Page 8 of Kazzon's Human Bride
Why was he staring at her so intently?
Why wasn’t he saying anything?
His dark blue skin gleamed in the lamplight, and his form-fitting black pants and sleeveless shirt revealed his brute strength. She’d never seen a Tarrkuan male so tall, broad-shouldered, or hugely muscular before. And his eyes…God, she felt as if he could discern her deepest, darkest secrets from his gaze alone.
His large black eyes seemed to pierce to her very soul, and his facial features were elegant yet masculine. He possessed high, regal looking cheekbones, a strong square jaw, and a long straight nose that was perfectly proportioned to his face. The short black locks atop his head held the slightest wave, making her wonder how untamed his hair might look if he grew it out, or perhaps missed a haircut, and his full blue lips were a slightly darker shade of blue than the rest of his body.
God, what was she doing, ogling him like this?
She shouldn’t be admiring his features and imagining what it might be like to run her fingers through his coarse dark hair, skim her hands over his muscular arms, or feel those sensual blue lips of his pressing against hers. Another heated flush nearly engulfed her.
But despite her current predicament, she couldn’t help but notice how exceedingly handsome he was—whoever he was. He hadn’t yet revealed his name.
Though she didn’t know his identity, she suspected he held a position of authority among his people. He carried himself with confidence and struck her as a male used to getting his way. Raw power emanated from his intimidatingly large body, making her ever aware of her precarious position.
At this moment, she felt completely at his mercy.
“Please don’t turn me in,” she blurted. “As I said, no one was harmed by the switch. I-I don’t wish to leave Earth. My family—myrealfamily, that is—lives a few streets over. That’s why I was out past curfew tonight. I-I was visiting them, something I can only do in secret, as you might imagine. I-I can’t leave. They need me.” She held her breath, praying he decided to depart this house and forget all about her.
But his next words made her blood run cold.
“I cannot allow you to remain on your planet. You’re one of the rare human females capable of reproducing with my kind, and we need every last human female we can get.”
“Please, I—”
“Your name,” he said. “You still haven’t revealed your name.” He moved closer and cupped the side of her face in one large warm hand.
A shudder ran through her and the heat pulsing between her thighs intensified.
“Caylee,” she whispered, peering up at him. “My name is Caylee.”
“You violated the Earth-Tarrkua trade agreement, Caylee, and on behalf of my people, I am taking you into custody. Your place is on Tarrkua and that is where I shall take you.”
Chapter 5
The streets remainedquiet and dark as Kazzon escorted Caylee toward theCorrannelia. For a brief moment, he considered stopping at the New Leesburg Enforcer Headquarters to inform the humans of Caylee’s crime, but he quickly decided it best to simply detain her on his ship.
If knowledge of Caylee’s misconduct became public, it might cause discord among the humans and threaten the success of the renegotiated trade agreement. Tensions were already running high between human and Tarrkuan officials. Kazzon didn’t want any further complications.
Caylee tugged against his hold, but he tightened his grip on her upper arm and guided her past the alley where he’d first found her hiding in the shadows.
“Cease your struggling, little human,” he said in a stern tone.
She cast him a fierce glance. “I told you no one was harmed by the switch. You can’t do this. You can’t just take me!”
“As I said before, you have violated the trade agreement between our worlds. You’ve committed a crime, Caylee.” Yes, she’d committed a crime—but as far as he knew, no other chosen Tarrkuan bride had ever once traded places with a regular human female. According to the trade agreement, any dome-cities who were unable to provide the required Tarrkuan bride each year would not be given a supply of TEC600 reactor material. In the fifty years since the creation of the trade agreement, not a single dome-city had failed to provide the required bride.
Technically, given the seriousness of Caylee’s violation, his people were within their rights to halt the regular shipments of reactor material to the dome-city of New Leesburg, however, he thought condemning an entire human settlement to death was more than a bit harsh. Better to keep her crimes relatively secret while only informing a few select Tarrkuan officials. Then the Allocators could quietly assign a Tarrkuan husband to Caylee.
Kazzon could escort the naughty human to his planet after completing the renegotiation of the trade agreement, rather than making her wait six months to join the next shipment of Tarrkuan brides leaving Earth on theZenallia.
“Please, could I at least say goodbye to my family?” She stared up at him pleadingly, her wide blue eyes now gleaming with tears.
Kazzon paused in the street, considering her request. Her heartbroken expression caused an unexpected pang of sympathy to resound through his chest. He’d been so focused on her crime and the seriousness of it that he hadn’t fully considered her motivations for committing the violation. While he wasn’t close to his parents or siblings, it appeared this human was quite fond of hers.
“I will allow you to bid farewell to your family before my ship departs New Leesburg. I give you my word. Now come with me and keep quiet, little human. If you scream or attempt to escape one more time, I will simply toss you over my shoulder and carry you onto my ship.”
Her eyes widened and she inhaled a quick breath, but she soon nodded her understanding.
