His touch, his kiss, is mending broken parts of me from a lifetime of being unwanted.Maybe I wouldn’t have been such an ostrich where Nicholas was concerned if I’d realized how much those damaged pieces were hurting me.No amount of baking ever healed the ache I carried.Rygar’s kiss is doing more for me than all the cookies I’ve baked, combined.
“Ahh-hmm.Excuse me.Do you want the Sasquatch package?Or do you want to come back tomorrow?I can’t get you into the Crystal Palace, but we did have a cancellation in the Pirate Island suite at ten, tomorrow morning.”
.Tomorrow?No.No way.I tear my lips from Rygar’s.I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.“We’ll take the Sasquatch package for right now.”
“Excellent.”
Paperwork complete, we follow her down a wide hall, stepping on plush carpeting decorated with flower patterns.We pass multiple doors—white, gold, rose, green, black—before stopping in front of a set of large, dark blue, double doors.Aurora opens the door and leads us inside.
Once we’re inside the suite, she points to a set of shelves next to the door where four bouquets of silk flowers are on display.“You can choose whichever bouquet you like, just put it back when you’re done.”
“Okay.Thanks.”I grab the biggest of the four and turn around to face her.
“They’ll be with you shortly.”Aurora, obviously intent on returning to her desk, pauses before leaving us alone, giving me a stern look.“There are cameras in every suite.Just so you know.”
Guess that’s code fordon’t get naked in here because I’ll be watching.
Before I can ask, she slams the door and I’m alone with Rygar.As I study him, doubts plague me, even after all we’ve said and done.“Are you sure about this?You really want to marry me?”
Drawing me close, he levels me with a look, his earnest, forthright nature shining through.“You are mine and I am yours.This ceremony is the only way to ensure you understand and accept this truth.”
Confidence blooms like a rose, eradicating any uncertainty.We’re meant to be.This is the right choice.I feel the truth of it in my gut.Our connection is deeper than physical, like we’re connected on a soul level and are exactly what the other has been waiting for all our lives.Our coming together feels fated.“Well, when you put it like that, who could refuse?”
“Not me!”The bright, musical female voice makes me jump.“I’m Calypso.I’ll be your witness and interpreter for the ceremony.”
Interpreter?Do they not do these things in English?
I pivot to find a small young woman who looks like a willowy, blonde, winter fairy.Dressed head to toe in white, from fur-lined boots to cute bustier top, she’s covered every bit of exposed skin with a shimmering silver makeup.The effect makes her appear to be glowing.White vines and leaves are embroidered into her skirt and the fabric sparkles like snow in sunlight.As if her costume isn’t fantastical enough, she’s wearing a set of nearly translucent, pale, silvery-blue, fairy wings.Her blond hair is piled on top of her head in an intricate coif that would makePrincess Leahabsolutely green with envy, and topped with a delightful, sparkling tiara.
I notice Rygar’s hand hovers over one of his crazy suit buttons.Hmmm, what does that one do?Shoot lasers?Turn into a flame thrower?As curious as I am, I don’t want him to blow up the wedding chapel.At least, not until we’re married.Trying not to draw her attention to him, I gently place my hand over Rygar’s and shake my head.“Please don’t shoot any of those little rockets or spider things in here.”
“She is not human.I do not trust her.”
“It’s a costume.Like yours.The wings aren’t real.She’s just part of the show.”She’s pretty, too.I understand why they would hire her to play a radiant winter fairy.
Rygar narrows his gaze but removes his hand from the death ray button.“She is not human.”His whisper is loud enough that I’m sure she heard every word, although she pretends that a man dressed up like a space alien, and a plus-sized woman in a wrinkled wedding dress, are totally normal.Totally.
“It’s just a costume.”I appreciate his dedication to the role of warrior from outer space, the black SUV the one thing that doesn’t quite add up with my theory, but even if he is what he says he is—an alien soldier from another world—this poor woman is just doing her job, dressing up to play her role in the fantasy wedding we paid for.
“Madison, I know you believe you are thinking clearly.I assure you, neither one of us is capable of being rational at the moment.”He takes my hand, his thumb making circles on the soft skin.“Astral Euphoria is very real.When mates meet for the first time, the effect is more powerful than any drug.”
“Are you saying I don’t know what I want?”
“No.The attraction between us is intense.I feel it as well.I want to be very clear, Madison.I know you believe my armor is a costume, that I am playing a game, pretending.I am not.I have spoken nothing but truth about who I am.”
“Rygar from Pleiades, whose ship crashed in the woods.”Does he think I’ve never been online?Pleiadeans are one of the main alien species the conspiracy theorists talk aboutall the time.Heck, my dad talks about them with UFO hunting tourists.
“Yes.”He sounds relieved.He’s right.I heard every word.He’s also correct that I don’t believe him.Why would I?Aliens aren’t real.The fact that he’s trying to be honorable and warn me totally fits into the character he’s playing, the honorable warrior from another world, fighting to save the entire universe from unspeakable evil.
Hopefully he’ll save me from the unspeakable evil of only one orgasm.
I don’t know if he’s an alien.I do know he's sexy as pure sin.And mine.Is that rational?Nope.He’s right.I don’t care about logic at the moment.
Although, if he is in fact an alien, debunking any mythos about the existence of extraterrestrial life in the universe, it would explain the suit he’s wearing and what happened with that SUV on the highway.There’s also the way he mind controlled Charlie into forgetting what he saw.
Could he really be from another galaxy?His white-blond hair is a color I’ve never seen before.Those arctic blue eyes are equally unique.But he could just have grandparents from Norway.The small rocket and spider weapons?Probably Top-Secret military weapons or something.My dad has a couple of interesting gadgets leftover from his Navy days in the safe at home.That makes more sense than Rygar being an actual alien.
No.He’s human.He’s just really into his nerdy role playing.I’m not about to marry an alien from another galaxy.I’m about to marry an Operator or a CIA spook with gadgets and a fun cover story.“You’re a soldier, aren’t you?In real life, I mean.”I can’t shake this feeling that he’s military.That is one truth I am sure of.
