Page 12 of Enticed By the Alien Chef
My shoulders lowered abruptly, my glare growing so fierce that Drova wilted beneath the look. He sagged against the polished wooden bar, his knees giving out, and I could see his heartbeatpounding wildly in the vein at his throat. He held firm—I had to give him credit for that. Drova knew I was no murderer, and I preferred to be law-abiding, especially inside the bar. He also knew I’d set my sights on owning what was his—this place—and I wouldn’t easily give up that dream. He thought Kara was my weak spot, and he would be right, but I would talk to my mate before I’d give up my shares.
With a slash of my hand through the air to show my distaste and a firm no, I turned on my heel. I was just in time to see the doors to the kitchen shut behind Kara’s shapely rump, a guilty expression on her face as she ducked out of my sight. My unease over the unknown debt or danger she might have put herself in faded. A smirk curled my mouth as I considered what kind of fun it might be to convince her to talk.
Drova, the vile male, sensed the change in my mood even without the telltale color of my mood spots to guide him. He cackled with laughter, drawing the attention of the remaining handful of patrons still finishing their lunch. I left him to deal with the gawkers and stalked back into my domain. Kara’s shoulders jerked back when she heard me approach, but she didn’t leave. Her hands trembled as she stacked dishes into the cleanser with a clatter of noise. Heat was already crawling up the side of her face and along her throat.
My cock surged in my pants at the sight, but I controlled myself with iron focus. First, she was going to tell me how she got them, and then I’d make sure she wasn’t in any danger. My mind supplied helpful images of how I could follow that up with a pleasurable lesson, one that would teach her, without a shred of doubt, that she should always come to me first. I was her protector—didn’t she know I’d take care of anything she needed?
I waited until she’d put the last cup down before I trapped her against the counter. A part of me could marvel at how far we’d come since our first encounter. Only a week ago, I never could have done this without freaking her out, but she trusted me now. If only she’d trusted me with getting the perma-contacts; you couldn’t trust Drova.
My upper hands landed heavily on her small shoulders, while my lower hands grabbed the counter on either side of her hips. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath and froze inside the circle of my arms. Then I pressed my lower body against her rear so she could feel my rampant cock, while curling my chest against her back so she knew I had her completely surrounded. She was mine to do with as I wanted, and I was very tempted to pull down her pants and bend her over the counter so I could fuck her. She wasn’t ready for that, but I didn’t think I could wait much longer. Her scent was too rich, too heated for me to find the restraint I’d started out with.
“Tell me now, Kara. How did you get the contacts? What price did Drova demand of you?” I signed with one hand in front of her face. With my tongue, I drew a line along the soft shell of her ear, and it caused a thousand tiny bumps to raise along her tender flesh. I trailed my fingers along them, down into her shirt, and along the upper slope of her soft breast. “Tell me now, female,” I signed firmly. I knew she could understand and that she was watching my fingers as they danced in the air in front of her. But she did not answer.
I used my teeth next, closing them around the juncture of her neck and shoulder with a gentle bite—a sting I eased with a lap of my tongue. My hand slid lower into her shirt to cup her breast and thumb her pointed nipple. She shuddered, asexy moan slipping from her lips, and like that, it broke the dam. She flooded the air with words. “I took care of it. Drova didn’t supply the contacts. It was an Ovter. Laza. But I used Drova’s secret stash of drugs and knocked him out. He’s gotta be so hungover, that he doesn’t remember what happened... And nothing happened.”
I froze, my mind flashing back to last night when I’d noticed one very inebriated Ovter stumble from the backroom and down Drova’s private stairs. That had to be the male she was talking about. Laza. I tasted his name on my tongue, and that action morphed into a silent growl I knew my mate could feel vibrate against her back. She hunched her shoulders in response, and I squeezed her soft, warm breast.
“One drunk Ovter… That we can manage.” I did not want to encourage her to do more dangerous stunts, but the truth was, I was impressed. She was no quiet little Batan, quivering in a corner, not anymore. She had identified what she wanted, made a clever plan, and executed it perfectly. Too bad that there were always repercussions; at some point, that Ovter was going to realize he didn’t get what he wanted. I could easily picture that he had coveted my pretty female in ways reserved for nobody but me. A snarl ripped through my damaged throat, forcing sound through that felt like I’d swallowed shards of glass.
Kara trembled, her scent hot in my nose. The little femalelikedit when I got bossy with her; I was not going to forget that. Squeezing her breast again, I dropped my head and lavished kisses on her neck. My hands forgot all about signing words for her and simply took. And I took because I knew she was willing to give me what I craved; I took because it was exactly what she wanted.
My hands dropped to her body, roaming, and then cupped her core through her pants — stroking, rubbing — until, with a tremulous moan, she came for me. “Ah, Rex…” She’d thrown her hands up and curled her arms around my neck, fingers clutching my hair as she clung to me on trembling legs. Satisfied with her pleasure, I turned her in my arms and pressed my eager cock against her belly.
“Tonight,” I signed. “Tonight, you are mine.” Her green eyes went huge in her face, but a smile slid across her flushed features. Then I gave her a frown, “But you never do that again. Promise. Next time you need something, you come to me. I would give you everything, Kara. Everything.”
My cock ached fiercely as I let her go, but it was worth it to watch the sexy curve of her ass as she walked away. “It’s a promise, Rex,” she said with a smile over her shoulder. “Both those things.”
Chapter 17
Kara
My heart was pounding in my throat after that encounter, my legs felt all wonky, and my panties were soaked. Rex was a naughty, naughty man, and I couldn’t believe that conversation had gone the way it went. He was mad at me for putting myself in danger, I knew that. Maybe he was even a little hurt that I hadn’t asked him for help, stung in his pride. But it felt like I’d been rewarded rather than punished, and I’d definitely felt the admiration.
I felt ten feet tall when I stepped into the barroom, still floating on the aftereffects of my orgasm and the feeling that Rex had approved of what I’d done. Next time, I definitely wouldn’t keep him out of the loop. The warm, fuzzy feelings in my chest warned me that I was inches from falling in love with my alien chef. I’d taken crazy risks for him already; what was one more?
If I hadn’t been so lost in my feelings, I would have seen it quicker. As it was, I was barely in time, saved only by quick reflexes. I dropped to my knees behind the bar as soon as my eyes landed on the black-and-green-streaked skin of a Kertinal male. My breathing caught in my chest with a sudden wave of fear. There was only one option: crawl back into the kitchen on hands and knees and hope nobody saw me.
I was panting when I made it, leaping to my feet and racing for Rex at the stove. “They’re here!” I yelped, catching my alien by one of his arms and clutching his thick biceps tightly. “Those guys from last night are back, the ones that kidnapped me.” Iwaved a hand at the door to the bar. “Rex, Drova was talking with them. He knows.”
My chef pulled me close, giving me a quick, tight squeeze before setting me on my feet behind him. I saw him yank his apron from his narrow waist, knives flipping through the air in quick, tight spins before ending up gripped in equally tight fists. It was the first time I’d seen him handle his knives quite like that, and my stomach dropped with a hint of something—a suspicion that he was once something completely different from a humble cook. “Stay here,” he signed with a quick, firm gesture, and then he prowled into the bar with lethal grace.
Standing for ten seconds at the counter left me a nervous wreck, and I was done feeling like that. Despite being told to wait, I tiptoed to the door and peered around the edge so I could see what was going on. I didn’t want Rex to get in trouble, and he’d looked so angry, his spots had turned as red as the rest of his skin.
The barroom was completely quiet when I peered inside. Any patrons remaining at a handful of tables had their heads ducked low over their drink or food. Drova stood near one of the booths, and five aliens sat at the table closest to him. One of them was the Kertinal male I recognized. The others were two Krektar, a Rummicaron with the very distinct head of a shark, and a pair of Asrai with identical grinning skull faces. Now that I got a good look, I had no doubt that this was the group that had stolen me from Ker.
Rex stood next to the bar, his arms out to his sides and his knives glinting in the light. He had settled a glare on the Kertinal male, and that was it, but it was making all of them squirm in theirseats. Rex didn’t need to use words to get his message across; he was so fucking intimidating right now that it sent chills upmyspine. I knew he’d never hurt me, but this was a side of him I had suspected was there but had not personally seen. Not like this.
The group shuffled out of their seats, then bolted from the bar without a backward glance. Drova looked upset about that, but he did not protest to Rex for scaring off his customers. No, he planted his ass in a chair and made himself small. He was waiting for the storm to pass, too afraid to face Rex’s wrath. I was very impressed, and I couldn’t wait to find out why they were so incredibly scared of my chef. It wasn’t just the knives and the bulging muscles, though I was sure that helped.
Eventually, Rex turned around and stalked back into the kitchen, and he did not look surprised to find me right next to the door. A smile flitted across his face, his spots briefly flashing yellow before they settled back into a dark purple. “They are gone,” he signed at me. “But they’ll be back. I’ll man the bar; you’re going to have to cook today, sweet one.”
He was going to discover in a hurry that I was a terrible chef. I loved eating, but I had never managed a proper homecooked meal in my life, despite my mom's valiant efforts to teach me. I could cut vegetables, though, so that’s what I did. Any of the grunt work I could take care of for him, I did, but I never left the kitchen. It was all Drova and Rex manning the bar for the evening crowd. I hated it, but I had to admit that it was nice to be off my feet and safe in Rex’s very cozy domain.
As the dinner rush started to wind down, I was beginning to believe that Rex was wrong: they weren’t coming back. Had he scared them off for good? I had seen hide nor hair of the OvterI’d gotten the contacts from either, and Rex had been on the lookout. The other shoe had to drop at some point, though, hadn’t it? I didn’t fully believe that I’d managed to scam that creep and avoid my would-be kidnappers.
When Rex ducked into the kitchen with three trays piled high with dirty dishes balanced in his hands, I felt my nerves flutter away on the wings of a whole lot of butterflies. Yup, I was definitely falling for him. He was so confident and sexy, and all he seemed to want to do was take care of me. It was a very alluring mixture. It didn’t hurt that he was always showing off his sexy abs, either. My eyes lingered on his chest as he put the trays down. Then I hurried over to load the cleanser while he checked on whatever food was still in his ovens or on the stove.
It felt like a very normal, homely moment, and I could suddenly picture hundreds of moments just like this one in my future. I didn’t want to leave Rex, and I definitely didn’t want to go back to Ker, which was probably the most boring place in the Zeta Quadrant. I could see myself working in this bar, side by side with Rex for a long time. I liked it here, and if Drova fucked off, which appeared to be Rex’s plan, it would be perfect.
