Chapter 3
Hattie
So, the going home plan was approved.
But it came with a stipulation.
She had to take Tuvo with her.
Hattie took a seat at the bar of the big reception hall in the UN building, people watched the most powerful individuals in the world, and contemplated the condition.
She couldn’t really be mad about it. As much as it sucked, she did need protection.
While the majority of Earth was excited about the idea of making contact and establishing trade with aliens, there were those that definitely were not.
And they were grouping up. One such group was responsible for the hotel attack that had them on such tight security measures.
So, while Hattie wanted to believe in the goodness of others, she couldn’t exactly argue about the need for an escort.
But why did it have to be Tuvo?
The answer was obvious. Only five aliens, all domini, had come down to Earth to start the negotiations. Five male domini, four of whom were mated. That left only Tuvo and Hattie as the odd not-couple out. The spares. And so, it only made sense to pair them up.
It was fine.
Well, it wasn’t fine fine, but it was fine.
Hattie frowned into her drink, trying to figure out her own emotions.
When she had first landed on Turv, she had been so excited about the alien world. The technology, the beauty of a foreign planet, the people! The domini were amazing. So passionate and honest. They had all the subtly of a sledgehammer, but she appreciated their forwardness.
And she really appreciated the First Warrior.
From the moment she spotted Tuvo at their welcoming party on Turv, Hattie had been fascinated.
She could admit to having a fetish for big guys, but that was easy to fulfill considering her short stature.
But it was like Tuvo was every secret fantasy she hadn’t known she possessed rolled into one gorgeous, growly package.
Big and strong and unapologetic about his stoicism.
But also kind and duteous and never unaware of just how much bigger and stronger he was than others.
He knew the strength he had and how easily it could hurt people, and so he was careful.
Mindful. And she loved that! She didn’t care if he was a bit grumpy on the outside.
If anything, she liked him more because of it.
There was just something so cute about big, grumpy guys who wouldn’t hurt a fly – but who would, and did, destroy entire armies because he had to protect others.
He was exactly her type, and she hadn’t made her interest a secret. To anyone. If anything, she was a bit embarrassed to look back on herself now.
The eager way she had sought him out had been so desperate. She wanted to be the only one preparing his meals if he was visiting the palace. She had begged Holly and Peony for advice in tempting a domini male into being interested.
She knew about their mating instincts now. Domini knew upon first seeing their mate that they were The One.
And she found it so romantic! Beautiful! And once they went through with the claiming, it was like a biological lock being put on their mind and bodies. They wouldn’t be able to feel desire for anyone but their mate. And she loved that!
Some part of her hadn’t wondered if, maybe, there was a little of that in her. Why else would she want Tuvo so much, so quickly? It wasn’t unheard of for humans to experience love at first sight. That was how her parents fell in love, after all.
She held onto that hope for months. Doing anything she could to try to catch the First Warrior’s attention.
Right until the moment he made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn’t interested.
And he did that by remarking that he could never touch someone of her size.
Hattie wasn’t ashamed of her body. She was healthy, she loved food, and she thought she looked pretty, even with all the extra curves.
But after Keith had spent so much time ‘jokingly’ remarking on her body and its size, hearing that same thing from Tuvo hit that much harder.
He had said absolutely not. He called her fat. And that was the end of it.
Hattie had immediately turned self-destructive and needed her friends to remind her that starving herself wasn’t the solution. That there didn’t need to be a solution. She liked her body until everyone else made her unhappy with it! She just had to remember that.
So, she had sworn off men. Males. Sworn off Tuvo in particular. And she had been going about her life, enjoying her food, laughing with her friends, reminding herself that she was happy in her body, and, maybe, ignoring Tuvo altogether.
But she couldn’t do that anymore. Not if he was going to be personally escorting her to her parents’ house and staying there with her. Because he would have to since staying at a hotel would ruin the whole point of being there as security.
Hattie took a bracing drink and squared her shoulders.
She could do this!
Tuvo had made that remark about her size, but he hadn’t meant it in a demeaning way.
Not the way Keith had, anyway. The domini didn’t think in terms of skinny being attractive or big being ugly.
She had just taken it that way because of her past with her ex.
Tuvo just didn’t prefer someone like her, and that was okay.
She had worked her way through that. She was back in a place where she could tell that negging voice in her head that it had no idea what it was talking about and not being Tuvo’s type didn’t mean anything.
After all, she was a human. She didn’t know her mate at first sight. She had to find hers the old-fashioned way. That had just been lust at first sight.
And it was gone now.
She had been sure to kill it dead and bury it deep because there was no point being upset because you weren’t someone’s type. She was a big girl; she could put on her big girl panties and deal with reality like everyone else.
And because she was an adult, she could certainly have a friendly relationship with Tuvo even after the rejection. She had been avoiding him to this point for her own mental health.
But enough of that.
It was time to bury the hatchet!
Hattie downed the last of her drink and turned to hop off her barstool-
-only to come up short at the sight of the older man standing right behind her.
“Oh!” She cried out at the same time he did, putting a hand to her chest. “You scared me!”
“You scared me,” he laughed, falling back a step. “I wasn’t expecting you to turn so suddenly like that.”
Grinning along with him, Hattie stood. “Were you trying to sit?”
“No. I was coming to meet you, actually.” He gave her a friendly smile. “I wanted a chance to introduce myself to you, Miss Sweet.”
“Huh? Me? Why?”
He reached into his coat and pulled out a business card with a flourish. “My name is Phillip Morrison. It’s a pleasure.”
“Morrison? As in…”
“Morrison Inc? That one exactly,” he laughed like admitting to being an ultra-billionaire was a super normal thing.
Hattie didn’t know why she was surprised.
To this point, she had met the leaders of every large country who all treated her like an old friend.
A politician thing, she guessed. She had also met a super famous band because they played for Alanna’s first reception and a few other famous people at this one that had managed to get an invite – usually on the arm of a politician.
But somehow meeting one of the wealthiest men on Earth was shocking.
“Er, nice to meet you,” she greeted, shaking his hand.
“The pleasure is all mine,” he assured her. “I’m so happy you and the others came back to Earth safely. And brought new friends with you. I’ve even offered one of my islands for the happy couple’s honeymoon.”
“Oh, that’s really nice of you,” Hattie smiled. She wasn’t expecting him to be so magnanimous. She supposed when you had a lot of money, you could afford to be that charitable.
He smiled congenially, waving away her words. “I just had a quick question for you. If you don’t mind.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“I know the other women are going to be returning with the aliens to their home planet. Turf?”
“Turv.”
“Ah. Right. My bad. They’re all married to the men though. And you’re not.”
Ouch. Hattie kept her smile in place. “I mean, yeah.”
“So, I was wondering if you would be staying here. I’m sure you have a great deal of information that you could share with us. And since you’re not married, you’ve no reason to return. You’re not planning on marrying one of those men, correct?”
“Er, well, they’re not men, and they call it mating…”
Morrison made a face. “Yes, that just sounds so… strange…”
“I am planning on returning though. Turv is my home now.”
He frowned. “But, in that case, won’t you have to marry an alien?”
“It’s not required.”
“Isn’t that the whole point of the treaty, though? Aliens taking our women.”
Hattie laughed. “I mean, kind of? That’s a weird way to put it though. They want the chance to take us as mates. I think it’s sweet. But it’s not like I need to be mated for citizenship.”
“I see,” Morrison said, frowning.
Hattie gave him a curious look. “Is something wrong?”
He hastily smiled back at her. “No. Not at all. Thank you for telling me that. Have a nice day, Miss Sweet.”
“Hm?”
Confused, Hattie watched him go. What was that about?
She thought about it for a few more seconds before shrugging, figuring that it didn’t matter, and turning to find Tuvo.
The UN conference hall was lovely and huge. It wasn’t so easy to track down a single person amongst the crowd. The domini males stood out by virtue of being larger than everyone else in the hall. But being shorter than everyone else, Hattie couldn’t really see over people’s heads to spot them.
She finally found the male in question standing along the walls where a lot of the personal assistants and bodyguards for the various VIPs were waiting unobtrusively out of the way.
The moment she stepped out of the crowd, Tuvo’s eyes locked on her.
And it hit her like a punch in the gut.