by Allie Ritch
Feeling klutzy, Pixie hissed in annoyance when she stepped into her apartment and heard a clattering sound. She hadn’t knocked anything over, though. One of her necklaces had popped. As they hit the floor, the colorful beads bounced and skittered in every direction in the darkness. Dropping to her knees, she lunged after them as more continued to slide off the broken string.
The loud bang that followed was a thousand times louder than the commotion on the floor. It made her jump. She didn’t know what she expected to see, but the sight of Rinda holding a broken chair wasn’t it. The Nimanian woman had … dear gods, she’d just tried to bash Pixie’s head in.
Pixie squeaked. “What are you doing? H-how did you get in here? Lights!”
Her overhead lights obeyed her verbal command.
“Our community owns a security company,” Rinda responded with eerie calm. “Did you think your little home unit would keep you safe?”
Since the larger woman was blocking the door, Pixie had no way out. Very carefully, she began backing farther into her living room, heading for her vid screen. If she could reach it, then maybe she could code in a distress call.
“Wh-why are you here?” But she already knew. There was only one thing Pixie had that the Nimanian wanted.
Rinda snarled. “I’m here to take back what’s mine. Zeo is mine. You don’t know him. You don’t deserve him. He wants me, and we’re going to be together.”
“Okay.” Pixie tried not to panic as the other woman stalked closer. She just kept angling closer to her vid screen. “I didn’t realize how much he meant to you. If he wants you, I won’t stand in your way.”
A lie, but she wasn’t about to mess with the crazy female. Already, Pixie’s heart was pounding like it wanted to explode, and her hands felt clumsy as she reached behind her to feel for the screen. Her only advantage was the fact that Nimanians preferred a hand-to-hand fight. If Rinda had held a gun of any kind, she’d surely have been dead already. The woman looked murderous.
Rinda glared so hard she didn’t even blink. “But you are in my way. You’re a distraction. I’m the one he’s supposed to be with. We’re going to be mated, and we’re going to have a family, and everything will be perfect.”
The second her fingertips found the edge of her vid screen, Pixie searched blindly for the manual keypad and started punching numbers. She didn’t care if she patched through to a pizza delivery place. All she needed was to get someone’s attention and let them know she was in trouble. Despite coding in twice, the screen remained silent.
“Stupid New Earthling.” Digging into her pocket, Rinda pulled out the vid screen’s miniscule control chip. She dropped it on the floor and crushed it beneath her foot. “No one’s coming to rescue you. You’re so pathetic, why would anybody bother?”
Pixie didn’t waste time trying to negotiate. With no way out, she had no choice but to stand and fight. Releasing a long, slow breath to stem her shaking, she planted her feet shoulder width apart and rolled to the balls of her toes. People she trusted kept telling her to follow her instincts. Right now, she sure hoped those instincts helped her out.
In the next second, Rinda let out a savage growl and lunged at her.
*
Lightning lit up the inside of Zeo’s skull as he took another punch to the chin. Fortunately for him, the younger male didn’t know how to fight. In his rage, Ulistro threw his full weight behind the strike, overbalancing on the follow-through and leaving himself wide open. With a controlled jab of his elbow, Zeo broke the male’s nose and kicked him off. They were both on their feet again in seconds, but only one of them was bleeding.
Ulistro swiped his arm under his bloody nose and spat. Zeo saw the male’s muscles bunch and anticipated his next swing. Ducking the wild roundhouse, he retaliated with an uppercut that made the man’s teeth clack. Although he took a few jabs to the ribs, he outmatched the younger Nimanian in skill and experience.
A few blows later, Zeo ended the short, brutal fight by shattering Ulistro’s jaw. Pumped up as he was, he added a hard kick to his opponents ribs to knock the wind out of him and keep him down. Ulistro landed belly-up in a submissive position on the floor.
Grabbing hold of one of his ankles, Zeo dragged the idiot out of his home. Once in the common area, community members began popping out of nowhere to see what the fuss was about. Zeo crouched over Ulistro’s prone form just as his parents and the other elders arrived.
“What’s this?” his father demanded.
Zeo growled low in his throat. “This stupid boy invaded my territory and attempted to ambush me.”
Now Ulistro had two irate males towering over him.
Zeo’s father snarled at the younger male. “You know the rules. If you wanted to issue a challenge, you should have done so in front of witnesses. This was cowardly.”
With a broken nose and jaw, Ulistro’s whole face was quickly swelling. Still defiant, he continued to glare at them.
“I do not want Rinda,” Zeo told him, not that it would do any good.
It was obvious Rinda had infected the young man with her obsession. Personally, he thought they were perfect for each other.
When Ulistro made one last grab for him, Zeo retaliated with a light slap to the man’s purpling face. His adversary released a pitiful groan and subsided.
“Enough.” Zeo rose to his feet. “I have beaten you. Your challenge has failed.”
“This is bad for the community.” His father turned to the other elders. “I believe we should remove Ulistro and Rinda before their bad influence spreads. Perhaps a more natural life back on Nimania will cleanse them.”
Considering how wild and deadly their home world could be, that would no doubt prove the case. Fighting for survival tended to realign one’s priorities.
Letting the elders deal with this mess, Zeo headed back toward his home. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he ran into his sister. Leoni looked pale as she gazed up at him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You tried to warn me, but I was acting like a stupid child, just like you said. I never thought they’d do this.”
Lifting one beat-up fist, Zeo stroked his sister’s cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “Some things are learned the hard way. All is well now.”
The horrified expression on her face was not the reaction he expected.
“You don’t understand.” Leoni started to reach for him, but then dropped her hand. “Rinda is gone. She said she was going downtown. I didn’t think anything of it, but after this attack by Ulistro…”
Very few times in his life had Zeo experienced real dread. Hearing those words, recognizing her fear, he felt it now, and his skin grew too tight. He prayed he was wrong, but his instincts warned him of the truth. Rinda had gone after his mate.
Without a word, he turned and sprinted to the front of the complex, to the communal vehicle they kept parked there for work. His code got it running within seconds.
Leoni jumped in beside him on the passenger side. “I’m coming with you.”
No time to argue. Gunning it, he sped out of the driveway. He felt cold and vaguely detached as he raced down streets and lurched around corners, breaking almost every traffic regulation there was in his hurry to reach Pixie. Unless her friends had kept her out late at her bachelorette party, his mate was fighting for her life right now. Every second counted.
Static crackled from the hover plates under the car when he took the last turn at breakneck speed. His heart lurched to a stop as fast as he braked. He saw the red strobes of several emergency vehicles outside Pixie’s apartment. An ambulance was parked right against the curb.
Zeo wasn’t even aware of getting out of the car. He was just suddenly yanking the front entrance open and running up to Pixie’s apartment with Leoni at his heels. Someone in uniform yelled something at him, but he didn’t stop.
The medics were coming out of Pixie’s doorway when he reached her hallway. They were bent over a floating gurney and obviously workin
g on someone. How badly was she hurt? Were there bruises? Broken bones? Or was it something worse?
Terrified by what he might see, Zeo edged closer to get a look at the damage. Once he did, he simply stood and stared for a minute, his mind unable to make sense of what he was looking at. No, not what, but whom.
“Rinda.” Leoni gasped, but she stayed by his side. “She looks like someone set her hair on fire.”
Pushing his way past the medical personnel, Zeo burst inside the apartment. There were lots of people in uniform milling around in here too, but over there … yes, there was his precious mate. Pixie sat, alive and unmarked on the sofa, shaking like a wet kitten. Before he knew what he was doing, he dropped to his knees, looped his arms around her waist, and buried his face in her lap. She felt blessedly warm and whole.
Pixie made a squeaking noise, probably because he was squeezing her too hard, but he couldn’t ease up. She wasn’t the only one trembling. After a moment, when he still didn’t let go, she stroked his back.
“D-did you hear?” she stammered. “When I walked through the door, Rinda tried to hit me with a chair. Thanks to Spri’s necklace, I ducked just in time, but then she kept coming at me. She destroyed my vid screen chip so I couldn’t call for help.”
Zeo had never heard her talk so fast. He simply held on, breathing deeply to take her scent into his lungs.
“I knew I’d have to fight her, and I was so scared.”
He was terrified just thinking about it.
“But then I heard Xindra’s voice in my head telling me not to panic. In our lessons, she’s always teaching me that the first defense is to stay calm and keep your wits about you.”
That finally made him lift his head. “What?”
“So I followed her advice and fell into a defensive stance. The moment I did, it felt like I was back at the gym practicing. When Rinda lunged at me, I was ready for her. I dodged the attack and swept my leg out to trip her.”
Ulistro must have given Zeo a concussion. There was no way he was hearing this right. Pixie had beaten Rinda in a fight? When he’d seen the shape Rinda was in, he’d assumed … well, he wasn’t sure what he’d thought. Maybe that a neighbor or code enforcement had intervened?
“You fought Rinda?”
Pixie nodded proudly, and he felt her trembling subside. “It was easier to knock her down than I thought, probably because she didn’t expect it. Keeping her down was the hard part. I leaped on her and got one of her wrists bent back, but I couldn’t roll her onto her stomach. She’s a lot stronger than me, and she was crazy mad.
“When she tried to smack me, I jerked out of the way and somehow kept my grip on her wrist. My back bashed against the cabinet where I store my sculpting tools, and the door popped open. Rinda was kicking and flailing and spitting, so I grabbed the first thing I could find. It was my laser cutter. I only planned to scare her with it, but her foot struck my arm just as I turned it on and it … well, it sort of dropped out of my hand and landed in her hair. After that, she kind of forgot about the fight, and I pinned her until one of my neighbors called for help.”
Staggered, Zeo could only stare at her. “You know how to fight?”
He was going in circles, but he couldn’t help it. For the first time in his life, he was completely flabbergasted.
“Xindra taught me.” Pixie made the confession shyly. “You know she usually teaches martial arts lessons. She and Quinn only teach Sex Ed to supplement their income during the off season. I’ve been taking lessons from her for about a month now. She says I have good instincts when I remember not to panic, and I’m fast.”
Amazed, bewildered, and very much in love, Zeo claimed her mouth in a long, sweet kiss. Apparently his mate was full of surprises. He’d never been prouder of her. She was truly a worthy mate for his fierce Nimanian soul.
“Not bad for a New Earthling.” Behind him, Leoni tried to sound jaded, but he could hear the respect in her voice. “Maybe I’ll like having you for a sister. Anyone who can take down a Nimanian twice her size wearing a pink ‘Bride-to-be’ T-shirt has got to be interesting. Plus, you shocked my brother, which isn’t easy to do.”
“Thanks.” Pixie returned a modest blush.
Leoni lowered her voice. “Rinda was my friend, but Zeo is right. Family comes first.”
Zeo’s heart lifted, and he reached for his sister’s hand to draw her closer.
Leoni gave him a small smile before looking back at Pixie. “You know Rinda will be smarting for a while.” Dry humor laced her voice. “When I was a kid, I lit my hair on fire, and it took forever to heal up and grow back.”
To his delight, Zeo watched his mate fight to keep a straight face as she responded.
“Really?” Pixie said, sounding strangled. “I had no idea.”
None the wiser, his sister nodded solemnly. “I’ll tell you the whole story sometime, maybe after we’ve gone out for some dessert. Right now, I’ll leave you alone. You’d better rest up for your mating ceremony tomorrow.” She glanced at the time. “Make that tonight.”
Still cuddling Pixie close, Zeo felt her start shaking again.
Chapter 12
The Main Event
Wedding jitters struck hard as Pixie walked into the gym that evening. It would have been easier if Zeo had escorted her, but he’d gone ahead to make sure everything was ready. As planned, they’d arrived early in order to do the first part of the Nimanian mating ritual just the two of them.
Carrying her gown in a special tote, Pixie walked to the back room, which had been set aside for them. She found Zeo waiting. Still in his casual clothes, he sat among several piles of cushions behind a low table laden with food. Her name, spoken in that deep, gravelly voice of his, was his only word of welcome. He patted the pillow beside him.
Pixie carefully set aside her gown before joining him.
“For you.” Zeo stroked her back and lifted a small roll of meat to her lips.
With a little nip, she accepted it from his fingers. “Thank you.”
“Xindra suggested wine would relax you.”
Considering how dry her mouth suddenly felt, Pixie thought that was a great idea. She watched as he tilted a long bottle with a fancy label on it and filled a glass for her.
Her hand slowly steadied after she took a deep sip. Feeding each other was an important part of the Nimanian mating custom, and she wanted to do this right. Setting down her glass, she picked up a glazed cube of red meat and brought it to his mouth. The tenderness in his eyes made her sigh. He caught her finger between his lips and sucked gently before pulling back, causing heat to burst across her skin. She went damp between her legs.
“You please me very much,” he whispered.
A shiver ran down Pixie’s spine, but this time it had nothing to do with her nerves.
They fed each other delicate morsels of meat and cheese and fruit until she felt warm and sated. Of course, the wine sure helped too. Reaching across the table, Zeo finished by pulling a cylindrical cover off a nearby platter. Her eyes widened and then began to water when she saw a pretty white wedding cake sitting beneath.
“Oh, Zeo.” She sighed.
“Another New Earthling tradition I learned of.” Taking her hand in his, he used a knife to cut two pieces for them. “Your people feed each other too.”
She’d never thought of the similarity before. The fact that he had, and that he’d tried to incorporate as much of her heritage as possible, was unbelievably romantic. She really was marrying a wonderful man.
Holding pieces of the soft, moist cake, they exchanged bites while gazing into each other’s eyes. Sweetness burst across her tongue and filled her heart. It was the best thing she’d ever tasted—aside from his kiss.
“I will now prepare your body,” Zeo told her. He pressed himself closer.
Pushing the table back a few feet to give them room, he reached into a nearby bag. When he pulled out a hairbrush and began sweeping it through her hair, Pixie giggled. Here was her big, f
erocious, shorn Nimanian gently brushing her hair without the slightest pull.
She couldn’t help but tease him. “Did you think groom was a verb?”
He chuffed out a laugh.
The scratching of the bristles made her scalp tingle, and her eyes slid shut in bliss.
“You must have helped do your sister’s hair when she was little.” There was no way this was his first time. Then again, she’d thought that about something else too.
“Once her hair grew back,” he replied, “it was good practice.”
It must have been. Pixie was just beginning to drift into a daze when he set aside the brush and tugged on her blouse. That roused her, but she didn’t protest when he removed her clothes. Once she was naked, he turned her so that she was flat on her stomach. A shock of cool, creamy moisturizer hit her between her shoulders before he began rubbing it in. Thoroughly.
“Mmm.” She hummed in delight.
Zeo was amazing. Helpless to resist, her knotted muscles surrendered to his strong, kneading fingers. She let out a groan as she melted into the pillows. He massaged her all the way from her neck to the soles of her feet and everything in between. And the same touch that relaxed her also aroused her by slow, insidious degrees.
“That’s so good,” she mumbled.
He grunted in agreement.
The sound of voices outside alerted them that the others had finally arrived.
“It’s time.”
Butterflies stirred in Pixie’s stomach again, but she tried to stay in the moment. Sitting up, she watched Zeo strip to get changed into his suit. It was the first time she’d seen his penis in a resting state, although it appeared to be stirring. Softened, it didn’t seem nearly as intimidating as it was when he was aroused.
If she’d thought Zeo would look more civilized in formal attire, she was dead wrong. Once he was dressed, she discovered the jacket only emphasized the breadth of his shoulders and the cords of muscle packed beneath his skin. He was stunning in a way that was anything but tame. In fact, he took her breath away.