He smiled and pulled me in for a kiss. “Of course I did, mate. Every single part of you is branded inside me.”
See? How the hell was I supposed to resist a guy who said that kind of ridiculous thing and actuallymeant it.
He got a kiss for his trouble.
“Okay. Let’s go talk to her.” I placed my hand in Stark’s and allowed him to lead me to the exit. “What did she say? Were they able to find it?”
“No.”
“No? I told them exactly where it was.”
“Apparently, when the safe was opened, it was empty.”
“What?”
He chuckled. “If you continue to use that word so frequently I shall start charging a fee.”
“Like a cuss jar?”
“I do not know of what you speak.”
“Never mind.” We were walking down the ramp of a spaceship just like in a movie. There was practically an army of gigantic, armed aliens waiting for us, and one small woman. Pretty. Dark hair. Gray eyes. Maybe a year or two older than me. I was nervous and needed a distraction. “What’s the fee?”
He didn’t hesitate. Apparently he’d been thinking about this for a while. “A kiss.”
I chuckled. “Why would you ask for that when you can already have as many as you want.”
He stopped dead in his tracks at the bottom of the ramp and turned me to face him. “Can I?”
I saw something in his eyes I hadn’t seen before, vulnerability. “Yes.”
“And tomorrow? Once your drug dealers are dead?”
My heart sank. I wanted to be with him, but moving to outer space? God, moving across the country had seemed nearly impossible a few days ago. Another planet was next level scary.
“Excuse me for interrupting but we don’t have a lot of time.” We both turned to find Warden Egara had approached, two massive Prillon guards on either side of her. Four guards? Just for Stark?
I held out my hand. “Hi. I’m Rebecca. This is Stark.”
The warden accepted my proffered hand and shook it briefly before turning to Stark. “Elite Hunter Stark. Welcome. I have been in contact with Prillon Prime and confirmed your assignment.”
Next to me, Stark stiffened. “I do not lie, warden.”
She watched Stark with narrowed eyes, completely unphased by his stern tone. “We have had a large amount of unexpected activity here on Earth the last few months, including dealings with the legions on Rogue 5. Forgive me for being thorough.”
When Stark stared back, I stepped between them and smiled. “It’s okay. Don’t mind him. He’s just trying to protect me and kill the jerks selling Quell.”
Warden Egara’s gray eyes locked on me. “Of course. And you are his marked mate?”
I held up my hand, palm out to show her my birthmark as Stark wrapped an arm around me and pulled me to his side.
“She is mine.”
Warden Egara laughed, her entire demeanor completely changed from stern to gorgeous. “I can see that. Excellent.” She looked at me with a much softer, much kinder smile. “I am very protective of my brides, Rebecca. I had to make sure you were all right.”
“I’m not an Interstellar Bride.”
“Are you not?” She looked from me to Stark and raised her eyebrows. I didn’t feel like arguing.
