Alien Paladin's Redemption - Mina Carter Page 0,21

looked at her.

“I will escort you back to your quarters. Make sure you’re safe.”

And then he would find out who she was mated to and give the male a piece of his mind. Letting her wander like this wasn’t safe. Not for her and certainly not for a male who thought so little of his female that he would let her be alone with other males. He was leaving himself open to having his mate taken from him in a challenge fight.

A growl hit the back of his throat. Unbidden. Again.

If this female was his, he would never let her out of his sight. He would keep her safe and away from other males. None would dare challenge for her because he would tear them limb from limb… He shut the thought down. She was not his and he had devoted himself to the goddess. Maybe not in any formal way, but in his heart. A mate, even if one should become available, was not in his future.

“I can take care of myself,” she snarled when he made a grab for her again. This time his hand grazed the bare skin of her arm. It was warm and soft, so delicate it sent a shiver through him. And increased his ire. Didn’t she realize how vulnerable she was out here alone?

“Don’t you get it?” he hissed, his temper fraying as he stalked forward, backing her up toward the corridor wall. “Most males haven’t seen a real female for decades.”

Her eyes widened as she tried to slide to the side again, but he was ready for her. Fool him once... She hissed, her beautiful features twisted in anger, and pulled the blade from her waist. He grunted in surprise as he batted it aside, a hard strike that made her release her grip and clutch her hand to her chest in pain. His chest tightened. He didn’t like being the cause of her pain, but it was better a minor hurt now than something worse later on. She needed to learn this lesson.

“Fucking asshole!” she hissed, twisting to duck out of his way.

She was fast, but he was faster. He cut off her escape, slamming a hand against the corridor wall by her head. He wasn’t touching her, but he was so close he felt her breath on his cheek, and the heat of her body against the bare skin of his chest.

His voice lowered to a raspy husk as his gaze locked to hers. “They’re forced to make do with females from other species, but most of them long for delicate skin without scales.” He lifted his free hand to stroke against the side of her throat, his thumb following the line of the blood vessel there. “The flutter of a pulse under satin skin... soft lips...”

He was caught by his own trap in an ever-decreasing spiral that had one destination. Her. She stood frozen, her back pressed against the wall as he moved closer. She was so small, so tiny compared to him... her eyes so dark as she looked up at him.

He lowered his head, captivated by the softness of her lips when they parted. Her hand crept up to the center of his chest. A shock hit him at the barely there touch, his breath catching as he pinned her gaze with his.

She moved slightly, her lips parting. He moved closer, hardly daring to breathe… Before their lips touched, though, her knee slammed up into his groin. Hard.

Agony laced through him. Lightning arched through his body and stole his ability to breathe, to think... to do anything. Staggering backward a half step, he hunched over and curled protectively around his male organs.

“Forced to follow their cocks, you mean!” she hissed, pushing at his shoulder to get him away from her. He snarled and held on, shoving the pain from his mind as he whirled her around and pinned her against him, back against his chest and a hard arm around her waist.

“Do not try that again,” he warned. “Fortunately for your mate, I am not like other males. I would not have harmed you or availed myself of your body. I merely intend to return you to him with a lesson learned.”

“Yeah, to not trust the fucking Lathar no matter what,” she snarled and tried to slam her head back into his nose. “And you keep talking about my mate. I don’t have one.”

He froze for a second at the revelation, absently quelling her struggles as her