Page 3 of The Alien's Major Dilemma

He nodded uncomfortably.

“What in the blue hell made you decide to hide your ship behind enemy lines?”

“The entire planet is enemy lines,” he snapped. “The fact that these people are your enemies had no bearing on my decision to land where I did.”

Though it might have contributed to it at bit, he thought. This was one of the places his computer had said would give him thebest chance of being unobserved while he landed and the only one he could get to with the time and fuel he had.

They were quiet for a little longer and Cooper could feel his skin start to twitch.

“Why are you here?” she asked quietly. “Are you part of an invasion?”

“I’m here because something in, on, or around this planet interfered with the instrumentation on my ship. I think. To the best of my knowledge, my planet doesn’t even know your planet exists so, no, I’m not an advanced scout for an invasion of your planet.”

“Were you an advanced scout for an invasion of a different planet?”

“That’s classified.”

Chapter 2

Major Marissa Ozark had a lot to think about. The blanket she was wrapped in had kept her heart rate and oxygen level the entire time so if she’d had the adrenaline dump she was expecting, it wasn’t impacting her the way she was familiar with. Even if her brain felt sharper and her attention easier to focus.

She wanted to shift to relieve discomfort, but she wasn’t uncomfortable anywhere, even if she could shift or twitch. In fact, she was so comfortable she was fighting to stay awake. Falling asleep was a bad idea. She knew that. All of her training had told her that. So why did she feel like she was in a place where it was safe?

“Alright, your original mission is classified and you’re here because your GPS fucked up and you got stranded,” she said in an effort to keep her mind working on something. “So you called for a ride home?”

“Essentially, yes,” her captor said.

She should really ask him what his real name was. His tag on his jacket had said Cooper but she didn’t think that was accurate.

“So what’s to stop your people from sending the invasion you weren’t a scout for to my planet instead of its original destination?”

“Would your people reroute an entire naval fleet to go pick up one downed aircraft in the middle of a desert?”

Marissa wanted to shake her head and was annoyed when she couldn’t. “Wrong type of vessel for the terrain. Alright, so who can we expect to be knocking on our door in the middle of the night to pick you up?”

“Don’t know, actually,” he said. “It will depend on who’s free and what kind of resources they can spare.”

“So you asked for a ride but don’t have any idea if you’re going to actually get one?”

“I’ll get one. Eventually.”

“How long do you think you’ll be stuck here?” If she couldn't move, Marissa could at least annoy him while he drove. And maybe even get some answers he hadn't intended to give.

“I’m not stuck, precisely, so I’m hoping it won’t be long. I just need someone to drop by with a refuel and I’m good.”

“So what does that mean if I’m actually your mate?”

“You are,” he said.

“So, if I don’t kill you, what happens when you get your refuel?”

His silence told her more than anything else could have. He didn’t have a plan that included her yet. His hands clenched at the steering wheel and she caught a glimpse of something else around his knuckles? Snake skin? Scales?

“Alright, what happens if you’re not important enough for someone to send you a refuel?”

“They will,” he said.

“But what if they don’t?”

---