Angel squirmed in her hold. The kitten’s tiny claws sank into one of Francine’s fingers and she felt—barely—the bite of kitten teeth. Their passionate kiss slowed to a stop, their lips barely parted from each other, the intense gaze returned. She wanted him.
A long-lost feeling low in her belly made her remember why she’d fallen so hard for the last man who’d seduced her. And betrayed her.
Raphael wouldn’t do that, would he? He wasn’t the type to lead her to near ruin and then marry someone wealthier, with more political stature. Was he? She hoped not. Francine was about to throw caution to the wind and explore a relationship with this enticing man.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
Chapter Two
Luther Raphael Boudreaux kissed Francine Duvall like his life depended on it. Maybe it did. He certainly understood her lot in life. He knew what it was like to be let down by the people you should be able to trust the most. He’d been kicked out of his family by his unhappy sire and remembered the feeling of loss well. Harsh words had been spoken, and even harsher feelings had left wounds on both sides. In his humble opinion, Francine’s family took the word vendetta to a whole new level.
She wanted to call him Raphael, and he liked that more than he could say. His father had called him Luther, and the disdain in his sire’s tone echoed in his memory. He was going to start introducing himself as Raphael Boudreaux and let the chips fall where they may, to borrow an Earther phrase. He’d studied an Earther book of common sayings before coming to the colony planet and he had a very good memory. He never forgot anything he read.
Holding Francine, Raphael wondered how he’d existed before discovering her. He’d seen her the day he landed in Alienn, Arkansas, in the basement of the colony’s secret hidey-hole beneath the Big Bang Truck Stop.
If he hadn’t been introduced to her at Wyatt’s house, shaken her hand as she blushed and been completely intrigued by the Alpha woman, he’d already be gone, on to the next bounty, on to the next hunt. But in the short time he’d been on Earth, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. She looked dramatically different with red hair versus blond. He loved her new hair color.
He wished he hadn’t been pulled away from Francine to go on what turned out to be a fool’s errand with fellow bounty hunter Charlie Adler. Their too-brief encounter served to make him even more intrigued.
Intrigued enough after capturing the notorious Indigo Smith to accept short-term employment as a bodyguard working for Diesel Grey, the Fearless Leader of the Big Bang Truck Stop.
For the past few months, he’d been in and out of Alienn, Arkansas, clandestinely escorting members of the Grey family due north to a recently discovered community with Alpha-Prime ties in the state of Minnesota, aptly named Suspicion. He hadn’t concerned himself with why they were up in the very cold northern area, but heard enough to put together what must have happened.
An Alpha had been stranded or abandoned after a crash landing a very long time ago. The Alpha made his way to Suspicion, but lost his memory and thought he was human. The Alpha and the human he married had a dozen children—common for the time period, apparently. His offspring went on to have a plethora of their own children. After a couple of generations, the town was filled with descendants who had the ability to read minds.
The leadership in Alienn was carefully exploring a relationship between the two communities with the leadership in Suspicion. It was all he knew about the situation and all he wanted to know. His role was simply to ensure the conversations between Alienn folks and Suspicion folks remained civil.
Once he wrapped up his bodyguard duty, Raphael opted to take a short vacation on Earth to pursue a private mission: Francine Duvall. That was why he was on the spot to see her almost fall on the kitten tonight.
He’d been waiting for her to get off work, hoping for an opportunity to “accidentally” run into her, speak to her, then woo her.
Racing to her rescue had played perfectly into his plans. At least he hoped so. Their passionate kiss made him glad he’d changed his loose plans to take on a new mission and remained on the Alpha-Prime colony planet a little longer. The luscious kiss was a worthy reward for his patience in seeking her out.
He’d led a somewhat solitary life as a bounty hunter in the decade since his departure from his family’s home on Ichor-Delta. Tracking down criminals across the galaxies didn’t lend itself to long-term relationships or any sort of family life. At least at the beginning of his career. Now that he had a reputation as a skilled and reliable bounty hunter, his options were more family friendly than when he’d started out and had to take every job that came along to build a name for himself.
His heart warmed in his chest at the thought of exploring a romance with Francine. Was she interested in more than just a single blistering kiss in the parking lot of the Supernova Supermarket? Perhaps he was getting ahead of himself with the idea of any sort of permanent arrangement between them. But he didn’t want to end the kiss to ask about her intentions.
Their first kiss would be emblazoned on his soul. Did she feel the same way about any kind of future with him? Maybe he would offer to be her escort to Ichor-Delta so she could see her sister married. Would that make her happy? Would it endear him to her? Didn’t matter—he’d do it.
Given the reputation of the Duvall family in their part of interstellar space, his prestigious former family might even have an invite to the festivities. By taking Francine to Ichor-Delta, he’d risk running into a family member of his own, even if none of the Boudreauxes attended the wedding. It was always a possibility when he went to Ichor-Delta. Besides, so what if he did see a member of his family there? It’s not like they would have Guardsmen wrestle him onto a flight bound for an Alpha-Prime colony planet and promptly bill him for the expense.
The worst thing, from his point of view, would be if the remaining members of his family pretended not to know him. Ostracized and ignored by his father and possibly every other family member.
He felt sorry for Francine’s situation, though he’d learned to live with the exact same thing in the years since he’d left home. Her parents were incredibly vindictive to go to such extremes. Maybe he’d send a missive to Ichor-Delta and have a friend discover if his family would be at the Duvall wedding. If not, he could safely take Francine there, keep a low profile otherwise, and be her hero without instigating a fresh quarrel with his father.
Raphael wanted to be Francine’s hero.
He’d been back to Ichor-Delta several times without crossing paths with his family. It was both a boon and a disappointment, truth be told. There were some relatives and household retainers he wouldn’t mind seeing again.
He missed his younger brother, Alexander, who’d once called him Rafe. Alex was likely being taught all the things Raphael would have taken on regarding the family businesses and positions. He didn’t miss any of that. Their elder brother, William, would eventually take over the family businesses and patriarchy, if he hadn’t already. No one had informed Raphael of his father’s demise, but it was possible his sire had relinquished his position as head of the household to Will and retired.
Would Will carry on the crusade their father had started and treat Raphael with unconcealed disdain? Raphael didn’t know how his elder brother felt and for a long time wasn’t ready to learn the truth of it. As time passed, he wondered, but hadn’t taken the opportunity to discover his eldest brother’s feelings about his exit from the family. In this case, no newswasgood news. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t think about his family.
That decided him.
Raphael would go to Ichor-Delta and discover the truth of his status with his own family. It should make it easier if he used the Boudreaux name at an extravagant public wedding. He’d do it for Francine. Guarding her gave him the perfect reason to consider a trip back home. Two for the price of one was another apt Earther expression.
