“Besides, you said ogle. We’re not going down there to have sex with any of them,” I countered. “And I’m appalled you think I’m so high maintenance that I wouldn’t like a wild romp.”
“You are high maintenance, but you’re no virgin,” Susan said, eyeing me up and down.
I wondered if all their primping made me look more like a man-eater than a meteorologist just doing her job on local TV.
I huffed. It didn’t matter. I was off the market. No men. No lovers. No. Sex. I did not need that kind of trouble in my life. My vibrator didn’t try to control me. I controlled it.
They were both still watching me, so I rolled my eyes. “No virgin here. I like sex as much as any other woman.”
“You are so going with me, Quinn. This is happening.” Ellen clapped with remarkable glee considering the topic was my sex life. My nonexistent sex life. There had been one in the past, but it hadn’t been worthy of any kind of news report, that was for sure. I could see now that when Don and I had been dating, I’d needed to stand in front of a green screen and give him a map to my clit. The only guy I’d dated since hadn’t been much better. So much worse, actually. He’d been obsessed. Crazy. Take-him-to-court-and-get-a-restraining-order dangerous. Jeff Randall was a legit stalker. I sure knew how to pick them, I mentally grumbled. No thanks.
“Like the weather, I’m in a little bit of a dry spell,” I admitted.
“Honey, you’re the Sahara Desert.” Susan’s quiet murmur had me biting my lip.
“Well, a stalker can certainly put a woman off dating.”
Both women didn’t have a response to that because they knew I was right. Guys were either insecure assholes who hadn’t been able to handle the meteoric rise of my career, or a stalker. The latter had been too much, and I’d chosen to quit my job and move halfway across the country to get the hell away from him.
“Well, we aren’t talking about Earth men. We’re talking about Bahre. I mean, he’s in a league of his own,” Ellen said, redirecting the talk back to the hot alien.
“He’s out of this world!” Susan added, and I couldn’t help but laugh with them at her stupid pun.
“If that guy wants in my pants, I’ll take them off for him,” Ellen admitted.
Yeah, I probably would, too. The Atlans who’d been sent for the show were admittedly handsome. Rugged. Huge. Strong. Serious. Intense.
“If I wasn’t married…” Susan said, shaking her head as if it was a shame she was in love with her high school sweetheart.
A set intern stuck his head in the room. “Ten minutes!”
His prompt had me glancing at the clock on the wall. The evening news had already started, but my weather segment was halfway through the program.
Ellen spritzed a little more spray on my hair, then tugged off the cape from around my neck.
I did a final check in the mirror to make sure everything looked as it should. Of course I looked better than good. Ellen was very good at her job. A fact I adored and had brought up to our manager when they’d asked my opinion during her review. She’d gotten a raise, and I’d made a good friend happy. She set a hand on my shoulder, leaned down, and looked at me in the mirror.
“Come on, admit it. Just between us girls. A scarred bad boy like Bahre? You’re fixin’ to climb that tall drink of water.”
I rolled my eyes. Again. I stood and turned to face them. In my sky-high heels, I felt empowered and ready for my segment. “Ever notice you pull out all the southern metaphors when you get excited about something?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her toe. Waited.
I tossed up my arms, the papers in my hand flapping. “Fine! He’s… incredible. I thought Wulf and Braun were hot, but you’re right, those battle scars make Bahre look dangerous, but the kind of guy who’d beat the shit out of anyone who might hurt you. Manly, although he’s not a man. He’s—”
“An alien,” both women said at the same time.
“Exactly.” I went to the door, pulled it open, but glanced at them over my shoulder. “And yes, my panties would probably burst into flames if I ever met him in person. Not the best thing for live TV.”
Susan laughed. “I’d pay to see that, so I’m thinking you're wrong.”
I laughed, too. I couldn’t help it. “Both of you are troublemakers.”
“You can say that again.” Ellen agreed with me, but she was grinning and not the least bit repentant. “I’ll see you after work. You are going down there with me. There are five of them. I need a wingman.”
“No way.”
She winked and I knew I was in trouble. She was only a couple years younger than me, and I did not want her going down there alone. Too dangerous. She would do it. She was single and funny and cute, and she deserved to find happiness, even if it was with an alien.
I couldn’t say no.
“I’ll give you five minutes and we’re out of there,” I offered. “I mean it. Five.”
She clapped with glee. I took off, cutting through the labyrinth of back hallways to the main stage to wait in the wings for my cue. All thoughts of a hot alien had to be pushed away. It was showtime.
2
Warlord Bahre, Bachelor Beast set, two floors below 9 News
“I asked the odd male, Chet, to bring us an item of clothing from each of the twenty-four females.” Tane sat on the edge of the very stage I’d seen Wulf leap from to claim his female. The rest stood or paced in the open space, as I did. We all understood what was at stake for the others back on The Colony. One of us had to participate in this human mate-finding mockery of
