She looked back at the male who had slid into the seat next to her. She leaned back a little in surprise when he moved into her personal space. She opened her mouth to respond to him, but the words died as he wound his fingers in her hair, pulling it closer to his face.
"It was the only way to prevent them from being someone's dinner," Riley said with a slight squeak in her voice. "I mean, it wasn't real or anything. Besides, those stickmen really pissed me off. It was worth saying I'd take the guys just to see the expression on their faces."
Mondu smiled down at Riley. He was enjoying watching her nervousness. He had been captivated by her the moment he walked into the room. Some of the other men had been talking about the beautiful female with the white hair. He wanted to see if she was anything like Lord Creon's mate. Few things surprised him, but this female had definitely done that. He was expecting her to be slender like Lady Carmen, but this female-this female had curves that a male could hold onto. If she was not truly mated to any of the males then he would make his move.
"So you are not mated to any of them?" Mondu asked with a satisfied curve to his lips.
Riley nervously pulled her hair away from him and scooted over as far as she could without falling out of her seat. What was it with these guys? Sure she got the occasional stare or comment back home but these guys were like in your face, here I am-not the nice wolf whistle she could shoot a bird at.
"No, I'm not mated to any of them," Riley said in exasperation, waving her hand at him. "Listen, do you mind-like-sitting back. You are crowding me, and I don't like it when people get in my space and all."
Mondu chuckled but leaned back in his seat. "What do you like?"
Riley looked over to where Carmen was picking up a tray full of food. "I like food that I don't have to cook, warm beaches, good movies, and"-she paused to look at Mondu with a dimpled grin-"shopping for great deals."
Mondu's chuckle turned to a laugh as he picked up one of her waving hands. "What do you not like?"
Riley tilted her head as she tugged unsuccessfully to remove her hand from his grasp. "Spending my own money, liars, murders, and cheats, but most of all," she said with a pointed look in her eyes, "pushy men who don't know their places."
"Like me?" Mondu asked with a lazy grin, while he caressed the back of her hand with his thumb.
"Like you, if you don't let go of my hand," Riley replied with another tug.
"What if I don't want to let it go?" he asked, raising it to his lips.
"Then you die." A dark snarl sounded behind him.
Riley looked up startled to stare at Vox's dark face. Dark wasn't the word for it. Truthfully, she didn't know a face could be that frightening. Mondu slowly released her hand and stood, turning to face the furious ruler of the Sarafin. He appeared to be relaxed, but Riley could tell from his stance that he had moved into a defensive pose. Vox must have realized it as well because a menacing growl escaped from him as he focused his narrowed eyes on the huge male standing between him and Riley.
"Move away from my mate, or I will kill you," Vox demanded, flexing his fingers.
"The female says she has no mate," Mondu replied calmly.
Vox's eyes narrowed, and he took another step closer. "I have claimed her. She wears my mark."
Mondu glanced over his shoulder at Riley, who was looking back and forth between the two of them with huge, bright, wary eyes. "Show me his mark," he said.
"What?" Riley asked, puzzled.
Vox glared down at Riley. "Show him my mark before I kill him, Riley."
Riley stood up and glared at Vox. "Which one? You frigging left bruises all over me, you big ape! I am not in the mood to deal with your mangy ass right now, especially if you think you can talk to me in that tone of voice after what you did to me."
"What did he do?" Carmen demanded, dropping the tray on the table with a loud bang. "Did he hurt you?"
Riley's eyes brightened with furious tears. She was so not having this conversation with everyone staring at her. This was worse than the high school dance because this time she had been the idiot who said "yes" to going behind the building instead of remembering her dear Grandma Pearl's words of wisdom. She angrily brushed a tear that escaped down her cheek, turned on her heel without another word, and strode out of the dining quarters.
Vox took a step to follow, but Carmen stepped in his way. "I don't know what you did to her, but you need to step back now before I put you on your ass," she hissed out in a cold voice.
Vox looked down in surprise at Creon's mate. Her eyes glittered with a deadly promise of retribution if he should try to move around her. "She is my mate," he explained quietly. "I will see to her needs."
Carmen shook her head. "Right now what she needs is a little breathing room." She looked over his shoulder at Calo, who was glaring at her. "You guys don't realize we Earth girls aren't used to all this claiming bullshit. It can be a little overwhelming. Just back off for a little while and give her time to collect herself. She would not appreciate you breathing down her neck right now."
Vox swore darkly under his breath. He nodded briefly to Carmen before looking at Mondu. He would only tell the Curizan male once more that Riley was his. If he saw the male near her again, he would kill him.
"Stay away from my mate," Vox growled out in a low, cold voice. "Let the others know she has been claimed and that I will kill any who touch her."
Mondu studied Vox for several seconds before bowing his head in respect. "Your claim will not be challenged by me, my lord."
Vox turned back to Carmen with a frown. "You will go to her?"
Carmen raised an eyebrow and stared at the huge male in front of her. Nodding her head, she couldn't resist making a jab at Calo. Creon had assigned the twin brothers to be her shadow despite all her protests. Calo was on duty today. She had a feeling Riley might be able to help her figure out a few phrases she had missed calling them. If nothing else, it would give her something else to think about.
"Yeah, me and Fido will make sure she is okay," Carmen said before grabbing the tray she had dropped. "Come on, boy. That's a good boy, come on."
"One of these days, Carmen … " Calo muttered darkly as he followed her out of the dining quarters. "One of these days … "
Vox listened as Carmen laughed at the huge male following her. He shook his head in wonder that such a small, delicate creature could be such a big pain in the ass. He couldn't help but marvel what his family was going to think of his mate. Or what his mate was going to think of his family.
"Do you think there might be more of them?" Mondu asked, coming to stand next to Vox.
Vox gave a dry chuckle. "Gods, I hope not. I'm having a hard enough time with the one I've got. I can't imagine what would happen to our worlds if there were more of them."
Riley stared out the viewport without really seeing anything. Her mind and her body kept drifting to a certain irritating fur ball that had gotten not only under her skin but into her heart. Every movement of her body reminded her of his touch. She had to admit it had been an incredible night, but it would have to be the only incredible night. She couldn't take a chance of letting herself fall any further.
"Are you all right?" Carmen's soft voice asked as she entered the small conference room she had been directed to thanks to Calo's inquiries.
Riley wiped at her face to make sure her cheeks were dry and quickly put on her I-don't-give-a-damn mask. She had learned a long, long time ago how to perfect hiding her feelings. No one cared anyway. Even her Grandma Pearl said feelings were for drunks, weak men, and wimps. None of those were allowed in their house when she was growing up.
Riley turned with a grimace and a shrug. "Yeah, hate it when I'm PMSing."
Carmen set the tray down on the table near the viewport and sat down. "We never did get a chance to eat. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
Riley gave a short laugh and nodded. "Me too. So, how did you end up in the Twilight Zone?"
Carmen looked around and shook her head in amazement. "My sister and my best friend were piloting a client of the Boswell's back to California along with another friend who was a mechanic for the company. I hitched a ride. The client, Abby, was kidnapped by the local sheriff who had the hots for her. Trisha, Cara, my sister Ariel, and I took off after them with the hopes of rescuing Abby. Turns out her boyfriend was not only hot but out-of-this-world hot," Carmen explained with a grin. "I don't remember much. I had been stabbed a couple of times and was pretty much dead by the time Zoran and his brothers got there. They transported me and the others up to their ship after toasting the bad guy. I woke up, and the rest is history," she muttered before taking a big bite of her sandwich. "What about you?"