Page 8 of Alien Daddies
“I’m not banned from travel and I’m most certainlynota criminal,” she said. “My identification was stolen this morning, and I didn’t want to wait around for a new ID. Such a delay would have resulted in my having to wait another four weeks to leave Earth, when the next window to Phennulos is scheduled to open.”
He eyed her for a lingering moment, as if judging whether or not she spoke the truth.
Please believe me. Please don’t ask any more questions.
She would have to be very careful going forward, lest she tell an untruth that contradicted one of her previous lies.
“What is your name, little human?” he finally asked, and she breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t asking her another question about her reasons for sneaking aboard his ship.
“Kenna,” she said, deciding it was fine to reveal her nickname. Luckily, he didn’t inquire about her last name, though if he ever did she wouldn’t use Vega. She wasn’t sure if this alien, or anyone else on Khanndora was familiar with her father, but she couldn’t be too careful lest she blow her story about being an orphan in need of a job. Now she wished she’d paid better attention to her father’s various investments and businesses, because she had no idea if he had any dealings with Khanndora or its people.
“Kenna,” he repeated, slowly saying her name with his deep, sexy voice.
The muscles of her inner thighs abruptly clenched.
Great. She hadn’t been on a date in weeks, and suddenly she was attracted to an alien male who was going to hand her over to the authorities once his warship reached his home planet. She exhaled a shaky breath, hoping he didn’t sense her unwanted attraction. Some alien species had heightened senses compared to humans. The very thought of him detecting her arousal left her mortified. And he kept sniffing her…oh, God.
“Little human Kenna,” he said, “my name is Torin of Ohma. I promise you will not be harmed on my ship, theRithona. Once we arrive on my planet, I will attend your trial and speak to the judge on your behalf. I will push for a behavioral rehabilitation program rather than jail.” By now, his initially hard expression had transformed to one of deep concern, as if he actually cared about what happened to her.
Fresh tears pricked at her eyes and she quickly dashed them away with the back of her hand. She rarely cried—she was an expert at bottling up her emotions—but for some reason, in front of this huge handsome alien called Torin, she felt her defenses crumbling. For the first time in a long time, someone was looking upon her with kindness and offering to help her, even if he had seemed angry when he initially discovered her hiding on his ship.
“Thank you, Torin of Ohma.”
He nodded and reached for her hand. “Come, little girl, let’s get you out of the cold.”
Little human. Little girl.
When he called her these names, they sounded like the most heartfelt of endearments. And rather than grasp her by the arm, he was now holding her hand and leading her out of the cargo hold. She felt small but protected by his side, like a little girl holding the hand of her big, strong daddy who always wanted to keep her safe. What an odd, odd feeling to experience only moments after meeting this huge alien. But she felt it with the same mysterious intensity as when she’d been staring down upon the ground below her bedroom window, preparing to jump while all of a sudden an eerie certainty that her life was about to drastically change settled upon her.
Her heart panged with longing, but she tried to shut her emotions off, because no good could come from her experiencing an attraction to Torin. Though he was now treating her with kindness, he would still have to turn her over to Khanndoran authorities, whether he wanted to or not. After that happened, she supposed she likely wouldn’t see him again. This thought made her heart ache with a stab of preemptive abandonment, and she swallowed hard and chided herself further for the unwanted turn her thoughts had taken.
Once they exited the cargo hold, the door zipped shut behind them and the warmth of the ship’s recirculating air enveloped her, helping to ease her trembling, if only a bit. Torin squeezed her hand and looked down at her, giving her an encouraging smile. Then he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear—she’d let her hair down from the ponytail not long after boarding this ship for extra warmth—and the tips of his six huge fingers trailing over her flesh made her tingle all over.
“Don’t be scared, little girl.”
Chapter Five
Torin
Kenna. She was beautiful.
Torin didn’t fail to notice her flowing dark hair or that she was slight in stature, just like the female in his recent dreams. But a human as their mate? It was a rare occurrence for the males of his race to mate with an alien female. Human females in particular, as they were small and might have difficulty with a multiple birth. Though, he reminded himself, there was a set of triplet brothers on the outskirts of Hegg who had mated with a human female. The female had successfully birthed two sets of twin males and one daughter. It was possible, and his people’s medical technology vastly surpassed that of the humans.
He glanced down at Kenna again, his protective instincts rising. He felt murderous over the prospect of turning her over to the authorities once they returned to his home planet. Butflixx, it couldn’t be helped. Even theRithona, superior in design to all other interstellar vessels, couldn’t hide the life signs of a human while they passed through the planetary shield.
He couldn’t believe he was considering breaking the law for a human female he’d just met, particularly one who’d stowed away on his warship. But he realized if he had the ability to do so, he just might conceal the sweet little girl from Khanndoran authorities.
There was an innocence about her that beckoned him, as well as a sadness he didn’t understand but wished above all else to erase. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and promise everything would be all right. He wanted to hold her on his lap and cuddle her…flixx, where were such ideas coming from? Days ago, he would have sworn he wasn’t capable of such gentleness, even for a female.
It was as if she’d put a spell on him, he was so fiercely drawn to her and concerned for her welfare.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To the guest quarters. You will remain there for the duration of our journey to my planet.” Protocol dictated she should be locked in the brig, but he couldn’t imagine locking her up in the cold dark cells intended for criminals. He doubted his brothers would object once they met her, especially if they felt the same fierce attraction to her.Flixx, every time he glanced at her, his instinct to mate burned hotter.
To his annoyance, she stopped walking alongside him and attempted to pull her hand from his. He gripped her hand harder, preventing her escape.
“Little human, I suggest you behave yourself. If you ever run from me, trust me, I will catch you—and quickly. And I don’t think you’ll like what happens when I get my hands on you in such a circumstance. Now, tell me, what is the problem?” He continued leading her down the corridor, anxious to get her secured in the quest quarters as soon as possible so he could go inform his brothers they had a guest, a beautiful and enticing one at that.
