Free Unexpected Mates (Sons of Heaven) by Brenna Lyons

of her sister’s hair. He was one of the smaller Sakk males she’d seen, but his wings were long and graceful. His appearance was at odds with his status as a soldier. If she were meeting him out of armor, Hayley would have guessed he was a poet or an artist.
     
    ****
     
    Parrin stared at Hayley Harrison, his lungs deliciously full of her feminine scent. Whatever male she chose would be a lucky man, and with his town’s meeting day with her scheduled for nearly a week away, it was unlikely she would find no one to choose by then.
    That a given...and she being not his woman, Parrin backed away from her, mourning the loss of her in his arms already. He stopped short at the end of her arm and glanced down at the hand still gripping his armor.
    “Oh.” Her hand retreated, and her cheeks darkened in a demure blush, but her eyes remained locked with his.
    The meek exclamation of sound matched the woman. She wasn’t a ‘party girl,’ as her younger sister was. Hayley was a gentle female. He’d lay wagers that her likes and dislikes were more refined than Holly’s were. Though Sakk males were at the whim of females, he couldn’t imagine any man wanting Holly instead of Hayley.
    A tear stained her cheek, and Parrin ached to wipe it away for her.
    She is not my woman. That reminder burned; he backed away and offered her a soft cloth instead.
    Her throat bobbed, and she thanked him in a low voice.
    “Captain?” the master healer inquired.
    Parrin turned to him, expecting rebuke. There was none forthcoming.
    “I have secured the doors, as Sakkra requested. You are ordered to remain here until we are given the clearance to release the locks.”
    He straightened, recognizing the order to remain as Hayley’s personal guard. “Understood.” And it will give me time in Hayley’s company.
    That was a scandalous thought, but as long as he didn’t voice it publicly, no one had to know he harbored it.
     
    ****
     
    Treating her ankle didn’t take long. Even a break could be repaired in a matter of days, so a sprain was akin to putting a Band-Aid on a cut for the Sakk.
    Not that they used Band-Aids, of course. Only the deepest of cuts required bandaging, and those were typically treated with pressure bandages.
    That left Hayley with a lot of time and little to do but sit on the bio bed . They’d offered electronic amusement to her: television, Internet, movies, and eBooks, but who could relax and focus on them while there was still a lockdown?
    “You’re sure Holly is okay?” she asked again.
    The guard who’d saved her nodded. “She was never in danger, but having females around when the males are already hot-blooded is not a good combination.”
    “Then why are we still on lockdown?”
    The corner of his mouth curved up in a grim smile. “Sakkra is deciding on the punishment for the two males that started this. Until that is settled, the other males will be on edge.”
    Hayley wanted to argue that they didn’t deserve punishment for it, but she knew better. With the problems facing the Sakk race, the males would have to be on their best behavior or risk a war like the one they had millennia ago.
    The silence was potent. Hayley decided to break it. “Thank you for saving me.”
    “The males wouldn’t dared have harmed you,” he dismissed her.
    It wasn’t the answer she’d been hoping for.
    As if he realized that, the guard snuck a look her direction. “It was my honor and pleasure to do so.”
    Her heart fluttered at the smoldering look. “So... What is your name?”
    His brows went up in seeming surprise. “Parrin, Ms. Harrison.”
    “I thought I asked all of you to call me Hayley?” Am I flirting? Well, why shouldn’t I? He is drop-dead gorgeous.
    A slight color flooded his cheeks, and he tipped his head. “It would be my pleasure, Hayley.”
    “Would you talk to me?”
    His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he nodded. “What would you like to talk about?”
    At a loss, she grasped at the first thing that