Cam shook his head, frowning as if trying to remember the specifics of the marriage that had been arranged for one of the Grey sons before any of them had been born. “No. I think it’s the eldest who needs a bride to carry on the family name. Also, mating with indigenous people and producing Alpha-human hybrids for a future generation isn’t typically allowed, even if you weren’t promised.”
“That’s not true. Besides, there are six of us men in the family. Only one of us has to fulfill that arranged marriage proxy. And eventhatarrangement is not set to go into effect for quite a while yet.”
Cam tempered his harsh visage. “Are you soft for this human, Diesel?”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Soft isn’t the word I’d use. I like her. She’s smart. She makes me feel different. She makes me feel good.”
“Because she thinks you’re attractive.”
Diesel gave Cam a long, hard stare. “How do you know that?”
Cam huffed. “I’m in security. I’ll refer you back to the surveillance images I saw earlier.”
“How do you know she thinks I’m attractive, Cam?”
“Axel wasn’t the only one who saw you kiss her, Diesel. I have it recorded on the store security logs. Would you like a copy of it, perhaps?” he asked sarcastically.
Juliana opened her eyes, confused by her familiar-yet-unfamiliar surroundings, then realized she must have fallen asleep in her car. Yes, it had been a long day. Yes, she was tired. No, she’d never dozed off in her car before. She didn’t even remember parking here. She shook off the remnants of her lethargy and grabbed her keys from the ignition, thankful she’d at least had the wherewithal to turn her car off before her unexpected nap.
On the drive here, she’d been thinking about what might happen when she broached the question about aliens running wild on planet Earth, especially in this particular area of Arkansas.
She got out of her car slowly, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu when she walked toward the convenience store. She’d never been here before, to the best of her knowledge. Maybe all truck stops looked alike.
Her initial probable scenario about this coming conversation involved meeting a short, rotund man in a silver lamé costume who smoked a cigar and stared at her legs. But all of a sudden a completely different scenario slid into her mind with a vivid yet dreamlike quality she’d never experienced before.
What if the manager of this place was tall, dark and handsome? No, tall,fairand handsome. What if he mesmerized her with his blue-eyed gaze and kissed her to make her forget why she came here? A buzzing feeling settled in her belly, slowing her steps as she created a vision of what an alien kiss might be like. It would be amazing. Wait.How do I know that?
Juliana almost stopped walking before she shook off the foolish notion, picked up her pace and headed inside the convenience store portion of the Big Bang Truck Stop. It was already full dark outside. How long had she been asleep? A glance at her watch told her she’d napped for almost half an hour. She shook her head and reconsidered starting a vitamin regimen.
She was certain she’d never been here before, but the clerk looked familiar for some reason. He had straight black hair, dark caramel skin and a diamond stud in one earlobe. The silver lamé uniform looked good on him. His nametag said, “Welcome, Earthling! My name is Paulo.” He started to smile, and Juliana knew he had perfect white teeth before he opened his mouth.How do I knowthat?
Paulo grinned and nodded, proving out her prediction of perfectly straight white teeth. So what? Lots of people have white teeth. Yes. True. But the feeling in her gut said she’d seen his smile before.How is that possible?She’d never been here before.
Juliana shook off her vague discomfort and asked, “Hi. Could you direct me to where I could speak to the manager of this place?”He’s going to point you to the back corner of the building and tell you to ask for…what was the name of the manager? Gasoline…color. No.What is the name?It was on the tip of her tongue.
“He’s right over there.” Paulo turned and pointed toward two men standing ten feet away. They seemed to be having a curt, unhappy discussion. Juliana thanked the clerk and approached the two men, feeling quite a bit off balance and hating to interrupt an argument.
The taller of the two men glanced in her direction as she approached and gave her a smile. Whew! He was attractive. He had dark blond hair, vivid blue eyes, a five o’clock shadow covering his solid jaw and chin, plus a wide, engaging smile that almost made her forget her own name. She looked down at his chest, noting he wasn’t wearing silver lamé or a nametag like Paulo.
The other man looked similar in coloring, but had a frown on his face. A deeper grimace registered when he glanced over his shoulder and saw her.
Juliana extended her hand to the very attractive man and said, “Hi, I’m Juliana Masters. Are you the manager of this place?” Without letting him answer, because she knew he was in charge, she quickly said, “I wondered if I might have a few minutes of your time to help me with an article I’m doing for a special new Finder’s book.”
Mr. Scowl Face extended his hand in her direction. “I’m the one in charge. What is it you need?”
“No, you’re not,” she said, returning his scowl. She looked at the other man—the very attractive one—and said, “He’s Diesel Grey and he’s in charge here.”How do I know his name? Did Mr. Harriman tell me that? Maybe.
Before she could ponder how she knew his name or why she got the strong feeling they’d met before, the deeply delicious-looking man extended his hand. “Yes. That’s right. I am the manager here. This is my brother, Cam. He’s in charge of security.”
Cam huffed and took a step back. “This discussion isn’t over, Diesel. Come find me once you answer her…questions.” He pointed at the front door of the store where she’d just come in. “And by the way,that’sthe exit.”
Juliana expected him to add, “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.” But he didn’t. He just gave his brother a stern look and walked away.
