Alien-Under-Cover (12 page)

“How did you manage to build a bathroom all the way up here?” She gestured to the silver modern-looking room around them.

“Superior Zyrgin technology and skills.”

Wow, no image problems there.

He took a step away from her and planted his feet wide. Crossing his arms over his massive chest, he stared at her with unblinking demon eyes.

“Proceed.”

She held onto the sink. “No way. Nuh uh. I need privacy.”

“I catch you if you fall.”

“I need to use the
facilities
. In
private
.” Obviously aliens weren’t too quick on the uptake.

“I stay while you use it.”

“I need to pee, you moron.” She tried to shout it at him but she was too weak.

He uncrossed his arms and started to take a step towards her. “I helped you when you were sick. Do you require assistance?”

She clutched hard at the sink and closed her eyes at his mortifying words. “Get out of here, get out,
get
out
!” What she lacked in volume she made up for with emotion.

She had to say she’d never seen anyone leave a room that fast.

The facilities were remarkably similar to Earth design, surprisingly modern looking rather than alien. She stared at her hair that desperately needed shampoo and a brush. Did she appear as alien to him as he did to her? He could pass for human if he did not have green and copper skin and the ridge on his head. Were all aliens--no Zyrgins she corrected herself, remembering the way he corrected her every time she called him alien.

Were all of them bald?

Everything in the bathroom was made from the silver material the dome was made of. She would love to know how the stuff worked. How did they make it hard enough to be a roof? And see through, at that? She fingered the blanket around her. And then to get it this thin and pliant. She would definitely be taking a sample with her. If she could find someone who could analyze it, the possibilities would be endless.

She stopped in front of the built-in vanity and stared at the comb and hair accessories.
Her
comb and hair products were arranged on the left side and, on the right, her own toothbrush and toothpaste. A funny sensation settled in her stomach when she saw the alien objects arranged beside hers with military precision.

Her hair was all over the place and she combed it until it at least didn’t look like each hair wanted to go in a different direction. Still, she’d been out of it for a weak. She vaguely remembered Zurian brushing her hair while she recovered from the bullet wound.

A large silver plaster still covered her wound and she had no wish to lift the large bandage to look at it. Something on her neck caught the light and she leaned in closer to the mirror. She frowned when she saw two faint marks on her neck. “What the hell?” Almost like two puncture marks. She must have been scratched during their escape. Or maybe the fever dreams were not dreams at all. What if those were bite marks?

“Alien.”

She spoke barely above a whisper, suddenly so tired. Immediately, the door slid open without a sound. Zurian picked her up, carried her back to the bed, laid her down, and covered her with more silver blankets.

“I can’t believe I’m this weak from a flesh wound.”

“The poison they used on the bullet was made from a compound the doctor could not identify.”

“I have never heard of anyone putting poison on a bullet before.”

He helped her settle against the cushions. “Viglar is analyzing the compound. You will eat now.” Lifting a bowl with what looked like soup he fed her. It tasted like vegetable soup and Julia prayed she wasn’t eating some strange alien animal.

“How can I be this weak from only going to the bathroom?” She had to be strong. If she couldn’t run and keep going, she would die if they found her. “I saw my stuff in the bathroom. If my clothes are here, I would like to put on some.”

He stared at her for such a long time she had to fight the urge to fidget. Abruptly, he walked to the closet and returned with a silver garment that vaguely looked like a T-Shirt. “You will wear this.”

“When did you collect my things? How?” she asked once she was settled against the soft pillows he’d stacked against the wall while she was in the bathroom.

“The warrior who watched your house packed everything while the reverend chased us.”

She could just imagine another huge alien throwing her stuff into a suitcase.

Zurian picked up the bowl again and, dipping the spoon into the soup, held it against her lips. She automatically opened her mouth. Something flashed in his eyes. Something hot.

He fed her another spoonful of soup. The way he slid the spoon against her bottom lip was like a caress.

“I’m right handed you know.”

“That is a very interesting fact, my breeder, and I thank you for telling me this.”

She narrowed her eyes at him but couldn’t figure out if he’d been merely polite or sarcastic. He fed her three swallows of soup before she could manage to answer him.

“I meant that, since I use my right hand and it’s my left shoulder that’s wounded, I can eat by myself.”

He set down the bowl and then leaned over her with his hands braced on either side of her hips. He loomed even closer and she saw the raised vein in his jaw pulse. She had the craziest impulse to trace it with her finger.

“I am a warrior with honor.”

“What does that mean?” She wanted to cower back but she was a Benzoni. They might be known for many terrible things but not for cowering.

“I will feed you. I will keep you round and I will prove my worth.”

His eyes had been inky black, now they blazed red sparks at her. On the other hand, Benzonis weren’t stupid either. Julia pressed back against the cushions. He cupped her face, his thumb rubbed over her lips, and he leaned forward.

“Do not be afraid of me.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

He looked pointedly at the way she pressed back into the cushions.

“Why wouldn’t I be afraid? I’m held here against my will by an alien that haunted me for months.”

“You are my breeder. I would protect, never harm you.” She should be hysterical, screaming in fear. Instead, she was intensely aware of him. Of his masculine smell, his warrior’s body so close to her, his voice that seemed to ruffle all the pleasure points in her body. He moved back and picked up the bowl again. “You will eat.”

It was like seeing a very dangerous predator leash its own power. If he was trying to appear unthreatening, he’d failed.

She allowed him to feed her. “So are you from a different galaxy?”

“Yes.”

“Are there many different planets that can sustain life there?”

“Yes.”

She waited for him to expand on that and when he didn’t and continued to feed her she searched for another topic.

“Why have you come to Earth?”

“All you have to know is that Earth is now a colony of Zyrgin.”

“Oh really? I think the governments of quite a few countries might disagree with you.”

“We will inform them of their new status in time.”

She shook her head when he wanted to feed her more. “I can’t, my stomach seems to have shrunk to the size of a microchip.”

He left with the empty bowl and she fell asleep wondering where he kept her TC and her stuff. If she would ever get away from him...

Did she want to get away from him?

She woke again and didn’t know if it was day or night. How long had it been since they escaped the reverend? She had to get away before the family visited the wrath of Benzoni on her and the alien. He had protected her and looked after her, and he didn’t deserve that.

“Do you feel stronger?” he asked and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Make some noise before you approach a body, won’t you?” He stood with his feet planted wide apart and his muscled arms crossed over that wide masculine chest that she did
not
admire. At all. She narrowed her eyes at him. “How long have you been standing there, watching me?”

“A few hours.”

She didn’t have a response to that. “I’m hungry again.” Maybe that meant she was getting stronger.

He brought another bowl of soup and fed her but she couldn’t manage more than a few spoonfuls.

“I need to freshen up. It’s weird, I’ve slept the whole day but I’m still tired.”

“The doctor said you will feel like this for another three days.”

She washed, used the facilities, and brushed her teeth. Another silver T-shirt-type garment was neatly folded on the vanity and she put that on. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her legs. This shirt was much shorter than the other one.

“Men,” she muttered and left the bathroom. She came to a dead stop. Clad in loose fitting pants and peasant style shirt he lounged on the bed. And she did not have a good feeling about that at all. “What are you doing?”

“Lying in my bed.”

Chapter 10

The air in the bedroom changed, turned sultry. Her heart hammered, her breath changed, became too thick for her throat.

He sat on top of the blankets, his back against the cream wall. Unlike her, his feet reached the bearskin at the foot of the bed. His pants reached mid-calf and she could see five toes like hers, but his feet looked like dangerous weapons. The nails were vicious claws. His clothes were so thin she could almost see through them. His muscled calves flowed into tough-looking knees. She didn’t know knees could look tough, but his did. Powerful thighs and--and she shouldn’t be looking at him. She should be running. Julia quickly glanced down at her bare feet.

“I am a strong warrior.”

She wanted to look at his beautiful body. She was curious but afraid to let him think she was interested. Something about the way he said it tugged at her.

“I am scarred but a strong warrior,” he said, stressing the word warrior.

Julia lifted her head and looked at him. Really looked at him. Beyond the alienness, at the almost overpowering, well-built body to the scars covering almost every inch of him not covered by clothes.

The scar on his cheek could have been from the slash of a sword. The scars on his arms and calves told a different story. A terrifying story.

“You think my body ugly.”

“No. You must know you are very well built compared to most human men.”

The scars crossing his body only made him seem more dangerous, the ultimate warrior male.

“You prefer human men.” It was a statement, almost an accusation.

“I don’t--” She threw her hands up in the air. “I do not have to defend or explain myself. We are not in a relationship. You’ve been terrorizing me in my own home for more than a year now. In spite of that, I’m grateful that you looked out for me when the reverend captured us. That you saved me from the reverend, but that does not make us a couple.” She put her hands on her hips and glared at his erection straining the thin material of his pants She had to admit, privately, that she was impressed. “And cover that thing, for heaven’s sake. Get under the blankets or something.”

He drew up one leg, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared at her. In spite of his brazen pose, she had the strangest feeling that he was not comfortable having her see him without his uniform. The scars seemed to be a big deal for him.

“You are my breeder.”

“I know I told you I wanted children while we were captured but I will not be bred like an animal.”

He got up. Muscles rippling, he stalked over to her in that predatory way that she would, never in a million years, admit she found extremely sexy.

He looked at her as if he saw the ultimate prey. “I have earned the right to take you as my breeder.”

“Please, I just want to go home.”

Except she didn’t have a home anymore. She hadn’t had a home since the day she turned twenty. A part of her had hoped that she’d be able to stay in No Name Town and raise a family. Live a normal life. Now she’d have to settle somewhere else and start all over.

“This is your home. You will be honored to be my breeder.”

“No I won’t and I want to know exactly what that means. And don’t try to put me off again.”

He was an alien so, for all she knew, it simply meant woman.

“It means that you belong to me.”

“No, I don’t and, please, just answer me. What does being a breeder mean?”

She’d spent so many years running from her family, determined to live her life according to her own rules and not some psychopath’s vision of the future. After dodging marriage to John, she certainly wouldn’t be claimed by this alien as if she was some kind of commodity.

“You will please me in all things, never try to escape, and maintain your roundness.”

“Maintain my
roundness
?” she gritted through her teeth. “I’m getting real tired of your obsession with my weight.”

He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I will be a good fucker.”

“
Excuse
me?” She couldn’t have heard him right. If he was trying to use English slang, he certainly didn’t get it right. Please let him be trying to use slang.

“Some of your primitive databases are still functional and I have studied the sex manuals. I can assure you I will be a good fucker.”

Julia bit the inside of her cheek but even that pain didn’t kill the need to burst out laughing. This could not be happening--enforcers coming for her, the reverend capturing her, yes, but not standing here talking to an alien telling her he studied sex manuals. “Uh...that is very...uh, industrious of you.”

“I will not bargain about hours.”

“Yeah, whatever. You still haven’t told me what breeder means and why me?”

“I saw you and decided you will be mine.” He reached out and stroked her hair. It was so much like a patronizing pat that she had to resist the urge to break his fingers. “Your bravery impressed me,” he continued.

“And what about what I want?”

He cocked his head. “What about it?”

“Don’t you think I should have a choice who I shack up with?” She glared at his erection poking her in the stomach. “And please put that thing away.” She could see the head of his penis over the waistband of his loose trousers.