So Cam sat in a chair in a nail salon far from Alienn and watched Ria experience her first earthling-style pedicure. The manicure would come next. The duo was apparently called a mani-pedi. Ria looked euphoric seated in the lounge chair with her feet soaking in the little foamy bath. From what he understood, it wasn’t completely different on Alpha-Prime as far as nail beauty regimens went, but the Earth-style experience was supposedly more luxurious because water was used so liberally.
The nail technician clipped, filed and shaped her toenails, massaging all manner of gels, lotions and beauty goops onto her legs before painting her toes bright blue with a sparkly topcoat.
After her toes were painted and her fingernails were done, the technician asked if Ria wanted a free make-up consultation. Ria grinned like they’d just offered her a million-dollar check. It only cost him time, so he nodded and told her he’d wait right outside. He needed a break from all the interesting and pungent smells.
Cam seated himself on a wooden bench directly across from the salon. He had a perfect view of her having what she’d whispered under her breath wasearthling-stylemakeup applied.
He also did a little bit of people watching. He figured it came with the territory of being a security specialist. Some part of him was always aware of his surroundings.
It was evening and the volume of shoppers had thinned considerably—a relief, given he half expected to see a horde of citizens from Alienn ready to jump out and discover his secret. Cam was running scenarios through his head as to what he’d do if he saw someone he knew when Ria walked out of the salon.
“Hi,” she said. “What do you think?”
He barely stopped his jaw from dropping.I think you are stunning.And it had nothing to do with the earthling-style makeup.
He made a big show of studying her face like he was inspecting it, taking in her lively, mischievous eyes, her devil-may-care grin and her luscious, ruby-colored lips. Amazing. “You look as good with makeup as you do without.”
She laughed. “Great answer.”
“I do my best and you do look very nice.”
“Thanks.” Ria sat beside him on the bench, close enough for her side to press warmly against his. She put her hand on his thigh and said, “The good news is that I want to kiss your lips off, but the bad news is it would ruin my complimentary perfect makeup application, so don’t you even dare think about it.”
“I’m not gonna lie, a large part of me doesn’t care if I smear your makeup all over your lovely face if it means I could get even one little stolen kiss from you.”
The corner of her mouth quirked up. “Hey, you were the one who set the rules.”
He moved dangerously close, inhaling her luscious scent deep into his lungs. “Tell me, do you always follow every rule?”
Ria’s eyes widened and her breath hitched. “You know I don’t.” Her gaze sharpened. “But if you kiss me, this lipstick will end up all over you, too.”
“Don’t care.” He moved even closer. “It’s not like I have to explain myself to anyone else.” They were as close as they possibly could be without touching. The tiniest gust of air would push them into each other and, more importantly, their lips would connect.
Her gaze swept from his face to over his shoulder. She broke into a big smile and waved at someone. What the—?
Cam turned halfway around to glance over his shoulder. “Who are you waving at?”
But he saw who it was.Crap. “Are you kidding me?” he asked the air around him for a second time today, wondering why the universe seemed to be against him.
“He’s from Alienn, right? What’s his name again?”
Cam pushed out a long-suffering sigh. “Axel.”
Chapter Eleven
“Axel is another one of your brothers, right?” Ria asked, and waved at the man again. “He definitely looks like you.”
She’d only caught sight of him because of the way he abruptly stopped walking and stared in their direction. A huge smile spread across his lips and he waved. She imagined he’d recognized Cam. What could she do but wave back?
“He doesn’t look that much like me.”
She scoffed. “You two could be twins.”
“I alreadyhavea twin brother, I don’t need a triplet.”
You have a twin brother?That fact took her off guard. Were Cam and his twin identical? Would she be able to tell them apart if she saw them side by side? Could she add that to her list? Try to tell identical twins apart. Also, don’t accidentally kiss the wrong one.
