Sixx: Dakonian Alien Mail Order Brides #4 (Intergalactic Dating Agency) Page 3

  Furthermore, he assumed I’d drop everything and relocate to his planet. “He’s arrogant,” I said.

  My mother laughed. “They all are. They’re clueless. It’s part of their charm.”

  “It wasn’t very charming,” I denied. Lied. I was looking for an excuse not to like him. He had charmed me. He was innocent but focused. He’d had one relationship. Surprisingly, I found that to be a point in his favor.

  I’d slept with…well, I shied away from counting anymore. While I didn’t sleep around, the years had passed, and before I knew it, I’d hit the big 3-0, and a few flings here and few relationships there added up to quite a few notches on the bedpost.

  I sighed. The alternative—a dry spell—was nothing to brag about, either. After work, I didn’t have energy for anything, let alone dating, and when I did have a little time, I worked on my own game in pursuit of my big dream.

  Next month I would turn thirty-one, and it would be eleven months since I’d gotten any, eleven months without even a kiss or a hug from the opposite sex. And the sad part? I hadn’t missed the contact. My libido had flatlined. Weren’t women supposed to reach their peak in their thirties?

  The scary realization I was tumbling into a valley of apathy when I should have been scaling the mountain of ecstasy had prompted me to join the IDA.

  For what it was worth—it had worked. One look at Sixx and my body had pinged to life. I pictured the surge of desire as a computer booting up, music flowing, lights coming on, icons popping up on the screen. All systems go.

  Then Sixx pulled the power cord.

  Maybe the analogy didn’t quite work because my body still hummed from the effects of his presence. My breasts felt heavy and achy, and my panties were still damp. I’d never had such a strong reaction to a man in my life—damn him. At one point, when I’d touched his arm, a jolt of pure, unadulterated lust had shot through me. Maybe Mom was the teeny, tiniest bit right. Maybe a man could fix the problem. Maybe I needed to get laid.

  But it had to be with a man here on Earth.

  Or did it?

  Why not have a little fling with an alien? Why not sleep with Sixx, sex him out of my system, and then get on with my life? I’d enjoy a pleasant interlude, my mom would be pleased I’d “found” somebody, and Sixx, well, I couldn’t imagine it would be a hardship for him. He’d only been with one other woman, so he’d gain a little more experience. A win-win for both of us.

  Except I’d kind of put him off.

  After our date, he’d put me on the spot and asked to see me again. I’d tried to let him down easy, telling him I had to check my calendar. He’d had to know it was a lie because my schedule was on my phone. I could have checked it right there.

  On the other hand, I hadn’t actually, verbally, said no.

  “So, are you going to see him again?”

  Definitely…unsure. “We’ll see. I’m still thinking about it.” Should I text him when I got to my apartment or wait until morning so I didn’t seem too eager? Maybe my libido would settle down. The spike could be an anomaly. What if I saw him again and there was no spark? Maybe I needed to think about this a little more. “I’ll call you over the weekend. I’m almost home. It’s been a long day.”

  “You’re not working this weekend, are you?” My mother managed to sound concerned and censuring at the same time.

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “All right. I’ll talk to you later,” Mom said. “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.” I ended the call.

  Heavy, fast footfalls, like someone running, sounded behind me. As I started to turn, a force plowed into me. My phone flew out of my hand. I threw out my arms to break my fall as I body-slammed the sidewalk, knocking the breath from my lungs. I heard my phone shatter as it hit the ground. The assailant bent and tore my bag off my shoulder.

  Somebody—a pedestrian—shouted, and then the assailant stomped on my hand before diving for my phone. He snagged it and tore off down the street.

  I lay there gasping and hurting, my pepper spray still in my pocket, my tablet with my latest notes for T-Rex Island, purse, credit cards, and keys gone, and all I could think was I had no way to contact Sixx.

  Chapter Four

  Sixx

  “No!” I charged forward.

  So focused on staying out of sight, I’d failed to protect my female from an attack. The man, who’d run by me a second ago, had knocked her down. I needed to help her, but I couldn’t let him get away.

  I caught the back of his dark stretchy tunic and swung him against the building. I punched him. He dodged so the blow grazed his temple, but he uttered a satisfying grunt. I intended to cause him much more pain.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Moxie roll to a sitting position, cradling her arm to her chest. I threw another punch, but the man was wiry and quick, and he feinted away. The flickering streetlight glinted off metal as he lashed out.

  I jumped back, but searing pain slashed across my chest.

  Brandishing the knife and a sneer, Moxie’s attacker swiped at me, his hands almost a blur. Another streak of fire sliced across my abdomen. He lunged. I dodged, and his blade nicked my wrist. I struck out with my other forearm, knocking back his knife hand, and followed up with a powerful punch to his jaw. His head snapped back. Fury burned within, fueling my fists. I hit him again, sending him careening into the wall. The knife clattered to the sidewalk.

  I shot a glance at my mate. A couple leaned over her, asking if she was all right.

  The man peeled himself off the wall and fled.

  I wanted to go after him, make him hurt, but Moxie needed me. I scooped up her bag and shattered phone and rushed to her side. I’d heard stories of how dangerous Earth could be, so I’d intended to follow her home after she’d left the Stellar Dust Bin to ensure she arrived safely, and she’d been injured in front of my eyes. I’d failed her. Self-loathing knotted my chest.

  Her face streaked with tears, she held her right hand to her chest. The older couple huddled over her, the woman with her arms around her shoulder, the man speaking into his phone. “A woman was mugged…”

  Her expression dazed, Moxie looked up at me. “Sixx? What are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry. Your attacker got away. You’re hurt. We need to get you to a healer.”

  “My hands…” She held up bloodied palms, her right forefinger jutting out at an unnatural angle. “I think my finger is broken. My thumb, too.” She shook her head as if in a daze. “He stole my purse.”

  “I got it back.” I patted the bag under my arm. “I got your phone, too, but the screen is broken.”

  “Thank you.”

  The older woman focused on me. “You’re bleeding!”

  My chest and forearm stung, but my injuries were minor. Tending to my mate was more important. She blinked, and, as her gaze settled on my bloodstained chest, color drained from her face. She slumped over.

  I caught her limp body. “Moxie!” Good Fates, how serious were her injuries? I’d never forgive myself. I’d left her and run after the man who’d attacked her. “She can’t be dying!”

  “She’s okay! She fainted—from the sight of blood on you, I think. My name is Joni. I’m a nurse. I used to see it all the time. Let’s lay her down.” She eyed me. “You’re more of a concern.”

  “No. You must take care of my mate, first.” The idea of her being hurt, of possibly losing her, tore me up. She had to be okay. She had to be!

  The woman directed the man to spread his coat on the hard concrete and then had me ease Moxie to a supine position. “Give me her purse,” Joni said. I handed over the bag, and she placed it under her feet. From the brisk, efficient way the woman handled things, I guessed a nurse was an Earth healer of some sort.

  I knelt and held Moxie’s cold, limp hand. The left one was scraped and dirty. The one with the broken fingers was beginning to swell.

  A small crowd started to gather. “Did somebody call 911?” someone asked.


  “The police and an ambulance are coming,” the man replied. “Did anybody witness the mugging?”

  Heads shook.

  “Then, please, people, clear out. Help is on the way, and they’ll need room to work.” He spoke with quiet authority.

  “Let’s look at you, now.” The woman turned her phone into a light and touched my shoulder.

  My mate gave a little moan as she started to rouse.

  “Moxie!” Relief washed over me.

  “Your friend’s name is Moxie?”

  “Moxie Maguire.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “I’m Sixx.”

  “It looks like your…lady friend is coming around. She probably had a vasovagal response to the sight of blood. If she sees you looming over her, she might pass out again. I know you want to sit with her, but for her sake, you should step aside and let me examine your injuries. My husband, Joe, who is a retired police officer, will stay with her.”

  I didn’t want to move even an inch, but I didn’t want my mate to faint again. I relinquished her hand and allowed the woman to guide me a few feet away.

  Sirens pierced the night, and then two vehicles with flashing lights screamed up to the curb. Two uniformed females, with weapons strapped to their hips, exited the smaller of the vehicles. Two men bounded out of the larger conveyance and were joined by a third who exited from the back.

  “I’m Officer Carstairs. What happened?” said one of the females.

  “A man attacked my mate.” The urgency to bring her to Dakon as soon as possible had increased. Muggings never happened on my planet.

  My mate groaned and tried to get up.

  “Easy now,” said Joni, moving Moxie’s purse out of the way and helping her sit up.

  “She’s right. We need to check you out,” said one of the men, who’d emerged from the larger vehicle. He knelt beside her. “I’m Evan, and I’m here to help you. It looks like you hurt your hand? We’ll take a look at that.”

  “Can you give us a statement?” Carstairs beckoned Joni and Joe.

  “Certainly,” Joni said. “We were across the street and saw it all.” They moved away from the scene toward the officer’s vehicle.

  A man from the larger vehicle approached. “I’m Jocko. Can you tell me your name and today’s date?”

  “Sixx. It’s November 7 by your calendar.” I stared over his shoulder at Moxie. Evan was asking her the exact same questions.

  “Do you know where you are?” Jocko asked.

  “Earth,” I replied, at the same time I heard her answer, “New Los Angeles. My apartment is a few blocks from here.”

  “Why are these questions important?” If these men intended to help, shouldn’t they be tending to her injuries?

  “The questions are part of the examination to determine if you’re oriented to time and place,” Jocko said. “And from the looks of things, you appear to be more injured than she is.” He glanced at a third man, who’d been on his phone. “Can we get some more light over here?”

  A light box was set up, directing a beam toward me and Jocko and Moxie and Evan.

  “Let’s get a look at those injuries. Can you remove your shirt or do I need to cut it off?” From his case, Jocko pulled out a pair of rubber hand coverings and snapped them on.

  “I’ll take it off,” I said. Too much work went into tanning kel hide to needlessly destroy a tunic. Plus, I only had a few with me. As I pulled off the wet, sticky garment, my vision faded, and my head began to swim.

  “Easy there,” Jocko grabbed my arm as I tottered.

  “Sixx? Oh my god!” Color washed from my mate’s face, her eyes rolled, and she keeled over again.

  I tried to get to her, fighting both the fog threatening to overtake me, and Jocko, whose grip held me in place.

  “She’s all right!” Evan called out. “She passed out. Blood does that to some people.” He shoved her purse under her feet again.

  “Let’s get you taken care of so she doesn’t faint when she comes to, okay? I’m going to take your blood pressure. We don’t want you passing out. You look a little pale yourself.” He slipped a band around my upper arm and pumped air into it, causing the band to tighten. A bunch of numbers appeared on a little screen attached to the device.

  “BP seems low.” Jocko glanced from the screen to my horns. “But maybe that’s normal for an alien. “Where are you from?”

  “Dakon.”

  He looked up at the third man. “Tell the hospital to have some O neg handy. He’s lost some blood. His shirt is soaked through. Lacerations on the right forearm and two slashes across the upper right chest, one across the abdomen. He probably needs some stitches.” From his kit, he produced some white pads, one of which he applied to my wrist, and two others to my chest. He wound some long strips around them to keep them in place.

  Moxie was sitting up again, an officer kneeling alongside.

  Joni and Joe approached me. “We’re going to leave. You’re in good hands. We’re so sorry this happened,” the woman said.

  “Thank you for helping.” I wouldn’t have known who to call. I would have picked her up and run to the nearest healing facility—if I could have found one. There was much I still needed to learn about Earth. As soon as I could, I would get her off this dangerous planet.

  Joni patted my shoulder, and she and Joe crossed the street, heading for their vehicle.

  The female officer stepped close. “Is he okay to make a statement?”

  “Yes,” Jocko said.

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  As I relayed how I’d witnessed the man knock Moxie down and steal her purse and phone, the officer took notes on her tablet computer. When I finished, Jocko and Evan put us on stretchers and loaded us into the big vehicle. They bagged my shirt.

  Jocko rode with us, sitting in the rear. Moxie and I were close enough that I could hold her left wrist. Both her hands were wrapped in gauze, and she kept the right one pressed to her chest.

  She turned her head. Fortunately, I was bandaged up and covered with a sheet so I didn’t cause her to faint again. “I don’t understand why you’re here…”

  “I followed you from the tavern to ensure you got home.” My chest constricted. “I didn’t do a very good job.”

  “You did a great job. He would have gotten my phone and my purse.”

  “Nothing is as important as your life.”

  “The tablet in my purse is my life—my future, anyway,” she said. “I can’t thank you enough. You could have been killed. He stabbed you!”

  “Minor injuries.” I dismissed her worry. “You scared me,” I said. “The way you passed out.”

  She twisted her mouth. “The sight of blood does that to me. I can look at my own just fine. But show me someone else’s? If I see even a cut finger, I keel over.”

  I chuckled, beginning to accept she wasn’t badly hurt. However, she could have been. She’d been adamant in refusing my offer to walk her home, so I’d remained out of sight to avoid arousing her ire. And then this happened.

  A small smile touched her lips. “Well, this was a night of firsts. My first date with an alien and my first time being mugged.”

  “I hope you enjoyed the former more than the latter,” I joked, but I’d never forget the sight of the attacker knocking her down and stomping on her hand.

  She started to reply, but then the ambulance arrived at the healing center, the doors flew open, and we were rolled inside. I tried to go with her, but attendants took charge and wheeled us in opposite directions down the corridor.

  Chapter Five

  Moxie

  From the hospital, I took an Uber to my apartment. Sixx insisted on accompanying me. There was no dissuading him this time. The driver was able to pull right up to my building since parking was plentiful at 2:00 a.m. I turned to Sixx. “This is where I live. Thank you for coming to my rescue.” I felt exhausted and jittery at the same time.

  “I’ll walk you to your door,” he
said.

  “You don’t need to do that.” The well-lighted entrance was a few feet away, and the doorman was already opening the door. I doubted anything could happen to me before I could sprint inside.

  In the future, I would be more vigilant, more alert. I’d never seen the mugger coming. By the time I’d sensed something amiss, it had been too late.

  “I’m coming.” He overrode my protest. With a light grip on my elbow, he escorted me into the building and into the elevator.

  “That way.” I pointed toward my unit as we exited onto my floor. My legs wobbled like a rubber chicken’s, and anyone who saw me could be forgiven for thinking I was inebriated as I slowly pinballed my way down the hall. Reaction and pain meds had kicked in, making me feel punch-drunk. Part of me resented his high-handedness, but another part was relieved he’d ignored my protest. Maybe I didn’t need to be strong tonight. Tomorrow would be soon enough to put up a brave front and face the world.

  Any other time, I never would have allowed a man I’d just met to know where I lived, but the evening’s events had turned everything upside down. Sixx had been injured far worse than me. We both could have been killed. I’d been lucky the mugger had only shoved me and stomped on my hand. He could have knifed me when he grabbed my purse.

  “Thank you for everything,” I said, leaning against my door.

  “I should have done more,” he said gruffly. “You shouldn’t have been injured at all.”

  “No, you…were amazing.” Though half dazed at the time, I remembered how he’d fought the mugger. I hadn’t realized until later he’d been hurt. Then, like an ingrate, I’d fainted at the sight of his blood. How was that for a thank you?

  “Get some sleep,” he said.

  “That’s the plan,” I replied and lightly poked his chest over the injured area. “You go home and get some sleep, too. You should have stayed at the hospital.” Not knowing how an alien would react to human medicine, the doctor had tried to keep him overnight for observation, but Sixx had refused. A gash across his abdomen had required stiches, and he’d bled quite a bit from the wounds. Unable to match his alien blood type, the hospital had given him a unit of artificial plasma to replace the lost volume. “I’m fine,” he said. “I had to see you got home safely.”