Alien

by Laurann Dohner

The light inside wasn’t blue, instead regular white light came from a round disk that may have been the smallest, coolest lamp she’d ever seen. It was the size of a pot lid but the light it put out was tremendous, making the room bright as daylight but not glaringly so. Someone had set up bedrolls on the floor, spaced a few feet apart. Coto kept hold of her as he crossed the room, walking between two bedrolls to the far side. He released her and pointed to one.

  “Please sit.”

  Coto bent and removed his boots. They were big things, heavy-duty like military issue. It made her wonder if they were in some kind of alien army. She hoped they weren’t there to check out Earth for a possible invasion. That concept left her feeling cold but if they were merciless killers, they sucked at it since they’d saved her. Coto had also been super nice to her. She relied on her gut instincts and believed what they’d told her was their reason for being on Earth. Some of her tension eased.

  The bedroll was a thick, comfortable pad as she got settled, sitting cross-legged, and then looked up. Her jaw dropped as Coto lay back flat on his bedroll, both hands going to the front of his pants, which he pushed down his legs and totally removed. She stared at his kinky shorts again, those long, muscular legs, and forced her lips firmly together.

  Don’t gawk, she ordered, forcing her gaze to Yavil. Of course Coto has to take off his pants. The other man needs to clean his wounds and rewrap them before they set up camp. That made sense to her. Yavil reached for Coto’s bleeding wrist first and removed the bandage.

  “What did this?” Yavil reached for a bottle.

  “They were vicious creatures with sharp teeth.”

  “Dogs,” Lynn offered quietly. “They are similar to what you chased away when you found me.”

  The blond glanced at her with his dark, strange eyes and nodded. He went to work on cleaning the wound and then put on some kind of goopy cream that was yellow. He bandaged the wrist, had Coto turn, and did the same to the other arm.

  Lynn watched silently, amazed at how efficient the other man was and how Coto didn’t even flinch. Lynn was pretty sure she would have cried and whimpered if she had those injures. Yavil patched up all his wounds except the one high on Coto’s thigh. He scowled.

  “I wish you had brought a house helper to tend you.” Yavil glanced at Lynn. “What about her? She could do this.”

  “You do it.” Coto didn’t even glance Lynn’s way. “It would not be a good idea to have her tend to me.”

  Yavil snorted. “It would cause you new pain.”

  “Yes,” Coto agreed. “I’ll do it if you aren’t comfortable.”

  “Thank you.” Yavil stood. “Just clean it well, put on the cream to seal the wound, and bandage it again. I will be outside. I have yet to eat.”

  Lynn watched the other man flee the tent. She turned her head and saw Coto sit up, spread his legs, and stare at the bandage high on the inside of his thigh. He shifted, trying to get a better look at it.

  “He’s not going to touch that one?”

  Coto finally met her gaze. “Unless it is life or death, men are not comfortable dealing with wounds in that area. Most of our healers are women who tend to our injuries. I am not actively bleeding and my life is secure so there is no reason to make him ill at ease with having to tend me this way.”

  “Are you kidding me?” she gasped.

  “No.”

  “Of all the homophobic bullshit.” She rolled her eyes, going to her knees. “Lie back and I’ll do it. I’m not a nurse but I’ve tended enough injured animals to do something this simple.” She crawled toward him, careful to avoid the stuff on the floor that Yavil had left behind.

  Coto’s pretty eyes widened and then he shook his head. “No.”

  She was on her hands and knees close to him, their gazes locked. “No?”

  He blinked once. Twice. A third time. “It would not be wise right now for you to do this.”

  “Why?”

  His hesitation before he answered lasted several long seconds. “I am attracted to you.” That was blunt. “I have fed and have rested from my battle with the sharp-teethed creatures that attacked me.”

  “Okay. They were dogs, not creatures. What’s your point?”

  “I can do this myself.”

  She cocked her head, staring at him, and then grinned. “Are you afraid you’re going to get wood or something?”

  The frown was instant. “I don’t understand.”

  She glanced at his leather Speedos and then her gaze rose to meet his. “Are you afraid you’ll get aroused?” He’d used that word so she figured he’d understand it.

  “Yes. I don’t want to frighten you.”

  “Does your head spin or something? Do you spew green, gross stuff and chant in demon speak?” She knew she was being a smartass and he probably wouldn’t understand but he was being just as ridiculous. “Maybe you turn into a pumpkin?”

  “No.” His frown deepened. “I am not sure what you mean but my reaction would be obvious.” He paused. “My body would react to your touch.”

  “I won’t look to see how you react. Just lie back and let me do this. Don’t argue.”

  He slowly lay back. “I won’t attack you or force you so there’s no reason to fear me.”

  “That’s great to know.” She studied the stuff laid out on the floor. She reached for him and hoped her hands weren’t cold as her fingers brushed his inner thigh as she carefully removed the bandage. The wound didn’t look nearly as bad as it had.

  “You really heal fast.” She stared at the damaged skin, seeing it was red and scabbed where the wound had started to close without stitches. “That’s going to itch. I fell last year and scabbed up my knees pretty good. It about drove me nuts while it healed. Of course it would take me weeks to recover from this.” She studied the bite. “They really got you good.”

  “I was surprised by the dogs.” He watched her closely, his face carefully masked of expression.

  It amused her that he was trying hard not to react to her. She turned her head to hide her smile and reached for the bottle she’d seen Yavil use. She gripped one of the small hand-towel things and started to gently douse the skin as she cleaned the wound.

  “Will this take care of infection?”

  “Yes. It will quicken the healing too. We usually don’t use this cream but we are far from home. It’s normal to suffer from injuries but this is what you would call an emergency.”

  His voice sounded deeper. She glanced up and saw his eyes were closed now. Her gaze traveled down his muscled body and paused on his shorts. She froze, going totally still, even holding her breath until the air burst from her lips as one word popped out. “Shit!”

  He jumped at her cussing and she barely jerked her gaze up in time as his eyes flew open to lock with hers. “What?”

  “Nothing,” she lied. “It’s just that it’s a bad wound.”

  The guy was aroused all right, the sight something she couldn’t miss since the leather wasn’t exactly loose around his body. He was seriously hung, judging by the bulge she’d gawked at. He was barely contained in the things and it didn’t look comfortable.

  “Relax.” She kept her voice neutral.

  She tucked her head more, so she didn’t glance over at his lap, her hair falling down in a way that helped curtain that view. She couldn’t be sure if aliens had the same male parts as humans did but that bulge looked the right shape, just not the right size, unless the guy wanted a job working in the porn industry. Some producer of smut films would die to get his hands on someone who could fill out leather that impressively.

  Lynn turned and reached for the yellow, creamy stuff and she used her fingers to spread it over his injury. She bandaged him next, getting a few quick glances at his lap. Nope. It really is that big.

  She moved down to the other bite and quickly cleaned it, smeared it with the cream, and bandaged it. She backed up and then turned, giving him her back as she crawled onto her bedding. “All done.”

  By
the time she settled down and turned to face him, he’d moved and drawn part of his bedding over his lap. It was almost funny that he was hiding his hard-on from her. It proved yet again that he had to be an alien. A typical human guy would have flaunted that bad boy her way, thinking it would make her want to jump his bones.

  He gave her a tense nod and said, “Thank you.”

  His voice had become super deep, rough, and harsh. Her eyebrows rose. Oh hell. I have to know. “Why is your voice like that?”

  He cleared his throat. “Like what?”

  “It is noticeably deeper. Why?”

  “I’m aroused and I’ve been without a woman for some time while traveling. It makes me more aggressive and my voice deepens. I am thankful that I’m not snarling right now. We should sleep. Morning will come soon and your sun will rise. There is plenty to do.”

  He turned then, presenting his back. She watched him, his body obviously tense. The guy needed to get laid. Hell, she needed to get laid. It had been nearly a year since she’d hooked up with her loser ex-boyfriend. Of course the pickings were slim in Green Bend. Her new boyfriend was a body pillow she’d dubbed Teddy Bear and a bullet-sized vibrator that was currently without batteries since the store didn’t have them in stock.

  She lay down and stretched out on her stomach. She didn’t do aliens. She turned her head to let her gaze drift over his broad back. Not even hot, long-haired, sexy ones with a stare that seemed to reach right down into her soul and a voice that did funny things to her stomach. Nope. She closed her eyes. Plus, the guy was friggin’ huge. If he didn’t crush her with his big body, or break her with his big strong hands, there was that seriously alarming wood he’d been sporting. She crossed her ankles and took a shaky breath.

  Bigger isn’t better. Bigger means pain. Yeah, keep thinking that, she urged herself.

  Chapter Four

  Lynn got a rude awakening when a roar tore through the tent. She jerked to a sitting position, confused, and her heart pounded as she looked wildly around her. She was alone in the tent. She heard a snarl and then something hit the side of the tent by the door, making the material dent inward before the object was gone and the wall popped back out.

  “What in the world?” she gasped, almost afraid to move, let alone walk out there to see what was going on. She shoved off the top of the bedroll and reached for her shoes. These guys argued a lot, she assessed, as she quickly put them on and stood. She walked to the door.

  The door was torn open in seconds and Coto ducked inside. Lynn stared at him, heart racing, and their gazes locked. He looked extremely livid with his harsh expression. He paused inside the door, took a deep breath, and then blew it out slowly.

  “You have no reason to fear me.” Coto took another step into the tent, letting the flap drop down behind him, closing them inside. “They are gone. They left us here.”

  She let that sink in. Holion had defied Coto’s orders. “I’m sorry.”

  “I will beat him for this insubordination.”

  “To be fair, you are pretty hurt.”

  He reached down and to her shock, began stripping out of his boots and pants. He straightened in front of her and tore off all the bandages. He had an amazing body. His leather underwear accented his golden skin but then she looked lower.

  “Wow!”

  “I told you the cream heals us quickly. Holion knew. He left us here to gain the gratitude of Hyvin Berrr.”

  “We can pack up camp and track them.” Her gaze lingered over his thick biceps and his chest. His silence finally made her look up at his face.

  He tilted his head just a little as he watched her with those exotic eyes. “I’m attracted to you and you are interested in me. I see it in your eyes.”

  She couldn’t exactly deny it. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “We’re so different.” A flash of humor hit. “I mean, you’re a leprechaun and all.”

  He frowned. “You’re intelligent. I could see you didn’t believe that. You know what I am, don’t you?”

  She didn’t fear Coto. “Leprechauns aren’t real. They are mythical men who probably stand a few feet high. That advertisement was kind of a joke the bar owner must have thought was cute. You’re not from around here but my guess is you aren’t even from this planet.”

  “It’s called Zorn. My planet.”

  “Why are you really here? You aren’t planning on attacking Earth, are you?” She hoped he’d say no.

  His scowl deepened. “Never. We don’t want war. The Collis are another race and they stole some of your women and brought them to my planet to sell. Hyvin Berrr, our leader, sent us here to make certain it didn’t happen again. We came and located their ship. A battle ensued. We were trying to protect your women from being taken and sold.”

  It made her like him even more. “Why would you care about us?”

  “You are not my enemy and I am a protector of women.”

  Lynn was speechless. It was a rare occurrence for her but occasionally it happened, although with Coto, it seemed to be a common event. She finally found words. “Who is Vhon?”

  He took a step forward but then halted, keeping a few feet between them. “He is someone of great importance. I can’t explain more than that but we need to find him and get him from the Collis if they have him.”

  “So Collis is not a person, but more than one?”

  His mouth twisted into a harsh downward slant. “They are more than one. We are unsure of their numbers but the ship they were in usually carries six crew.”

  Her mind worked, piecing together what she’d heard. “You’re stranded here now, looking for your friend? Did your ship crash?”

  “Yes. Both ships crashed.”

  “So these Collis are stranded here too?”

  He nodded.

  “Your people will come looking for you, right?”

  He nodded again.

  “Will their people come looking for them?”

  He hesitated but then shrugged. “It stands to logic, unless they are criminals without friends to search for them.”

  “What a mess.” She realized she’d said that aloud instead of just thinking it when Coto nodded.

  “It is unfortunate.” He reached up slowly and his fingers brushed her jawline with a feather-soft touch, stroking her. “I was tracking the group of Collis that I believe have Vhon when the dogs attacked me. Have you seen others similar to me? They are slightly smaller than we are by inches and they have yellowed teeth and bad hair.”

  His touch made her very aware of him as a man. “I would tell you if I had seen them. The owner of the dogs that you had to kill called me to come out and find what did that to them but you’re the only one I found.”

  “You live in the area?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know all the hiding areas? They will look for high ground, water, and some kind of shelter over their heads. Do you know of such a place?”

  “Um, there’s one spot like that near here. It’s on the property past the one where you were attacked. It’s abandoned. The couple who lived there retired to Florida and nobody bought the place. It’s kind of rundown but livable if someone is desperate.”

  “Will you help me? You offered to be our guide and we need one. We are not familiar with your…” He paused. “This area.”

  This planet, she thought, finishing what he would have said if he hadn’t stopped to change it. Gazing into those amazing blue depths, she found herself nodding. She wanted to help him.

  He slid his fingers up her cheek and through her messy hair. He lowered his face, staring deeply into her eyes.

  “I would frighten you if I told you what I want to do to you.”

  He had the sexiest voice ever, she decided. It affected her in odd but wonderful ways. “What do you want to do to me?”

  His hand lowered to her shoulder. He gently slid his palm over it and down her arm to her elbow, then to her back. His fingertips brushed her bare skin where the coyote had torn op
en her jacket in the back. It was an erotic sensation, feeling the rough pads of his fingertips lightly brush across her spine and downward until he reached the edge of her panties.

  “Would you trust me not to harm you if I try something?”

  “I’m not sure,” she said honestly. “What do you want to do?”

  He pulled her closer against his body until scant inches separated them. He leaned in, his face lowering, but he didn’t go for her mouth. Instead his warm breath fanned the side of her neck.

  His hand on her back lowered, gripping her right ass cheek firmly. “An experiment,” he nearly groaned. “I won’t harm you but I want to see if you respond to me.”

  I already am. She refused to admit that aloud. His hot, large hand gripping her firmly was something she should have smacked him over, but instead she just stood there allowing him to play grab-ass with her. Lynn stared up at him. She knew she should protest or jerk away but instead she allowed it.

  “What do you want to try?”

  He suddenly nuzzled her neck with his nose. “Touch me.”

  I’m in trouble. She lifted her hands to press flat against his ribs. He was really warm and his skin was silky but firm to the touch. She explored upward, lightly brushing her fingertips over his nipples. They beaded instantly and he growled. She froze.

  “I like that.”

  “This is such a bad idea,” she whispered.

  “I know. I should be searching for Vhon but all I can think about is wanting to touch you.”

  “We’re probably not even compatible.”

  “Some of the males from my world have married women from your planet. We fit together well and they share much pleasure.”

  That shocked her. “They married aliens?”

  “Yes. Hyvin Berrr is married to an Earth woman. Three of my brothers of the heart have also taken women from Earth as their bounds.”

  “What’s a bounds?”

  “A bound. Married.”

  “Do they live here?”

  “No. They are on Zorn. My people are accepting of other races from different planets. All the women from your world have stated that wouldn’t be the case here. It’s why we can’t allow anyone to find out we’re here. They might attack us.”