Invasion Earth by Loribelle Hunt Page B

alien
pheromones. Actually, that might not be so far off. What did they
know about the Delroi really? She rolled her head to the side to
watch his profile, resisting the urge to reach out and touch
him.
    “Why would your seers send you here?”
    He turned to meet her gaze raising one
eyebrow. “What?”
    “Your brother said yesterday your seers were
right,” she reminded him.
    “Ah.” He crossed his arms under his head and
looked up as if searching for words. “Our xenobiologists believe
humanoid life in this quadrant of the galaxy began all in one
place. It would explain why we’re so similar.”
    She frowned. Her people had spent much more
time at war with each other than exploring beyond their solar
system.
    “So there are other planets like ours? Other
people like ours? Why come to Earth then?”
    He sighed, rolled over and propped himself up
on his elbow. With one finger he traced the contours of her face
and she fought her reaction, the rising tide of lust and affection.
Where was that coming from? She was here as a prisoner, not by her
choice.
    “There are other humanoids, but not like you.
Or us. We’re the most similar. The others have evolved too far from
whatever the original gene pool was.”
    He leaned down slowly, incrementally, letting
her see him come. As if she could run? Even if she’d wanted to she
couldn’t. She was frozen in place, held still by the emotion
glowing in his eyes. It was more than lust, more than mere desire.
His need for her raged and it took her breath. Stole into her
heart. When his lips met hers they were soft, tender. His tongue
swept into her mouth the same way. Gently demanding, gently
marauding. They were both panting when he lifted his head.
    “That’s why we came here,” he whispered.
“There isn’t anything like this in the universe. Like the
connection we share. That true mates share.”
    He rolled on top her, pulling her legs up
over his shoulders before thrusting into her.
    “And yes. It’s worth going to war over.”
     
    ***
     
    Laney woke slowly the next morning and bit
back a moan at the unaccustomed soreness in her body. What she
wouldn’t do for a hot pounding shower and some clean clothes.
Hearing voices from the other room, she considered pulling the
sheet over her head and hiding out for the rest of the day. Years
of ingrained habit couldn’t be broken in one morning, however.
    She stood and took her first good look
around, which was surprising considering all the time she’d spent
in the room. There was a long dresser on the wall opposite the bed
and her bag rested on top of it. She hoped Alrik had gone to get it
himself. She didn’t like the idea of him looking through her
things, but a complete stranger would have been worse. She’d worry
later over why she wasn’t as bothered as she should be by his
taking it on himself to move her in.
    A door tucked in the corner of that wall
stood open and she walked over. It had to be a bathroom with—please
God—a shower. Peeking her head in, she was happy to see the
standard facilities and a small shower stall.
    In the bedroom, she dug through her duffle
and found her personal kit. She carried it with her to the shower,
figured out how to get the water going and adjusted by randomly
playing with the buttons on the wall, then let its heat pelt over
her. Pouring shampoo in her hand, she worked it through the long
length of her hair and wondered what was expected of her now. She
was tempted to bang her head against the wall. A good whack might
do her good.
    Yesterday she’d joined the Alliance side of
the negotiating table out of lifelong habit, but under the
circumstances could she still consider herself a Sergeant Major
answering to Earth? Or was she cut free of those obligations and
now answering to alien authority? Which faction did her loyalty lie
with? Because she didn’t fool herself. If the marriage went
through, and apparently it was going to, and if the union produced
offspring, a distinct