Possessive Alien Mate(Savage Martians #2) - Sue Mercury Page 0,32

he hurt you badly. Did he do something to you that caused you to leave Earth?”

She appeared hesitant to answer, but she eventually nodded.

“Yes. He drank a lot and was prone to angry outbursts. He made me start working in a bar he owned when I was only fifteen years old. He didn’t pay me and he always confiscated my tips, and he generally made my life a living hell.” She sighed and blinked slowly. “When I was seventeen, my friend Andrea told me about the mail order bride program. I immediately started planning to leave Earth, keeping it a secret from my uncle, of course, and I left Bismarck on my twenty-first birthday after my application to become a mail order bride to a Martian was accepted. I met you the very next day.”

Rem’s blood heated with rage as he learned the truth about her uncle. He repressed the growl building in his throat, as he didn’t wish for her to think he was angry with her. But he felt pure rage toward her uncle, a male who should’ve treated her with kindness and protected her. Instead, it sounded as though he had exploited her.

“I am sorry to hear of your upbringing on Earth,” Rem said. He stared into her expressive eyes, wishing he could erase the memory of her painful experiences on her home planet, especially when he still sensed she was holding back some darker reasons for leaving Earth. But perhaps he could give her something else—justice. “Would you like to see your uncle imprisoned? I can arrange for him to be detained indefinitely. He should pay for what he did to you, my sweet mate.”

She pulled back slightly, her eyes growing wide. “I-I don’t know.”

“Think about it,” he said, caressing her head. “If imprisonment doesn’t satisfy you, I would travel to Earth and end his life myself, if only it would make you forget the things he did to you.”

Tears brimmed in her eyes. To his surprise, she smiled at him.

“I don’t want you to kill him, Rem, but I really do appreciate the offer. I’m not going to lie—there are plenty of times when I found myself wishing he were dead—but I don’t wish to have a death on my conscience, even his.”

“I understand.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “If you ever change your mind, know that the offer still stands.” He was tempted to travel to Earth anyway and end her uncle’s life, but that would mean leaving her for a full day.

She covered a yawn and snuggled deeper into his chest. He held her until she drifted to sleep, until the soft sounds of her steady breathing lulled him into a restful state. He positioned her alongside him and curled his body around hers, draping an arm over her and tangling his legs with hers.

“Sleep now, my Tyra,” he whispered into her ear. “Sleep.”

Chapter 17

As Tyra stood on the balcony watching the sunrise the next morning, she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. While she hadn’t told Rem the full truth about her reasons for leaving Earth, she had at least told him a large part of the truth. Not only had he listened, but he’d forgiven her for lying to him.

She was still a bit shocked he’d offered to have her uncle jailed or killed in retaliation for his poor treatment of her and she now had a lot to think about. If her uncle was jailed, that would keep him from hurting anyone else. She’d recently overheard a conversation between him and one of his regulars, a man named Karl who was interested in auctioning off his step-daughter’s virginity. Karl had promised to split the winnings with Uncle Sebastian in exchange for the use of the bar’s secret back room.

As she recalled further details of the conversation, in which Karl and her uncle had discussed his step-daughter’s physical attributes, her stomach twisted with revulsion. But she soon came to a decision, one which she didn’t feel guilty over.

She turned at the sound of Rem’s footsteps. He was fully dressed in his black guard’s uniform and she thought he looked quite handsome this morning. He took her in his arms and kissed her forehead, then her cheek, before trailing a line of kisses down her neck.

“I thought you had to get to work,” she said with a laugh.

He straightened and peered into her eyes with warmth filling his. “I do, and I’d better go now