Bones popped and cracked as he swiftly changed from his humanoid form, to that of his beast. If he looked anything like his father did when he shifted, Reno knew he resembled a saber-toothed tiger, from Earth’s distant past, with a few exceptions. As his spiked tail whipped around, it would hit and inject poison into his nearest enemy. The spikes sank deep into the arm of the creature who had dared to touch Birgit. Injecting a leathal dose of venom that would eventually kill him.
The other shifters in the bar, also changed into their animal forms as the remaining three Argarians crouched down, and peered around them, no doubt calculating their chance at victory.
Two of the reptilian aliens bent and retrieved their poisoned comrade, holding the body between them.
Reno snarled, his tail twitching as he stared them down.
“We will return and then she will be unprotected. We will also have greater numbers. You have made a mistake that you will come to regret, human shapeshifter.” The alien who spoke glanced around him. “You cannot protect all of your females from us. We will prevail.”
After that, he reached over, pressed something on his wrist and they all disappeared, leaving nothing behind but their foul stench.
“You’ll need help with them, you know.” Frost stood next to a large wolf that pawed at the carpet.
Reno met his gaze before he turned his attention to Birgit, who still sat with her head on the table. With a sigh, he moved back to her, his nose twitching at her wonderful scent. He wanted nothing more than to take her home and lose himself in her.
The thought of being with her, sinking himself into her moist heat, brought him back to his other self, clothes and all. It had become apparent that he wasn’t without a little magic of his own.
The door banged open and the three turned toward the noise, the two men crouching low. A couple walked in laughing and they relaxed.
He turned back to Frost, and the wolf that still stood beside him. “I would be glad for your help, if there is a need.” He shook Frost’s hand. “Though I have a feeling my brothers would be insulted if I didn’t call upon them first.”
The roiling in his gut told him there would be a need for his brothers’ help. He hoped the fates would prove him wrong.
Kneeling next to Birgit’s chair, he gently slid her from it and took her in his arms. Closing his eyes, he inhaled her unique scent and almost groaned. It was difficult to believe he’d been so adamant that no human woman could ever stir his desire, just a few hours before.
Look at you now, you over-confident ass. With a sigh, he stared at Birgit. He tilted her head back and stared with reverence at such unexpected beauty on such a backward world.
Red brows arched over her closed eyes, drawing attention to her light, almost transluscent skin. Long, long lashes swept her cheeks with dark red crescents and her small, straight nose only served to draw his gaze to her full, mauve lips.
Cupping the back of her head in the palm of his hand, he gently tapped her cheek in an attempt to help her regain consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered and she shook her head with a moan.
Slowly, she opened her beautiful emerald-colored eyes and licked her lips. “What…what happened?” She glanced around as though expecting to see the Argarians hovering near the next table, waiting to strike. “And what’s his story?” She pointed at Frost, standing just to the left.
She tried to sit up, her arm brushing innocently against his erect cock. Reno bit back a groan at his body’s violent reaction to the innocent touch of his mate.
“Don’t worry about him,” he said as he stood, still holding her in his arms. “He’s harmless.”
“Harmless?” She leaned to the side to get a better look. “He looks like an axe murderer to me.”
Frost snorted and said something as he turned away. Reno ignored him and sat Birgit back in her chair as a waitress returned with their meal.
“Okay,” she said with a smile. “Who had the rare steak?”
“That would be mine,” Reno took his seat. “You guys have the best steak.” He rubbed his hands together before setting his napkin in his lap and then turned his attention to Birgit.
She stared at her plate, eyes wide, her lips pressed tight.
Shit! He shouldn’t have ordered for her. Her expression left nothing to the imagination. It was apparent he’d chosen the meal she’d finally decided against.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t possibly eat all of this.” She glanced up from her plate and met his gaze.
Her stomach growled and she looked away, her cheeks turning red. “It’s too much.” She shook her head. “It’s way too much.”
“It’s not any more than I’ve seen other women eat.” Reno replied, as he cut his steak and shoved a piece in his mouth. “As a matter of fact, some of them eat the meal and then order a dessert.”
“Not me.” She placed her napkin in her lap and cut a tiny piece off one of the two large, butterfly-cut, stuffed pork chops. “If I ate this much, my ass would be four feet wide. It’s wide enough as it is, thank you.”
“What is it about women here?” He scowled at her. “You’re all so worried about your weight.” He shoved another bite of his bloody steak in his mouth, swallowing before he even tasted it. “Not every man judges women by their size, or their looks.” He leaned forward and met her gaze so she could see his sincerity. “In fact, some of us fall in love with a woman’s mind and sense of humor.”
Chapter Eleven
Birgit watched as he took another bite of his steak and tried not to think about what she’d seen—or rather what she’d thought she’d seen—just before she lost consciousness.
Since Reno hadn’t said anything, and the other people in the restaurant weren’t freaking out, she assumed she’d imagined the entire episode. Who ever heard of reptilian aliens here on Earth? It wasn’t as though they could hide what they were… could they?
“I’m sorry I fainted.” Her face burned as she stared down at her plate. “I don’t know what happened.”
“It’s not every day that four men come looking for you. I’m sure it wasn’t something you expected all the way out here.” Reno shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”
She bit her lip as she stared down at her dinner. First she fainted, then she had a dinner set in front of her big enough to feed two people. Why did such things keep happening? She would never eat everything on her plate. Not in front of him, anyway. What would he think of her?
The fact that other women ate a lot didn’t matter. Those women either burned calories a hell of a lot more efficiently than she did, or they had men who didn’t give a damn if they put on a pound or two. She cut off another small piece and took a bite, savoring the delicious flavor.
Could she take him at his word, or would he attempt to change her as soon as he thought he’d entrenched himself into her life? She had once dated a man who had told her she was beautiful just the way she was, right up until he moved in with her. Then, he wanted to put her on a starvation diet. It took her less than a week to kick his ass to the curb.
She didn’t need a man to make her feel whole. She had learned that lesson a long time ago. Men weren’t a necessity in her life, they were nothing more than icing on the proverbial cake.
“Do you need a take out box?” The question jarred her back to the present and she looked up at the waitress.
“Yes.” Birgit glanced back down at the large chop on her plate. “Yes, I do. Thank you.”
“No problem. I’ll bring one right over.” The woman left with a smile.
Birgit had avoided watching the silent, unmanned bus carts as people dumped their dirty dishes and trash in them while they lumbered around the tables.
“Why the automatic bus carts?” She met Reno’s gaze and tried not to imagine him as a strange, green reptilian creature beneath a thin veneer of humanity.
“Well,” he paused and leaned back in his seat. “From what I gather, Susanna is always short staffed.” He shrugge
d. “I’m not sure why. She doesn’t seem like an ogre to work for, or anything.”
No matter what she said, or how she tried to turn the conversation from what was foremost in her mind, Birgit couldn’t help but think of the men who’d barged into the diner and demanded she go with them, right before their heads began to look like a cross between an ugly snake and a Tyrannosaurus. They had been a few of the ugliest creatures she’d ever seen. The hideous shade of green hadn’t helped, either.
How did one carry on a normal conversation after seeing something like that? Besides, what could they talk about after she’d fainted in the middle of their date? She chewed on her bottom lip and then took a deep breath.
She couldn’t very well ask Reno if he’d seen the creatures she had gotten a glimpse at. When something flickered around them, it was though she had been watching a science fiction show and a hologram had momentarily lost its cohesion—or they wore a disguise so thin, she had managed to see right through it.
Reno didn’t say anything about the fact that she’d fainted. Had he seen them, too? What about the other people in the restaurant? She had been afraid to ask. After all, her date probably already thought she was a cheeseburger short of a kid’s meal. Hadn’t she just told him she would even date a being from another planet right before she’d done a face plant into the tablecloth?
Sitting silently at the table was out of the question. She wished she hadn’t keeled over as though she were some weakling. If they had been aliens, she had blown her one chance at talking to them because she’d fainted dead away when she saw someone different than herself. She should be ashamed of herself after preaching to others how she would welcome true aliens and would never discriminate against them.
After fainting when she’d seen them in the flesh, so to speak, she’d have to reevaluate her opinion on the matter. She never considered herself a bigot, but she didn’t think she could ever date a male who had a snake’s head for his actual head, either. The green skin, she could deal with, but cold, wet and slimy green skin just wasn’t attractive on anyone, in her book.
What if the men in black were aliens? Did that mean the people who had encounters with the mysterious men after a UFO sighting had been intimidated by aliens? Is that why they managed to show up mere minutes after a sighting to threaten the local townsfolk? Had there been aliens in Magic and that was why they were in town in the first place?
With a small shake of her head, she discarded the notion as she remembered they had been specific in asking about her. If she was certain about anything, it was that she wasn’t a space alien by anyone’s standards and she had the Michigan birth certificate to prove it.
“Are you okay?” Reno tapped her arm and she jumped.
“I’m… not sure.” She lifted her napkin from her lap and blotted her forehead with it. “I think maybe the heat here, is too much for me.” She chuckled, though she didn’t feel any real mirth. “You won’t believe this, but I could have sworn I saw real reptilian aliens here dressed up as men in black.” She didn’t know what she expected from him. She didn’t want him to think less of her for her reaction, though she wasn’t sure why she gave a damn.
“I believe you.” He shrugged. “Believe it, or not, that isn’t the first time aliens have walked into this restaurant. Though, I should say they don’t usually threaten the clientel.”
“Then you saw them too?” Birgit took a deep breath. Her head spun as she came to terms with the fact that her companion just admitted to seeing aliens in town. In fact, it hadn’t seemed to come as a complete surprise, either.
“Yes, love, I saw them and no, you aren’t going mad.”
She glanced around peering at the other patrons and wondered what other bizarre things could happen. Hell, one of them might suddenly grow a tail or sprout antennae from the tops of their heads.
“They aren’t all aliens, you know,” Reno whispered, drawing her attention back to him.
“I… I didn’t think they were.” Her cheeks warmed as she met his gaze. She ducked her head so he couldn’t see her expression.
“But you were wondering how many of them were, though. Admit it.”
“Guilty as charged,” she said, using his expression from earlier, before she sighed into her drink as she tipped it up to take a sip. How could she not wonder? The man had just admitted aliens had been in the restaurant.
“If it would make you feel better, I could tell you how many of the people here are aliens.” He cleared his throat. “At least the ones I know for sure.”
“How many?” She sat forward in her seat, unable to believe he would admit something like that to her. Perhaps she was insane, or he was. Hell, maybe they both were. Still, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was she seemed to have found a kindred spirit in Reno.
Chapter Twelve
“Two.” Reno held Birgit’s gaze, serious.
He couldn’t tell her about Frost, because it wasn’t his story to tell. All he knew was the other man came from some sort of ice planet. The other man had been among the townsfolk that had risked their lives pulling Reno and his brothers from the wreckage of their crashed ship. He owed them all his life. He would not betray the trust of any person in Magic.
“Which two,” she whispered, peering this way and that, trying to figure out who could be a possible candidate.
“I can only tell you one.”
“Why?”
“Because, to name another wouldn’t be fair to him. I will give you the name of the one I can expose.”
“Okay.” She sighed with a frown. “Who is the one and how will you prove it?”
“The one is me. I can prove it if you accompany me back to my home where you can see me without the glamour the town casts over us. At home, we are ourselves, unless we wish otherwise.”
Her eyes grew round as he held her gaze. Little gold flecks danced in her eyes, spinning within the borders of the beautiful green irises.
His beast rammed against the barrier holding him inside, snarling with rage when it couldn’t get free. Reno wanted to rub against her, get his scent all over her, telling other males she was taken—she was his.
The human part of him held the beast under his control. The tiger within him snarled and growled, but ultimately, knew it would never prevail over the stronger will of the humanoid part unless something endangered its mate. The beast knew it couldn’t claim her. It wasn’t his right. Not yet.
“Right.” She glared at him. “You know, you could have just said, I find you attractive and I would like to take you home. That might have worked better than the crock of crap you just spewed. Instead, you play into my belief of extraterrestrials.” She stood, threw her napkin on the table and turned to leave. “Tell the waitress to forget the box. I’m not sitting here with you for another damned minute.”
“Wait!” Reno stayed long enough for the waitress to bring the leftover box and the bill before he slapped a fifty on the table and followed her out.
He found her standing in the shadow of the porch, her arms wrapped around her waist, staring out into the darkness. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right, but she would never believe him until he could prove he was what he said he was and he would not do it outside where anyone could see him. It was bad enough he’d done it in the restaurant. It was just a good thing that, other than Birgit, there were only locals there having dinner.
As it was, he was going to have to get together with his brothers and some of the other townsfolk and see what they could do to protect the town against the bloodthirsty Argarians. They’d have to find a way to run them off the planet. Otherwise, there was no telling what kind of havoc the reptilians would wreak on the populace.
He stood just outside the door for a moment, allowing his vision to adjust to see in the lower light. After a moment, she stirred, turning to face him as she bowed her head toward the ground.
“I don’t know how to get back to the bed and breakfast.”
She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Will you give me a ride back?”
“On one condition.”
“You want me to go home with you. I get it.”
“No, Birgit, you don’t get it.” He sighed when he really wanted to snarl at her. Instead, he squeezed the box carrying her leftover chop so hard, the food spilled out into the bushes and he sighed. “So much for your food.” Picking up the dirt-covered chop, he shoved it and the box in a nearby trash can then turned back to her. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you. I would also be lying if I told you that I haven’t already fantasized about sinking my cock into your warm, wet flesh. However, I wasn’t telling a mistruth when I told you what I was, and where I’m from. I can’t prove it to you unless you come home with me because the proof is there.”
He shoved his fingers through his hair, wishing there was some other way to show her he meant what he said. “I’m a shape shifter. I can show you that right here, right now, but it won’t prove to you that I’m not from Earth.”
“You’re a… you’re a…” Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she shook her head. “Prove it. If you can prove that to me, I’ll be happy to go home with you because I’ll know I’ve gone totally bonkers then. So what will it matter if you’re some kind of freak job axe murderer?”
“Remember, you asked for this. Just don’t faint again, okay?” He grasped her by the upper arms, pressed a quick kiss to her lips and reached for his beast. It was easy now that he’d shifted for the first time. The beast lurked just below the surface of his humanoid self, waiting for something or someone to threaten its mate.
His bones snapped and popped as they reshaped. Fur sprouted over his skin and his head grew and changed shape to accommodate larger teeth. Eight-inch curved fangs thrust from his gums and hung past his lower jaw. Large paws the size of dinner plates replaced his hands and feet and his tail thrashed around behind him, the spikes sheathed within the thick length.
“Oh. My. God!” Birgit covered her mouth with her hands as she stared at him wide-eyed. “You were telling me the truth.” She circled him, moving slow, as though afraid he would pounce on her. “Can I… can I touch you?”
Magic, New Mexico: Bewitching Birgit (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 5