The bounty hunters instantly complied.
Smart move, guys, I thought.
As their swords clattered on the ground, the leader of the Khanavai, another bright blue alien, pulled off his helmet and called out.
I slid up to the window beside the sliding glass door and peered after him as he strode across the parking lot, pointing his terrifying gun directly at Amelia.
“You need to come with us!” he shouted at Amelia.
She stared at him blankly, but Zont pushed away from the wall where he leaned behind her and raced over to the blue Khanavai warrior, who I finally recognized as Cav, the first winning bachelor from this season’s Bride Games.
Zont didn’t see it, but a panicked expression crossed Amelia’s face as he pelted toward the other Khanavai, and she took a step toward them, clearly ready to jump in to save him.
Oh my God. I think she really loves him.
I leaned back to keep anyone from seeing me as I continued watching.
The two Khanavai embraced, and then stepped back and gave each other a thumping salute. Amelia slumped back against the wall in relief.
Cav’s new bride, Natalie, stepped out of the ship, pushing back her dark red, wild curls and calling out to Amelia to introduce herself and her husband. Then she glanced over her shoulder at the ship. “And thank God we don’t have to use the transporter to get back to Station 21. That shit makes me puke every damn time.”
Back to Station 21? That was the last place Amelia would want to go.
Taking a deep breath and pushing away from the safety of the corner, I finally forced myself to walk outside—now that the danger’s passed, I berated myself silently as I wrapped my arms around my stomach to hold in my guilt for not getting Amelia out of there before the Khanavai showed up.
Amelia dashed over and threw her arms around me. “It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll be all right. I promise. Thank you so much for all your help.”
I returned her hug. “If you ever get back and need anything, come find me,” I whispered.
One of the Khanavai warriors who had accompanied Zont’s ship took off his helmet. “We need to get out of here,” he called out.
I froze, struck suddenly silent as I stared over Amelia’s shoulder at the warrior who had just spoken. He was enormous, like all the Khanavai, but with bright green skin that matched the ship. His gaze met mine, and he went still.
He was absolutely stunning.
Oh, holy hell.
For the first time ever, I could see why a human might agree to marry one of those males.
“Time to go,” Natalie said.
Amelia broke away from me and brushed a hand over her eyes. I swallowed hard and broke eye contact with the gorgeous green alien, this time wrapping my arms around my chest to hide the fact that my nipples had gone hard.
Don’t be stupid, Dee.
“I’ll make sure she’s okay,” Natalie said to me, mistaking my dry-mouthed reaction to the green guy for fear for Amelia’s safety.
I nodded as they all turned to board the ship, unable to force myself to say anything.
As everyone else boarded the ship, the gorgeous green alien made his way toward me.
I fought two conflicting desires—to bolt away from him at top speed and to throw myself at him. As a result, I stood rooted to the spot, my eyes growing wide as I tilted my head back to stare up—and up and up—into his face as he approached.
His bright, emerald-green eyes bored into me intensely and I didn’t move, pinned to the pavement by his stare.
“Can I help you?” I finally squeaked, unnerved by his unwavering stare.
“What is your name?” His bass voice rumbled in his chest as he spoke.
“Dee. Deandra Casto.” I swallowed, hoping to get rid of the lump in my throat, uncertain if it was the result of fear or desire.
Probably both, I thought.
“And do you reside here, Deandra Casto?”
“Just Dee. And…are you asking if I live in town?”
“In this building.” He waved a hand to indicate the hotel. I flinched at his abrupt gesture, and he frowned.
“I work here.” My voice was finally settling back down into its normal register.
“How do you know Amelia Rivers?”
My whole body began trembling, and once again I couldn’t tell if the shaking stemmed from terror or desire. “I don’t know her. Not really. I met her when they checked in. When she checked in. When she brought Zont here.” I knew I was babbling, but I couldn’t seem to stop the words spilling from my mouth. “She brought him here to heal him, you know. She didn’t hurt him. She helped him. She had me go get bandages and everything.”
I finally managed to clamp down on the torrent of words pouring out of me before I gave him even more unnecessary information.
“Where do you live?” he asked, still holding my gaze.
My address tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop myself, before my father’s warnings about ever giving too much information started screaming in my mind.
At that point, I finally shut up.
The green alien stared at me for another few moments, then reached out one hand as if he were about to touch my face. I couldn’t move, that dual desire to run away and to lean in still battling inside my body.
At that moment, another of the aliens—I couldn’t tell which one, as he wore the Khanavai soldiers’ opaque helmet—leaned out of the open hatchway of the spaceship and called out, “Time to go, Wex. Liftoff in forty micro-moments.”
The alien broke eye contact with me to turn around and acknowledge his shipmate.
It was like being released from a physical tether. I dashed back toward the hotel lobby, not turning around to look again until I was safely inside.
By then, the green alien was striding onto the ship. But he glanced back one
