The Falcon Prince (9 page)

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.

“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.

She grimaced. Her mom and dad would have coronaries. How did one break the news to her parents that their daughter was part alien? Hmmm, something to think about.

She started back to the kitchen just as Kristor stepped out of the bedroom. Damn, the guy looked totally awesome, even dressed. Her body tingled to awareness.

“You have the look of a woman who wants to mate,” he said, stepping closer.

She drew in a deep breath, trying to clear those thoughts. What did she know about Kristor? He was an alien. A warrior. She needed to put the brakes on their relationship. “And I have the checking account of a woman who needs to go to work.”

“I’ll go with you.”

It was a tempting idea. “Not this time. I’m going to be really busy.” And she was. She had to supervise Katie. She bit her bottom lip, knowing she lied to herself. “We can meet for lunch.”

He smiled, as if he had known he would have victory. Men: Everything was a competition to them. She shook her head and scooted into the bedroom to get her purse.

“Stay here as long as you want.” She didn’t look at him again as she hurried to her car. She was afraid if she did, she might call in sick this morning. Kristor had some seriously good moves when it came to making love.

She started her car and backed out of the driveway. When she saw her neighbor on the front porch, Ria’s hand froze on the steering wheel. Maybe because the neighbor’s attention had moved from Ria to Kristor, who was standing on the porch. He smiled and waved at the neighbor. She waved back, then practically tripped over her own feet as she hurried back inside. Not good. It would be all over town that Kristor had spent the night with Ria.

Her life was quickly going to hell in a handbag. She put the car in drive and hurried to the shop. As soon as Ria parked at the side, she grabbed her phone and speed dialed her mom.

“Hi, Mom,” she said as soon as Maggie answered.

“Good morning, dear.” Then: “Is everything all right?”

“Fine, fine.” She hunkered down in the seat. “I just wanted to tell you that Kristor spent the night with me last night.” She squenched her eyes closed waiting for her mother to say something.

“Yes, I know, dear.”

She shot back up in the seat. “You know? Already?” She frowned. “Did Mrs. Wilton call you?”

“No, dear, your father and I were out driving last night and saw Kristor’s motorcycle parked in your driveway. Then when he didn’t come home, we assumed he’d stayed at your place.”

Ria wondered if she could get by with telling her mother Kristor had slept on the sofa. Probably not. “You’re not upset, are you?”

Her mother’s laughter tinkled across the phone. “Rianna Lancaster, you might be my daughter, but you’re also a woman, and your father and I both like the young man a lot.”

Great, she had her parents’ approval to have sex with Kristor. She didn’t want to have this conversation with her mom.

“I’m here at my shop so I’d better go.”

“Have a good day. Oh, and something else.”

“What’s that?”

“Someone said they saw you running across the park with just a T-shirt on. Do you know anything about it?”

“Me?” Her laugh cracked. “The things some people think they see.”

“You’re right, of course. I told them it couldn’t have been you.”

They said their good-byes and hung up. Ria breathed a sigh of relief. This town would be the death of her.

Kristor looked up, then down the street. It was peaceful, quiet. He’d been over many roads in his search for Rianna. This one should be no different, but it was.

The town was smaller. More interesting. He hadn’t taken the time to get to know the people while he’d been searching, but he liked the ones who lived in Miller Bend. Especially the men he’d played the game of flag football with.

He liked everyone except for the man called Donald. He smiled with his lips, but it went no farther. Kristor suspected there was evil inside him.

The door on a barber shop opened. “Hey, Kristor, come in and sit a spell.”

Sit a
spell
? He didn’t know anyone did spells on Earth. At least, not spells that would work. Maybe it was only a false saying. He was discovering that people said one thing, but meant something entirely different. Especially in this state called Texas.

Kristor went inside and saw some of the men who had been on the football field. Heath was getting his hair cut. Now he understood this place of business.

He sniffed. A lingering aroma of oil and leather filled the small store. Kristor had his own groomer, and the man often smelled of the oils he brought with him, but not worn leather. He liked the combination.

It had been a while since he’d had a haircut. He felt the top of his head.

“Wanting a trim?” an older man asked. He was short, and didn’t have a hair on his head.

“Yes, a trim,” Kristor said.

“Well, have a seat.” He finished with Heath.

Kristor took a seat in front of the mirror. But when the man came over, he was still too short to reach the top of Kristor’s head, even after he lowered the chair. The men seemed to think this was funny, so he laughed, too.

“Just remember I’m the one with the clippers,” the old man said. He walked over, grabbed a short stool, and brought it back. “What’d your momma feed you?”

He thought for a moment. “Everything.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’d already figured out.” The old man began to trim Kristor’s hair.

He listened while everyone else talked. It wasn’t the same as when he spent time with other warriors. There was much loyalty in the ranks, but they always spoke about battles. This was different. More laughing. And they drew him into their circle, as if he was one of them.

He wasn’t sure he liked the warm feeling that wrapped around him. Kristor’s family told him that he needed to loosen up, relax more, but how could he when he needed to keep his planet safe from invading forces? Not that he had to worry much about that happening. He’d created a good defense system against anyone foolish enough to attack them.

“Finished,” the old man said, interrupting Kristor’s thoughts. “What do you think?”

Kristor turned his head one way, then the other. “It’s good.”

“Of course it is. I’m the best barber in town.”

Heath snorted. “You’re the only one.”

“Well, if there was another one, I’d be a sight better’n him.” He stepped off the stool and carried it back to the other side of the room.

Kristor stared at his reflection, really looking at it for the first time. Did Rianna like his looks? Or did she prefer those of someone like Donald? Anger flared inside him. He would squash Donald if he put his hands on Rianna.

“The girls will be beating down your door,” Neil said.

Heath came up beside them. “No, I think there’s only one girl that he cares about. Heard you spent the night at Ria’s.”

He met Heath’s eyes in the mirror. “Yes.” How did he know? Apparently, they had a good communication system in this town, even as small as it was.

Suddenly, there was a shift in the room temperature. Kristor felt a chill settle over him as he watched Heath.

“I’ve known Ria a long time. I’d hate to see her get hurt,” Heath said.

Heath was protective. That was good. “I will make sure she doesn’t get hurt. I will protect her from harm.”

Heath was thoughtful for a moment as he studied Kristor. Then he smiled, visibly relaxing. “Yeah, I think you will take good care of her.”

The bell over the door jingled and Donald walked in. The jovial mood dropped. Donald looked around. He hesitated when he saw Kristor, then squared his shoulders and strode over to one of the barber chairs. He glanced around again, then grabbed a white towel that hung on one of the carts, and dusted off the seat before tossing the towel to the side and sitting.

“Not as much off the sides as you did last time.” Donald adjusted himself to a more comfortable position.

“I cut hair the way I see that it needs to be cut. Never have any complaints from no one else. Besides, if you don’t like my work, you can go somewhere else.”

Donald sniffed. “You know there’s no one else in town who cuts men’s hair.”

“Then I guess you better shut up and let me do my job.”

“Later, Albert,” Heath and Neil said as they started for the door.

Kristor decided it was time for him to go, too. He dropped a twenty on the counter and walked out. He’d figured out the monetary system before he came to Earth. If he ran out, his database would produce more.

Once outside, he said good-bye to the other two men, and walked in the opposite direction. He knew he was going toward Rianna’s shop, and that he was too early for lunch, but something pulled him in that direction.

A small feminine body suddenly crashed into him, stopping his forward movement. He grabbed her arms so she didn’t fall. A sultry scent tickled his senses.

“Oops!” she said.

He looked down. It was Mary Ann from the party. “Careful.”

She smiled up at him. “You just seem to be in the right place at the right time, now don’t you?”