Enemy of the Alien Bride Lottery by Margo Collins (e book reader free .TXT) 📗

I hadn’t even grinned. How had he figured out so quickly that I was amused?

I shook my head, vowing not to let my mind wander again—not if Wex could read me that easily. “No. Tell me more?”

He led me around the room, describing what each station did—vid splicing, final editing, transmission.

This was perfect. Not only were these Khanavai-controlled computer terminals, but they all had direct connections to Earth.

Surely that would make it easier to get the information Roya needed back to her.

Of course, to get into the system and run her spyware, I would need a wristcom to get inside the room when it was empty and total privacy while I worked.

“Will these guys be up all night to get it all done?” I asked, trying to inject a tone of awe into my voice.

“No,” Wex’s voice rumbled from behind me. “They’ll shut down when all the brides retire to their quarters.”

Perfect.

When I’d seen enough, I turned to thank Wex, only to find that he had moved up close behind me, and I hadn’t even noticed. My face was almost touching his chest. With a gasp, I tilted my head back, a sudden sense of vertigo reminding me of the first time I’d seen him in the parking lot of the hotel back on Earth.

A low, rumbling sound like a growl vibrated deep in Wex’s chest, and without warning, he wrapped his arms around me and bent down to capture my lips in a kiss.

I froze in surprise, but the feel of his warm mouth working against mine quickly overwhelmed my senses.

His tongue flicked against mine, demanding I open for him. His spicy sent surrounded me, and without thinking about it, I parted my lips, allowing him entry.

His tongue delved into my mouth, claiming it, and my entire body melted against him, my arms stealing up and wrapping around his neck without my volition. A tiny whimper sounded in my throat, and Wex gathered me closer to him.

My mind still wasn’t working. Before I knew it, I was responding, my mouth moving against his, our tongues tangling, flashes of erotic heat sparking through me.

Wex slipped his hand down my back and cupped my ass, tucking me in closer to him. Even through our clothing, I could feel the length and heat of his erection pressing against me.

My nipples tightened into hardened peaks, and desire began pooling at my core, urging me to get closer, to wrap my legs around this man, take him inside me.

That’s when reason kicked in.

Making out with Khanavai warriors is dangerous, the sensible part of my brain insisted.

But it felt so good. My body resisted my brain’s orders to step away from him, and it took a long moment to override the sensations he sent dancing through me. Finally, though, I pulled away from Wex’s grip. He set me gently on my feet, instantly breaking the kiss and letting go.

Humiliation mixed with rage bubbled up through the haze of lust in my mind.

How could I let him do something like that?

I wasn’t even sure if my anger was directed at him, or at myself.

My jaw tightened, and I clenched my fists by my side, working hard to blink away the last remnants of passion he had awoken in me.

“I have to get back to the Bride Games now,” I managed to grit out.

Wex stared at me blankly for a long moment, his expression as dazed as I felt. “Of course,” he finally said. “Let me show you—”

“I know my way back,” I interrupted him, my voice brusque.

“Are you sure you don’t want to—”

“I’m sure.” Whatever he was about to suggest, I was certain it was a bad idea. I spun around and headed to the door, avoiding making eye contact with any of the other Khanavai in the room, all of whom had gone utterly silent as Wex and I had kissed.

“Are you—” Wex tried again as I reached the doorway.

“I’m positive.” Without looking behind me, I slammed out into the corridor, then broke into a run.

I didn’t stop running until I was backstage in the Bride Lottery auditorium. There, I leaned against a wall and gulped in deep breaths, uncertain whether I was winded from the run or from Wex’s kiss.

Or maybe both.

When the queue of prospective brides moved forward, I fell into line. I smoothed down my hair, hoping I didn’t look as flushed and thoroughly kissed as I felt.

As I stepped into the auditorium, I couldn’t help searching the stands for Wex, even as I berated myself for it.

That kiss.

It had been amazing.

You could have him, a traitorous voice in my mind reminded me.

Or I could stop wasting time lusting over Khanavai warrior I can never have—not if I wanted to get back to Earth—and get back to the job at hand: destroying the Alien Bride Lottery and Games so no other woman would ever again be put in this position.

That was definitely the better option, I decided as I stepped up onto the dais to do my brief interview with Vos Klavoii.

I hardly knew what I said to him, my mind was spinning so fast.

With any luck, I would be the last human woman to ever go through this farce of an interview.

That was more likely now than ever—because I knew something no one else did yet.

When I had broken away from Wex’s kiss, I had managed to slip his wristcom, complete with his access code, off his arm and into my palm.

Now, I had a way to get back into the Bride Games control room.

I just hoped he didn’t notice his com was missing before I got the chance to use it.

Less than two hours later, I waved Wex’s wristcom in front of the electronic lockpad outside the Bride Games Control Center.

I spent most of the intervening time hiding in some leafy, purple bushes just inside the enormous central garden, watching the door until all the Khanavai manning—or aliening, I guess?—the control center left for the evening,