Alien Rogue's Price: Alpha Alien Romance (Alpha Aliens of Fremm Book 4) Read online

  “I have wine and chocolate.”

  Dammit. Chocolate. He did not play fair.

  “I won’t force you, Meyet, but I will collect my winnings.”

  “Not in your cabin.”

  “Then no chocolate. Unless you plan on reneging. I wouldn’t be surprised. Everyone knows a Tal doesn’t honor a bet.”

  I snorted. “I’m not Tal and you’re not going to goad me into it.”

  “Kitten, everything I do to you will be because you want it. I’m not going to lie to you and say you’re not the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever had on my ship, because you are, but I won’t touch you. Not until you beg me.”

  A blush burned bright on my face. Damn him. “No touching.”

  Ruush lead me down the corridor and up a flight of spiral stairs. The stairs took us past the Bridge, the Astro-Nav Station, the Armory, and finally they stopped at the top level. The Observation Deck and the Captain’s Cabin split the area.

  The cabin was dark. On the ceiling, the stars shone through, illuminating the room in a gentle glow. It was as if the entire roof of the ship had been removed and we were directly exposed to the beauty outside the ship. I knew that was impossible. It was a starship, not a convertible skimmer with the top down. Hell, it wasn’t even a window.

  “How are you doing that?”

  “View screen linked to cameras on the hull. I assure you, there’s no hole in my ship.” The lights increased gradually, revealing the rest of the cabin. The room was spacious and overstuffed with comfortable furniture, lush fabrics, and leafy green plants. The heady dose of fresh air went straight to my head. Whatever I expected from the smuggler’s private quarters, that was not it.

  “You install that to impress the ladies?”

  “Actually, no. The ship came with it. The observation deck, too.” Ruush perched on the arm of a lounge chair. His bed lurked over his shoulder, large and clearly designed to be the focal point of the room. A sheer white canopy enveloped it, fabric running down along the wall. Pillows and blankets in rich colors piled high on the bed. It looked both inviting and repulsive.

  The image of myself falling back into those pillows with Ruush propped up over me burned in my mind, so I shifted my gaze to the floor. There was nothing sexy on the floor.

  “Now, kitten, I’d like to collect my prize.”

  I shrugged off the white, sleeveless jacket. “I’m not going to enjoy this,” I warned.

  “Not my concern.”

  Infuriating man. “You promised me wine and chocolate.”

  “You didn’t seem that interested.”

  “I’m interested now.” Booze would make this easier, I hoped.

  Ruush shrugged. A credenza near the seating area opened to reveal a bar. He poured me a glass of something aquamarine and bubbling. A cautious sip determined the wine had a sweet mint flavor. He pulled out a bar of chocolate and broke off a chunk. The smooth chocolate paired nicely with the wine.

  “You approve?”

  “I’m not a wine snob.” I knew nothing, really. Calmness always chose the menu. Tilting my head back, I drained the glass before holding it out to him for a refill. “More.”

  “Careful. It’s strong.”

  It better be. I wasn’t stripping for this rogue sober. “So do you bring women back to your cabin often?”

  “What would give you that idea?”

  “The wine. The chocolate. The starlight. The general ambience.” Everything in the cabin spoke to chasing tail. A lot of tail.

  “My mother actually decorated the room.”

  I choked on the wine. “You are such a liar. This place screams ‘fuck pad.’”

  “Is it working?” He flashed that crooked smile and my thighs clenched automatically. Damn him.

  “Not even a little.”

  “Look who’s lying now.”

  I finished the second glass. “Let’s get this over with.”

  “Words all men long to hear in the bedroom.”

  Why was I blushing? I wasn’t attracted to him.

  I wasn’t.

  Dammit.

  I was a liar.

  I set down the glass and started to remove my blouse. Ruush leaned forward, eager. But I paused. “No touching,” I reiterated.

  “Not unless you beg me to.”

  As there was no danger of that happening, I removed the blouse. My bra was cream and only practical. If I’d known performing a strip tease was in my future... I’d still have picked the same practical, boring bra. Screw him.

  I kicked off my slip-on shoes. Then I fumbled for a moment before unhooking the closure on the skirt. It slid to the floor and I kicked it away, towards the shoes. Now I was in nothing more than my bra and panties. Ruush sat attentive, as if this were the greatest show in the galaxy.

  “There,” I said.

  “Kitten, you agreed to nude. This is merely undressed. I like it but I know there’s another level of awesome to achieve.”

  “Fine.” Creep. I reached behind me, and I undid the bra. My breasts fell free and I tossed the bra into the pile. Ruush licked his lips. My fingers hooked into the panties and rolled the fabric down over my hips and then my thighs. I kicked them away. Moving too fast to see, Ruush reached out and caught the panties. With a crooked grin, he brought the panties to his nose and sniffed.

  Ugh.

  I wasn’t turned on. I wasn’t.

  Dammit.

  “Satisfied? I’m naked.”

  “Three minutes, kitten. I get three minutes of naked time.” He stuffed the panties into a pocket and approached me, circling.

  My pussy wasn’t wet. The curls were not damp and my desire was not trickling down the inside of my thigh. I certainly wasn’t aching for him.

  Dammit.

  I squeezed my thighs together. Ruush noticed, cocking his head to one side.

  “Hot and bothered, kitten?”

  “No.” Such a liar.

  I was completely hot and bothered. I didn’t have considerable experience in this area. Well, any experience. “No hands,” I said, voice caught in my throat.

  He looked up at me, eyes shining. “Of course, kitten. That was the wager, to look only.” He knelt down, face near the apex of my thighs, but he didn’t touch. His breath was hot on my skin. Ruush inhaled deeply, savoring my scent. God, I was wet and I wanted to twist my fingers in that wild mane of hair and shove his face into my pussy.

  I breathed slowly, a shiver winding its way down my spine.

  “You smell fantastic, Meyet. Like all my favorite things in a perfect, sexy package.”

  My lower lip trembled. Why was I shaking like a leaf?

  “I won’t touch you,” he promised again, voice low and rumbling. The vibration sent a signal straight up my spine and back down to my already over-stimulated core. “Not without your invitation.”

  “Not happening,” I said quickly.

  “Spread your legs.”

  “No!”

  “Widen your stance. I want to see that pretty pussy. I bet it’s as pink as your lips.”

  “We agreed to naked, not to a pelvic exam. No one’s-” Damn my mouth. Damn that wine.

  Ruush sat back on his heels, titling his face towards me. My blush intensified.

  “Meyet, are you a maiden?” he asked.

  “A what?”

  “You said no one. No one what?”

  I didn’t want to say. It was so ridiculous. It was just sex. Or a lack of sex. Whatever. It wasn’t like I had the opportunity. Well, I did. Just not with the kind of guy I wanted. Plenty of opportunity with bad choices. No thank you. I’d rather have no sex than sex with the wrong guy.

  And a terribly sexy wrong guy was kneeling at my feet, face inches from my pussy.

  Ruush’s gaze smoldered. I fanned myself.

  “Kitten? It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  “I’ve seen dicks before,” I said. What? Why did that come out of my mouth? “I mean, I’m a doctor. I’ve seen naked people. Lots. So many. Naked
men.” Stop talking. Stop talking.

  “Right, but as you’ve clearly said many times tonight, no touching. Has anyone touched you, kitten?” His hand hovered close to my breast, almost brushing my nipple. “Here?” He moved down to my hip. I swallowed. “Or here?” His hand made as if to cup my pussy, but stopped short of actual contact.

  My hips rolled forward, brushing into his hand before flinching back.

  “You blush real pretty, kitten. Your cheeks get this glow, all pink and delicate.”

  “I’m a virgin!” I don’t know why I shouted. Way to keep your cool.

  “Truly?”

  I nodded.

  “I’m having a hard time believing someone as gorgeous as you never-”

  “Never. And that’s not changing tonight.” Maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow sounded good. My thighs squeezed again. Stars. “Your three minutes are up.”

  I moved toward my clothes, turning my back to Ruush. He watched me dress. Somehow it wasn’t creepy. He was simply interested in that rare curiosity, the adult virgin.

  “Nothing to be ashamed of, kitten.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, perhaps too quickly. He raised one eyebrow and flashed that infuriatingly attractive smile. “It’s personal.”

  “Well, if you ever want-”

  “No!”

  “My services are available.”

  I bet.

  “My panties,” I said, holding out my hand.

  “No can do, kitten.”

  “Give me my panties back.”

  “You had lots of rules about touching. Nothing about panty ownership.” He patted his pocket for emphasis.

  Stomping my foot on the floor, I gave a frustrated scream. “You are the last man I’d have sex with, Ruush et Rueben.”

  Right? I mean, probably.

  Chapter Nine

  Meyet

  The bowl of apples on the table was too tempting, all red and glossy. Jonee, Hilly, Rise, and I sat around the table. Rise dealt. The crew had invited me for a game of poker and I accepted, eager to get out of my tiny cabin.

  The Observation Deck, located at the top of the ship, used embedded view screens to offer a breathtaking view of the stars outside the ship. Furnished with wide, comfortable seating, tables and even a liquor bar, it was the perfect spot for unwinding after a shift. And Hilly swore that Ruush never disturbed the crew during poker night because he understood that everyone needed a break from their boss.

  “Are those real apples?” I asked.

  “Snow apples,” Jonee said. She tossed me a particularly attractive apple.

  At my bite, the crisp flesh exploded with a sweet juiciness and unexpected cinnamon flavor. “This is amazing. I know I’ve only been onboard for a few days, but the Reconstructor food gets real old real fast.”

  Rise snorted. “Those things need to be retired.”

  “Taken out behind a barn and put out of their misery, more like,” Hilly said. “I’ve asked and begged, but the Captain won’t upgrade.”

  “Captain’s frightfully sentimental about the ship,” Jonee said. She studied her cards, keeping her face neutral.

  “Well, sentimentality tastes like cardboard,” I said. If I was going to remain onboard for a long journey, I needed to pick up real food at the next opportunity, or learn to tolerate cardboard.

  Hilly snickered. She placed her cards face down on the table. “I’m out. You dealt me a shit hand, Rise.”

  “Hate the game not the player,” he replied.

  “So where did you get the apples?”

  “Blackborn,” Jonee said. She tossed a chip into the center of the table.

  Hilly jabbed her with an elbow. “Icks-nay.”

  “What? We use the old warehouses sometimes.”

  I recognized the name. Blackborn was an early Terran colony that met with a bad end. After suffering a devastating attack from hostile Edder forces, Terra abandoned the colony. All that happened more than a century ago, before the Interstellar Union formed. “I didn’t know anyone went to Blackborn,” I said.

  “There’s nothing wrong with the place,” Jonee said. “Just a bunch of superstition keeps people away.”

  “The apples are good.”

  “Are we playing poker or gossiping,” Rise grumbled.

  I had two pair. Not the greatest hand but they didn’t need to know that. I tossed in a chip. Rise responded by sliding a chip across the table.

  Jonee studied Rise. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. “You only get prickly when you’re losing. I call.” She laid her cards down, revealing a straight.

  Rise slammed his cards on the table. Jonee chuckled, raking the chips towards her.

  “Why is the Captain so sentimental about the ship?” Hilly mused. “I can think a dozen upgrades in the engine room that’d make us faster and more fuel efficient but he won’t hear of it.”

  “I see we’re gossiping.” Rise stomped away from the table, towards the bar. His tail flicked in irritation.

  Hilly’s gaze followed him but she ignored his temper tantrum. “Captain’s so obsessed with keeping everything ‘original’ he’s even got some original crew members.”

  I leaned forward in my chair. No one on the crew seemed old enough to be original to the nearly one hundred year old ship. “Who?”

  “Resolve was the captain,” Jonee said. “Not the original, but when Ruush got the ship, he asked her to stay on.”

  “As his subordinate,” I said, unimpressed. Captain Sexy Face replaced Resolve and then had the nerve to ask her to stick around and watch him do her old job. “Why would Resolve agree to that?”

  Jonee shrugged. “I think she might be a friend of his family.”

  “I heard she knew him when he was in the Fremm Academy,” Hilly said.

  Rise made noncommittal grumbling noises from the bar.

  “Wait, wait. Ruush was in the Academy?” Even I’d heard of the prestigious Fremm military training academy. Every Fremmian youth performed two years of military service but only the gift received specialized training. Those who intended to become lifelong warriors started their training early. The Academy accepted only the most talented with a promising future as warriors.

  Hilly nodded. “Got kicked out, too. No one knows why. You want in on the betting pool?”

  Hell yeah, I wanted in. “What do people think happened?”

  Rise brought four glasses of a pale purple liquid to the table. I recognized it as a tart Tal wine made from summer berries.

  “I say he seduced the Commander's daughter,” Hilly said.

  I frowned, but not from the wine. I didn’t like the idea of Ruush seducing another woman, which was ridiculous. I didn’t like him. Why was I jealous about a supposed affair that happened long ago?

  “I say he stole one of the Fremm Holy Swords,” Jonee said. The three sacred swords, Honor, Valor, and Loyalty, were the emblem of Fremm. “The Academy supposedly has one of the relics. No one sees it unless they graduate. I think the Captain took it, just because he could.”

  Hilly shook her head. “That makes no sense; why would the Academy have a relic? Where any old drunk student could smash into it? Something like that belongs in a palace or a museum.”

  “But you agree he would take it if it was there, just because,” Jonee said.

  “Absolutely. No one loves spite as much as our beloved, spiteful Captain et Rueben.”

  “What do you think, Rise?” I asked.

  “The Academy has a lot of pressures. I wager that he sold performance enhancing drugs to the students,” Rise said.

  Hilly nodded. “Makes sense. Captain got burned dealing and now he dislikes Dusters. We’d make a lot of more money if he was willing to haul some Dust.”

  I drained my glass. I hated Dust. The addictive drug seemed harmless at first, giving the user a nice boost of energy and a feeling of euphoria. The drug fit perfectly into the long hours and boring life on a star freighter, space station, or any environment that offered a lot o
f work and tedium. I’d seen plenty of lives ruined by it. Of course, Calmness made plenty of money selling the stuff, so I was biased. My former master also got his employees addicted, to ensure loyalty, which was dumb. Addicts weren’t loyal to anyone; just to chasing the next high.

  Unexpectedly, I found pleasure in knowing Ruush wouldn’t deal with Dust. He had already told me flat out he didn’t do business with slavers. Drugs and slaves were high profit areas and an odd choice for a scoundrel to avoid. His negative trait list was miles long but the list of virtues was growing, I had to grudgingly admit. The arrogant Fremm was a cheater and a liar, but at least he didn’t profit from the misery of others.

  “He’s a cheater,” I said. “I don’t know how, but he was expelled for cheating.”

  “You’d need more details than that,” Rise said. “Saying the Captain is a cheater is like saying rain is wet.”

  “I’ll get the details out him.”

  Somehow. Hopefully it didn’t involve more naked time. But even if it did, I wasn’t too worried about it.

  Chapter Ten

  Ruush

  A week had passed since our wager. Meyet seemed determine to avoid me. Fine. I was a busy man. I had a ship to run. Plans to hatch. Mischief to manage.

  Fine, the truth. All of my journeys took me past her cabin. I never stopped, but my pace slowed, hoping to catch her coming or going. When she went to the Mess, I arrived a few minutes later. Without saying a word, she picked up her plate and left the room. The rest of the crew howled with laughter. Let them laugh. It was a small ship; she couldn’t avoid me forever.

  A notification from the Medical Bay pushed through on my wrist communicator and I frowned. I received automatic notifications whenever the facility was accessed. What? I’m not nosey. It was good team management to know when my crew was ill. So with a skip in my step, I headed down to the Medical Bay; it was what a responsible captain did.

  It obviously had absolutely nothing to do with hoping to catch Meyet and actually talk to her. Sure, there was something about her. I couldn’t explain it, this overwhelming need to both protect and possess her. I needed to spend more time with her, explore it, try to identify it. She was going to be furious.