“All done.”

By the time she settled down and turned to face him, he’d moved, drawing part of his bedding over his lap. It was almost funny that he was hiding his hard-on from her. It proved yet again that the guy had to be an alien. A typical human guy would have flaunted that bad boy her way, thinking it would make her want to jump his bones. He gave her a tense nod.

“Thank you.”

His voice had become super deep, rough, and harsh. Her eyebrows rose. Oh hell. I have to know. “Why is your voice like that?”

He cleared his throat. “Like what?”

“It’s noticeably deeper. Why?”

“I’m aroused and I’ve been without a woman for some time while traveling. It makes me more aggressive and my voice deepens. I am thankful that I’m not snarling right now. We should sleep. Morning will come soon and your sun will rise. There is plenty to do.”

He turned then, presenting her with his back. She watched him, his body obviously tense. The guy needed to get laid. Hell, she needed to get laid. It had been nearly a year since she’d hooked up with her loser ex-boyfriend. Of course, the pickings were slim in Green Bend. Her new boyfriend was a body pillow she’d dubbed Teddy Bear and a bullet-sized vibrator that was currently without working batteries.

She lay down and stretched out on her stomach. She didn’t do aliens. She turned her head to let her gaze drift over his broad back. Not even hot, long-haired, sexy ones with a stare that seemed to reach right down into her soul and a voice that did funny things to her stomach.

Nope.

She closed her eyes. Plus, the guy was friggin’ huge. If he didn’t crush her with his big body, or break her with his big strong hands, there was that seriously alarming wood he’d been sporting. She crossed her ankles and took a shaky breath.

Bigger isn’t better. Bigger means pain. Yeah, keep thinking that, she urged herself.

Chapter Four

Lynn got a rude awakening when a roar tore through the structure. She jerked to a sitting position, confused, and her heart pounded as she wildly looked around her. She was alone inside the tent. She heard a snarl and then something hit the side of the tent by the door, making the material dent inward before the object against it was gone so the wall popped back out.

“What in the world?” she gasped, almost afraid to move, let alone walk out there to see what was going on. She shoved off the top of the bedroll. These guys argued a lot, she thought, as she stood. She walked toward the door.

The door was torn open before she reached it and Coto ducked inside. Lynn stared at him, heart racing, and their gazes locked. He looked extremely livid with his harsh expression. He paused inside the door, took a deep breath, and then blew it out slowly.

“You have no reason to fear me.” Coto took another step into the tent, letting the flap drop down behind him, closing them inside. “They are gone. They left us here.”

She let that sink in. Holion had defied Coto’s orders. “I’m sorry.”

“I will beat him for this insubordination.”

“To be fair, you are pretty hurt.”

He reached down and, to her shock, began stripping out of his boots and pants. He straightened in front of her and tore off all the bandages. He had an amazing body. His leather underwear accented his golden skin…but then she looked lower.

“Wow!”

“I told you the cream heals us quickly. Holion knew. He left us here to gain the gratitude of Hyvin Berrr.”

“We can pack up camp and track them.” Her gaze lingered over his thick biceps and his chest. His silence finally made her look up at his face.

He tilted his head just a little as he watched her with those exotic eyes. “I’m attracted to you and you are interested in me. I see it in your eyes.”

She couldn’t exactly deny it. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “We’re so different.” A flash of humor hit. “I mean, you’re a leprechaun and all.”

He frowned. “You’re intelligent. I could see you didn’t believe that. You know what I am, don’t you?”

She didn’t fear Coto. “Leprechauns aren’t real. They’re mythical men who probably stand a few feet high. That advertisement was kind of a joke the bar owner must have thought was cute. You’re not from around here but my guess is you aren’t even from this planet.”

“It’s called Zorn. My planet.”

“Why are you really here? You aren’t planning on attacking Earth, are you?” She hoped he’d say no.

His scowl deepened. “Never. We don’t want war. The Collis are another race, and they stole some of your women and brought them to my planet to sell. Hyvin Berrr, our leader, sent us here to make certain it didn’t happen again. We came and located their ship. A battle ensued. We were trying to protect your women from being taken and sold.”

It made her like him even more. “Why would you care about us?”

“You are not my enemy and I am a protector of women.”

Lynn was speechless. It was a rare occurrence for her but occasionally it happened, although with Coto, it seemed to be a common event. She finally found words. “Who is Vhon?”

He took a step forward but then halted, keeping a few feet between them. “He is someone of great importance. I can’t explain more than that but we need to find him and get him from the Collis if they have him.”

“So how many Collis are there?”

His mouth twisted into a harsh grimace. “They are more than one. We are unsure of their numbers but the ship they were in usually carries six crew members.”

Her mind worked, piecing together what she’d heard. “You’re stranded here now looking for your friend. Did your ship crash?”

“Yes. Both ships crashed.”

“So these Collis are stranded here too?”

He nodded.

“Your people will come looking for you, right?”

He nodded again.

“Will their people come looking for them?”

He hesitated but then shrugged. “It stands to logic, unless they are criminals without friends to search for them.”

“What a mess.” She realized she’d said that aloud instead of just thinking it when Coto nodded.

“It is unfortunate.” He reached up slowly and his fingers brushed her jawline feather soft, stroking her. “I was tracking a group of Collis that I believe have Vhon when the dogs attacked me. Have you seen others similar to me? They are slightly smaller than we are by inches, and they have yellowed teeth and bad hair.”