Hot Alien Doctor (Fated Mates Bar #2)

1. Char

1

CHAR

“ O ne drink. You promised.”

Jess nodded, her smile tight and forced. It was obvious she didn’t really want to be here. She was leaning away from the door to the bar, like she was ready to run back to the car. But she needed this, and I was going to make it happen.

After her breakup with a cheating asshole, she’d been a hermit. It had gone on too long, months. Tonight I’d finally gotten her to come out to this bar outside the city, surrounded by pastures and rolling hills, called Fated Mates. Kind of a weird name, but our friend Annabelle had gone on and on about how the guys at the place were gorgeous and built, probably firefighters.

All the stars were aligned. It was Saturday night, and the weather was getting warmer. There were cars in the lot, meaning—hopefully—attractive men would be inside. Jess looked cute in the curve-hugging green shirt I’d insisted she wear, with her curly brown hair down to frame her face. In contrast, my jeans and black top were basic, my blond hair straight and boring as usual, and my glasses were the first pair I grabbed. But I wasn’t trying to impress anyone.

This was about Jess. I’d driven us way the fuck out here, to this windowless, cinder block building with a neon sign, and I wasn’t leaving until my friend got her groove back.

“Okay. Let’s go in,” she said.

I didn’t give her a chance to change her mind, pushing open the door before she finished talking. Jess was right behind me as we headed for the bar.

Right away, something felt off. The place was a standard dive bar, dimly lit with a scattering of tables. But as soon as we entered, it went quiet. A game of pool noticeably came to a halt.

Momentum carried me forward as my skin started to tingle. I could feel stares coming from the guys spread around the room. Guys who looked unbelievable, like supermodels. But it only lasted a few seconds, and then everyone went back to their own conversations, ignoring us.

“Are we the only women here?” Jess whispered.

Were we? I glanced around. “Oh. Um, yeah. It looks like it. This place is a little strange.” The tingling was getting stronger, and I stopped walking to face her. “Do you think we should go?” If she felt uncomfortable, I didn’t have a problem turning around.

“Ladies, can I buy you a drink?”

I stifled a moan at the sound of the man’s voice by my ear. Rich and sensual. I hadn’t noticed him crossing toward us, but now he stood close. When I turned, I found his gaze focused on me.

He was sinfully attractive. Broad shoulders and narrow hips, light brown hair, a chiseled jaw, and warm brown eyes. There was a maturity about him that made me guess his age as mid-thirties, like me. I breathed in his cologne, threaded with some kind of spicy undertones, and moved a little closer to inhale more of it.

Jess’s hand on my arm pulled me back. “One drink?” she asked.

Remember, you’re here for Jess.

“Yeah, a drink sounds good.” The guy had offered, so I nodded at him, trying to look casual. “You’re buying?”

He smiled, and I melted at the sight of his dimple. “Sure am.” The three of us walked together toward the bar, and he sat on a stool next to me. “I’m Ryoch, by the way. What’s your name?”

Ryoch. It was unusual, but somehow, it fit.

“I’m Charlotte, and this is Jess.”

Ryoch asked for a beer, while Jess ordered cocktails for us. She insisted on paying and started chatting with the guy behind the bar, Gravod. Another unusual name. He was handsome too, with dark hair and green eyes.

Judging by the way she was looking at him, Jess was smitten, so I didn’t feel as guilty for giving my attention to Mr. Sexy next to me.

“I haven’t seen you here before,” Ryoch said.

My cheeks heated, and I had to squeeze my thighs together. The pure physical attraction I felt to him was intense. I’d never been so wet in my life.

I shook my head. “First time. Kind of off the beaten path.”

“Well, I’m glad you found it.”

His deep voice reeled me in closer, until our shoulders touched. My breath hitched. The contact was electric.

Chill out, take it slow . I pulled away. “What do you do?”

“I’m a doctor. What about you?”

I laughed. Of course he was a doctor.

This will be over before it starts. No way would he be interested once I told him what I did for a living.

“I write small town, angsty romance novels. Usually with biker gangs or billionaires.” I laughed again, at myself, even though I knew I shouldn’t. If I made fun of my career first, he couldn’t hurt me. It was an ingrained habit, a way to protect myself from the self-important dicks I tended to attract.

Like the last one, a tax accountant who was, unfortunately, fine as hell. He’d twice asked me what my income was, because he was sure my writing was “only a hobby.” When he asked the first time, I thought he was joking. The second time, I told him I did my own taxes and showed him the door.

But Ryoch didn’t laugh when I told him what I wrote. He looked impressed. Excited. His voice went lower, and I felt his warm breath on my lips as he leaned in.

“A writer? I’d love to read your books.”

Wait. Even the shitheads I’d dated who thought it was adorable that I wrote for a living were dismissive of romance. Not once had any of them so much as hinted that they wanted to read my work. But I could tell Ryoch was totally serious. I looked at him more closely, and shivered.

Something wasn’t right.

The longer I stared at him, the more his face appeared to…change. I could have sworn his brown eyes were glowing silver. He smiled, and his teeth looked unusually sharp. His skin took on a burgundy tint, just for a second. When he tapped his fingers on his beer glass, his fingernails momentarily resembled black claws.

I told myself I must be imagining things. It was all so quick. His eyes disappeared behind gleaming pools of mercury, then he blinked and they were brown again. We managed to exchange small talk about books we liked, but I kept noticing these tiny—glitches?—over and over, until finally I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

The back of my neck prickled in warning. It was as if we were in some kind of fever dream. The more I breathed in Ryoch’s cologne, the more I wanted to climb onto his lap. Like his scent was a lure.

I glanced over at Jess, who’d been so reluctant to come out, and saw how absorbed she was with the bartender. Self-preservation instincts kicked in. We needed to make a move before we were ensnared.

The guys started talking to each other, and I took the opportunity to turn to Jess. We clinked glasses and sipped. Fuck, the cocktail was delicious. Maybe drinking it was a bad idea. My heart sped up as my panic rose.

“There’s something weird about Ryoch’s eyes,” I whispered.

Jess frowned as she whispered back. “Gravod’s too.”

“I feel… I don’t know. Out of control. I don’t like it.”

She put her glass down. “Let’s go.”

Her decisiveness made it real. My anxiety spiked higher. We got up quietly, and almost made it to the door.

“Charlotte. Wait.”

Ryoch’s voice was low and commanding. Hearing him say my name behind me made my entire body throb. I froze, on the verge of turning around and going back to him, before Jess grabbed my hand and snapped me out of it.

Then we literally ran out the door.