Caught Between Two Blue Aliens - Celia Kyle Page 0,12

to taking the spotlight.

Yet, here she was, the subject of an intense, furious glare from Secretary Wells.

She felt a strange desire to place her hand over her chest as if to hold her heart in place, afraid it would beat so hard it’d bust free of her ribs in a scarlet, bloody mess. On all sides she was surrounded by disgruntled-looking male faces, some from Secretary Wells and his cadre of loyal men who’d followed him across the room. The rest? Those belonged to the tall, powerful bodies blocking her into this little trap—the Drokten males with their blue skin, fierce eyes, and sharp features. Everywhere she looked, someone loomed over her, herding her into place. A forest of tall men.

One moment she’d been standing there, talking only to Hiren, and holding her own with this one famous Drokten. And then suddenly it all spiraled out of control.

A sharp pang of fear pierced her gut as it occurred to her that there was absolutely no easy way out of this, no matter which way she looked. Truly, Jenna wanted to dematerialize into thin air. Or melt into a puddle. A puddle sounded good. One that could sink into the carpet and then creep away, out of sight. She wanted some way to escape the awkward, scary situation she’d stumbled into, and being a puddle of water—not piss, because ew, even if she felt like she could piss herself at any second—sounded great.

Strangest of all was the sense of camaraderie and connection she experienced with the nearby Drokten. It made no sense to her muddled, panicked mind that she would feel more connected and comfortable with the Drokten than her own people. But when she glanced at Secretary Wells—or any of the militant, well-dressed men in his company—Jenna felt more fear than when she’d confronted the Drokten. She wondered if it was simply because she knew Wells had concocted some nefarious plan against the alien race, or if something else caused her to identify more with the Drokten than her own kind.

Then something… odd… happened in her mind.

Yes, the Drokten are now your own kind, a deep voice comforted.

She frowned slightly, confused with the comment, especially when it dawned on her that somehow, she recognized it as Commander Sevith’s voice in her head, despite the fact that he hadn’t spoken to her yet. She turned to glance over at the male she hadn’t even been introduced to.

He was standing so close, like they already knew each other. And he was staring at her with such intensity… How he’d managed to say the words aloud while also not moving his lips confused the hell out of her. And how did she know it was him talking?

He’d made it sound like she was one of them, but she most certainly—and obviously—was not. Why this Commander would consider her one of them was beyond her understanding.

And scared the bejeezus out of her, if she was honest. An alien had just spoken inside her head.

Alien. In her head. What the ever-loving hell? She was losing her mind. That was it. She’d lost her mind during her walk across the room and now she was officially cray-cray. Maybe if she kept her mouth shut no one would notice her craziness?

Meanwhile, Secretary Wells puffed out his chest and got all blustery—as men of his social position often did when confronted by larger and more powerful opponents. “Why are you here?” he barked at her. “You’re supposed to be serving food and drink to the guests, not bothering the Drokten.”

Her jaw clenched. Ass. Hole.

She opened her mouth to respond to his ridiculous remark, but he cut her off, turning to not only Hiren but now also Sevith, who were both standing right next to her.

“Please allow me to offer my sincerest apologies,” Secretary Wells pontificated. His face flushed a deep beet red as he tried to make a sloppy, pompous apology for Jenna’s actions. “I don’t know what possessed this girl to bother you during this evening’s celebrations. Whatever she has done to attract your attention, please be assured it will not go unpunished.”

This man was such a conniving, treasonous, ass.

“In fact, I should say that this woman will be severely punished. She has stepped far out of line and I do not tolerate rule-breakers in our midst. Let me handle this, friends.”

Okay, the mention of severely transformed Jenna’s anger into genuine fear. And why was he mad that she was talking to Hiren? In reality why would