Chapter 3
As the lasers penetrated through his clothing, his thoughts kept straying to the female.
Name of Colette Wilson. According to the sparse file compiled on her, she managed a human mating service.
Kind of like what the Oracle did for the warriors, but on a much larger scale and without the use of ancestors.
On the contrary, his target relied on computer programming to make the matches, which he had his doubts about.
After all, the woman in charge remained unattached, which didn’t inspire confidence, although he had to wonder why.
Her lack of bonding certainly wasn’t because she lacked character.
Upon meeting her, he’d been struck by her commanding presence.
People couldn’t help but stare in her direction, but it wasn’t just because of her position and personality. Colette Wilson was very attractive.
Tall for a female—at least one native to his home planet.
Her dark hair pulled back from her face showed off her distinct cheekbones, her startling green eyes, and full lips.
Body-wise, she possessed a pair of wide hips with a cinched waist perfect for holding on, full breasts for suckling, and lips that would have looked quite nice wrapped around his cock.
Despite her washed-out color, Cade couldn’t deny the fact he found her appealing.
But his mission wasn’t about claiming her as his mate, as Beta reminded.
Please refocus your thoughts, as your vital statistics are showing an increase in blood flow to your genital area. Now is not the time to be mentally impaired.
An embarrassing rebuke that was the catalyst for Cade swiftly ending his first meeting with the human. As he’d moved toward a discreet location for transport back to his ship, Beta offered a warning. The target is following you. Get to a discreet location and prepare for emergency evacuation.
Hardly an emergency, yet the moment he’d passed through a door marked EXIT, he found himself teleported to his ship.
“What is the status of the target?” he asked aloud as the decontamination procedure ended.
“The female is partaking of an alcoholic beverage.”
Lucky. The ship replicator didn’t have that option, as they were supposed to be sober when on missions. “She’s drinking alone?”
“Yes.”
He rubbed his chin. “Maybe I should have stayed.”
“I think not!” barked Jaspar, stalking into the decontamination chamber. “What were you thinking? We discussed studying the situation before acting.”
“You talked. I never said I agreed,” Cade defended.
His partner scowled. “You better not have ruined our chance to complete the mission.”
“Ruined it how?”
“Beta says you irritated the female.”
“I get the impression that doesn’t take much,” he muttered.
“Or you handled her wrong because you wouldn’t take the time to observe and figure out what this human would respond to,” Jaspar pointed out.
“She is a female of business.” A concept he struggled with, given the woman of his world seldom got involved in those kinds of affairs, especially since the attack that culled their numbers. “I simply broached the idea of us forming a liaison, and she rebuffed me.”
“Did you really think she’d say yes to a stranger? She obviously did not achieve her position by acting rashly and without thought.” Jaspar crossed his arms.
“Fine. My way didn’t work. Guess we’ll try your method now.” Cade didn’t quite manage to keep the disgruntlement from his tone.
“Too late. Now that you’ve mucked up the situation, it will be up to me to clean it up.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning once she’s had a chance to calm down, I shall confront the target, apologize for your brash actions, and then properly explain what we require from her.”
“Good luck with that. She wouldn’t listen to a word I said.” Which annoyed. Cade didn’t usually have problems getting females to listen. Sure, he sometimes paid them to do so, but he could tell when they faked.
“Because you ambushed her without gift or thought.” Jaspar’s lip curled. “I have to wonder why the Oracle sent you along on this mission when it’s obvious you lack the qualities necessary to negotiate.”
“Says the guy who’s spent more time communing with his hand than people,” Cade retorted, an insult that tightened Jaspar’s features.
“Better my hand than a disease,” Jaspar spat back in a rare loss of control.
It seemed Cade might have struck a sore spot. “Some of us prefer the real thing.”
“Says the warrior who never submitted an application for a mate.”
“Neither did you.”
“I had nothing to offer, and so it didn’t seem fair to take from the limited pool of eligible females.”
“So selfless,” Cade mocked.
“What’s your reason for not applying to mate?” Jaspar countered with an arched brow.
“I’m not particularly fond of children. Mated females are needy. I like working and don’t want to be assigned only to missions close to our planet.” Cade listed off his excuses, and to his surprise, Jaspar nodded.
“I actually agree with you on all those points. Guess we should count ourselves fortunate the Oracle didn’t send us here to bond with a human.”
The very thought had him shuddering. “Never.” Although the moment he said it, for some reason, the angry flashing eyes of the female he’d just met popped into his mind.
Jaspar cleared his throat. “We seem to have gotten off topic. In regard to the target, we shall give her a few Earth days to calm her feminine agitation, and then I shall approach her in a gentle manner bearing a gift.”
“Days?” Cade blurted out.
“We wouldn’t want to rush her. Females can be emotional about matters,” Jaspar sagely advised, and Cade almost snorted. Jaspar obviously didn’t have much experience in that area.
“I think you’re misjudging our target.”
“No, that was you who made the error going at her too aggressively. Females require subtle prodding to avoid them having histrionics. Now, given we have a few days, I am going to devise the best way to approach the target. I would suggest you take that time to ruminate over your actions so that we don’t have further issue.
” With that rebuke, Jaspar left, and Cade grimaced.
“What a pompous jerk,” he muttered. “He knows nothing of females at all.” Especially this one. And for some reason, being told to steer clear had the opposite effect. It led to Cade asking aloud, “Beta, what is the target currently doing?”
“Still imbibing.”
“And she remains alone?”
“Yes.”
“Is she still angry?”
“Her vitals show her to be no longer agitated.”
“Beam me into her presence.”
“Commander Jaspar’uilla Var Jannu specifically told you to avoid the target.”
“Jaspar and I are the same rank; therefore, he cannot give me orders. Teleport me now.”
“As you command.” A sulky acceptance, but at least Beta obeyed.
A tingle went through Cade as he teleported, this time arriving in a quiet but large room instead of a stairwell.
The space held little furnishing. A desk facing two large chairs.
A bookcase with sparsely filled shelves.
A bank of windows comprised an entire wall overlooking the cluttered city.
Colette sat in a chair, seemingly staring at the view.
Cade made not a sound, and yet, she knew he’d arrived.
“I see you’re back. Is this where you start telling me where I went wrong in life?” she asked, her husky query not threatening, or seductive, and yet his flesh pimpled, and his cock? He didn’t need Beta 690 to state, You are aroused, to know she had an effect on him.
“I am not interested in your past errors, but your successes.”
“Which ghost does that make you then?” She swiveled in her seat and regarded him over the rim of her glass.
Her reply had him frowning. “I am not a ghost.”
“Then who and what are you?”
“I am Cade’krinno Mer Acadu, warrior of the Second Moon Clan, sent here by our Oracle to enlist your aid.”
She stared at him while taking a long sip before snorting. “Jeezus, I must have drunk more than I thought to be hallucinating this hard.”
“Your blood levels show only a light intoxication,” he stated, repeating Beta’s analysis.
“And to further alleviate your concern, a spectrum sweep of this location shows no spiritual residue.” When she stared at him without speaking, he added, “Meaning there are no ghosts in the vicinity.” Assuming they inhabited the same frequency as the ancestors.
“So I’m just fucking nuts then, is that it?” She arched a brow. “Have to say, I didn’t expect to lose my mind at such a young age.”
“Why would you think yourself mentally incapacitated?” He couldn’t help but sound confused.
“Because sane people don’t imagine blue dudes in their office at night speaking as if they’d just learned English.”
“Not learned,” he corrected. “My translator is ensuring my words emerge using your chosen language, which may be more formal than you are used to.”
She took another sip, muttering, “Holy fuck, I’ve gone off the deep end. Maybe Mitchell was right and I do need a vacation.”
“Could you take your pleasure time after we’ve completed our business?” Because if Cade made things worse, he’d never hear the end of it from Jaspar.
“Only I would have a mental break that somehow involves work.” She sighed and leaned back in her chair. “I’m going to sleep, and when I wake up, you’ll be gone. If you’re not, I’m getting my head examined because this is too much crazy even for me.”
“Once more, you are not imagining me. I am Cade’krinno Mer Acadu from the planet Xaanda.”
That snapped her head upright. “Hold on, are you claiming you’re an alien?”
“I’m Xamian. You are the alien.”
Her laughter sent a shiver through him. “Okay, this is getting wilder by the minute. You’re not a ghost of Christmas Past, Present, or Future, but an extraterrestrial.”
He let the alien reference pass. “Now that we’ve clarified that, I’m on an important mission. For some time now, the warriors of Xaanda have been visiting your world to locate compatible mates.”
“And now it’s your turn to abduct a wife?”