Alien Warrior’s Promise by Sue Mercury
Chapter 4
Macy’s long,wavy hair gleamed in the sunshine, a thousand different shades of gold. Her blue gaze darted from him to the white-stone path ahead in an increasingly nervous manner. He kept a hand pressed to the small of her back, and he detected the slight tremble of her body.
He ached to wrap his arms around her and offer her comfort, but he didn’t wish to pause in the street. He wanted to get her home where they could be entirely alone. And fluxx, the things he wanted to do to her. His cock thickened in his pants and his balls drew up tight, desire gripping him full force.
Back in the room at Vaxxlian Matchmakers, he’d thought he detected the faint scent of her arousal, but just as quickly as he’d noticed the intoxicating aroma, it had vanished as her shaking increased.
Surprised stares followed them down the road, some passersby even pausing to openly gawk. One unmated Vaxxlian male sniffed the air and walked a bit too close for Dakk’s liking, and he fixed the warrior with a fierce glare and emitted a low, threatening growl. Macy, having noticed the approaching male, moved closer to Dakk. His protective instincts rose, and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her flush against his side as they walked.
“Will he bother us?” she whispered, her face going pale.
“I do not believe so, yummiska,” Dakk replied, warmth filling him as the endearment rolled off his tongue. “However, I promise to keep you safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Macy.”
Her troubled gaze flickered to his. “Truly?”
“Truly.” He guided her down another street, thankful they were almost home. When his large stone house came into sight, he breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps Macy would feel more comfortable out in the open once they were mated, when his scent on her would ward off all other males. Perhaps the sooner he claimed her, the better.
“When did you arrive on New Vaxx?” he asked, wondering if the circumstances of her arrival had something to do with the flashes of fear that kept entering her eyes. She peered up and down the street as though she expected an attack, and her trembling hadn’t abated in the least.
“About two moon cycles ago,” she said with a cautious glance over her shoulder. “I arrived with my sister, Skylar. She was friends with a woman named Sienna who’d signed up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides. When Sienna’s mate—Myadd—came to Earth to retrieve her, my sister and I ended up hitching a ride to New Vaxx with them. Well, I’m leaving out a lot of details, but that’s basically what happened.” She inhaled a shaky breath and glanced at her feet, the worry in her gaze deepening.
“Ah, Myadd. I know your guardian. Er, former guardian,” he said, correcting himself. They were about to become mates and she would have no need for a guardian any longer. It would be Dakk’s sacred duty to watch over and protect Macy.
“Oh? Are you friends with him?”
“Acquaintances. Myadd and his brothers have visited my furniture store on multiple occasions. But I first met them several years ago, during the war, when our units joined in a battle against the Irrcons. Myadd and his brothers are honorable warriors.” Though he couldn’t claim to know any of them well, the three males at least treated him with respect. None of them regarded him with wariness or repulsion or shock, as many residents of Starzzia did. They seemed not to notice the ragged scars running across his face, nor the unusual color of his eyes.
“I’m relieved you guys know each other. That will make things easier when… when they find out what I did.” She swallowed hard. “I-I sort of slipped off and visited Vaxxlian Matchmakers without telling anyone, not even my sister. They’re going to be surprised when they find out. Heather’s going to personally deliver a note I wrote to Skylar though, so at least my housemates won’t worry I got abducted and carried off by an unmated warrior.”
Dakk regarded her with curiosity as they approached his house, which rested at the top of a hill on a wide street lined with tall flowering horrona trees. He’d been so anxious to meet her, as well as stunned by the fact that Vaxxlian Matchmakers had called him in the first place, that he hadn’t stopped to consider the strangeness of the circumstances. But it was unusual that he’d arrived at the building to find her unaccompanied. Unmated human females weren’t supposed to walk the streets without a guardian.
He paused in front of his house and turned to face her. “You walked from Myadd’s home to Vaxxlian Matchmakers alone?” His tone came out slightly scolding, but he couldn’t help it. The prospect of harm coming to Macy made his blood heat with rage.
“Nothing happened.” She lifted her chin as she met his gaze. “I purposely left Myadd’s house while warrior training was still in session for the day. I only saw a few males in the street, though at a distance, and I reached Vaxxlian Matchmakers before any of them could realize I was unmated.”
Before any of them could smell me. She left this last part unsaid.
He inhaled deeply of her scent, so sweet and fragrant and untouched. The scent of another male didn’t yet cling to her, marking her as a claimed female, offering her protection to walk the streets without an escort. Some unmated Vaxxlian males couldn’t control themselves around untouched females, and he’d heard stories of unclaimed human women being stolen off the streets, or even abducted from their beds when their guardians failed to provide the proper security.
“Why?” he asked, striving to keep his voice calm. “Why did you sneak off? Why not ask Myadd to take you to Vaxxlian Matchmakers?”
“It’s, um, complicated. Look, I-I think we should go inside,” she said with a gesture at his home. “Is this where you live?”
Her response didn’t satisfy him, but he nodded and guided her up the front steps and into his home. He sensed she was hiding something, though he couldn’t say what. Her nervousness went beyond that of an unmated human female meeting her future husband for the first time, and he was starting to wonder if Vaxxlian Matchmakers had made a mistake, though he would be loath to return Macy to Myadd’s household.
My eyes. My face.
Realization struck him and his heart sank.
Did his appearance leave her unsettled? Or worse, did she find him grotesque?
Macy paused in the entryway and gasped, her gaze sweeping around the large, open space. “Wow, you have a beautiful home.”
“Thank you.” As he set her suitcase down, he exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, pleased that she liked his home. When he’d departed for warrior training this morning, he hadn’t expected to arrive home with his mate later in the day. If he had, he would have probably scrubbed the house from top to bottom, rearranged furniture, and obsessed over every small detail. He would’ve also stocked the kitchen with foods preferred by humans, though he supposed his food replicator could make anything she desired, and he was thankful he’d recently purchased the newest model.
Dakk knew he was far from perfect, and he couldn’t fault his new mate for having a difficult time holding his gaze. At the very least, he could surround her with comfort and beauty. Anything she desired, he resolved to spare no expense. He would shower her with gifts and pleasurable experiences, in hopes that one day her heart would soften to him.
Unable to resist, he reached out and stroked her cheek, delighting in the softness of her skin. Her breath caught as his fingers glided across her flesh and she shivered. Next, he delved his hand into her thick tresses and reveled in the feel of the silky strands between his fingers.
Her reaction to his touch made his heart sink all over again. Her trembling increased and fear glimmered in her blue depths. A low growl of frustration rumbled in his chest. He wanted to demand what secrets she was harboring, what she was hiding from him, but he stopped himself from asking the question.
Perhaps in time, she would grow more comfortable in his presence and would open up to him.
She’d sneaked away from her sister and her guardian to visit Vaxxlian Matchmakers. Why? Why would she have to sneak away? And what was she so afraid of? Was his appearance truly so startling to her?
He dropped his hands from her hair and stepped back. She exhaled a long breath, as if relieved, though a look of confusion played across her face.
“I’m not cursed,” he said with a gesture at his face. “If that is what you are worried about.”
“Cursed? Why would you say that?” She shifted in place and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. He followed the movement of her shaking hand.
“Because you are obviously frightened of me.” Perhaps it was best to address his appearance right away. “I was born with black eyes, and while some of my people might believe I am cursed because of it, I do not personally hold to such superstitions. As for my scars, I am sorry if you find them repulsive, however—”
“What?” she said, cutting him off. Her eyes widened. “I-I can assure you, I don’t find you repulsive in the least. Your scars don’t bother me, though I will admit, I am curious about your unusual eye color. I’ve never seen a Vaxxlian with anything but glowing green eyes. But it never occurred to me that you might be cursed.”
Was she telling the truth? Star God, how he wanted to believe her.
But if she was speaking the truth, why was she so afraid of him? Her fear was a coldness that tingled his nostrils with every breath, and even if he hadn’t been able to smell her fear, he would’ve recognized it from the way her body trembled, particularly when he touched her.
“If you don’t find me difficult to look at, and you don’t believe my eye color marks me as cursed, then why are you so afraid?” He started reaching for her, longing to delve his fingers into her hair again, but he quickly forced his hand down to his side.
“You’re a stranger. A big, handsome, muscular stranger, and a woman I just met informed me that you’re my soul mate. And we’re expected to mate now, even though we met about five seconds ago.”
Handsome. She’d called him handsome. His face heated from the compliment and his heart soared with hope.
“Tell me why you visited Vaxxlian Matchmakers today, yummiska,” he said, keeping his tone gentle. “I want the truth. Please, tell me.”
