Page 7 of Betrothed to the Alien Mercenary

“Life or death important!” she added when my shrug made it clear I didn’t care. “If we fail at this mission…” her breathing faltered as her voice trailed off. For the first time, I was seeing a hint of vulnerability behind the cool, carefully controlled mask. It halted me in my tracks, my eyes locking with laser focus on hers. My mind stretched, reached, but she had no psychic ability to connect with. My brain wasn’t wired to connect with anyone but Solear anyway; I didn’t know why I even tried.

“Tell me,” I demanded, my senses still ached and shifted in my mind, trying to reach for something that could never be. Even if she were Asrai and had her own twin to share telepathy with, it was very rare for mates to form a similar bond. I wanted it anyway, but that was my hallmark, wasn’t it? To want all the things I could never have: revenge, family, power, fun—those kinds of things. And now, love and a psychic bond.

The desire to lock minds with her was so strong that Solear stirred in the back of my head. For a moment, it felt like he was seeing what I was and feeling what I felt. He slipped away as quickly as he’d come, leaving behind a warmth that felt like a hug and an apology for not being able to give me what I wanted. He understood my need and knew, like me, that it could never be.

My pretty woman swallowed, her emotions sliding from her face like water. The mask was back in place, but I’d seen what she truly felt, and I wasn’t going to let this go. “Tell me, Evadne. I can’t be what you need if you don’t talk to me. Let me protect you.” I meant every fucking word, the way I’d never meant what I said before. There was no doubt she could tell how fervent I was by the tone of my voice or the way I leaned protectively toward her.

“Evie,” she murmured, her voice pitched low as if she were telling me a secret. “You can call me Evie when we’re alone, okay?” I liked that—Evie. It was pretty, and it was private. A secret name between lovers. I started to grin as I pictured it, and pictured her Xurtal guard going green with envy if he knew. I liked that very much, and I was going to take every opportunity I had to call her by this name.

“Yes, Evie,” I agreed, but if she thought this would deflect me from what I truly wanted to know, she was dead wrong. She had also neatly backed herself into a corner against the edge of the table. When I took a step, our bodies almost touched, and she braced her hands against the edge and leaned away. It arched her spine and brought her breasts up toward me, the upper slopes of the soft globes visible inside the v-neckline of her jumpsuit. “Stop avoiding the question.”

“Stop avoiding your lessons!” she snapped, and the sharp edge of her tone made my cock jerk eagerly toward her. I was a total deviant and proud of it. I grinned, my mouth stretching wide, and watched as her cheeks flushed a darker green. Interesting. I hadn’t known Xurtal females could flush like that, but I liked it. I couldfeelthe warmth radiating from her skin; I was getting to her.

“Don’t you know me? I’m a total slacker. I didn’t even finish school. You couldn’t have picked a worse male for this mission if you tried. Well, except for my twin, I suppose. He’s more inclined to bite one of those officials than bow to them.” I tilted my head and tapped my chin as if pondering those options, and I saw her eyes go wide. She was picturing me leaping across the table to bite an Ovter like I was some kind of rabid animal. Beautiful.

“But you’ve got me now,” I added. “And Iwillsee this through, Evie. I’m your male, your protector.” A grin stretched across my mouth as I turned my tone seductive and dipped my head to murmur in her ear: “Your fiancé.” Her breathing shuddered, and I nearly licked the pretty, round shell of her ear. Instead, I made myself demand an answer yet again. I could not let this go on—not when there was clearly a threat to her safety, and my mission details included nothing about why she was even going to Ov’Korad. As her fiancé, I needed to know, or this mission would definitely fail.

“You are telling me everything now!” I demanded, infusing command into my voice. I tended to be laid-back, but when it came to protecting those I cared about, nothing was off the table. Speaking of tables… that was an option. She’d talk if I pinned her to that shiny surface and licked her neck, down into the tempting valley between her breasts. It was a no-lose plan. My hands clasped her waist, marveling at how small and frail she felt beneath my palms.

I didn’t count on the sharp elbow that suddenly came flying forward, catching me in the throat with a stunning blow. I spluttered, stumbling back as I fought for air through my suddenly bruised voice box. “The fuck, Evie?” I groaned, feeling utterly betrayed by the move. I was trying to help her, didn’t she see that?

My princess was straightening herself primly, her hands gliding over her body in ways that made me jealous. She looked cool, but I could see the anger simmering behind her ruby eyes and in the pinch of her lips. She was furious with me, but I didn’t understand why. As my mate, Iknewshe felt the bond. So why wouldn’t she let me touch her? We needed each other, didn’t we?

“Don’tevertouch me without permission,” she said firmly. It was the little catch in her voice that got to me. A tiny tremble in the last word, a little hitch in her breathing. I was attuned to every change, every move she made. I’d messed this up; it was inevitable that I would, so I wasn’t surprised. I could roll with the punches, and she had a mean elbow jab. My throat still ached something fierce. As I straightened, I rubbed at my throat and wondered if she’d purposely struck me there because it was a soft target above my armor.

Her eyes locked onto the motion, and something flickered behind them; then they darted from me to the lowered hatch that separated the kitchen from the mess hall. I could tell her that Brace wasn’t there—he’d ducked into his private rooms as soon as I’d arrived—but she seemed uncertain. Then her shoulders squared, and she pierced me with a firm look. The type of look that made a male want to swear obedience on the spot. Too bad that I’d never obeyed anyone in my life—well, except the captain. I wasn’t about to start obeying my princess, not unless I felt like it.

“What I say cannot leave this room, you understand?” she said solemnly. I nodded fervently; that was easy to promise. Except for Solear, who’d be able to snatch information right from my head, I wouldn’t tell a soul. Not even the captain. Okay, maybe the captain if he asked me, but I didn’t think he’d ask. I liked having secrets with my woman. That felt good, like I held parts of her she did not share with anyone else.

“The Xurtal Kingdom is small, a single planet in a single solar system. But it is rich in resources, one resource in particular that is highly coveted by the rest of the Zeta Quadrant.” She paused, perusing my face, but I didn’t know what she expected to see. I didn’t know where she was going with this information; it was all public knowledge. “Particularly,” she added, “Xyraxin.”

“Which is coveted for weapon manufacturing,” I said, leaping to the right connections now. I knew Xurtal was rich, but rich in that? It was clearly not public knowledge. The species wasn’t known for their weapons or exports either—not that kind of export. So, they weren’t selling it, but their neighbors might want it.

Evie nodded. “Because we refuse to be the planet known for selling weapons of mass destruction, there are strict limits on how much can be mined each year. To protect us from invasion, we’ve formed an alliance with several other smaller nations, but that alliance might soon fall apart.” My mind whirred as I considered all the complications. A failing alliance meant Xurtal would be open to invasion, and I could think of at least six factions in the quadrant that would jump at the chance to get more Xyraxin. No wonder my princess was desperate to stop that. The Ovters did not seem like the most likely choice to form a new alliance with, though. They did not like outsiders, and the Sythral were right next door. They would definitely want to get the Xyraxin for themselves.

“Ov’Korad is simply neutral ground, away from prying eyes,” Evie said, anticipating my next question. “Alliance prospects are meeting me there. That’s why this is so time-sensitive. If I don’t get there at the appointed moment, it will be rude, and their diplomats will not stick around to wait for me. Do you understand? We could be dining with other royalty. You have to know how to behave; we can’t afford to offend anyone.”

It was on my lips to demand to know why she’d requested me for this mission if it mattered that much, but I knew. It was the mate bond talking, her desire for her male to be the one to protect her. Maybe it wasn’t that at all; maybe she had not requested me specifically. I couldn’t recall what the captain had said when he briefed me.

“Permission to touch your hand?” I said, grinning when that made her mouth form a lovely little circle. She was caught off guard and stuck out her slender green fingers before she could think better of it. I snatched up that hand and raised it to my mouth, pressing my lips to her silky flesh before she could change her mind. “I understand. Where do we start?” And then, because that’s simply how my brain worked, it leaped to more teaching options. “Will there be dancing lessons too?” I could already picture our bodies rubbing together in a dance; that would be a lesson I’d sign up for in a heartbeat.

Startled, she shook her head. “No dancing,” she said faintly.

Chapter 6

Evie

I paced inside my small quarters, my slippers swishing softly against the deck in a most unsatisfying manner. Restless energy coursed through me, and I tried in vain to settle it by talking myself through the plan. It only made me more stressed. Aramon was a nightmare to work with. The male was more interested in flirting or asking questions than doing what he was told. He was going to screw up on day one and bring this whole mission crashing down around me.

My hand pressed against my belly, feeling the slight bump of the piercing there and the device that transformed me from plain Evie into Evadne. It was turned off right now because I needed relief from the constant tingling along my flesh, and I wondered what Aramon would think if he saw me now. He would probably pull back in revulsion because his green beauty had been replaced by a pale, waxy shadow. I didn’t even want to look into a mirror right now; I couldn’t stand it.

My last attempt to teach the Asrai male any kind of manners had been this morning, and, to my great embarrassment, Theronix had insisted on seeing my progress. It had been absolutely grueling, and my guard was now convinced he should squash the entire plan. I wasn’t sure if he was wrong. It had been all but impossible to make Aramon sit up straight and use the right utensil at the mock-meal. He did it on purpose—I knew that—but Theronix didn’t see it.

Truth was, I wasn’t sure if Aramon would stop behaving like an ass. Part of me feared that, but a bigger part was convinced that when the stakes were high, he’d back me. I wanted to believe it so badly it ached. There was no way I could forget that first meeting three days ago. The intense way he’d kept demanding I tell him the truth; he’d been relentless, and I felt like he was on my side, so focused because all he wanted was to keep me safe.

My skin tingled on my hand where he’d brushed his mouth; the audacity of that move still scandalized me. Evadne would have had him thrown in the brig for that kind of insult, but it hadn’t felt like an insult to me. And Ihadjabbed him in the throat with my elbow a minute before that. That made us even.

On the upside, I was not nearly as worried about having to be the one doing the negotiating once on Ov’Korad, or about being found out because of a mistake I made. My biggest concern was getting my fake fiancé to fall in line. I’d already memorized his fake background and the supposed way we’d met. They’d cleverly made him a minor noble in one of the thousands of Asrai noble houses in existence; nobody would question that.

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