Protected: Alien Mate Index Book 2: (Alien Warrior BBW Paranormal Science fiction Romance) (The Alien Mate Index) (12 page)

I looked at her, trying to think what he’d said, but it wouldn’t come to me. Something about…did you react to him like you didn’t for me? Had that been it?

I couldn’t quite remember. I hadn’t been completely in berserker mode when I went after her mate or he would be dead and torn to pieces on the fucking floor. But I had been distracted enough that I wasn’t exactly listening to every single piece of crap reason he was spouting for beating her.

In the viewscreen, the vast silver shadow of the Sincon Delta station came into view. We would have to table this discussion and come back to it later. Right now it was time to see if I could buy an extremely illegal device from a male who had an even worse reputation than I did. And I would have to do it while keeping Leah close and protected at all times because I had given in and said she could come with me. I sighed.

This should be fuckin’ fun.

Leah

The Sincon Delta station was amazing. It was made up of levels with the first one being the surface of the station itself and continued down into subterranean passages. It was covered by a huge atmosphere dome that was nearly invisible so it was like looking up into a night sky blazing with stars when I lifted my eyes.

As Grav had told me, the rings around the planet were filled with precious metals. They were so close and so common it was cheaper to build with them than to import iron or steel or other, more traditional building materials. As a result, the streets and buildings were made of platinum, silver, and gold.

It seemed odd to walk down a silver street and see the dull, rich gleam of gold on almost every building we passed—to see scruffy looking men spit on platinum sidewalks as though they were common concrete. I felt like I was living in the story about King Midas and the golden touch that I’d loved so much as a little girl. But to Grav, the richness of the station was clearly old news.

He kept my hand firmly in his and the first thing we did after disembarking from the ship was to find a clothing shop. I tried to protest that he shouldn’t buy me anything because I couldn’t pay him back, but the big alien wouldn’t listen. He bought me several new outfits as well as a long, flowing green cape that had a deep cowl-type hood which covered my head and left my face in shadows when I put it on.

I even got a little make-up kit that had several bright pigments swirled in tiny tubes and jars all tucked into a silver and gold case. I wanted it more for a souvenir than because I wear a lot of make-up. It would certainly be something to remember my interstellar adventures by. I tucked it into the bag with the clothes, which the attendant promised would be delivered to our ship. But Grav wanted me to wear the cloak right away.

“Is this really necessary?” I asked, fastening the cape under my chin and pulling the hood over my face to hide my features. I felt like someone in a spy movie or maybe a character out of Assassin’s Creed.

“Very fuckin’ necessary,” he assured me. I had never heard anyone who could use the “F” word and make it sound so normal and conversational before I met Grav. It made me smile.

“But…why?” I asked. “Is it because the outfit the blue wormy guys gave me is kind of, uh, revealing?”

I had gotten used to wearing the naughty schoolgirl outfit around Grav, although I was very aware of how his eyes followed me sometimes. With any other male that would have made me incredibly uncomfortable. I never liked feeling like I was showing my body off—not because I was so modest but because I felt like I was advertising something I couldn’t provide. When you see someone wearing something sexy, you at least expect that they could enjoy having sex sometimes. With me, that had never been true.

Sorry—I know all that isn’t very feminist. But it’s just how I felt. As I said, being unable to enjoy anything sexual had made me feel broken inside for so long. But now, ever since I had kissed Grav, I felt like that part of me was, if not exactly fixed, at least closer to being in working order. So I didn’t mind it when I felt his eyes on me in the skimpy plaid skirt and thin, white blouse.

In fact, if I was being completely honest—I
liked
it.

Not that I would admit that fact to myself. I kept it buried deep inside and refused to think about how it gave me a naughty thrill when I saw him looking at me with that hungry expression in his strange white-on-black eyes.

But now he was wanting to cover me up with the long cloak and hood he’d bought me. Maybe he didn’t like looking at me after all? Had I somehow misinterpreted the fire in his eyes when they raked over my body?

“That’s it, isn’t it?” I asked humbly. “My outfit shows too much and you don’t like it.”

“That’s part of it,” he acknowledged roughly, after paying the bill with something the size and shape of a guitar pick. Was it a kind of credit card?

“So…you want me to cover up? I
bother
you, dressed like this?” I asked, nodding down at myself.

“Darlin’, no.” He looked uncomfortable. “I mean, you
do
bother me but in a good way. But that’s not why I’m gettin’ you new clothes. Or not the only reason, anyway.”

“What then?” I asked, honestly curious.

Grav finished his transaction and turned his whole attention on me. Taking my shoulders in his big hands, he leaned in to look me in the eyes.

“Leah, you’re a Pure One and a
La-ti-zal
and it shows. Your pale skin and those big brown eyes—it’s clear you’re somethin’ special. I just don’t need every male in the whole damn station going after you while I’m trying to make a deal, okay?”

“What?” I pulled away from his grip, frowning. “Are you saying I’m a burden on you, just by being here? You think I’m too stupid to look after myself and stay out of trouble while you make the deal?”

“No!” He sighed in frustration as he ushered me out the door. “That’s not what I meant at all. It’s just…you’re too damn pretty for your own good. And look around—how many females do you see in this station?”

We were out on the street again and I looked around, prepared to humor him. I looked up and down the rich silver and gold streets but after a moment, I had to shrug in confusion.

“Honestly, I can’t tell,” I admitted.

I saw a lot of people who didn’t look that different from people back on Earth, except for hair and skin color and some minor variations like Grav’s horns or the color or shape of their eyes. But there were also plenty of “people” who didn’t look like people at all. Creatures with tentacles instead of legs or compound eyes or skin like an alligator’s…It was impossible to tell if they were male or female or some indeterminate sex known only to them.

“That’s because Sincon’s on the edge of the galaxy,” Grav told me. “The Ancient Ones mostly seeded planets near the center. Your world, Earth, is an exception. But take it from me—about ninety percent of the visitors here are male. That’s why the shop we just left is the
only
female clothing shop on the whole station.”

“So…only one percent of the, uh, people here are female?” I asked, looking around.

Grav nodded. “And of that one percent, none of them is anywhere near as rare and perfect and beautiful as you.”

“I’m just a daycare worker,” I protested. “Or well, now I’m actually an educational aid. But still—I’m nothing special. Not where I come from.”

“Darlin’, you’d be special
anywhere
,” he said firmly, taking my hand and squeezing my fingers. “And don’t let anybody tell you different. But especially here, we need to be careful.”

“Because women, er, females are scarce?” I asked.

“And because you’re so fuckin’ beautiful. Not to mention the further you get from Earth, the more your latent
La-ti-zal
powers are gonna come into play.”

“I, uh, really don’t know about that,” I said, shaking my head as he led me through the gleaming streets. “I don’t
feel
any different at all.”

“Don’t you?” He turned the full force of those strangely beautiful eyes on me and I found myself blushing.

I
did
feel different—I felt alive in a way I never had before. But I didn’t want to get into that.

“What I meant to say is, I don’t feel any more, er, powerful,” I said. “I mean, I’m not suddenly super strong or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound or anything like that.”

“That’s not the kind of power a
La-ti-zal
usually exhibits,” he said, frowning. “It’s more subtle than that.”

“So how am I going to know if these powers ever
do
manifest if they’re so subtle?” I demanded.

“You’ll know,” was his oblique reply.

Before I could ask for more details, we came to a sudden stop in front of a dark alley. Well, if any alley made of gold and platinum could really be called “dark.” The narrow walls gleamed in the dim light like a Pharohs’ tomb.

“Okay, this is it.” Grav took a deep breath. “Down here is the entrance to The Hell Hole.”

“The what?” I began to feel uneasy. “What’s that?”

“A bar owned by the guy I need to talk to—Da’relk Shekk. He’s a Balloonian.”

“A
what?”
I asked again. “Sorry, I thought you said he was a balloon something or other.”

“I did,” he said patiently. “Balloonians are from the Hygerian Nebula—they’re sentient gas. To keep from drifting away and to be able to communicate with more solid life forms, they enclose their consciousness in thin, elastic bladders.”

“So…they’re living balloons?” I asked. Every time I thought I had heard or seen it all, something stranger came along.

“Essentially,” Grav rumbled. “But we need to be careful around Shekk. He’s got a bad rep—even worse than mine.”

“Yours?” I asked, frowning. “You have a bad reputation? You didn’t tell me that.”

Grav’s face went hard as granite.

“Yeah, well there’s a lot you don’t know about me, darlin’. And we’ll both be happier if you never find out.”

“But—”

“Now Shekk is a crime boss that runs most of this station,” he continued, clearly wanting to change the subject. “He deals most of the illegal tech in the galaxy. He’s also one of the meanest son-of-a-bitches you’re ever gonna meet so it’s best you stay back and let me do the talking.”

“How mean and scary can he be if he’s just a talking balloon?” I objected. “I mean, one pin and he’s history, right?”

“Sure.” Grav gave a short, barking laugh. “If you don’t mind getting your hand burned off to
use
that pin on him. Shekk wears a suit that includes a layer of high-intensity laser protection. Nothing gets through that.”

“Oh, I see.” I nodded. “All right. I’ll keep my hood on and keep quiet.”

“That’s for the best.” Grav took my hand again and we started walking down the alley. “Nobody should bother you. If they do, we’ll make it very clear you’re with me.”

“Will your bad reputation protect me too, as long as they know I’m with you?” I asked, smiling a little. “I mean, if anyone tries to mess with me?”

“It should. If not, I’ll rip their fuckin’ heads off.” At first I thought he was joking but he spoke with absolute sincerity and the serious look on his face made me shiver.

Hopefully no one would bother with me at all, since I was covered from head to toe in the soft, dark green cape. But if they did, I knew that Grav would keep me safe.

So it was with less trepidation than you might think that I walked through the thick black door that led into The Hell Hole. Grav was with me so I wasn’t worried a bit.

I should have been.

Grav

“State your name and business.” The bouncer at the door was a Dorox, about twice as big as me, with saggy blue skin and a snout long enough to use as a third arm. Or a second…well, you get the idea.

“Grav to see Shekk. I’ll tell him my business myself.”

“And your
companion?”
The Dorox’s snout swiveled in the direction of Leah and I knew he was probably smelling her sweet scent. It was something I hadn’t accounted for, though I should have. Back in the confines of my ship, I had somehow gotten used to breathing in her devastatingly feminine fragrance all the time. Now, out and about in the Sincon station, I was aware of it all over again. She smelled good—
damn
good. It was another reason I’d bought her the cloak but even that didn’t seem to be doing a good job of blocking her scent. It was almost as though it had gotten stronger.

Or maybe I was just more aware of it, as I was more aware of her. I kept her small hand firmly in mine and glared at the bouncer.

“My companion is also my business. She’s no threat to Shekk. Just tell him Grav wants to see him.”

The Dorox shrugged. “Fine. I’ll see if Mr. Shekk will see you. Wait here.”

He left us for a minute, which gave Leah a chance to look all around The Hell Hole with wide eyes. I’ll give it one thing—the place lives up to its name.

It’s a dim, smoky room lit mostly by the red glow of the
tanna
vines growing all over the walls. They’re a parasitic species that feeds on blood so you have to watch where you stand while you’re in The Hell Hole if you don’t want a bite taken out of your hide. Their bell-like flowers glow and give plenty of free light though, which is probably why Shekk tolerated them—he always was a cheap bastard. Most of the vines were in bloom, their flowers glowing plenty strong enough to see the various patrons of the bar, sprawled across the gold and silver bar stools.

I counted seven wanted criminals and three more who weren’t even supposed to be out of the slam. There was also one extremely nervous Imperial Barrister who was meeting with what was probably a client. Clearly he didn’t care for the meeting place because he kept looking over his shoulder and adjusting his fluffy neckpiece anxiously.

The bartender was a Trankor who had obviously had limb enhancement—he had seven arms instead of the usual four. He was serving three patrons at once with shots of Berrillian blaze. The blue flames licked up the sides of the glasses, looking as hungry as the
tanna
flowers.

“Wow, this place is really scary,” Leah remarked in a low voice.

“Nah.” I squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. “Just dark and dirty, that’s all. And watch out for the
tanna
flowers,” I added, as she was reaching for one of the invitingly glowing buds. “They bite.”