Page 18 of The Alien Warrior's Mate

Korben plopped on the mat beside her. She tried to scramble away, and he snatched her by the waist, pulling her body close to his and sheltering her with his tail. She squealed and shoved at his chest.

He barked out. “Sleep.”

At first, she refused to move close. He could hear her teeth chattering, but there was nothing he could do if she didn’t want to touch him. Korben remained still and closed his eyes. As the fire flickered gently and the wind howled outside, he felt Sah-ah inching closer to him.

Closer.

Closer.

Until her body was flush against his. She cuddled into him, her soft flesh pressing against his chest. The shaking stopped immediately, and she made a low, contented sound in her throat.

Soon, Sah-ah fell asleep in his arms.

Eight

Sara

The loud squawkof an alien bird woke her. She blinked lazily and her eyes landed on a strong blue chest covered in black tattoos. Panic swallowed her whole, clinging to her legs, her arms and her chest.

Then the events of the previous day crawled through her mind and she settled down.

The alien spaceship.

Getting kidnapped from the auction.

Transforming metal dinosaurs that flew.

Owner of said metal dinosaur.

She was safe.

Sort of.

Sara didn’t have the leisure of calmingallthe way down. She was still stuck on a strange planet with no way to get home. She was still being hauled around by an alien, but at leastthisguy wasn’t probing her privates with tools or strapping her to cots.

She inched back and began to study Blue. Yesterday had been chaotic—running from the lion guards, escaping that seedy brothel and finding cover from the acid rain storm. In all the chaos, she hadn’t gotten a chance to really look at her rescuer.

He was surprisingly handsome. Broad forehead. Strong cheekbones. Chiseled jaw. When those eyes opened, they were two pools of purple intensity. His lips were slightly purple as well. They were thin at the top and full at the bottom.

Heat flared through her as she admired those lips and wondered what they would feel like against her own. Sara gasped at the ridiculous notion. She couldn’t go around wanting to kiss her alien kidnapper. Was she that desperate?

Back on earth, she hadn’t dated much. Or at all. Life had taught her that relationships only ended in tragedy. Her sister’s death shadowed every encounter. It made it hard for anyone to approach her. To climb over the giant walls she’d erected around her shattered heart.

No one had cared enough to try. And she didn’t blame them. Who would want a girl like her? A woman who just floated through life, following the same routine every day. Barely reaching for any goals and rarely considering what kind of future she wanted to achieve.

On earth, Sara had been stuck. Trapped in that tiny bathroom with her sister’s lifeless body. With the blood staining the bathtub.

She stiffened, her heart pounding wildly from the memory. At that moment, Blue woke up. His purple eyes latched onto her with such force it felt like he was choking her. His presence shifted from neutral rest to commanding force. The intensity was innate in him, a natural transformation that accompanied his awareness.

Sara’s default setting was to back away.

To leave.

To run.

Just as she had that night with Janet.

She started to scoot away, but Blue’s palm lifted and pressed the small of her back. Intelligence swirled behind those eyes as he pulled her into him. Their bodies smashed together. She felt the hardness of him pressing into her lower stomach, but he didn’t try to thrust in or undress her in any way.

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