“We only came here to help your people, not take over your world.”
“Really? You came here out of the goodness of your heart?” He placed his hand over her rapidly beating heart.
“Yes,” she answered, trying not to flinch. His hand was too close to her breast and she very much wanted to avoid drawing his attention down from her face.
Frazier removed his hand as he pulled up a chair to sit down in front of her, a little too close for her liking. “Let me ask you something. Have your people ever assisted any other worlds?”
“Of course we have.”
“What have you demanded of those people for your assistance?”
“Nothing.”
He quirked a disbelieving eyebrow at her. “Nothing? What about their unwavering allegiance in case you ever come across another enemy?”
“Well...of course they offer allegiance.”
“So you would use us as foot soldiers to fight your enemies?”
She shook her head. “We have no enemies.”
“I find that hard to believe. Didn’t you guys just come back from a war on another planet?”
How did he know that? That wasn’t something talked about outside of high-level Drastan leadership. “We were asked to assist another race that was under attack.”
“And for your assistance, they gave their allegiance. If you ever needed them, they would feel obligated to come to your aid. Isn’t that right?”
“Your world had allegiances as well. I believe you called it the NATO. If an enemy attacked one, the others would support and attack that enemy.”
“Your people expect allegiance and will withhold future help if it isn’t given. Isn’t that the truth?”
She looked away, not feeling the need to fight with him over it. Her people wouldn’t turn their backs on anyone, even if no allegiance were given, but this guy wasn’t going to believe it. She was shocked to feel his fingers caress her cheek. Jerking away from his touch, she moved back so hard that she almost tipped the chair backward. “Don’t touch me!”
“Honey, you’re going to have to get used to my touches if you want to live.”
“What do you want from me?”
“Well, I admit my first intention was to kill you and those traveling with you, sight unseen. Now that I see you, though, my plans have changed. I’ll take you with me when I leave, and then convince you to tell me everything I want to know about your people.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
Frazier tucked a piece of her hair back behind her ear, caressing the soft flesh behind her lobe. She moved but couldn’t get out of his reach completely. “You are so soft. I have ways of convincing you. Don’t worry, we’ll come to an arrangement beneficial to...well, mostly beneficial to me, but you’ll get something out of it, too. You’ll get to live.”
“I would rather die than to have you touch me!”
He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. She hadn’t expected it and felt immediately disgusted that she hadn’t been able to block him from doing it. “Death is not in your immediate future. Be grateful for that. You sit here and look pretty while I go tell my men what to do when your friends come looking for you.” He snorted. “You Drastans are so particular about females, so I have no doubt they will be sending people out for you. Now that I’ve met you myself, I know I would do anything to get you back and keep you.”
She watched in dread as Frazier walked out of the room. All kinds of thoughts ran through her head of what this guy might have planned for her, and none of it was good. Nix had trained for many things, even for the rare situation in which she was caught and tortured. She just wasn’t sure her training had prepared her for such a personal attack, if that was what Frazier had in store for her. She had to do whatever it took to get free. Killing him on the way out would be her second objective.
