Blaze: Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides (Intergalactic Dating Agency) Read online

  “Phone call not go the way you wanted it to, Blaze?”

  “Did you lose a bet or something?” Cynthia had a way of talking that instantly calmed and invigorated him at the same time. Figures. The one woman in all the galaxies that held his interest lived on the one planet he never wanted to stay on.

  “Or something,” Sev answered, thinking of his wayward family. He had a lot on his mind—from Kal’s run in with the law over a woman he thought he was in love with to Vin’s embarrassing penchant for ice cream that had gone what the humans called “viral.”

  “Been there, sweetheart.” She nodded her head that he should follow her. “Come with me if you have nothing better to do. I need a good luck charm.”

  Seconds later she had him in front of a card table.

  “Hit me,” Cynthia purred, not concentrating on her cards for too long.

  Suddenly the sound of the slot machines didn’t bother him as much as before. The croupier obliged with two cards that glided from his hand to in front of the exotic beauty. The faint whiff of caffeine wafting on the air roused a thirst inside of him. Spectators encircled the card table as the audience around Cynthia grew. They weren’t there for the cards. He couldn’t blame them. He would watch her all day if he could.

  “Here you go, sir.” The waitress angled her body to squeeze through a gap between Sev’s back and a man standing behind him at the table.

  Sev saw what he’d detected in the air, the sweet aroma of the black tar-like substance in the glass. His mouth salivated as the waitress’ hand appeared from behind him holding a small cup. Taking the drink Sev nodded a thank you to the young female.

  “Here.” Cynthia reached in front of him and handed the waitress one of her plastic coins with $20 on it. “A tip is better than saying thank you. Remember that, and you’ll never go without service in Vegas.”

  He smiled as she shared another of Earth’s customs with him.

  Cynthia’s sexy voluptuous lips mesmerized Sev. Her mouth moved to a unique rhythm he had never encountered before. It ran in time with his racing heart. He wasn’t sure what she said, or if she was even talking to him, but it didn’t matter. Most of what she said made little sense to him, yet his body understood her mouth’s cadence and how his presence was relevant to her conversation.

  He had tried hard to blend in at first, but there were so many nuances to the culture that he’d given up on trying to remember them all. Too bad it wasn’t in his nature to just wing it like Vin or Kal often did.

  Looking down at the table, Sev smiled as he noticed they had the same drink, short black.

  Lifting the cup to his mouth, he tipped it ever so slightly. It left a film on his lips that he then licked. The surge of energy from the small taste was incredible. He’d never encountered anything like coffee on other planets. Maybe there were two things he liked about Earth—Cynthia and coffee.

  Luckily, unlike Vin, Sev possessed a more measured and steady character. He liked to be in control. Though tempted, he only took the small amount of coffee, not the whole drink. He would not be filmed diving his hands into a vat of ice cream, or coffee, like a wild grouylock feasting on jimmikins.

  Watching his younger brother and cousin go through their dramas was enough. Secretly, he often wondered if he lived vicariously through his family’s exploits. Being subdued suited him. The lure of the chase had never interested him. He was the restrained one with the sober outlook on life, the caretaker who looked after everyone else.

  “When we first met, I admit I was worried how you’d take the caffeine,” Cynthia said knowingly. She appeared wise and extremely observant.

  “What do you mean?” Sev asked. He had never told her he was visiting the planet, so could only assume he missed the nuance of her words.

  “The way you ingested the coffee.” Cynthia gestured for another card.

  “What do you mean by the way I ingested the coffee?” he insisted.

  “Oh, that’s what I’m talking about,” Cynthia said, clapping her hands as she raked in new chips with her fingers. It hadn’t taken her long to amass her small pile of winnings.

  “I don’t understand what you are talking about.” Sev didn’t bother to hide his confusion.

  “Tell me something,” Cynthia said. “Where are you from?”

  Sev hesitated. This might be one of the first personal questions she’d asked him. He didn’t want to lie, so he carefully phrased his answer. “A small town.”

  “A small town where?” She neatly stacked her new chips.

  “In a mining community,” he answered. “I doubt you have heard of its name.”

  Cynthia studied his face for a long time. He had the feeling she wanted him to say something, was willing him to, but he wasn’t sure what it was she wanted from him. Finally, she said, “All right, mystery man from the mystery mining community. Don’t tell me.”

  Cynthia glanced up at him as she rounded up her winnings on the table.

  “What are you doing?” Sev asked. She was on a winning streak, and now she was leaving the game.

  Cynthia’s eyes went meaningfully to her left, and he followed her gaze to the sinister goons he’d fought with at another casino. He wondered if they were searching for him. They couldn’t have been pleased by the fact Sev and Kal had beaten them up, and made them look stupid, when they rescued Kal’s woman from their kidnapping plot.

  Just another reason to get off this planet, he thought.

  Sev glanced around as he looked for the savant they called Knower that had been with them. Half alien, half human hybrids, savants were prized for their high intellect and skills. Unfortunately, Earth’s crime organizations used them to track alien life forms, a crude but effective way of hunting visiting off worlders trying to blend in. Of course, Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides hadn’t bothered to warn them about that danger either.

  The men came to stand near the other side of the table. They hadn’t spotted him yet.

  “Let’s go, Blaze,” Cynthia said under her breath. “They don’t like it when someone wins.”

  Sev eyed the three men. He could take them in a fight if he wanted to, but then he’d be the one causing a scene, and that would make him a hypocrite. Plus, he didn’t want to risk Cynthia getting hurt as a bystander in the fray.

  “Follow me,” Cynthia brushed up against him. The softness of her body didn’t go unnoticed. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman and Cynthia reminded him of it every time he was near her.

  The cellular communication device vibrated in his pocket, bringing with it a sick feeling to the pit of his stomach. What new mess had Vin and Kal had gotten themselves into now? He fished for the phone in his jacket. Sev started to answer it, but then hesitated. He didn’t want to run off again. His time on Earth was limited and he wanted to stay with Cynthia for more than fifteen minutes. Was that too much to ask?

  Fuck it, he thought. Rather than see what the latest alert was about, he turned the phone off. Maybe it’s time they dealt with their own troubles. I can’t keep chasing them around, bailing them out of trouble, only to watch them repeat the same stupid mistakes. I’m allowed to have one hour to myself.

  “Good boy. Those two will be fine. Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides may be a bunch of con artists but they know not to make the news,” Cynthia said as she began walking away.

  How did she know about Vin and Kal and Galaxy Brides? Assuming that’s who she meant by “those two.”

  “Wait,” Sev demanded. “How—?”

  Her laughter cut him off, and she kept walking. “Calm down, stud muffin. You would never believe me if I told you. All I will say is that I know more than you think, and you don’t have to be so delicate around me when you try to phrase things.” The woman’s tone was punctuated by the sway of her hips as she made her way across the casino floor. He momentarily lost his train of thought.

  She said she knew about Galaxy Brides, but he was still hesitant to reveal too much about who he was. The Galaxy Brides ship
’s droning intercom voice echoed through his mind, “We are required to remind you to exercise caution while on world. Earth humans are not aware of alien life outside of their own. Informing them of it, or providing proof, is in direct violation of Federation law and your contracts…”

  Cynthia was almost out of view. Sev shuffled his feet to navigate the crowd as he hurried to catch up with her. “Where are we going?”

  “Nowhere and everywhere,” came her enigmatic response. “What does it matter? We’re here now, and that’s what’s important. Everything swirling around the past is just noise, and the future will do whatever it wants to us. If you spend too much time looking forward or back, you’ll miss what you have.”

  “You are a fascinating creature.” He couldn’t stop the compliment from forming.

  She laughed. “That’s the nicest way anyone has ever described me.”

  Sev fell into stride next to her. She was so confident, so sure of her herself, as if nothing could touch her unless she wanted it to. There was also a haunting mystery in her eyes, an indiscernible emotion she hid from the world. He had no idea what it was, but it was there. She reminded him of the dames in the rogue Earth transmissions he’d seen on the way to the planet—the classy ones starring alongside guys like Humphrey Boggart.

  “Here’s looking at…” Sev stopped when Cynthia laughed harder.

  “Now I’m Ingrid Bergman?” Cynthia winked as they neared the elevators. “I like a classic movies guy.”

  “How did you know about Galaxy Brides?” Sev didn’t think to stop as he followed where she led. A small fear welled within him “Did you make an agreement with one of the other grooms, and they told you? I know the grooms that are walking around in the sparkly jumpsuits claim to be kings, but they’re not. And those gemstones aren’t real currency. I asked. They’re plastic.”

  “Careful. You sound jealous.” She pressed the elevator button.

  “That’s not an answer,” he stated. “I won’t spend time with a woman who is promised to another.”

  “The only promises I make are to myself.” The elevator dinged, and the door opened for them to step on. Her emerald-colored eyes sparkled as she looked at him. If only Vin and Kal could see him now. When he didn’t follow, she said, “Decision time, Blaze. Do you get on the ride with me? Or do you fold your hand and walk away from the poker table?”

  The slot machines with their lollypop chimes and spasmodic bursts of asinine noises held little enticement. Cynthia was one mystery he did not want to walk away from. He wanted to follow her and discover where this day would take him. Decision made, he stepped onboard the elevator with the most alluring creature he had ever met in his entire life.

  Chapter Three

  “There you go.” Cynthia brushed a speck of dust off Blaze’s shoulder. “Practically a gentleman.”

  Blaze studied himself in the mirror. The tuxedo she’d found for him looked tailored to fit, but he never asked how she’d managed to pull that off. It’s not like men with his build were commonplace. However, she found if she smiled and said charming things, men didn’t seem to ask too many questions about the details.

  She was an illusion, being what she was told to be. Her gift was in reading people, well, not just people, but alien-people. That’s what happened when the wrong folks found out she was the descendant of an alien visitor and then decided to infect her with various DNA strains of gods-knew-what.

  Sometimes she thought about running away, but what was the point? Her life wasn’t too bad. She slowly made her way to the window that acted as a backdrop to the suite. Their reflections in the glass looked like a play to be watched—a man in a tux, a woman in a long white gown, an affluent 1920s couple getting ready for a party. It was a snapshot of a life that did not exist.

  The penthouse had a 360-degree view of Las Vegas. What other jobs would put her up in a place such as this? The alternative, if she ran, was living like a squatter—starving, broke, shaking like a withdrawing drug addict deprived of the chemical restraint they’d introduced into her system, before ultimately a painful death. Was freedom worth it if she knew she was going to die once she had it? There was nothing for her beyond what her bosses offered.

  Her employers didn’t want unsanctioned aliens running around Earth unchecked. That was what corporations like Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides were trying to do. They wanted to come to Earth and kidnap women for their own profits without so much as a thank you to the local authorities. Most of the alien grooms seemed harmless enough—strange but harmless.

  Cynthia didn’t think it was the kidnapping part that bothered her employers as much as the fact they didn’t want unsuitable women representing the human race to the rest of alien kind. Oh, and if there was profit to be made, surely they should get their cut of it.

  Not Blaze, though. He wasn’t harmless. She’d been following him and saw first hand how he and his cousin had taken on an entire casino full of security guards and mafia goons. She’d been trying to track down her savant friend, Knower, to find out exactly why it happened. But, Knower apparently didn’t want to be found. She couldn’t blame him. If the rumors were true, he and several other savants had taken one of the casinos for a lot of money in a jackpot run.

  “Good for them,” she whispered to herself, jealous that she had not been there for the showdown.

  “Are we going on a date?” Blaze asked.

  Seeing his expectant look, Cynthia said, “You, my good luck charm, will accompany me to a very important game tonight.” She placed a hand on his arm.

  Any amateur savant could have detected Blaze wasn’t human. His eyes had a metallic sheen. His height made him stand out in a crowd. But, it was what they couldn’t detect that excited Cynthia. When her handler shoved her so that she could “accidently” bump into him during that first meeting, she couldn’t believe it as her hand grazed over his hip. The touch had been brief, but she felt the three heat regulator glands. Those three bumps confirmed what he was. Or, more importantly where he came from, Bravon.

  She’d never met another alien with the same heritage as her father. There were so many questions she wanted to ask. But to satisfy her curiosity would be to risk her precarious position. Her bosses wouldn’t like it if she told him who she was.

  Blaze held up his arm and gave her a lopsided smile. She imagined he felt very debonair, like a secret agent on a mission. The man seemed to think that most situations were out of a movie. How he managed to see the shows while in space, she had no idea, but she assumed it had something to do with television waves floating far past the Earth’s surface into the deep space beyond.

  If Blaze wanted to play the hero, she’d be his leading lady. If he wanted a mystery, she’d be that too. If he wanted a challenge, or a girlfriend, or a confessor, she would have to fill those roles. At least this target was nice to be around. He treated her with respect and had not once tried to slip a hand up her skirt or a tentacle down her throat.

  Cynthia’s heart beat a little faster when she looked at him. This was not going to be an easy assignment.

  Chapter Four

  Blaze watched Cynthia lead him to the hotel lobby. Her every move was recorded deep in his mind where he’d hide it away as a treasure for when times were tough back in the mines of Bravon. He’d underestimated the power of a woman. Maybe seeing how Kal and Vin had met Earth females made him vulnerable to Cynthia’s undeniable charms.

  When he thought of his brother, guilt filled him, and he reached into his pocket for his phone. Switching it on, he frowned at the phone screen as a feeling of dread tightened his stomach. Twenty-seven missed calls. He should never have turned the communication device off for so long. What had he thought shirking his responsibilities like that?

  He looked at Cynthia, wanting nothing more than to follow her and be her good luck charm, but his family clearly needed him. He glanced again at the phone.

  “Go ahead, Blaze,” Cynthia said.

  “My brother,” Sev tried to just
ify his abandoning her mid-outing.

  “No need to explain.” She tilted her head to indicate that he should leave. “I have a feeling we’ll see each other again.”

  Sev thought of the shuttle he had demanded Galaxy Brides send for them. “If we don’t—”

  “Easy, hero, no need for a long goodbye. Life is what life is.” Cynthia leaned up on her toes and kissed his cheek. He stiffened at the gesture. The silk of her dress brushed over his hand. Before she pulled away, she whispered, “See to your brother.”

  He couldn’t respond. The feel of her lips stayed on his cheek as he watched her walk away from him. She moved with poise over the hotel lobby floor and disappeared through the front doors.

  “She is…” he whispered, not sure what he was going to say. Sev stared after her, too stunned to think. “Everything.”

  “Excuse me, sir? Sir? I asked if I could help you?”

  Sev blinked several times before focusing his eyes on the hotel concierge. He glanced at the man’s name tag. “No, Raymond, you may not.”

  “Very good, sir,” Raymond answered.

  Sev took a deep breath before grabbing his phone to check for voicemail recordings. As he made his way through the casino, he listened to his brother’s voice.

  “So, hey, I know you’re upset, but—”

  The message stopped. Sev frowned. Vin hadn’t paid attention during key parts of Earth integration—like messaging services on the local communication devices they were issued. He tried calling his brother, but the phone just rang, so Sev hung up and checked the next message.

  “I think it cut off, but anyway, long story short, I’m alive. Aside from that small exchange with a Clynder military team I was talking about in my other message. I pounded their asses. I mean I kicked those clones in the ass. I mean, kicked their asses? That can’t be right. I beat them, but I didn’t touch their asses. Why would Earth men beat someone in the ass? It’s not an advantageous area to strike.” Vin’s voice switched from the English to the Universal Star language as he began talking to someone Sev couldn’t hear. He mumbled something about the nuances of Earth language and phrasing.