Free Invasion Earth by Loribelle Hunt

Did she become an alien’s cast off far from
her home?
    She was filled with doubts and anxiety about
him, his people, the treaty. Her physical reaction to him just
added to the burden. When she was in the same room with him, she
couldn’t get her brain to wrap around anything but sex. It made her
feel like a traitor.
    It was all about control. She needed
information more than anything right now, much as her body
disagreed. Time for a little recon. She let the crowd trickle out
while delaying her departure at the coffee table. She made herself
a cup, adding a liberal dose of sugar to the bitter brew, and
exited the room. Instead of turning right and taking the corridor
that would lead back to the guest quarters they’d been put in or
the shuttle bay where everyone else was heading, she turned right,
determined to explore the ship. You never knew what you might
discover by accident after all.
    She realized immediately she was being
followed. The sound of footsteps was impossible to muffle on steel
floors. Two sets. The guards who’d stood outside the door, she bet,
but she didn’t turn around to verify the guess. She wandered for an
hour, her silent escort keeping an irritating pace behind her.
Finally, she couldn’t stand it and stopped. Turning around, she set
her hands on her hips and glared.
    “Is there a reason you’re following me?”
    “Orders, my lady,” one answered.
    It was the second time someone had used the
honorific addressing her, but she let it pass. She was certain she
already knew the answer to her next question. “Whose?”
    “General Torfa’s.”
    So he didn’t trust her loose on his ship?
Damn right. He should be nervous. She wasn’t going to roll over and
play dead just because the sex was great. If she went through with
this, it would be because she was positive dealing with the Delroi
was good for her people and a better alternative to an ongoing war
she couldn’t see a way to win. And he’d have to understand that she
was an independent woman with a brain. A partner or nothing. Not
too much to ask in her opinion.
    “He’s concerned for your safety,” the other
piped up a disapproving note to his tone.
    She arched an eyebrow. Interesting. They’d
been led to believe all the Delroi were on the same page with the
negotiations, but maybe that wasn’t the case. Was there dissent in
the ranks? Enough to endanger her? She remembered the nickname
they’d given her and wondered if the survivors of Roses would be as
forgiving as Alrik and his brother seemed to be. She cocked her
head to one side and studied the two warriors.
    “And who would be a threat to me here?”
    The one who’d mentioned her safety, or lack
thereof, blinked and an invisible mask descended over of his face
as if he realized he’d overstepped a line.
    “You’ll have to ask the General.”
    She nodded. Excellent. She’d expected that
answer. She knew she was good and lost, but she wasn’t about to
admit it. She could wander around for another hour and not find her
way back and she didn’t want them to realize it.
    “Take me to him then.”
    They turned and headed in the direction she’d
just come from, but only went a few steps before turning off into a
narrow hall she hadn’t noticed before. She made an exasperated
noise. The place was a maze, one long gunmetal gray hall after the
other. She was beginning to think she’d never figure it out when
the corridor widened into a big common area. Surprise held her in
place for a few seconds, before awe forced her to move.
    She barely registered the tables she picked
her way through or the long bar across one wall or the people
milling around. She walked straight forward to the wide expanse of
glass. Through the window she saw ships. Dozens of them. Perhaps as
many as one hundred. An armada. They were serious about winning
this war and she was pretty sure no one else in the Earth
delegation had seen this, had any idea what the Delroi numbers
actually were. She