“May I ask why you find us so distasteful?” His head cocked as if he was genuinely interested in her opinion.
She swallowed, taking a good look at the man who spoke. These were the first Kalquorians she’d seen up close, and they weren’t at all what she’d expected. She’d thought they’d look like evil incarnate. The Church had described them as devils, and that had always conjured images of dark fiends with horns on their heads and cloven hooves.
Well, they were dark. Dark brown skin like chocolate milk. Blue-black hair. Huge. The one who’d asked the question had at least seven inches on her, possibly more. The guy holding her legs was only a couple inches shorter. The one pinning her against his very wide, very muscular chest was the tallest of all. Dani had never felt dwarfed before, but she sure as hell did now.
Size aside, they didn’t look demonic. Darn if they weren’t handsome, in fact. Their blue-purple eyes were beautiful, once you got past the catlike slit pupils. The one who wasn’t touching Dani had tousled hair to his shoulders, softly rumpled like he’d forgotten to brush it. His face was lean, his nose slender and pointed. There was a bemused smile on his gentle features, and he looked at Dani as if he studied a particularly fascinating butterfly he’d swooped up in a net. He looked intense and friendly all at once.
Dani refused to acknowledge the fluttery feeling his interest elicited. Making herself attend to his question, she spluttered in outrage. “Why do I find you distasteful? Are you kidding? After what you did to Earth?”
A voice like brushed velvet slid against her ear. “Our ships never would have entered the portal if we’d known it was rigged to explode your major cities.”
Dani looked up and up at the face of the man holding her with arms of steel. His gaze on her was sharp too, but instead of clinical interest, he looked at her as if trying to decide how she would taste. More rugged than his companions, the fierce creature looked like a born hunter. His jaw couldn’t have been squarer, his high cheekbones lending him haughtiness like some kingly savage. His skull, most of it shaved so that a long Mohawk strip of hair hung down his back, was beautifully formed. He was as handsome as a tiger, and every bit as deadly. Icy chills raced down Dani’s spine to be caught in his gaze.
Don’t show this one fear. It will be very bad if you do. Every instinct told her this was a dangerous creature.
Forcing her tone to hold steady, Dani snapped, “Rigged? What are you talking about? The way I heard it, Kalquor attacked us, blew everything up, and then began carting off all the women.”
The third man, the one holding her legs, spoke. Dani was grateful to look away from the beast-man holding her to the one with the deep, rumbling voice. “And where did you hear this? From trusted leaders? Reliable sources?”
He was the handsomest of the three, with chiseled features and a sly smile that both charmed and worried her. Except for the cornrows of tight braids that swung over his chest and shoulders, he looked like a sculpted bust of young Julius Caesar Dani had seen when she toured Italy. The confidence in his demeanor was almost smug, and it set her teeth on edge.
Unfortunately, he’d brought up a valid point. Grudgingly, Dani admitted, “Well, that’s what people were saying.”
Velvet Voice spoke in her ear once again. “Your leaders were religious fanatics. They determined it was better you all die than lose the war to us.”
She refused to look at the predatory owner of that voice. “Why should I believe you? You’re the enemy.”
Cornrows smirked. “Did you really trust your government so much? Few Earthers I’ve spoken to did.”
Dani gave him attitude for attitude. “My father was part of that government, so I think I should know a thing or two you might not.”
Cornrows exchanged a look with Scruffy, and Dani wished she had kept her mouth shut. The Galactic Council was convening trials against the few Earthers found that had been in power. She was only the daughter of a state official, but if they were on a witch hunt maybe any Earther would do. The lower and middle class of the destroyed world were clamoring for reparations. Dani had led a life more privileged than many.
Backpedaling, she hurriedly added, “He wasn’t an important official, only regional.”
“It is odder still that an Earther female so close to those in power would choose this life of sexual decadence.” Scruffy leaned closer to her, as if he could find secrets in her eyes.
She noticed his shirt stretched tight over his wide chest and shoulders, but where it hung loose and untucked, a jigsaw puzzle of wrinkles marred the ivory fabric. He was obviously not worried about appearances, but he was attractive enough to get away with it.
Scowling at him and her wandering eyes, Dani asked, “What are you, some kind of psychologist?”
He smiled, and the way his face lit up made her stop breathing for an instant. Heaven help her, the man was beautiful when he beamed. “As a matter of fact, I am. I’m what you Earthers would call a criminal psychologist.”
The situation just kept getting worse. Dani had experienced enough brushes with the law on Earth to be leery of police, and this one, while not an actual cop, was part of that authority. Her father wasn’t here to bail her out of trouble this time. And if he had been, George Watson no longer had a cushy job to protect from his children’s tendency to flaunt decency.
Coming from New Concepts Publishing February 17
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