“I cannot say.”
“Alien tech. Work you can’t talk about. Cryptic messages. And who can forget how you chased me down with such ease? You’re definitely in law enforcement, though not military.”
I raise a brow.
“The tone of that conversation would have been different. Namely that major giving you orders and you taking them.”
She’s quite observant, this female. “I’m a warrior,” I assert.
“Stick to that story, Kobrik. I’ll figure this out, then you can honestly say you didn’t tell me.” She squeezes my biceps again. “Undercover maybe?”
If she is proposing we discuss this in bed where no other will hear us, I can tell her some of my mission on Earth. Though talking in bed will be a challenge with my mouth on her pussy.
“I accept.”
“Accept what?” she says, drinking from a bottle of water she retrieved from her pack.
“Your offer to fuck.”
Water spews from her mouth, then she quickly looks around at the other passengers, all of whom have moved to the back of the bus to get away from me. They don’t welcome aliens here. Understandable after how the Grud and the Coalition destroyed much of their planet. It’s the reason I must find this grud scout before he causes more damage. Or worse, returns to his planet with intel that leads to another invasion.
“I didn’t offer to—” Kenzie lowers her voice, “to fuck, as you so crudely put it.”
“Would copulate be better? Or bump uglies?”
“Kobrik!”
“Ah, then these are not appropriate terms. I heard them recently. Language can be tricky, especially in the first few weeks on a new world.”
“New world? You’re talking like you’re an alien.”
“A zyanthan warrior, to be precise.”
Those stunning green eyes run over me, then she bursts into laughter. “You had me believing you for a minute. You really have to come to this party after you wrap up at work. You’ve got the alien act down perfectly, and with your costume, everyone will get a kick out of you. Nothing scarier than an alien, right?”
“Is that why you dressed as a grud? To scare people?”
She shakes her head and falls quiet. I fear I’ve said something wrong, but then she speaks in a soft voice. “I don’t have a great imagination when it comes to costumes, and this was easy to put together. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’d turn the prize down if I won, but I more interested in fitting in.”
“Why would you not fit in? You’re gorgeous, smart, and easy to talk to.”
Her eyes light and with that blooming smile, my surroundings fade away.
“No one’s ever called me gorgeous before. Compliments will get you everywhere, Kobrik, but sorry to break it to you. I’m a plain Jane under all this green paint. Nothing special about me. Freckles, lifeless brown hair, and a body that is too thick in some places. Another reason for the grud uniform. It hides all my flaws.”
“You have no flaws. Other than getting off a bus without looking where you are.”
She chuckles. “Yeah, lesson learned. That won’t happen again, I assure you. Speaking of which, this is my stop. Coming,Warrior?”
She pulls the cord, then rises, and I follow.
“I truly am a warrior. Warrior Kobrik Vardell,” I say as we debark. It’s a residential area, a mixture of destroyed homes between untouched ones. Adults and children go from house to house, holding bags out as they beg for food.
As the bus speeds away, Kenzie takes my hand again. “Don’t worry. I’ll introduce you to everyone as Warrior Vardell.”
“I must return to work, but I will see you again, yes?”
“Counting on it,Warrior,” she says with a lilt as she bounces her eyebrows. She’s definitely flirting with me, but she doesn’t believe I’m a warrior. That realization, when it comes, might change how she views me.
