Guard (A Sci-Fi Alien Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

door opened suddenly. I shuffled back against the wall, making myself as small as possible.
    “Don’t worry. I’m alone,” Simo whispered, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.
    “Is it time?”
    He shook his head. “Not yet.”
    I exhaled loudly.
    He looked sad. “They’ll come to a decision eventually, Clementine. And when they do…”
    We stayed like that for a while – me curled up like a frightened animal on the bench. Him staring down at me with infinite sadness in his eyes.
    “Why do you want to help me?” I asked finally, standing up.
    He looked away at the wall and swallowed. “How do you know I want to help you? Yesterday afternoon you didn’t believe me.”
    I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just.”
    “What?” He turned to look at me.
    “I don’t know.”
    He took a step closer until we were barely six inches apart. Even from that distance I felt like his imposing body was surrounding me, capturing me. He lifted his hand and stroked my face so gently I felt tears prick at my eyes.
    “Why couldn’t it have been you?” I sobbed, wondering when exactly my brain had stopped filtering my words.
    His smile was slight, but it still lit up his whole face. “Clementine Harding. If you’d been delivered to me, you’d still have put up a fight. You’re the most strong-willed woman I’ve ever met.”
    I could tell from his eyes that it wasn’t a rebuke.
    “Would you like that? If I’d been delivered to you?” I whispered.
    He stroked my face again. This time his fingers circled around to my lips. He reached down and tilted up my chin gently so I was staring directly into his warm eyes. They were the same shade as the rest of his species, yet they were vastly different. There was a warmth and depth to them that I’d never seen before in an Erostrian.
    “It doesn’t matter now, Clementine. We have bigger problems to solve.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Call me Clem, please. The only person who ever cal—” my eyes opened wide. “You mean you’ll help me escape when they move me?”
    He shook his head.
    I folded my arms, chastising myself mentally for expecting him to help me solve a problem that was mine and mine alone. Seeing my reaction he put an arm on my shoulder. His firm touch sent shooting stars of pleasure through my body, in ways that I’d never felt before.
    “That isn’t what I meant. I want to help you, but your plan won’t work.”
    “No,” I said quickly. “It has to. That’s the only time I can escape.”
    He shook his head firmly. “There’s no way they’ll give you a chance to get away. They’ll be expecting trouble.”
    “Why do you call them ‘they’?”
    His cheeks reddened. “Now is not the time to analyze my words. Like I say, you can’t escape during the delivery.”
    I sat back down. “I guess if it’s prison then I won’t need to escape.”
    He knelt before me and took my hands. “Even more reason to escape,” he said fiercely. “Trust me. You don’t want to go to prison.”
    I shook my head, staring up at the ceiling. Tears were streaming down my cheeks now. “But it’s my only option. If I don’t get away before they give me to him, then I might as well be in prison.”
    He leaned over and stroked my hair. “There is another way. It’ll put both of us in grave danger, but I believe it’s the only way.”
    His beautiful face looked blurry through my tears. “Why are you helping me? Why put yourself in danger?”
    I couldn’t see his expression but I could hear the hesitation in his voice. “Remember I said you reminded me—”
    The door burst open. Two other guards burst in. they stopped abruptly when they saw us. Simo had leapt to his feet as the door opened but they had still seen us too close together.
    “What’s this, Simo?” one of them leered. “Can’t wait to get assigned your own human whore?”
    I stared ahead, trying to stop myself from glancing at Simo.
    “Well?” the other taunted, looking from one of us