And what will happen if you can’t convince her to leave with you? Labrinon asked.
I will.
But if you don’t. Symtarians have been known to go crazy if they can’t be with their lifemate. I don’t particularly like the idea that one of us would be a drooling idiot.
She will leave with me.
The truth was, Kristor didn’t want to think of what might happen if Rianna didn’t leave with him. Yes, he had heard all the stories of Symtarians losing their minds.
But he would convince her. He had no choice.
Or you could throw her over your shoulder, Labrinon reminded Kristor.
Yes, there is always that.
He stood, went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. Not as refreshing as standing under a waterfall, but definitely warmer.
You’re getting soft.
He almost told Labrinon to be silent, but it never seemed to do any good. He spoke what he wanted, and had the right to do so. His guide had been true and faithful. Labrinon had saved his life more than once by telling Kristor when the enemy drew close. A hawk had superior visual acuity. No, Kristor wouldn’t tell Labrinon to be silent.
This time.
He stepped from the shower, dried off, then knotted a towel around his waist. When he came out of the smaller room, his clothes had been laid neatly across the bed. He walked past them and went to the kitchen. Rianna was drinking coffee at the table.
It must be an Earth custom because the people who’d raised her did the same thing each morning. Kristor had tried the drink, but didn’t find it to his liking.
“Do you have orange juice?” he asked.
She jumped, looked up, then choked. “I laid your clothes on the bed,” she said.
“I prefer fewer clothes in the morning.” At home, he rarely wore clothes. It gave him more freedom.
“And you run around my parents’ home like this every morning?”
“No, I wear what you call ‘pajamas.’ Just like your father.” He went to her refrigerator, opened the door, and spotted a carton of orange drink and brought it out.
“Just make yourself at home.”
“Thank you.” He brought a glass down from the cabinet and poured some juice into it.
“You seem to know a lot about Earth.”
He sat across from her. “I studied. That, and Rogar explained a lot of things to me.”
“Rogar?”
“My brother.”
“What did he tell you?”
He frowned. “Don’t use something called a microwave.” He downed the juice. “This is very good. We don’t have oranges on New Symtaria.”
“Ria, are you up yet?” Carly called out.
Rianna’s face lost some of its color.
“Oh, no.” Her gaze flew to Kristor. “It’s Carly.”
The woman Rianna had called Carly stepped into the room, then came to an abrupt stop, her mouth dropping open to her chin when she saw him.
Chapter 11
“I’m sorry,” Carly sputtered. “I thought you’d be alone.”
Ria couldn’t believe this was happening. She would swear Carly to silence.
Oh, Lord, what if her mother found out? Not after Ria had complained so loudly about Kristor’s staying with them. Besides, last night had been just about sex. It wasn’t as though they were going to become an item or anything. And she certainly wasn’t going to become his lifemate. Just wasn’t going to happen.
But the sex had been fantastic.
Kristor came to his feet. Carly’s eyes almost popped out of her head as her gaze very slowly took in every inch of Kristor’s exposed skin, and there was a lot of it exposed.
A flutter of irritation swept over Ria, but just as quickly disappeared as her gaze fixed on Kristor. The man was downright, mouthwatering sexy.
“I’ll get dressed.” As he left the room, the towel parted down one side exposing a good expanse of his muscled thigh, and the towel was snug enough that it outlined his butt.
Ria couldn’t look away. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, as the blood rushed to her head. She watched him as he went down the hall, then turned into the bedroom. For the first time since she had known Carly, she wished her friend hadn’t stopped by.
Carly hurried over to the coffeepot and poured some coffee into a cup, before joining Ria at the kitchen table. “Oh…my…God! How the hell did you get so freakin’ lucky?”
Ria nervously took a drink of her coffee, then set the cup back on the saucer. She bit her bottom lip and wondered how exactly to tell Carly. Finally, she just blurted it out. “He’s the alien.”
“You slept with the alien? What do you mean you slept with him? You mean you had”—she leaned forward—“sex?” she whispered.
“You could…uh…call it that.” She looked down into the dark liquid inside her cup. Last night had been so much more than sex.
“I thought you wanted to turn everyone against him so your parents would kick him out?”
That had been her plan, hadn’t it? Wow, that idea had quickly gotten lost in the shuffle.
“And what’s all that stuff you told me about him being an alien?”
She looked at her friend and knew she wasn’t ready to tell Carly all that had happened. “I…uh…guess I did misunderstand him. He’s from another country. He’s an alien to the United States. I mean, this is his first trip here.”
“And the hawk?”
She shrugged. “Coincidence.”
Carly took a drink, then nodded. “Has he got a brother?”
Ria relaxed. “Yes, but did you know Neil is sweet on you?”
Carly blushed. “Neil?” She snorted. “I doubt that. I mean, look at the guy. He’s got the wow factor.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. Neil really does like you.”
Carly shrugged. “A lot of people like me. I mean, I practically grew up here. Everyone knows me. You probably misunderstood.”
Ria shook her head. “No, he was pretty straightforward. He asked if I would test the waters.”
Carly smiled. “Really?”
Ria nodded. “Yes, really, and give yourself a little more credit. You’re a beautiful woman. You just come from a big family and they sort of swallow you up.”
“He really asked you to test the waters.”
“Yes, so tell me, what should I tell Neil? No swimming allowed? Or come on in, the water’s fine?”
Carly leaned back in her chair, both hands hugging her coffee. “I like him, too. I have since he socked Ben Dansworth for pulling my chair out from under me in the sixth grade. When everyone started to laugh, he gave them a look that almost peeled the paint off the walls.” She sighed. “Then he helped me up.”
Ria sat forward. “A true southern gentleman.”
“And he’s interested in me?”
“Yes.”
“Then, yeah, but remember you’ll always be my best friend.” She blushed. “Not that anything will ever happen between Neil and me.”
Ria laughed. “You can have more than one friend.”
“Yeah, but you’re different. I don’t know what I would do if you stopped being there for me.”
“As if that will ever happen.”
“I guess you’re right. No one could ever keep us apart.” Carly glanced at the clock on the wall. “Gotta run, I’m opening the office this morning.”
“My new assistant is opening for me,” Ria told her.
“How’s she working out?”
“Katie?”
Carly nodded.
“The girl has been a miracle. Of course, she hasn’t had to groom Sukie, yet.”
“The demon dog?”
Ria nodded. “If she can make it through that, and the grooming business continues as it has been, I’ll put her on full-time.”
Carly glanced toward the bedroom. “Call me later when we have more time to talk.”
Ria walked her out, then watched as she drove away. A little niggle of guilt stabbed her. She hadn’t told Carly that aliens do exist. What could she have said? “Oh, and by the way, Carly, I’m part alien. Isn’t that just the darnedest thing?”
How could she tell her best friend anything, when she didn’t fully comprehend it herself? No, she needed to get a lot more comfortable with it herself before she tried to explain it to anyone else.