. “Maybe she hasn’t said anything yet because you won’t be silent long enough to let anyone get a word spoken. You have complained since you walked into the room.”

“I don’t like this alien shit you call dinner,” Tina had spat back.

Fury had tightened the man’s features. “Tell me one thing you do like.”

“Oh, screw yourself,” Tina had snapped. “You’re still pissed that I flirted with other guys. Just deal with it because that’s how I roll.”

A snarl had come from Rever as he glared at Tina.

“And stop doing that. You sound like a fucking dog and I told you what one of those are. If you walk on two legs then act like a damn man. Try being one for a change.”

Rever was on his feet in a heartbeat, his chair crashed to the floor, breaking, as a vicious snarl tore from his throat. Brenda had felt fear instantly, thinking the man had finally lost his temper. Instead Rever had turned abruptly from the table to march away, leaving most of his meal untouched.

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Ali stood up, grabbed his plate, and had rushed after him within seconds, leaving Brenda alone with Tina at the table.

Tina rolled her eyes. “He’s got no sense of humor.”

Brenda was pissed. “Are you trying to push every damn button he has? You’re provoking him on purpose by totally insulting him.”

Green eyes had narrowed as Tina glared across the table. “So what? The guy is a screwing machine but that’s about the only thing he’s good at. He’s so much like an animal that I’m shocked he’s housebroken and doesn’t try to piss on my leg or hump it.

He growls, for God’s sake, like a damn pit bull. I love a great fuck and all but shit, he’s horny all the damn time. The guy doesn’t have an off switch unless he’s pissed and then he sulks, being a big damn baby and won’t touch me at all.” Tina stood up. “I’m going to my room. The food here is fucking awful.”

Brenda finished her meal alone until Ali returned looking pissed off. Sitting down hard, the Zorn woman shook her head.

“That red hair is driving my Argis Rever crazy. He wouldn’t eat and is pacing the backyard trying to calm his rage. She has questioned his manhood. He is Argis. If she were a male he would kill her for that insult. Do all humans show no respect?”

“I can’t stand that woman either, if it helps, and where I come from she wouldn’t get away with acting that badly. It’s just her. She’s a bitch.”

“What is that on your world? On Zorn it is a female animal that breeds.”

“It’s kind of the same but when you call a person that it’s an insult.”

A smile curved Ali’s mouth. “She deserves an insult. If I called her a bitch would it upset her?”

“Her? Probably not. My guess is that she’s used to that term and has heard it a lot in her lifetime.”

“What would insult her?”

Hesitating, Brenda slowly smiled. “Tell her that she’s an asshole.”

A grin spread on Ali’s face. “I know what an asshole is.”

After dinner Brenda had talked with Ali for a bit before turning in for the night.

She’d heard Tina yelling and she’d heard some snarls coming from Rever but after a while it had gotten quiet. That was until Tina’s yelling had woken Brenda up near dawn. She jerked back to the present.

Brenda waved off the bathroom light and opened the door, stepping right into the hallway to return to bed. A second later she gasped when something large impacted with her hard enough to push the air from her lungs. She would have been thrown to the floor if two strong arms hadn’t caught her, yanking her into something warm, fleshy and solid.

The light in the hallway was dim but there was enough glow for her to see by. She stared at a broad, naked chest in front of her face and two thick arms held her around 17

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her waist, knowing it was Rever without looking up at his face. She stared at a muscular chest inches from her nose, his skin hot to the touch, and she realized her palms were pressed flat against his lower stomach. Soft hair and hot skin were under her fingertips.

Her gaze slowly rose to look at his face when he didn’t release her.

Rever’s eyes did glow in the dim light, the blue was amazing and that up close and personal, they were something she couldn’t look away from when their gazes locked.

Brenda wasn’t even aware that she was still breathing until she noticed how he smelled wonderfully male and there was a hint of some kind of masculine soap, the combination an intoxicating aroma. He blinked at her and his arms around her eased the tight hold.

“Are you all right? Did I harm you? I was walking too fast and did not know you were going to step into my path.”

She loved his voice when he spoke softly to her, that slight rumble gave her the best kind of chills. It was hard to think with his body pressed so close to hers, his warmth soaking into the front of her but she realized she had to answer his question.