Alien Protector: Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Paranormal Romance (7 page)

Draco shrugged at that. “You have to give them the benefit of the doubt. They are much further behind when it comes to knowing that there are other things out there besides them.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Plintos sighed. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, face screwing up in an expression of confusion. “Did you just say you think you have a date?” he asked.

“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to pick up on that. Yeah, that’s what I said.”

“Is it with this Stephanie person?”

“How did you know?”

“Because you’ve mentioned her by name every time we’ve talked, and your face does that smile thing when you do.”

He made a face. “I don’t know what you mean. Anyway, it’s not important, really. She’s probably going to be my best bet for getting the blade, so it makes sense to keep her close, doesn’t it? If I can get her to trust me, then she might let me see it, and then I can grab it and go.”

Plintos looked skeptical, but as the plan was going to get him closer to what he wanted, there wasn’t much he could say in argument. “Just be careful,” was all he said, which Draco took offense to because he was always careful.

When he ended the call, it was with the distinct feeling that there was something Plintos wasn’t telling him, but he had that feeling a lot and figured it was mostly because one of them was a king and one wasn’t. It was impossible for them to be as close as they had been and share everything, and he was just going to have to make his peace with that.

In the mean time, he needed to see if Presea had anything he could wear for this date.

When Friday rolled around, Draco found himself nervous. It was ridiculous since going out to dinner with one human woman shouldn’t have been such a big thing, but he didn’t have much experience in this matter.

He’d kissed females before and done many other things with them as well, but the way humans did dates was different from what he was used to, and it was imperative that he didn’t seem too...well,
alien.

They were meeting at the museum, which was a neutral place, and Stephanie had offered to drive when he’d told her that he didn’t have a car, neatly avoiding the whole thing about not knowing how to drive, and he got the distinct impression that she found his strangeness charming. That boded well.

For...being able to get close to her to get what he wanted and not for any other reason. Of course. Because it wasn’t like he
wanted
her to like him, and it wasn’t like he was considering this a real date.

That
would just be silly.

He walked to the museum that evening, grateful that some of the heat had broken with a late afternoon thunderstorm that had rolled away into nothing almost as soon as it came. The pavement was still wet from it since the sun was setting, and he sidestepped puddles neatly until he reached the front of the museum.

And there she was. She was standing in front of her car, hands twisting somewhat nervously in front of her while she stood there, glancing nervously up and down the street every few seconds.

Draco knew he wasn’t late, so it was probably just anticipation, which he found sort of cute. When she spotted him, her face broke out into that bright smile, and Draco sighed, admitting to himself just this once that it was going to be hard to keep his mind on the mission when she was so appealing.

“Hello,” he said when he drew level with her, smiling and letting his eyes rake over her. She was wearing a lovely blue dress that flattered her figure and drew attention to the bit of cleavage he could see peeking out above her neckline. Her hair was loose, falling to her shoulders in slight waves, and she blushed lightly under his gaze, pushing her glasses up and grinning at him.

“You look great,” she said.

“As do you. Really quite lovely.”

She blushed darker and then motioned him towards the car.

His first car ride wasn’t anything to brag about. Stephanie was a cautious driver, and for someone who was used to hurtling through space, the speed limit was slow at best. He kept his eyes focused on the road, though, asking Stephanie questions about the blade and what she thought the time line for it being put out would be, just so he could say that he was keeping his mind on the important stuff.

That quickly faded, though, as he listened to her talk and they moved from topic to topic. She asked often about him and the places he’d been, and he did he best to answer her without giving too much away, describing the places and letting her fill in the blanks he left with whatever she wanted. There were probably places on Earth that she was picturing as he described wet places and arid places and places older than anything else he’d seen.

The wonder in her voice as she asked him to elaborate on some point or another was nice, though. Plintos liked to hear about his travels, but for the king the important bits were what he brought back. It was nice to meet someone who cared about the journeys themselves.

Before he knew it they were seated in a nice restaurant and a man was placing menus in front of them.

“What’s good here?” Draco asked, looking down at his and trying not to let his confusion show. He glanced around them, taking in the other diners and the light fixtures that gave the place its soft glow.

“Everything,” Steph replied. “It’s Mediterranean and as far as I’m concerned, they can do no wrong.” She smiled at him. “But the lamb is my favorite.”

He nodded and decided to take her word for it. “Why don’t you order for both of us,” Draco said in what he hoped was a neutral tone. “Since you know what’s good.”

She beamed at him and proceeded to have a lively discussion with the waiter about what the specials were that night, which culminated in her ordering what sounded like enough food to feed a small family.

Draco was glad that Presea had given him money for this and informed him that it was the polite thing for the man to offer to pay for the meal. That, at least, wasn’t different from home, though many of the females of any clan would take offense if you refused to pay for their half.

“So,” Stephanie said once the waiter had gone, taking a sip of her water. “I’ve got to ask. Why are you so interested in the blade?”

If he were going to tell her the truth, this would be a good time to do it, he knew. To explain about Plintos and how much his best friend wanted to have all of the Cillidan Artifacts. That could lead to a conversation about what the Artifacts were, which he knew that she would be interested in. But this seemed like neither the time nor the place to drop that particular bomb on her, and since he didn’t plan to see her again once he got what he came here for in the first place, it was irrelevant.

But she was sitting opposite him with her big, earnest eyes, and Draco found that he had to say
something.

“My friend,” he blurted. “The one I told you about? He’s really interested in it. He loves all these old things like this, and when he saw the blade on the television, he wanted to get a good look at it. But, of course, he doesn’t have the time to come and look for himself, so he sent me. I was hoping to get pictures for him. And I was interested to see it for myself.”

A lie, of course, but fundamentally close enough to the truth.

“Oh,” Stephanie said. “That’s really nice of you. You know...if it’s not on display by the time you have to leave, I can probably get pictures for you. I know it’s not the same as you being able to see it yourself, but. It’s something, right?”

It was something, and Draco was touched. He smiled at her and couldn’t resist grabbing her hand where it rested on the tablecloth and raising it to his lips to kiss the back of it. “You’re a very kind person,” he said.

She blushed darkly. “Oh, I...I mean, no. I’m not really, I just. I want you to have something to take back, I guess. And then you’ll remember me.”

Draco didn’t tell her that there was no way he’d be able to forget her at this point, but it was true all the same.

The food was delicious, and Draco had second helpings of everything he tried, eating spiced meat on skewers and things wrapped in pita as well as sweet, sticky honey cake at the end. He was full to bursting when the check came, and he made Stephanie blush again by insisting that he would take care of it.

They walked back to the car together in silence, but it was comfortable, and Draco noted how relaxed he was.

He also noted that he didn’t want the evening to end. It wasn’t just that it had been a long time and he was wanting for company. No, it was
her.
She was just so warm and welcoming that even though he was a long,
long
way from home, he felt at peace and wanted to spend more time in her company.

He was trying to think of some way to phrase that so he wouldn’t sound like a creep, when she looked up at him. “I could take you back to your friend’s place,” she said softly. “Or...we could go to mine.”

The invitation was clear, and Draco found the way she was twisting her hands nervously and chewing on her lip endearing. Quite without thinking about it, he leaned down, cupping her face in one hand before brushing his lips over hers. He could feel her soft gasp against his mouth, and then her arms were going around him and she was pressing up to kiss him back.

This was different from kissing others back at home. For one thing, he was sure that she didn’t have any sharp teeth or a forked tongue. For another, she didn’t try to turn the kiss into a battle for dominance (not that Draco had a problem with that), and it was sort of...very nice to have an armful of a soft, pretty girl, who seemed to be surrendering to his touch.

When they broke apart to breathe, Steph looked slightly dazed, and she gave him a crooked smile. “So. My place?”

“Yes,” Draco replied, pulling back reluctantly so they could get in the car.

It wasn’t a long drive to her apartment, and Draco took in her space as she let him in, smiling because it definitely seemed like the sort of place she would live. For one thing, there were books everywhere. Shelves were stuffed to bursting with thick books and the tops of them were lined with sparkly stones and other trinkets. It looked like the home of a collector and a lover of knowledge, and Draco wished he had time to explore more and see what else he might learn about her from her home.

At the moment, though, he had other plans. Namely pushing her up against the closed front door and kissing her until she couldn’t breathe.

Stephanie seemed more than alright with that plan if the way she had her arms wrapped around his neck was anything to go by. She kissed him back with just as much want and passion as she seemed to do everything else, moaning softly when he bit at her lower lip and then returning the favor, which got a smile out of him.

“I want you,” he breathed against her mouth, gratified to see her eyes flare with heat and then darken. Draco had to wonder how many other men had said that to her and if her reaction to them was the same as this.

“Are you sure?” she replied, dragging her tongue along her bottom lip and making Draco practically ache to chase it back into her mouth with his own.

He laughed, and it was a deep throaty sound. “I’m very sure.”

She grinned at that and leaned in to kiss him hard. “Good. Because I want you, too.”

Draco didn’t ask her if she did this a lot. He didn’t ask her if the first date was an appropriate time for humans to have sex. He didn’t ask her anything at all, instead dropping his lips to the corner of her mouth to kiss down her jaw to her neck, nosing along her pulse point and inhaling her warm scent. He dragged his tongue where he’d just been kissing and then bit down lightly, experimentally, testing to see if she’d like it.

“
Oh,
” she moaned, arching against him, and there was that question answered.

“You taste good,” he murmured against the skin of her neck. “I bet you taste good everywhere.”

Stephanie shivered hard against him, and he smiled when her legs widened, seemingly of their own volition. He trailed one hand down her front before slipping it under the hem of her dress to cup between her legs, feeling the heat and growing dampness there through her underwear. When she whimpered encouragingly, Draco began to stroke her, first through the soft fabric, then under it as he slipped his fingers into her underwear, exploring her.

All females were built differently, he’d discovered. On Aldara, a place that more than eight different clans called home, it was impossible to know what you were going to get once you got a woman naked. But there were a few things that they all seemed to like, and Draco sought to find what Stephanie enjoyed, listening to her moans and whines as he stroked and touched her, feeling her get wetter around his fingers.

“
God,
” she groaned, hips rolling as he touched her. “That feels good.”

Draco smiled and continued to kiss and bite at her neck. “Good,” he replied, voice low with his own desire. “I want you to feel good.”

He thanked his lucky stars that he was made much like humans, and made a mental note to keep his shirt on for the time being. The last thing he needed was for her to find the only thing that marked him as something
other
and start screaming or kick him out.