Page 35 of The Alien's Stolen Rebel

My eyes wouldn’t look away from the delicate, beautiful, deadly weapon that was about to kill us all. As soon as he fired, so would everyone else, turning my wedding day into an awful bloodbath. Okay, back into an awful bloodbath. Not the memory I wanted to tell my kids about someday, so perhaps it was lucky that I wouldn’t live to have children.

Kreel growled, low and quiet and deadly. I felt him tense, ready to leap, but we were too far away and his injuries too severe. If he tried to save me, he might succeed—but hewoulddie. And that plan could fuck right off into vacuum.

So I raised my hands and turned to face the Guildfather, whispering to Ellara as I did so. “Kill the antigrav.”

She blinked, eyes confused, and I wished I had time to explain my plan. Instead, I had to hope she’d figure out what I meant. I smiled at the Guildfather and tried to ignore the wireframe weapon pointed at my chest.

“I’m getting out of here before the firefight starts. You’re a smart alien, you should too. There’s no profit in killing me now.”

The twin Guild bodyguards exchanged a look, which I hoped was a good sign. “Worthy Guildfather,” one said, “we cannot promise you safety if you fire.”

The other looked around at the rest of the room,visibly weighing up the odds. The tension in his long, lean body suggested he didn’t like their chances any better than I did.

“She assaulted me,” their employer hissed, glancing back at the guard who’d spoken. “Laid hands on me with violence! That cannot be permitted—oh!”

Folds of crimson fabric fell from the high ceiling, interrupting the Guildfather’s speech and covering us all. Antigrav baubles rained down all around, bouncing off the flagstones with cheerful chiming sounds. A bolt of plasma burned through the folds where it covered the Guildfather, but the fabric had already knocked the Guildfather’s aim off. His shot came nowhere near me, but it triggered a chaotic wave of blaster and laser fire from the rest of the room. The fight was on.

Arzak held up the fabric by the exit, giving us a direction to run. We ducked out just in time, as fold after fold of heavy cloth became too much for even his ridiculous muscles to hold. Sounds of confusion and chaos followed us, weapon fire punctuating the shouts.

Ellara grinned like a lunatic, Arzak laughed, and the other mercenaries shook their heads. I leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. The injuries I’d suffered were catching up to me.

“Well, human, you’ve certainly had a wedding day to remember,” Kyria said, lifting me and carrying me along without slowing down. We weren’t safe yet, and we all knew it. “I hope your marriage lasts till the stars burn out, but should you ever get married again, callme. I want at least three light-years between us next time!”

I openedmy eyes to the light of an unknown sun shining through the glass-like leaves of an alien tree. Distant murmurs mixed with birdsong and the wind rushing through the branches above me. It was beautiful.

Of course, it wasn’t real. I’d been here before, and this time it wouldn’t fool me.

“Where are we?” Kreel asked, sitting up beside me. I gasped, blushed, and before I knew what I was doing, I had my arms wrapped around him.

“You’re okay,” I breathed, smelling his warm, powerful scent, enjoying the texture of his silver skin against mine. “I thought you might be…”

“Dead?” He chuckled, squeezing me to him. “I don’t think so, beloved. But if I am, then I must have lived a good life, because this is obviously heaven.”

I sat up and punched him in the arm. “Don’t even joke about that, mister. You’re not allowed to die, not after I went to so much effort to keep you alive.”

“No joke,” he said, drawing me back in against his broad, powerful chest. “I hope neither of us are dead, but I have no better explanation for this place than that we are in the finest afterlife the gods could forge for us.I haven’t been unconscious long enough for my wounds to fade or to reach…wherever this is.”

I laughed at that before I could bite it back. Kreel looked at me, raising an eyebrow. No sign of a smile showed on his lips, but his eyes sparkled.

“You know something I don’t, Mrs. Amzar. Talk.”

That mock-stern tone in his voice, combined with the way his hand stroked down my back, melted me. Biting my lip, I looked him in the eye.

“That’sPrincessMrs. Amzar to you.”

His growl of frustrated amusement sent a shiver through me. Nerves and excitement coursed through my veins as I waited for his response.

Too fast for me to follow, let alone fight, he rolled me onto my back. His weight pinned me to the fragrant grass, helplessly squirming. With one hand, he held both my wrists to the ground above my head. With the other, he caressed my cheek with a careful, tantalizing touch.

“Where are we, Princess? Tell me.” His voice was low, dangerous, and oh-so-sexy. It promised consequences for resisting, and my entire being united in welcoming them.

“Make me,” I said, trying to pull my wrists from his grasp. I might as well have tried to escape gravity by flapping my arms. Kreel snarled and reached for my dress’s neckline, pausing there and giving me a second to change my mind.

A chance to stop you from tearing off my clothes?I almost laughed.Are you insane?

Knowing it was about to happen wasn’t enough to avoid a shocked gasp as he grabbed hold and ripped. The dress parted easily in his clawed hand, and I arched under him, moaning now.

That dark chuckle rocked him again, and he no longer hid his smile. Leaning in, he kissed me hard on the lips, his tongue pressing between them, making them tingle and me shudder. Our bodies pressed together, skin to skin, as he methodically tore off my wedding dress without taking his lips from mine.

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