Pixie jumped as Poppy smacked her ass on the way out the door. “Let’s hit the road then. I have a new life waiting for me.”
One cup of coffee and a drive through traffic later, Pixie was pulling up to the Intake Center. The building appeared more militarized than the previous day—if that was even possible.
“I can’t believe you had the balls to go in there and apply, Poppy. Those guns are freaking me out,” Pixie said, leaning forward to stare out the window.
“Apparently they had a bomb threat and the government flipped out. Do you think we just leave all the luggage here and they’ll come out to get it when I leave? I don’t want to walk through all those protesters carrying all my stuff.”
“Yeah, let’s just head in and figure out what they want to do.”
As the girls walked up to the doors, the protesters began to sneak steadily closer with their signs.
“C’mon, Pops, let’s keep moving.”
“Why does that guy have an anti-gay sign? That literally makes no sense.” Shaking her head at her sister, Poppy moved faster up the steps, trying not to trip on the stairs and yet at the same time unable to take her eyes off the crowd that was slowly descending on them.
“Ummmm…maybe because he is crazy. Hurry up, bish. They’re getting closer,” Pixie murmured as she grabbed Poppy’s arm and tugged to increase their pace. She let out a sigh of relief when the guards opened the doors enough for them to enter before quickly slamming them shut on the protesters.
“Whew, that was kind of scary, Poppy. I didn’t realize there were going to be protesters.” Pixie had wide eyes by now and her hair was beginning to frizz. They always joked the higher the stress levels, the more frizz popped up. It was the “hairdicator” that both the girls laughed about when they noticed one was getting poofy.
After checking in and heading up to Valerie’s office, they were late. Valerie’s office was locked and there was no light shining underneath the door.
“Crap, we’re about twenty minutes behind. Do you think Valerie thought you were a no-show and went to tell Mr. Awesome you changed your mind?” Pixie had begun to refer to Poppy’s alien with different monikers ever since the great shoe raid of last night.
“I hope not! You already took all my good shoes, and the only thing I have left waiting for me at home is a broken coffeepot and crappy furniture.”
“Maybe we should look for her?”
“Maybe she’s looking for us?” both of them said at the same time.
“Jinx! You owe me a Coke. Let’s go find your new BFF and meet your big green guy.”
Pixie and Poppy linked arms and had just started walking down the hall when they heard raised voices.
“I cannot believe I am doing this. Not only do these humans risk the security of our females but apparently they cannot even find them!” This was practically yelled by a fairly deep voice. “And did you see my match? Her intake picture was not very attractive. What if I am unable to go through with this?”
“Calm down, Wheaton. They said she might be running late because of the crowd outside. And her liaison told me she hadn’t planned on getting photographed yesterday so she may not be that bad in person. I am sure everything will be fine.”
Hearing heavy steps walking across the room, both women outside stood stock-still and kept listening.
“You are one of the senior Council members and need to be an example for your men. There seems to be some discontent that you were one of the first matched. If you show displeasure at your fortune, we may have a riot on our hands. We need to show these humans how grateful we are for their generosity. You remember our previous failures with the women we took…”
At that last tidbit of information, both Pixie and Poppy gasped.
“There you are!” Valerie’s voice seemed to sound directly beside Poppy’s ear, which caused both girls to jump into the air with a squeal.
“Holy shit, Valerie! Don’t sneak up on people. We were searching for you and nobody was in your office.” Poppy was still trying to take in what the men in the room had meant when they had said “women we took.” That didn’t sound good.
“Are you ready to meet your future?” Valerie said with a huge smile and hugged Poppy.
“Yes, I think so.” Poppy was still dissecting what she’d overheard. Unattractive? What an asshole. And on the same note, thank god she’d decided to look a bit prettier today. Her hair was down in curls, her makeup on, and she was wearing her “nice” jeans with a pretty top. “Nice” meaning no stains and a newer style.
“I’m Pixie, by the way.” Pixie elbowed Poppy when no introduction came about. “My sister’s running low on coffee this morning and is a little spacey.” She smiled over at Poppy and said, “Get it? Spacey? I crack myself up.”
Valerie smiled at Pixie. Pixie always made people smile with her stupid little jokes and the fact she really didn’t operate with a filter. She always watched what she said if it was going to hurt somebody’s feelings but in situations like this she pretty much said whatever popped into her head.
“Your warrior is right through here. I have his basic profile and it says his name is Wheaton. He happens to be a senior Council member so this means you might be able to come back once in a while on diplomatic visits. Well, ladies, let’s go.”
“Wait!” Pixie reached for Valerie’s arm just as she went to open the door.
Both Poppy and Valerie froze.
“We need to freshen Pops up a bit. Let me give you my earrings and some lip gloss. From what we overheard I would say that we need to knock his space boots off.”
“Overheard?” Valerie asked with a confused face.
“Yeah. Apparently Star Lord in there thinks Poppy isn’t up to snuff. But a little tweaking here and she’ll be perfect.” Pixie took off her earrings, handing them over to her sister. Digging in her bag for the makeup case she always carried for her multiple glosses, she quickly found what she needed. Pixie had the idea that a women should always carry an array of shades because the right gloss could make it seem like you were wearing a full face of makeup even when you weren’t.
Rubbing the gloss on her lips and smoothing her hair back over her shoulders to let the borrowed earrings be seen, Poppy straightened her top and made sure it was lying just right. Then she took a breath for courage and nodded to Valerie to go ahead and open the door.
After knocking twice, Valerie opened the door and ushered the women into the room. The space was set up like a standard meeting area, with a large table placed in the center and a bank of windows on one side. Two men were facing the window but turned and started walking toward the door as the women entered. Both were dressed in some sort of leather outfit that resembled something Poppy had seen on a sci-fi show. They also had similar hair: shoulder-length, black with a slight wave. She’d originally thought Johnny Depp was the only one who could pull off that hairstyle but apparently aliens were the exception. Her gaze locked on the taller man on the right and he returned her stare. His eyes were such a vivid green they seemed to glow against the dark tan skin tone and black hair he was blessed with. Poppy started, realizing that this was the same man she’d seen when shopping.
“Holy shit.”
Pixie immediately started giggling, which knocked Poppy out of her little mental vacation and she realized she’d said that out loud. Instead of being embarrassed, she giggled too. Pretty soon Valerie was also smiling and trying to hide her laugh behind her hand while clearing her throat. The men were confused for a couple moments but the sound of the women’s laughter must have been contagious, because they both smiled and Mr. Green Eyes raised an eyebrow in Poppy’s direction.
“Is ‘holy shit’ good? Or bad?” he asked as they stood in front of the three women.
“Totally amazing in this case,” Pixie breathed out while staring at the men. It was now Poppy’s turn to elbow Pixie.
Wheaton had to admit he was relieved when he first caught a glimpse of the human woman, Poppy, in person.
His packet contained a grainy picture that looked as if she might have been mid-sentence when the picture was snapped and her hair had been a jumble of what appeared to be fuzz on top of her head. Prior to the women entering the room, Wheaton had not held back when speaking of his concerns to Dathrow. Other than Poppy not physically matching what he had hoped and expected, her questionnaire was also causing some concern.
He was unsure what her college degree actually qualified her for, but her work history did not seem to be the ideal for a Council member’s bride. He had already decided to tread carefully when it came to how much exposure she would have regarding his work. Her file appeared to indicate she seemed ill-equipped to handle being matched to someone as prominent as he was. Now that he could see her in person, he admitted there was an attraction there. In fact she was almost completely different. Maybe she had been ill when the original picture had been taken? He exchanged a quick glance with his friend that conveyed his pleasure at the surprise that was his new bride.
Dathrow seemed to be staring at the woman accompanying his bride. Wheaton could tell they were family, since they seemed to share many physical characteristics. Both women had similar hair, although his bride did have more curls, and the two women had similar body types and coloring. His bride seemed to be slightly heavier in weight than the woman next to her, but Wheaton was surprised to note that he preferred her softer shape.
“Gentlemen, this is Poppy and her sister, Pixie. Poppy was our applicant selected for your match, Mr. Wheaton.” Valerie now turned and handed the paperwork to his friend—who, Poppy also happened to notice, was pretty delicious-looking as well.
Wheaton cleared his throat and stepped closer to her. He was now close enough for her to smell his natural musk, which she had to admit smelled delicious.
“Just Wheaton. Not Mr. Wheaton. Poppy, it is wonderful to meet you. We have been very fortunate to have made a match so quickly and I am very excited to show you your new home. This is my warrior brother, Dathrow,” he said with a nod to the man standing beside him. Wheaton reached for her hand in what Poppy assumed was supposed to be a handshake but he squeezed too hard and almost shook her arm out of its socket.
“Yikes, Mr. Muscles, calm it down. You break it, you buy it,” Pixie muttered.
Wheaton turned to Pixie and held out his hand to shake hers as well and she waved, pretended to cough into her hand and mumbled something about germs, which had him glancing at her in confusion.
Valerie and Dathrow had moved away and were now going over paperwork while the other three stood staring at each other.
Pixie walked toward the snacks on the side of the room and muttered, “Don’t want to be a third wheel.”
“Poppy? I had read that was a flower. Are you named after a flower? And Pixie? Isn’t that another word for ‘fairy’ or a candy? We are still trying to adjust to the language and our translators seem to have the most trouble with names.” He rubbed his right earlobe, giving her a slight smile.
“My mom did like the flower, but she didn’t say I was named after it. I believe she had a friend in college who she stole the name from.” Poppy smiled back at him and couldn’t help but stare into his eyes. He really did smell wonderful—almost like sunshine and leather.
“I’ve see you before…at Mega Mart,” she said in a rush, unsure if he remembered.
Wheaton studied her for a moment and then nodded slowly. “I remember you. You were carrying paper and getting food items.”
Her face turned red with embarrassment. He had seen her buying enough toilet paper to stock the Duggars. “Why were you there?”
“We’ve been running shuttles down to Earth to acclimate to human culture. Most Phaetons simply ride in a big black automobile to watch the way your society runs. When we did the same, we noticed many people heading to that large warehouse and were curious to see what they were doing there.” Smiling slightly, he quirked his eyebrow up. “Most people did not notice us. Some asked for us to sign paper, which we did not understand.”
Poppy couldn’t help but giggle at the vision that created. “They probably thought you were famous. I actually thought you were a rock star until I saw you on TV.”
Now he seemed entirely confused, so before he could ask what she meant, Poppy continued, “The leather pants made you look like someone famous, that and the long hair.” She couldn’t help but brush the tips of his hair that were resting on his broad shoulders.
She glanced to the side of the room where Pixie was eating some cookies while staring at her as if she were watching a movie. Turning slightly away from Wheaton, Poppy mouthed, Cut it out, which made Pixie laugh and shovel another cookie into her mouth while she wiggled her eyebrows.
“Soooo…” Poppy didn’t quite know what to say as she gazed up into Wheaton’s eyes.
“Would you like to sit and have a beverage? They placed food items in here for us to eat while waiting for you.”
He placed his hand on her back to guide her to one of the chairs at the table. Poppy felt the heat from his large hand above her waist and goose bumps popped up on her arms. Holy cow that was electric. He moved the chair out for her to sit and sat in the one next to it, but moved closer and leaned forward as if he were going to tell her a secret. She angled her head so she could hear him better when she realized he was simply breathing her in. Her eyes closed as she tilted even closer to his mouth.
“You smell wonderful…and your hair, it appears so soft. May I touch it?” His nose was now pressing against the side of her neck and their chairs were as close as they could be.
“Well, it seems only fair…I touched yours.” Grateful she’d left her hair down today, she nodded while trying to swallow past the dry lump in her throat. She heard a soft sound and realized it was a whimper that had come from her.
Instead of him simply touching her hair, which was what she’d expected, he put his hand on the back of her neck and threaded his fingers into the strands at her nape. Giving it a slight tug, he pulled her head back and moved his nose down her neck, causing her to let out a noise she hadn’t heard herself make before. Whimpering? Since when did she whimper?
Another noise, this time coming from him, had her opening her eyes.
“Did you just growl at me?” she whispered.
“I rumbled. It’s a sound our race makes when we have certain emotions,” he said in a husky voice.
“Your rumble sounded an awful lot like a growl.” Poppy’s lips were almost touching his, they were so close.
“I am sorry if I scared you. We don’t have much physical contact unless we are training or in combat. I find touching you, even just your hair…arousing.” He licked his lips while staring at hers.
Poppy felt as if they were in a bubble of their own inside the large conference room. She could hear the buzz of the lights overhead and also her sister talking to Valerie. Every once in a while she could hear Dathrow murmur something but it all seemed fuzzy, almost as if they were huddled together in a dimly lit bar instead of in a brightly lit boardroom.
“Wheaton. Wheaton!” Dathrow was now standing behind their chairs. “I have been trying to get your attention for a couple moments now. Your cheeks seem flushed. Are you feeling well? We can have a Brakken ready a medi-unit for our arrival on Squadron One if needed.” Dathrow seemed more like a concerned parent wanting to hover over a sick child than the warrior she’d first seen him as.
Wheaton slowly untangled his fingers from her nape and with one last neck squeeze, he rolled his chair back and cleared his throat.
“I apologize, Dathrow. I was speaking with Poppy and trying to measure our compatibility.” He reached up to rub his neck.
“Well, you guys were compatible as fuck from where I was standing.”
Pixie of course took that moment to pipe up.
“Wheaton, I need your mark on these papers for the trial period to begin. Valerie will collect Poppy’s mark and then we need to leave. Apparently the knowledge of our presence has been leaked an
d the angry people out front have grown louder.” Dathrow motioned Wheaton away and Pixie plopped into the chair that Wheaton had vacated.
“Holy shit, Pops. I thought he was licking your neck from where I was standing. And I’m pretty sure I saw your eyes roll into the back of your head.” She looked at Valerie and smiled. “I guess we don’t have to worry about them being attracted to each other now, do we?”
“Nope, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue at all. Poppy, did he steal your ability to speak? You’ve been sitting there with your mouth open since we interrupted your…moment.” Valerie placed a hand on Poppy’s shoulder, about to give it a little shake.
“No, I’m fine. I’ve never felt anything like that before. Ever. Like ever ever. I think he blew my circuits there for a minute. Did you hear him growl? It literally made me shiver. I need some cold water.” Poppy sat there stunned and fanned her face with a hand.
She had never felt that type of physical response to anyone in the past. It had almost felt that if he breathed on her a bit more, she could’ve had an orgasm then and there. She felt so overwhelmed that she could probably start laughing hysterically any time now. The only thing that stopped her was the fact Wheaton and Dathrow were talking but still watching the women from their side of the room. Meeting Wheaton’s eyes from the distance, she smiled at him and when he smiled back, she couldn’t help but let her smile grow.
“Well, my mind’s made up. Let’s sign this stuff and get my trial going.” Poppy had a huge smile on her face by the time she signed the trial forms.
Pixie sat there tapping her fingers on the table while Poppy signed the forms to leave Earth. It hit her all of a sudden that her sister was actually doing this. Poppy was leaving. And she wouldn’t be coming back if that hunky warrior had anything to say about it. She didn’t want to be selfish, but that’s exactly how she felt. Pixie looked at her sister—really looked at her. Poppy had smiled more and seemed more alive in the past fifteen minutes than Pixie had seen her act in the past two years. She knew about the dismal dates Poppy had sat through: since they were sisters they talked about everything. Wine had a way of making sisters talk pretty openly, including the fact Poppy had become way too attached to her vibrator and she was sad that her friends were getting married and having babies while she sat at home and watched the History Channel. Speaking of babies…
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