Yes, I had watched the show. No, I did not want to be claimed—aka fucked—by an Atlan beast on live television.
Carmen’s attention was focused beyond me, somewhere down the pier. “He’s a dream come true, if you ask me.”
“You can have him.” I wanted no part of that kind of obsessive, smothering, controlling relationship. Henry chuckled at my muttering.
“If I were gay, I’d be all over that. I agree with Carmen.”
I laughed. “Well, maybe he’s into tag teams and you two can share him.”
Shifting my weight as I stepped from the boat to the pier, I looked up just as the alien in question turned the final corner in the maze of wooden planks and walkways. He had tracked the boat to our section of the pier and walked straight toward our boat.
Toward me.
His gazed locked with mine.
Oh, shit.
I froze.
Carmen bumped into me from behind. “What? Sorry, I—”
Henry bumped into her, making us a threesome of dominos about to tip over onto the pier. I heard Henry curse under his breath, then catch himself. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to step on—” The words died in his throat. “Whoa.”
Okay then. I wasn’t hallucinating. Henry saw him, too.
“Stef?” Carmen whispered my name over my shoulder.
“Yes?”
“I think he’s staring at you.”
Forcing my feet to move, I pretended the warlord wasn’t looking at me and walked forward, toward him. Carmen and Henry followed close behind. None of us said a word and I congratulated myself on my feigned nonchalance.
A few more steps and we would be walking past him, leaving him behind us. He would be a memory; that really hot guy we saw running on the beach that one day.
“Stop.” The deep, rumbling voice went straight to my core and made my vajayjay squirm. If she could talk, she would be screaming at him to fill her up and—
“Excuse me?” Unable to avoid looking directly at him for a moment longer, I lifted my head and looked him in the eye.
Mistake. Huge mistake. There was lust in his eyes. Need. Obsession. None of which I wanted. However, my damn vajayjay went wet and achy and invited him over. I saw the moment the scent of my arousal hit him. He shuddered and closed his eyes like he’d just taken a hit of the best drug ever.
“Mine.”
Oh, shit. There it was.
“No, Warlord. I’m sorry. I am not yours.” I shrugged and nodded my head back over my shoulder. “Maybe you were talking to Carmen?”
Carmen peeked around my shoulder. She was a couple inches shorter than me, her gorgeous tawny skin had bright coral accents where she’d received a bit too much sun on her cheeks. Her curly black hair was pulled back to reveal a bone structure that could belong to a magical pixie. Her natural beauty a look I had envied more times than I could count.
“Hi. I’m Carmen.” The invitation was there, in her eyes. No mistaking that come-and-get-me look.
The Atlan glanced at her for less than a second before returning his intense stare to me. “Name.”
Was that a question?
“Stefani, but we call her Stef.”
I groaned. “Thanks, Carmen.”
