Free Alien Romance: The Barbarian's Owned: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Celestial Mates Book 1) by Marla Therron Page A

in front of Garr.
    ***
    Her voice was distant and sad. Garr realized she’d abandoned her plans to escape, and finally accepted her place on Ythir. He should have been thrilled.
    Instead, witnessing how complete her misery was, his heart ached. Her once vibrant, strong voice was small now, a spark snuffed out, and for the first time he doubted his plans. How do I keep her without destroying her? He’d stumbled into a paradox like one from the Old Songs.
    He opened his mouth to say something comforting, and then shut it. What was there to say? He wanted her here.
    Garr brooded on his conquest, his chin resting on a fist. The idea that came to him prickled him with fear. No, I shouldn’t. What if I lost her? But then again, he was prime, and he refused to rule from a place of fear.
    He would meet this challenge and exceed it, as he always had. If he failed, it would mean the ruination of his lineage. But then, he’d risked that before.
    ***
    “I have a proposal.” Garr watched her from his seat.
    Rae pushed her palms into her eye sockets, willing herself not to cry. She nodded, knowing her voice would betray her. Somehow, trying to talk when she needed to cry—and hearing the pinch in her own throat—always broke the dam wide open.
    She tried for levity, hoping it would keep that from happening. “Fire away, big guy. Consider me a captive audience.” It didn’t entirely work, and her shoulders quaked.
    “Humans have elaborate courtship rituals. What are they called? ‘Dates’?”
    She nodded, a hand still over her eyes. Where was he going with this?
    “In these dates, the female may turn down the male without finding a defender to fight him.”
    “We’re big on the not-fighting part. Only females at places called ‘fraternity parties’ or ‘Boston sporting events’ require fighting before they’ll mate.” A little better. She had control of her voice again.
    “Tell me about dates.”
    Rae shrugged helplessly. “It’s just dinner and a show. Feeling each other out. Minimal kidnapping. Look, it won’t work. You can’t drag me away from everything I know and then ask to take me out.” She lowered her hand, though only to glare at him.
    He settled into that tall marble chair. “Date me for one week. If you don’t wish to be my mate when it’s done, I will take you home.”
    Rae stared at him. The floor seemed to have dropped out from under her. She scrabbled for a thought, her heart hammering in her chest. Leaning forward, searching him for the lie, she asked, “Seriously?”
    “One week,” he said resolutely.
    That stalled her. She took the moment to look at Garr. To really look at him, and to wonder what he’d planned.
    In a week, there was no way he could change her mind. He should have known as much. “You’re lying.” He had to be.
    “I am prime. I do not lie. Especially to my mate.”
    That was why he’d offered the deal. It was his arrogance! He thought she’d fall for him if he just loosened his grip a little. Rae narrowed her eyes. “One week and then I go home.”
    “If you choose to.”
    “What do I have to do for the week?” she asked, stomach turning when she realized he might not apprehend that dates weren’t necessarily going to end in sex.
    “Dinner. And a show.”
    No, she did not like his smile one bit. It sent goose bumps all over her body.
    Garr stood abruptly and prowled toward her. She squirmed back into her seat, suddenly unsure, but he scooped her from the chair into his arms.
    Her hands gripped the first thing she could to balance herself—steeling one against his shoulder, the other his ridiculously thick forearm. The ease with which he carried through a threshold and up the stairs made her flush. “Where are we going?”
    “To bed. You’re exhausted.”
    “I’m not sleeping with you.”
    He didn’t answer, and she scowled, deciding his attempt to woo her was off to a sore start.
    The bedroom was nice, though. The glass encasement of its walls hid none