Enticed by the Alien Warrior Read online

  Enticed by the Alien Warrior

  Hope Hart

  Copyright © 2020 by Bingeable Books LLC

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The Arcav Alien Invasion Series

  The Arcav King's Mate

  The Arcav Commander's Human

  The Arcav General's Woman

  The Arcav Prince's Captive

  A Very Arcav Christmas

  The Arcav Captain's Queen

  The Arcav Guard's Female

  The Warriors of Agron Series

  Taken by the Alien Warrior

  Claimed by the Alien Warrior

  Saved by the Alien Warrior

  Seduced by the Alien Warrior

  Protected by the Alien Warrior

  Captured by the Alien Warrior

  Rescued by the Alien Warrior

  Enticed by the Alien Warrior

  Conquered by the Alien Warrior

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  Also by Hope Hart

  Chapter One

  Vivian

  We’re defined by our actions. By the things we do when no one is watching. By the way we behave when we’re only accountable to ourselves.

  But most importantly, we’re defined by the steps we take when saving ourselves means harm to someone else.

  What do you do when your back is against the wall?

  Either way, I will be forever defined by the choice I’m about to make. And there’s one thing that no one tells you about those difficult, life-defining actions. Others may judge you, but they get to walk away. You’re the one who has to live with yourself.

  Arix

  I watch the small human females as they walk toward my castle. Vivian smiles, and I can’t help but stare. From the moment my eyes met hers so many days ago, I was entranced. Her beauty makes her seem cool, almost icy, but I have no doubt that beneath the composure she wears like a mask is a female who burns with the hottest blue flame.

  “I don’t like this,” Korzyn murmurs. “I don’t trust them.”

  I glance over my shoulder at where my commander is leaning against the wall, his eyes also on the two human females.

  “You don’t trust anyone.”

  He shrugs. “That may be true, but I especially don’t trust females who may have been planted here by your enemies. You have no true alliance with the barbarians across the water. What if they have been sent here to gather intelligence and report back?”

  I wave a hand, turning back to where Vivian is throwing her head back with laughter at something the other female says. I have a sudden urge to lean out the window so I can hear the sound.

  “What intelligence can they gather? I’ve assigned guards to them, and they won’t be walking around the castle unattended.”

  “What if they’re here to kill you?”

  As the females move into the castle and out of my view, I sigh, turning back to the male who has been staunchly at my side since the day my parents died and I picked up my father’s crown.

  “You believe those tiny females could kill me?”

  His frown deepens. “They could be used as a distraction.”

  There have been numerous attempts on my life over the years. While my parents’ deaths are officially considered to be accidents, I know the truth.

  They were cold-blooded murders. And I was supposed to be the third victim, leaving my throne up for grabs.

  As much as I tease Korzyn for his paranoia, there’s no question that that paranoia has kept me alive more times than I can count. And if he has a bad feeling…

  “I’ll be careful,” I say. “I swear it.”

  All these years, and I still haven’t discovered who killed my parents. I have discovered traitors, of course. One of my first orders as king was the execution of the guard who was supposed to be by my parents’ side that night but was found attempting to escape my kingdom.

  But I’ve never found the person responsible for making me king before my time. The thought of my revenge is the first thing that crosses my mind when I open my eyes in the morning and the last thing when I close them at night.

  My gaze clings to Vivian’s face as I push the thought of my parents away. I want the little human. I’ve wanted her since the moment I laid my eyes on her. She’s beautiful and brave, and something about the way she holds herself makes me think she might be broken.

  Like me.

  But that’s all this is. I want to lose myself in her body, cut myself on her sharp edges. I want to roll her across my sheets and spread her hair along my pillow. And then, when I am finished with her, I will kiss her goodbye and send her on her way when she leaves my planet. Forever.

  Vivian

  My stomach is tense as Sarissa and I hug Zoey goodbye.

  “Are you sure about this?” she asks again as Hewex and Tagiz frown disapprovingly.

  I throw them a wink. “Positive.”

  She looks doubtful, but if I’m going in, I’m going all in.

  Sarissa raises her eyebrow at me, but she picks up what I’m throwing at her, giving Zoey a wide smile.

  “This is an excellent idea. We’ll be in touch as soon as we’ve gotten this part fixed.”

  Tagiz practically has to drag Zoey away, but she finally gives us one last hug, and my cousin and I are suddenly alone on the “other” side of the Colossal Water.

  I slide Sarissa a look. “This was a smart decision, right?” I ask.

  My cousin shrugs. “Girl, I was just going along with whatever plan you’d cooked up.”

  I narrow my eyes at her, and she grins, nudging me with her shoulder. “I’m not saying it’s a bad plan, just that I practically got whiplash from your decision-making process.”

  I sigh. Okay, so I may have a rather large chip on my shoulder about contributing to the cause. I’ve spent most of my time on Agron being a distraction while the other women got shit done. Now it’s my turn to help us get our ship fixed so we can finally get off this planet.

  Not that this planet is bad. It’s barbaric, that’s for sure, although the Braxians have treated us like family since the moment Rakiz’s tribe rescued us. But when you’re plucked from your life without any warning, you’ll do just about anything to get that life back.

  “Well,” I say as we turn and follow the guards toward the giant obsidian castle, “decision made. No turning back now.”

  We have a lead on someone who can fix the thruster from our ship, but apparently the guy only visits Agron sporadically. Hence why we’re here.

  Arix—the king on this side of the Colossal Water—has already left to do whatever it is he does. For now, his guards are going to show us to our rooms.

  Rooms. In a castle.

  Yeah, whiplash is right. Before this, we were sleeping in kradis—comfortable, clean tents, but tents just the same. This is a life upgrade, although I already miss the other women. Nevada and Ellie are both pregnant and due to pop any day, and I’ve become close with Zoey
and even a few of the new human women who were trapped in a cage on the ship full of Dokhalls that attempted to take us back.

  We leave the dock behind and enter the castle from the back, clomping up the black stone steps and along silver tiles that are so polished I can see my reflection in them. Our footsteps echo as we file down the hallway until we’re back in the main entrance hall. I can’t help but gaze up.

  There are some places that make you feel small. The Grand Canyon. The redwood parks in California. The open ocean.

  This castle is like that.

  It’s made of some kind of black stone, but the word black doesn’t do it justice. It’s so dark that it seems to absorb the light, reflecting it back in the gleaming veins of silver that peek out here and there.

  It would be gloomy and depressing if not for the massive windows above us, providing the natural light throughout the hall.

  One of the guards clears his throat, and I glance at Sarissa. Both of us are standing here with our mouths open as we examine the entrance hall. I laugh.

  “We’re like a couple of small-town girls in the big city for the first time,” I mutter, and she grins.

  We follow the guards up the massive staircase, which leads to a landing. Above us, more corridors intersect, cutting through the air above and below one another in a dizzying pattern. People are hurrying down those corridors, a few of them glancing at us curiously, but they’ve obviously got places to go because no one pauses.

  By the time the guards stop outside a silver door, I’m completely and utterly lost, and I can tell by the tiny line between Sarissa’s eyebrows that she feels the same.

  “Do you guys have some kind of map we can use while we’re here?” she asks.

  The guard smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “We will escort you anywhere you need to go.”

  Sarissa and I share a glance. Arix referred to us as his guests. But if he expects guards to be with us each time we leave our rooms, it seems we’re really more like prisoners.

  She nods, a silent agreement that we’ll discuss this later. The guard opens the door and gestures her in, and he stays behind to show her through the room, while another guard opens the next door down for me.

  At least we’ll be close to each other.

  “This is your sitting room, and through that door, you’ll find your bathing room.” He strides to the right, opening another door. “Bedroom. Please pull the cord by the door if you need anything and a servant will come to help you.”

  The suite is gorgeous. I wander into the bedroom, my mouth gaping at the size of the bed. A vanity sits by an open closet, and I frown.

  “Is this someone else’s room?”

  The guard tilts his head. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “The clothes…”

  “They’re for you.”

  I feel a little like Alice, and I’ve just fallen down the rabbit hole. I stride to the closet and pull out one of the dresses. It looks like it’ll fit perfectly. But Arix had no way of knowing we’d stay here. Did he?

  “Thank you,” I murmur, and the guard nods, backing out of the room.

  Moments later, Sarissa appears, nodding at the dress I’m still holding. “It’s weird, huh?”

  “Braxian women are so much taller than us. It’s like he had these dresses made in advance.”

  “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I don’t trust him.”

  Sarissa works for the CIA. And no, I have no idea what she does. She clams up every time I ask about it, so I’m pretty sure she’s not allowed to talk about what her day-to-day tasks actually are.

  I blow out a breath. “Look, no matter his reasons for wanting us here, we know why we want to be here. If we can get the thruster fixed and find someone to replace that chip…we could be out of here within a few weeks. Let’s keep our eye on the prize.”

  Sarissa nods, wandering over to my bed and running her hand over the ruby-red velvet blanket draped over the end. “I’ll get to work on an escape plan,” she murmurs, “just in case.”

  Chapter Two

  Vivian

  I stare into the mirror, poking at one of the dark circles beneath my eyes. I was so tired last night that I thought I’d pass out before my head hit the pillow. Instead, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep properly without the gentle murmur of the camp around me.

  I finally snuck out of my room and into Sarissa’s, ignoring the guards posted in the hall. I hadn’t even made it into her bedroom before she appeared, eyes hard, a knife clutched in her hand.

  She let out a long breath when our eyes met, glancing down at the knife in her hand apologetically. I merely revealed the knife in my own hand, hidden by the folds of the nightgown I was wearing.

  Sarissa smirked. “Proud of you, V.”

  We spent the rest of the night huddled next to each other in her huge bed, whispering like kids. Eventually, I fell into a light, continually broken sleep, and I finally gave up when the room began to lighten as the sun rose.

  I reach for a cool cloth and press it against my eyes in an attempt to remove some of the puffiness. I can barely throw a punch, but I’ve managed to master the no-makeup look on a barbaric alien planet.

  I snort, disgusted with myself.

  I know what people think when they look at me. They see a pretty face but not much between the ears. They see decoration. A ditz. Someone who’s only good at looking good.

  I guess that’s why I came to Arix in the first place. I was so sick of being left behind every time. I may not be creating poisons like Zoey or hunting the enemy from on top of a dragon like Charlie, but this is a way I can contribute.

  That’s the thing about playing a part. When you pretend to be someone different, it’s easy to lose sight of who you really are. Eventually, you become that new person, and before you know it, there’s nothing left of the person you were.

  I don’t know who I am anymore.

  I jump at a knock on the door. Sarissa wouldn’t knock, and I glance down at the nightgown and robe I’m wearing. Once, when I was a teenager, I opened the front door while still in my pajamas on a Sunday morning. My mother was so furious she couldn’t look at me for days.

  I push the thoughts away. I haven’t spoken to my mother for years. So why am I suddenly being assaulted by thoughts about what she would think of me right now?

  I march to the door and throw it open, expecting to see one of the guards.

  It’s not.

  It’s the king.

  He stands there, looking coolly amused as I gape at him. Finally, he must get tired of my fish impression because he raises one eyebrow.

  “May I come in?”

  “Um. Sure.”

  The room instantly feels five times smaller as soon as Arix enters it. The guy is one of the largest Braxians I’ve ever seen, and he holds himself with a kind of languid confidence that falls perilously close to arrogance.

  His eyes are the color of a moonlit night sky, the kind of deep, unfathomable blue that makes it difficult to look away. Full black brows frame those eyes, contrasting with the wild blue. His dark hair matches the brows, curling around his shoulders and bringing out the glow of his skin in a way that makes him look like a fallen angel.

  The first time I saw him, my breath caught in my throat. The second time, I almost lost the ability to speak a full sentence. Now I feel a blush begin to rise, and I step back, my stomach twisting.

  I don’t understand what happens to my body when this guy is around. I’m never affected by men. At least, not in this way.

  “How are you settling in?” he asks, and I almost shiver at his low voice.

  “Fine, thank you. The rooms are beautiful.”

  He glances around the sitting room as if he’s never seen it before but immediately returns his attention to my face.

  I squirm under his regard. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Surprise flashes across his face. “You’re beautiful,” he says. “Why wouldn’t I enj
oy looking at you?”

  Disappointment burns in my belly, even as I attempt a smile. I don’t know what I was expecting. This guy doesn’t know me, doesn’t know anything about me. So why would I hope he was interested in more than just the face I happened to be born with?

  “I’ve upset you.”

  “No.” Just confirmed my expectations.

  “Don’t lie to me.”

  I change the subject instead. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Yes,” he says. “I want to tumble you.”

  Arix

  Vivian’s mouth drops open in a way that makes me imagine her swallowing my cock, and I force my attention elsewhere. I stride toward the window, gazing down at the gardens below as I give her the moment she obviously needs to recover.

  “Excuse me?” Her voice is strangled, and I glance over my shoulder, pleased to find her face flushed, even if her eyes are narrowed in a way that suggests she’s thinking about doing me harm.

  “I didn’t realize humans were so hard of hearing,” I say, just so I can see her eyes blaze. For some reason, watching this female lose her composure makes me harder than I’ve ever been in my life.

  “I heard you,” she snaps. “I just thought maybe you had some kind of brain fart and didn’t actually mean to say that to me.”

  I give her my most charming grin. She doesn’t seem impressed. “I never say things I don’t mean. Life is too short.”

  “Uh-huh. And what makes you think I’d want to ‘tumble’ you?”

  I turn my back to the window and raise one eyebrow. Perhaps she hasn’t properly examined me. I open my arms wide so she can appreciate every inch of my body, sending her a wink as she snorts in disdain.