Choosing Riley

Chapter 13-2

Several hours later, Riley felt like she had her life back under control as she sat down at a table in the dining quarters. She had scrubbed at the mark on her neck repeatedly, trying to get it off, but nothing she did worked. So she did the next best thing, she pulled out her makeup bag and hid it. Then, she put on a soft pink angora turtleneck sweater and matched it with a flowing white skirt.

She decided a pair of silver slip-ons would be better than wearing her boots. Fluffing her hair once more time, she decided she was ready to at least face someone other than herself. Taking a deep breath, she left her soon-to-be former living quarters and set out to complete the second part of her plan. She needed support—female reinforcement—so she hunted down Carmen. It turned out fate was finally working in her favor as Carmen was heading down to see her.

Carmen had taken one look at Riley and tugged her down to the dining quarters. Riley hoped that didn’t mean she looked as bad as she felt. Heat flooded Riley as she sat down gingerly in the seat. She glanced at Carmen to see if she noticed that she had slid into the seat a little more carefully than was normal. Riley released a relieved sigh when Carmen didn’t appear to notice anything amiss.

“Would you like something to eat and drink?” Carmen asked as Riley settled into the seat across from where she was standing.

Riley pushed her heavy mass of curls behind her ears and fought the urge to fan herself as the furnace inside her increased another couple of degrees. “Ice water and something light, no seafood,” Riley said with a forced smile.

“They actually have a pretty good replicator. How about a ham and cheese sandwich and chips?” Carmen asked.

“That sounds wonderful,” Riley replied as her stomach gave a loud growl.

Carmen laughed as she turned away. Riley watched Carmen walk over to the other side of the room where the replicators were located. She glanced around, noticing with relief that there was hardly anyone else in the room.

The warship was a lot different from anything else she had been on to date. Between the trader’s small ship, the asteroid, and the old freighter, Riley had been anything but impressed with the idea of space travel s***h alien worlds. This ship could make her change her mind, though. Everything on the inside gleamed. There were over a dozen silver round tables with matching swivel chairs bolted to the floor. The flooring was a polished black offset by the white walls. On the far wall were a series of replicators inset into the wall. In the far left corner was an opening where dirty dishes disappeared into a cleansing unit.

Riley sighed and rested her chin on her palm. She wondered if she could fit one of the replicators in her suitcase. She would love to never have to cook again. That was another thing she didn’t excel at. She loved to eat—out. Her cooking skills were basic at best.

There were probably only about a dozen men in the room. Riley was surprised that there weren’t any women. She would have thought, with all the Star Trek episodes she had seen, that the crew would have been about half and half. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t even notice the shadow that fell over her until the sound of a clearing throat drew her attention from her thoughts.

Riley turned and smiled up at the handsome young man staring down at her. She sat up straighter, raising an eyebrow in amusement as she observed that he was focused on her curly mane of hair. She reached up and twirled a few of the strands around her finger before she said anything to the silent figure standing over her.

“Yes, I am a natural blonde,” she drawled out in her best Midwestern accent. “But don’t try any of the blonde jokes if you want to live,” she added with a dimpled smile.

“Can I touch it?” the man asked hesitantly.

Riley chuckled as she held out her slender hand. “I think we should at least introduce ourselves before you start feeling me up,” she replied with a grin. “My name is Riley St. Claire, and I’m from the mile-high city of Denver, Colorado.”

“I am called Mondu,” he replied. “I am from the Curizan star system. You are the female from the freighter, the one with five mates?”

Riley blushed and looked over at Carmen who was talking to another male. Riley frowned when she realized he looked like the same guy who had been shadowing Carmen last night when they first came on board, but there was something different about him. Whatever Carmen was saying to the guy, he didn’t look like he was very happy about it.

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’re 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, murderers, 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 i***t 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’s 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.”