Fiery Match (4 page)

“Exactly what I thought when you began describing him to me. Only an alien would look like a God who descended on Earth to make women swoon and nuns break their vows.”

“Oh, God.”

As much as he was enjoying seeing Nikka’s face turn bright red from embarrassment, they really needed to go. “When I get back, I’ll see what I can do about your eyesight.”

“Just go, you two. I’ll handle the police.”

“Samuel, you’re just going to let me go with him?”

“You can’t make anyone force you to do anything you don’t want to do, Nikka. You’re an adult. My gut tells me you’re going with him with or without my blessing. Besides, you’re halfway in love with him already.”

Nikka squeaked like a trapped mouse. “No, I am not!”

“Thank you, Samuel.” He turned to Nikka, then took hold of her hand. “Walk or be dragged.”

Halfway in love with me?

Despite their encounter with the Orkinians, he found a reason to smile.

Wearing Cor’s black helmet, she wrapped her arms around his waist. She had no clue where they were going, except Cor said some place safe.

In all her life, she had been a good girl. Made a mistake of falling for a deuchebag and lost her virginity. But that was just one time. She never strayed from the straight line anymore. Until now.
Or did she
? Ugh! Of course she did.

Technically, Cor was every bit a stranger as the Orks or something that he tried to blast with a ball of fire earlier. Oh, my God! Did he kill the other one with a broken piece of her shelf?

The thought had made her loosen her hold on his waist, but she felt Cor squeeze her hand. Somehow, that little gesture calmed her nerves.

Holy petals, who is this man? No. Who is this
alien
. His color changed to green when he touched her and could make things move and appear using his hands. Wait. He could just be a magician. But no. He said he’s from Rhyn. A planet. Which the Oriks or Orkits—whatever—confirmed when he called Cor Rhynian.

Confused, Nikka pressed the side of her helmet on Cor’s back and tightened her hold on him. Her chest to his back—Lord, it felt so good. It had been ages since she’d hugged a man—and first time to hug an alien.

Cor was all muscles, warm, drool-worthy, smelled good, and a hot alien.

They drove for what must have been hours. The sun was almost gone when they reached the quiet stretch of beach. There were a few people walking down the shoreline The panoramic view of the ocean and dunes were remarkable. Earlier, she spotted a sign reading,
Welcome to Ocean Shores
. She’d read about this place, but never made it here. The images on the magazine didn’t do justice to the beauty of the water, sand, the horizon. She could stare at the view forever. Here, it seemed like they were away from the rest of the world.

A soft breeze kissed her skin. She could almost taste the water—salty. She loved it here. What a great place for vacation.
Except I am not on vacation.

They took the Oceanfront Road. This part of Ocean Shores seemed desolate. No houses, no cars. Where were they going? To the end of the world?

As soon as the question escaped her mind, Cor turned right. They entered a narrow street with a tall, arched gate. A sign,
Nature Lover’s Beach House,
hung above it. At the end of the street, she spotted a house with a promenade around the top floor. Lovely, she thought.

She hoped it didn’t boast a basement with all kinds of devices for torturing people. Eep!
Stop, brain.

Cor stopped and parked the bike in front of the house. She’d never been on a bike before so, her thigh muscles hurt, probably from trying to stay on her seat or squeezing her muscles whenever Cor made a turn. Sweet dove, she hurt.

She should hop off, too, but for some reason, her legs wouldn’t cooperate. Massaging her thighs, she hoped her blood flowed back into her legs again.
Shoot! This is embarrassing.

Cor removed her helmet. “Hey.”

“Hey, back.”

Without taking his gaze off her, Cor hooked the helmet on the bike’s handle. He stood beside her with his hands on his hips. “You okay?”

“Half part of me is good, the lower part is dead.”

He tucked her hair behind her ears and then trailed his fingers along the side of her neck. Nikka’s breathing became erratic. His touch sent delicious heat all over her body, but at the same time made her nervous.

“First time on a bike?”

“Yes.”

Cor surprised her when he moved her achy leg so she could sit on the bike like riding a horse sidesaddle.

He then rubbed her thighs. He shouldn’t touch her like this, but didn’t want to stop him. Instead, she closed her eyes and savored the wonderful feel of his touch.

“Falling asleep on me?”

Without opening her eyes, she smiled and said, “No. Just enjoying your touch.” Her eyes flew open. She realized what her words sounded like, but it was too late to take it back. “I meant…my legs fell asleep and—”

Cor cupped the back of her neck and, before she knew it, he was kissing her.

Oh, Mama Mia.

The right thing to do was to stop him from sucking her lower mouth and for running his tongue along the seam of her lips. Instead, she opened her jaws and let him in. He deepened his kiss with his tongue plundering, tasting, and seeking.

A sigh escaped her mouth at the taste of him. Her mind wanted to push Cor away, but her body yearned to be closer to him. She prayed to God she wouldn’t regret this. Nikka wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss.

No one had ever kissed her like this, as if he was feeding off her. She could feel his hunger, his need. Cor thrust his tongue and she met him. His groan sounded so sexy. He sucked her gently and then left her lips to nibble along her chin and jaw. He was breathing hard and felt so warm.

“Nikka.” He pulled her off the bike and held her against him. He was so tall her feet didn’t touch the ground. “You drive me crazy.”

“You made me feel dizzy. What was that kiss for?”

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the day I saw you. And then every day after that.”

“Every day?”

“And every minute of each day.”

Nikka moved back so that she could look at Cor. She could stare at those eyes all day long—so unusually green like the color of a mature leaf. They were magnificent, as well as his skin tone.

A Rhynian?

“You lied to Samuel.”

“I didn’t.”

“I’m not your girlfriend, Cor.”

“Were you really talking about my physical attributes to Samuel?”

Nikka rolled her eyes. “Don’t change the topic. What was up with the Oriksians?”

“Orkinians?”

Damn it. Why couldn’t she get that name correct? She was never good in language in high school. “Yes, them. They put my wall on fire! But one of them got skewered with a piece of wood, I think.”

“We’ll talk inside. Can you walk now?” He kissed the corners of her mouth.

“Yes.” After that kiss? Heck, her blood flowed swiftly now like Niagra Falls.

“Alright.” With Cor’s hand supporting her ass, he let her body slid down from his real slow while planting soft kisses on her mouth. A delicious feeling rushed from her lips down to her pussy. She gasped when he pressed his erection against her. Her body screamed for something that she tried to deny herself for a long time. Lord, they were just hugging and kissing, but she knew she was wet already.

Cor grinned. He knew his effect on her. “Damn. You felt so good.”

“We shouldn’t be doing this. I should be running for help. You could shoot fireballs, write in a different language, pale-skinned dudes are trying to kill us, and you’re green. You’re—you’re an alien.”

“And we shouldn’t kiss because?”

Her feet finally touched the ground. Feeling disappointed that he had to let go of her, she adjusted her shirt and searched for an answer to his question “We shouldn’t kiss because…because we’re strangers.”

“We can fix that in a hurry.”

“Cor.” Nikka sighed.

“Nikka,” Cor mimicked.

Nikka laughed. “You’re so bad. You have a lot of explaining to do. Convince me that I’m not dreaming or losing my mind.”

“I know. How about we talk over coffee and chocolate cake?”

“Who can say
no
to that?”

The cabin was huge! It has an open layout with vaulted ceilings. The floor to ceiling glass windows afforded the view of the Pacific Ocean and dunes. The kitchen was obviously customized and complete with everything a wife would need to cook for her family. A wood fireplace as tall as her was impressive, but the television half the size of a movie screen, commanded attention in the room. A love seat and a sofa faced the TV. She noticed a coffee mug on the table and motorcycle magazines.

Just off the living room, she could see a large deck through the sliding glass doors. What a perfect place to watch the sun rise and set. She smiled when she saw a gas grill. Yum! She loved barbecued tomatoes, corn, bell peppers. She wondered if Cor used this grill a lot. Lordy, she loved this place. It had a homey feel to it.

The glossy, wood, spiral staircase that led to the second floor looked like a dream. “Lovely.”

Cor stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. Planting a kiss on the base of her neck, he whispered, “I know. And smelled like roses.”

“The house?”

Cor laughed. His breath tickled her. “There are three spacious bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. This cabin is made to give you comfort. Wanna check the master bedroom upstairs? It has a spacious shared bath. Or we could try the guest room down here. It has a nice bath, also.”

“Nice try, green boy, but what I want right now is to talk and have a slice of cake.”

“Alright.” With one last peck on her jaw, Cor took Nikka’s hand and led her to the kitchen. “After the cake, we could walk through the dunes.”

“What about the Ornikians?”

“Don’t worry about the
Orkinians
.” He stressed the last word.

Nikka sat on the barstool. “I can’t believe we’re talking about aliens from another planet.”

“I can’t believe you’re in my home.”

“How many women have you taken here? I hope none of them would come back looking for you because you got them pregnant and they needed child support.”

“You’re the first woman to walk in here.” Cor stood in front of her and showed her his left hand. “Watch, baby.”

She looked at his hand. It was like looking at a
Magna Doodle
, the magnetic toy she used to play with as a child. Slowly, lines started appearing on his palm. They were intricate with so many tiny details that entwined with other lines. “What is it?”

“My mark.”

“Mark? Like a birthmark? I have one, but not as cool as yours. Kind of looked like a computer’s motherboard.”

“My brothers and I have our own marks on our hands.”

“What does it mean?”

“Varthi Ya Xanxail.
Always and forever
.”

“Always and forever,” Nikka repeated. She traced the lines with the tip of her fingers. “Wow. This is beautiful.”

“You think so?”

“Yes. What about your brothers’ marks. Does it say the same thing?”

“No. I don’t know what theirs says.”

“What?”

“It is a secret our mother had whispered in our ears when we were born. Only the woman we are to spend our lives with would know about it.”

“Oh, Cor. That is so romantic. But you’re talking about spending our lives like husband and wife. Cor, we’ve just met.”

“Yes. But I’ve searched for you for years. Now, I’ve found you.” Cor laced their fingers together. “Baby, only my match could have this mark.”

“And you think I can have it, too?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“When we make love.”

“Oh, dear.”

Nikka stared at their hands. It was hard to believe she was actually touching him. She’d dreamed about this so many times and wondered what it would be like to be kissed by him. It was heaven. Interestingly, she didn’t care whether he was human or an alien, green or white. She liked him a lot, but there were so many things she needed to know about him.

“Nikka—”

“Why are you here on Earth?”

“Just like my brothers, our father sent me here—to help stop the Rhynians from total extinction.”

“Extinction?” Nikka frowned. She could kinda tell where this story was going. “And the flour-faced aliens want to stop you from succeeding.”

“Right.”

“Am I right to assume they are responsible on why the Rhynians are on the brink of extinction.”

Cor’s expression stilled and grew serious. Contempt was evident on his handsome face. “They attacked our planet and killed most of us. Especially the children and women.”

“Oh, my God.”

“They’d tried to wipe us out, but we fought back. Still we suffered an unimaginable loss. The children and women…they were the Orkinians targets.”

Nikka couldn’t imagine their loss. She had lost her parents from a car accident when she was just fifteen. She wouldn’t want anyone to go through that. But Cor…to lose his entire race. “I’m sorry. Why would they do that?”

“They lack sunshine. They have more days of darkness than light.”

“Is that why the Orkinians that attacked us looked so pale?”

“That and they’re naturally born ugly.”

Nikka smiled. With her free hand, she reached up and combed back Cor’s silky hair. She loved that the ends curled a bit. So sexy. She sighed. Somehow she already knew the answer to her question, but she asked anyway. “The one Orkian. He said he’s going to kill me.”

“No one’s going to kill you. Not while I’m alive, baby.”

“Good to know. I can’t imagine getting killed by someone I can’t even pronounce the name. Cor, they know why you’re here on earth, right? And the one who trashed my shop thinks that you found your match, did he?”

Cor nodded. “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t mean to put you in danger, but showing you my power was my only hope to make you believe me. I didn’t want to go back across the street, sit on the chair, and watch you from there. So I did what I thought would help me. It was a selfish act.”