Page 4 of Kazzon's Human Bride
As if he knew all her secrets.
But how could he possibly know what she’d done?
She forced in a few deep breaths, still trying to calm herself. She longed to be back inside the safety of the bakery, but she didn’t quite trust that her legs would work if she stood up. As she sat frozen in place, trying to act normal, Caylee felt the Tarrkuan male’s eyes upon her, like a heated caress over her skin.
A quick glance up confirmed her worst fears. Yes, he was indeed gazing at her, his nostrils flared and his muscles tensed. His tensed posture made it seem as though he were preparing for battle. Or perhaps getting ready to run straight for her.
Her panic heightened and she wished he would stop looking at her.
She prayed he didn’t have a clue about who she really was—that she was a Tarrkuan bride who’d switched places with another human woman. That she was living a lie and pretending to be another person entirely.
Her mouth went dry and she clutched her drink, bringing the water to her lips for a much-needed sip.Act casual. Ignore him. Stand up and go back inside. Nothing to see here.
Somehow, she rose and managed to return to the bakery. Once she was inside, she rushed to the kitchen and collapsed into a chair. Thankfully, there weren’t any customers around at the moment. Just her usual coworkers—Mindy, Alan, and Keith. All three of them aimed looks of concern in her direction.
“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Alan said as he placed cookies on a cooling rack.
Mindy stopped decorating the wedding cake and moved closer. “Julie, sweetheart, are you okay?”
Caylee stared at her coworkers, all of whom knew her real identity but were always careful to call her Julie, even when it was just the four of them. They’d become her dearest friends and she was thankful she’d met them and that they’d been so patient with her while she learned Julie’s old job. It had been necessary to let Julie’s neighbors and coworkers in on their secret, but everyone had promised not to turn them in.
“I-I just saw a big Tarrkuan male outside,” Caylee finally replied. “He was staring at me in a really weird way. I was so sure heknew, so sure he knew…” Her voice trailed off.
Keith spun on his heel and departed the kitchen, presumably to go investigate.
“I’m sorry,” Mindy said, offering Caylee a reassuring smile. “I’m sure that was scary but there’s no way he would know anything about you. How could he? It’s not as though you look any different from the rest of us.”
Keith returned, lines of worry etched on his face. “I saw him walking with our Leaders. They were headed away from here, but he kept looking over his shoulder at the bakery. He was also younger than any other Tarrkuan male I’ve seen visit our dome-city. The officials and scientists who sometimes visit are usually old men. I wonder who he is.”
This report didn’t ease Caylee’s worries.
The rest of the day passed slowly, with her stomach in perpetual knots. She couldn’t wait until it was time to close up the bakery and go home for the evening. She tried to focus on the bread she was making, but her thoughts kept straying and she couldn’t stop worrying.
Every time she blinked, she could see the huge Tarrkuan male staring at her. The way his dark gaze had fixed on her left her beyond shaken. She hoped he completed whatever business had brought him to New Leesburg and departed the dome-city quickly. She also hoped she never ran into him again.
A couple of minutes before closing, Caylee’s coworkers insisted she head home early.
But on the way home, her footsteps slowed. Since she was pretending to be Julie, she had moved into Julie’s house and now lived by herself. The thought of returning to the empty house made her want to cry, even if her family’s home was a bit chaotic. While she was grateful she’d been able to remain on Earth and happy she still got to visit her family about once a week (visiting excessively might draw too much attention), she didn’t like living all by herself.
She had never known such loneliness in her life and hated coming home to an empty house every day. The constant worry that she would one day be caught didn’t help either. Neither did the guilt that came when she thought about how uncomplicated her life might be if she got caught or even turned herself in.
A life as a wife and mother on Tarrkua had to be easier than what she was doing now. Pretending to be another person while also dealing with her family’s constant drama was exhausting. Though the idea of leaving Earth made her heart break, she was starting to feel as though she didn’t belong here anymore. She was adrift in a life that wasn’t supposed to be hers.
With a mournful sigh, she trudged through the streets to the house that had once belonged to Julie. To make herself feel better, she resolved to visit her family later this evening, when the streetlights were dimmed, and she could slip through the darkness unseen. Maybe her parents were getting along better this week and it would be more of a pleasant visit, rather than a tense one. She could only hope.
Chapter 3
Kazzon navigatedthe streets of New Leesburg, eager to return to theCorrannelia. The reception had been thrown in a large building located on the other end of the dome-city entirely, and he growled with annoyance as he trudged toward the hangar. Though the human Leaders had volunteered to walk him back to the hangar, he had declined their offer, wanting to be alone.
Relief settled over him as his gaze passed along the empty streets. Most of the houses were entirely darkened, their residents long asleep, and he only spotted the occasional illuminated window. But what struck him most was the complete silence and the stagnant air.
In contrast, nights on Tarrkua were loud, with cool evening breezes rustling the leaves, buzzing insects joining in a chorus, and the cries of nocturnal animals out roaming the forests.
Despite the silence, he suddenly felt a presence in the darkness. Perhaps it was a noise so faint he hadn’t quite registered it, or perhaps it was a slight shift in the air. He turned in a slow circle, seeking out the source that was disrupting his peace.
A tiny feminine sneeze sounded from the shadows along the street.
Kazzon cocked his head to the side, his senses sharpening as he listened for another interruption in the otherwise silent night. It was well past midnight and he hadn’t expected to come across anyone during his return to the ship.
