Page 9 of Alien King Crashes the Wedding

Falden’s lips twitched. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Your Majesty, especially now that we know he’s Torrin’s brother. We can already tell you, without the inspection, that to make Earth secure, this base is going to need more personnel and more tech than the Earth leaders have allowed thus far. I understand they want one single chokepoint for offworld traffic, but unless they allow Caldor to bring in heavier firepower to protect it, they’re asking for trouble. Commander Bashall could use another six hundred, minimum. We really need to know how those fucking lizards knew how to get through the first security protocol. They shouldn’t have been able to get beyond the outermost monitors orbiting Earth without triggering the alarms. Did someone on the Council help them? I thought maybe we were on to something at the port, but we couldn’t pinpoint anything specific.”

Dagan nodded imperceptibly. “Talk to Commander Bashall, get his input, then pass it to Cam. He handles all negotiations with Earth. They should be more amenable to a bigger Caldorian presence here after last week’s security breach,” commanded Dagan as he stretched out in the water and closed his eyes. “And finally”—he sighed—“where is my woman hiding? She skipped out right after dinner again.”

Falden tapped his earpiece and requested the whereabouts of the young woman who would perhaps, one day, be his queen. “She is heading outside with a towel. Cassiel says she’s headed in our general direction. He and Vander are following behind.”

“There are a lot of hot tubs and a large pool out here. I don’t want her stopping at one of those,” directed Dagan with a growing smile. “Make sure she makes it all the way over here.”

“Understood,” Gareth said, a smile in his voice. He passed the order on to Cassiel before they re-activated their acoustic cloaking devices, leaving Dagan alone once more. Dagan trusted them implicitly. They would make sure she made it to him safely and none the wiser. They had been with him for years and knew he didn’t have casual relationships. They knew what was at stake for him.

The moon was a bright crescent overhead but the sky was overcast. She would barely have enough light to make her way to him. Dagan closed the lid on the box of glowing maju stones, one of Caldor’s preferred sources of energy, so that she would be less likely to see him before climbing into the hot tub. It was frigid and the hot water quickly turned to mist in the cold winter air, further obscuring his presence. Maybe if she couldn’t see him very well she wouldn’t be so afraid of him, thought Dagan. She could let down her guard and start to trust him. It was a solid plan and he relaxed in the water, content to wait for his little human to come to him.

He wouldn’t have to wait long, he decided, after hearing a large splash followed by a woman’s shriek, then a short time later another splash and more screaming. He chuckled softly. Sometimes, it was good to be king.

Chapter Nine

Sasha shivered continuously as she made her way toward the last hot tub. As soon as she’d been able to leave the raging party inside, she had rushed upstairs, changed into her favorite blue bikini and pinned her hair up. Adding a short cotton wrap and a large towel, she’d headed outside, uncaring of the freezing temperatures. She had planned to quickly hop into one of the steaming hot tubs before she felt really cold. When she got there, most of them were already occupied, and it was hard to spot which ones were empty farther along with so much steam. Shethoughtshe’d gotten lucky a couple of times but just as she was about to get in, she was blasted with water. She’d screamed in surprise.No wonder no one was in them, she grouched to herself.They’re defective.

The next time she found an empty one, she watched it for a few minutes to see if it was defective, too. When it looked okay, she ran straight for it, hoping to get there before anyone else. Just when she was about to get in, a very large Caldorian jumped in, fully clothed. She screamed in surprise when the splash drenched her wrap.What a jerk.He stole my hot tub and splashed me on top of it. She glared at him, shivering even more now that she was really wet. He had sandy blond hair and warm sultry brown eyes. He was almost as big as Dagan, and equally as good-looking in a different way.He looks like he could charm a snake out of its rattle with his bedroom eyes and big dimples.She briefly considered getting in anyway, since she was cold and all the other hot tubs were occupied, too, and took a step closer, but then he winked, invited her to join him, and started to strip out of his wet uniform. She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t think he had anything on underneath. No way was she getting in there after that, no matter how good-looking he was.

This was the last one, realized Sasha, and it looked like someone was in it. Her hair was damp and water was running in rivulets down her legs from the wet cloth. She couldn’t control her shivering. She wouldn’t be surprised if her lips were turning blue. Seeing the hot, soothing water pushed Sasha into carelessness.Screw it. She didn’t care who was in it or if it was defective. She just needed to get warm. She threw her towel on the nearest chair, followed by the cotton wrap, and stepped into the blissfully warm water, sinking quickly down until the water sloshed her chin.

Sasha immediately saw what she’d missed before. Now seated across from her was not just anyone. It was him. The Caldorian who had stolen her breath and then her kisses. Dagan Tiranon. She’d been so embarrassed at her reaction she had been avoiding him as much as possible for the past two days. She didn’t know what to do now.Get out and freeze? Stay and try to ignore him? No. That’s impossible.Her body was already reacting to his nearness. Ashlyn would tell her to get naked. Relax and live a little.

So, the real question was what to do right now? She was beginning to suspect that Rachel was right. Six months with Ben and she hadn’t been more than mildly tempted, and she was far less hurt than she should have been by Ben’s betrayal. All she felt was relief that it was over, if she was honest with herself.

Sasha gave a deep sigh.And Dagan? What about him? All he has to do is be in the same room with me and I’m ready to beg him to take my virginity.

Sasha sank down just a little into the warm water. It felt so good. She really didn’t want to get out. She peeked under her lashes to see if he was watching her.Maybe he didn’t recognize me? Maybe he kissed lots of women the other night and I’m just one of a hundred? Or maybe he’s sleeping?A quick glance told her he wasn’t sleeping. He was resting his head on the back of the hot tub, but his eyes were open. He must have felt her eyes on him because he lifted his head to look at her.Oh, shit, thought Sasha.I’m so busted.

When Dagan didn’t say anything to her and leaned his head back again, Sasha slowly began to relax. Maybe she could do this. She settled in to enjoy the warmth of the tub, finally closing her eyes as the heat seeped into her bones and she stopped shivering. They sat in peaceful harmony for several minutes. Long enough that when he finally spoke, she was startled.

“All better?” he rumbled.

“Umm,” was all she could think of to say, then belatedly added, “yes. Thank you.” She felt like an idiot, she always did when talking to men in general. She couldn’t even think when he talked in that sexy voice. It was so deep it vibrated straight into her core. At least this time her breasts were under water.

“I was pleased to see you at dinner earlier this evening. I had hoped we could talk more, but you left too quickly. I am glad you followed me out here.” Dagan winked.

“I didn’t,” Sasha protested. “I mean, I didn’t mean to.” Totally embarrassed, she tried again. “I mean, I wanted to sit in the hot tub and you were in it.” She cringed at how awkward she sounded. Why couldn’t she be more like Ashlyn? Confident and self-assured, she had men eating out of her hand.

“Would you like me to leave then?” asked Dagan.

Did she want him to go? She finally admitted to herself that she didn’t. What she really wanted was to feel brave instead of shy and awkward all the time. Then she could talk to him without feeling like an idiot. She took a deep breath and sighed, knowing that the way she answered now could change everything. “No.”

“Good. No more avoiding me, Sasha,” Dagan ordered. “You do not know me yet, and you must learn to trust me.” He held out his hands and waited for Sasha to place her tiny hands in his, then gently pulled her toward his side of the hot tub. Sasha glided forward until she felt off balance, then tried to put a foot down to the floor of the hot tub and got tangled up in Dagan’s legs instead.

Dagan didn’t hesitate. He scooped her up and settled her bottom next to him before pulling her feet across his lap. “Comfortable?” he asked. Sasha nodded yes, her eyes as big as saucers as he began to massage her feet. “Good. First and foremost, I want you to know that you are always safe when you are with me, little one. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything, but all you have to do is tell me to stop and we will. Do you understand?”

Again Sasha nodded. “I need you to tell me what you understand,” he added.

“I understand,” whispered Sasha, glad he couldn’t see her face flaming.

“No, baby, that’s not good enough. You have to tell me exactly what you understand so that I know you were listening and understood what I said. You have to trust me. Talk to me.”

Sasha swallowed nervously. Was she really going down this road? Her body was screaming yes, yes, yes. She’d wanted him from the moment she saw him, but she was afraid. Saying it out loud meant she would be responsible for what happened next. Did she trust him? She stared into his aquamarine eyes, afraid to say the words, afraid to stay silent. Dagan kept rubbing her feet, waiting for her to do as he instructed. Taking another deep breath, Sasha murmured, “I understand that you will stop if I ask you to stop.”

With a low growl of approval, Dagan lifted her bottom off the seat, reached behind Sasha’s knees and maneuvered her legs apart so that she straddled his hips, chest to chest. The sudden move forced her to grab his broad shoulders for balance. He teased her lips with his, sucking and pulling on her full bottom lip until she opened her mouth and he deepened the kiss, demanding she submit to him. Dagan continued to hold the backs of her knees and pulled her in as close as he could. In order to straddle him she had to open wide, and she loved the feel of her bikini-clad mound rubbing against his cock. They both groaned at the contact.

Dagan slid his hands slowly up her thighs until they rested on her hips. He’d been hard as a rock since she took off her wrap, exposing an exquisite amount of skin. He wanted to bury himself in her lush curves, to undo the ties of her bikini bottom and slide his cock deep inside her, but he knew she wasn’t ready for him yet. “I want you to learn that you can trust me,” Dagan said quietly. “I asked your friends about you after you left. I know you’re not used to Caldorians, and I’m bigger than most. I don’t want you to be afraid.”

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