DangerouslyForever (12 page)

They stopped at the front door and he opened it for her. She
made no move to enter.

“Are you going to stand out here or do you want to see
inside?”

Silence.

She folded her arms and thrummed her fingers against her
skin, deep in thought.

He leaned against the doorframe, waiting for her to make a
decision on whatever preoccupied her mind. He understood that she was at odds
about whether she should enter. But he knew very well that they couldn’t spend
the night on his doorstep.

He pushed off the door. “I have something important to tell
you, but I’m not doing it in the doorway.”

As he turned to enter his house, she placed a hand on his
arm. “Wait.”

Her touch was electrifying. Skin on skin.

Her fingers awakened the nerve endings where they rested.
The hair on his arm stood on end. A fire spread up his arm to his neck and
traveled down his spine. He could take her right here. Press her back against
the wall and wrap her legs around him.

He shuddered.

She looked down at his cock, knowing full well the effect
she had on him. Her eyes were filled with lust. She wanted him just as much as
he wanted her. Then she looked up at him. “I assume there’s a bed somewhere
close by?”

He held her gaze. His cock throbbed, slowly coming to life.
“Down the hall,” was all that came out.

She tugged on his shirt, pulling him to her. He went with
ease. She moved her hand to caress the back of his neck then his head, lacing
her fingers in his hair. She parted her lips as she brought his face down to
hers.

Lips on lips, he tasted her. Their tongues thrashed, hot and
needy.

She wrapped her other hand around his waist, bringing their
hips together. He thrust and rubbed his cock against her, letting her feel just
how hard he was.

He needed to be deep inside her walls, pumping.

Without warning, she broke off contact, pushing him back.

He stared at her in bewilderment as she aimed his blaster at
his head. Recognition dawned on him.
Great Ancients! Tricked.
He’d
secured all the weapons inside but had forgotten about the one on his hip
.
“If you kept kissing me like that I would’ve given you my other weapons as
well.”

She squinted. “I do what I have to do to get what I need.”

He rubbed his hand across his cock. “If that’s the way you
think, then I suppose our time together will be most enjoyable.”

“Don’t test me.”

He shrugged. “You’re the one who suggested you wouldn’t stop
at anything to get what you want. I’m letting you know that I’m open for
negotiations.”

“I don’t negotiate with
that
—not anymore.”

“So are you saying you had the overwhelming urge to kiss me
then? All you had to do was ask.”

“Jesus,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re like a teenage
boy with raging hormones. Just in case this is a trap, I need for you to go in
first.”

“I don’t have a problem with going in first. I
do
have a problem with you aiming a weapon at me for the fourth time today.”

“Don’t worry. You won’t die unless you try to sell me to
another brothel or harm my children.”

Great Ancients, a female after his own heart.

“Go, get moving,” she said impatiently.

He turned on his heels and sauntered inside. She hadn’t made
a move to follow him, just watched.

“There you go again, undressing me with your eyes.”

A shot hit the ground beside his foot.

He jumped out of the way. “Did you just try to
shoot
me?”

“I’m not in the mood for your games!” she yelled.

“I should give
you
lessons on how to shoot a blaster
while I’m teaching Max.”

“I wasn’t trying to hit you, asshole.”

Turning in a full circle, he held his arms out. “No one is
here. I already told you.”

She mumbled something under her breath that he couldn’t
understand. “Come out.”

He shrugged and walked back through the doorway.

“Turn around,” she commanded once he stood in front of her.
After he did as instructed, she pressed the blaster against his back. “Walk.”

“Smart female. But you’ll want to walk me through every room
to make sure it’s safe.”

“Don’t you
ever
stop talking?”

“I find it calms my nerves, especially since I have a
trigger-happy human at my back.”

As they passed the security panel, he stopped. “And this is
where you’ll want to check my dwelling for other heat signatures.”

“Do it,” she said.

He activated the security and stood to the side to allow her
to peer around him at the screen.

There were two red figures shown in the structure and two
smaller figures in the perimeter.

“See? Just us.”

She stepped back and put the blaster in her waistband. “Now
what do you have to discuss with me?”

She chewed her food slowly, listening to him lie between his
teeth. He rattled on about Eva being a queen on some distant planet and how
Eva’d had an alien entity searching for Ally for the past three years. As she
ate, she nodded in all the right places and said “really?” or “how wonderful”
appropriately.

But for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what kind of
technology he’d used to delve into the memories in her head, or when he’d
gotten the time to do it without her knowledge.

When I was asleep?

Of course.

After they landed, he’d probably used some kind of alien
technology and stole all her memories, and when he was done, he woke up the
kids and took them outside to set up his tricky plot. Then he sent Max to wake
her so she could find him playing innocently with Yoshi.

She stopped herself from laughing out loud.

She’d never bought his big-guy-being-cute-with-little-girl
act anyway. She was way smarter than him or any other alien. These bastards
would never learn that she was always one step ahead—no,
three
steps
ahead of anything they had planned.

Yoshi and Max had come in the house once while Kiehle was
explaining everything. Yoshi had rows and rows of flower necklaces draped
around her neck. Max had a row of flowers wrapped around one of his skinny
little legs. It wasn’t a necklace, he was quick to point out to Kiehle; it was
a blaster holder. Just like the empty one that Kiehle wore around his thigh.

Ally had shooed them back outside. She didn’t need them to
hear anything Kiehle was talking about. She didn’t want to have to correct any
of the lies they overheard.

When she did that, he
really
opened up, clearly
believing she was enthralled with everything that came out of his mouth. The
reason Eva hadn’t come to the brothel herself to rescue Ally? She was due to
have another alien baby any day now.

Right.
Another alien baby, meaning she already had
one. His memory device wasn’t perfect. Eva would never bring a baby into this
mess that they called life, let alone a half-alien one. She’d never encountered
a woman who willingly did. Pregnancies happened of course, but
never
willingly. Ally had seen her share of deformed human-alien hybrids to know that
no woman
chose
that.

“My vessel will be here in three rotations. We’ll load up
and be on our way to Drazlan.”

She raised a brow.
This fool actually thinks I’m getting
on a ship with him.

“I have an all-male crew, but they’ll be respectful of your
space and won’t do anything to harm you or the children.”

“Sure.”

He leaned his chair back, balancing it on two legs. He
watched her so…so
triumphantly
. “That was a lot easier than I thought. I
wanted to tell you at the brothel but Alharad might’ve been listening in.”

“No, you were right not to tell me.”
I would’ve probably
killed you on the spot.

He had such a smug look on his face. She bit down on the
urge to shoot him between the eyes. She clasped her hands tighter around the
mug she held just to keep them from reaching into her waistband.

“Can I speak with her or do you think she’s too busy doing
queen things?” she asked as sweetly as possible. She had a tickle in the back
of her throat as she said “queen things”.

He lowered his chair and snapped his fingers. “I’d forgotten
all about that! I promised Taio I would have you call as soon as we reached the
planet. I’m sure Eva would’ve liked to tell you all of this herself. How could
I forget?”

She shrugged.
Maybe because this is all a lie?

He pushed his chair back and stood. “We can use the
communicator in the common room. It has a video console.”

“Video. Lovely.”

She got up and followed him, all the while wanting to kick
him in his ass.

At the communicator, he punched some buttons and they waited
for a connection. It wasn’t long before the monitor came on and a male’s image
came into view. He looked just like Kiehle except a bit older and possibly a
little larger. They shared the same sharp features and same good looks. They
even had the same mesmerizing lavender eyes.

“Brosir,” he said. “I was not expecting to hear from you so
soon. Is there anything additional that you needed to tell me?”

“Additional?” Ally asked Kiehle. “You talked with him
recently?”

Kiehle looked sheepishly from the other alien to her. “This
is my brother Taio, Eva’s mate. I talked with him while you were sleeping.”

Of course you did. You needed to get your stories
straight.
“Right.”

Kiehle looked back at the monitor. “I explained everything
to Ally. I thought Eva would like to speak with her.”

Taio’s eyes shifted off camera then back. “That will have to
wait. She is in labor.”

“Really? Why aren’t you with her?”

“She kicked me out of the room. She said I was ‘working her
nerves’.”

“How much longer does she have?” Kiehle asked.

“She has not been in labor long. I suspect I will have a
daughter before the new suns rise.”

“I will pray to the Ancients for a safe delivery for both
mother and child.”

Taio nodded once. “Thank you, I would appreciate that.” Then
he looked at Ally, acknowledging her for the first time. “My mate will be
overwhelmed with joy to learn that you are alive and safe. Please, whatever you
need, don’t hesitate to ask. Kiehle will provide everything you wish.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

“After the birth of our child and an adequate rest period, I
will have her contact you. I am sure you both have much to talk about.”

“I would like that,” she said.
How far are these bastards
willing to take this?

“Will you assure Eva that Ally is alive and well?” Kiehle
motioned for her to come closer.

Taio eyed her up and down and nodded once.

Hmm, he’s sizing me up.

Kiehle and Taio talked a little more as she watched on.

“How is Eva adjusting to Drazlan?” Kiehle asked.

“She enjoys Sonis more, but in time I am certain she will
come to love and appreciate our planet.”

“And you?” he asked. “How are you adjusting to being back on
home soil?”

Taio ran a hand across his head. “King Xochis told everyone
that I had abandoned them for Sonis.”

“Why would he do something like that? You are his heir. You
would be expected to lead Drazlan after his death.”

“He was bitter and cruel. My only guess is that he didn’t
want it to be easy for me when I took over. But I believe once our people see
my devotion to them, they will come around. Sonis and Drazlan have been
separated for too long. It is time for us to become one again.”

“I agree, brosir.”

She didn’t listen to any more, realizing they wouldn’t dare
talk about anything important around her. Instead her mind wandered.

What purpose did it serve to lie to her?

To build up this elaborate story of a human queen and alien
babies?

Unless… Kiehle was planning to sell her and the kids on the
open slave market…or to his brother.

The only way to keep her put for now would be to make her
believe she had some hope of being reunited with her long-lost friend. While
they kept her occupied with lies and promises, there was probably a plot going
on where credits were exchanged and contracts signed.

She took a deep breath. Her heart dropped and her body
shook. What had she gotten them into? How would she get them to safety?

As he said, the next house was two days away. And adding
children to the journey would probably take more like three to four days. They
wouldn’t stand a chance outrunning Kiehle while they were on foot and he had a
transporter.

But…

She chewed on her lip and moved away from him. He didn’t
seem to notice as he continued his conversation with his brother. That was
probably the only thing he hadn’t lied about—the other giant looked just like
him. The conversation moved from Eva and her labor to the labor of someone
named Jess and her baby.

She felt for the vial in her pocket and breathed a sigh of
relief. He didn’t know she still had the synthine. She had enough to knock him
out for a week. She could drug him again, giving her and the kids enough time
to escape. She didn’t know in which direction the next house was or even who or
what they would find when they got there, but right now it was her only choice.

Flying out in his transporter wasn’t an option. She didn’t
know the launch codes. They’d have to leave on foot. They could pack bags with
food and water, maybe a blanket or two that could be used for shelter and heat.

“Ally?” he asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

She turned to him. The monitor was dark, indicating his conversation
with Taio was over.

“Yes?”

“Are you all right? Your color is off.”

She put a hand to her forehead. It felt clammy and damp. “I
got a little lightheaded. I should probably get something to drink.”

“Take a seat. I’ll get it for you.”

Max burst through the door with Yoshi following close
behind. “Kiehle! There’s a huge hole in the ground filled with water! It’s in
the back.”

Yoshi outstretched her hands. “It’s this big!”

“Do you drink all that water? Can we have some?”

“We need cups,” Yoshi yelled.

Max held his fingers up and wiggled them. “I’m going to use
my hands. I’ve never seen that much water in my life!”

Kiehle laughed and ran his hand over Max’s head. “It’s not
drinking water. You do something else with it.”

Both kids looked up at him, wide-eyed.

“You get in it and play.”

“A lake,” Ally said softly. “The kids found a lake?”

“No. Way,” Max said. “We put our
bodies
in it?”

“Max was two years old when the Loconuist invaded Earth. The
rest of his life was spent on one of their ships and then with Alharad. He
doesn’t remember taking showers or baths.”

“I remember baths,” Yoshi said. “I want to get in the water
but I don’t want to take my clothes off.”

“Who said anything about taking off clothes? We can go in
just like this,” Kiehle replied.

Yoshi and Max jumped up and down, screaming.

“You can’t really mean to swim with our clothes on?” Ally
asked.

“You heard Yoshi. She’s not taking off her clothes.”

“Yeah, but—”

Kiehle headed for the door with Yoshi and Max skipping
around his legs. “You coming?”

She touched the vial in her pocket.

He stepped out the door, leaving her behind. “We’ll be
outside when you finally make up your mind,” he yelled.

She hadn’t submersed her body in water in over six long
years. Poisoning him could wait just a little while longer.