Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“What?” she exclaimed. “What are you saying? You think I should try to pass Grath off as my fiancé to my family?”
Sophie shrugged.
“Why not? Weren’t you telling me that they were going to be on your case if you came home for Christmas without a significant other?”
“Well, yes—” Mattie began. “But I don’t think—I mean, I’m not sure how…how my family would feel about Grath. They’re kind of…picky.”
“What’s the matter, sweetheart—afraid you can’t protect me?” Grath shot her a malicious smile as he threw her own words back at her.
“Look—I never said—” Mattie began but Commander Sylvan interrupted her.
“I think this is an excellent idea, talana,” he said, smiling at his wife. He turned back to Mattie and Grath. “If the two of you can fool Dr. Porter’s own family, you’ll certainly be able to fool the Vi’riens.”
“But…but this isn’t fair!” Mattie protested. “Grath doesn’t want to go. He won’t even try to make my family believe he’s my fiancé!”
“First you question my courage, and now you’re questioning my honor?” Grath glared at her, clearly outraged.
“I’m questioning whether my family will believe I’ve decided to spend the rest of my life with a big, rude, misogynistic jerk like you,” Mattie snapped.
Grath arched an eyebrow at her.
“I can be pretty fucking charming when I want to be, you know.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know because you never even try around me!” Mattie exclaimed.
“The point is, I can make your family believe I’m your intended mate, little girl,” Grath, his black eyes sparking. “And I would never take an assignment without giving it my fucking all!”
“Well, neither would I!” Mattie exclaimed.
“Then it’s settled,” Commander Sylvan said, smiling. “The two of you will visit Dr. Porter’s home down on Earth for the holidays and attempt to make her family believe you intend to Join together as mates. If you succeed, I’ll be willing to send the two of you to Vi’ri’tex Delta to study the Vi’riens and try to convince them to join the Kindred in a trade alliance.”
“And you get the added benefit of not having your family nag you to get married and have kids your whole Christmas break,” Sophie put in, smiling brightly at Mattie. “It’s a win-win situation!”
“But…what if we don’t succeed?” Mattie asked hesitantly. “I mean, my Grandma Thelma is pretty sharp. She can sniff out a lie in no time flat!”
Sylvan shrugged.
“Well, then you will have disappointed your family. But at least you won’t be flayed alive in punishment for your transgression.”
“You don’t know my mom,” Mattie muttered darkly. “She’d probably be happy to skin us both alive if she finds out Grath and I are faking it.”
“Then we won’t let her find out,” Grath said. He arched an eyebrow at Mattie. “Come on, little girl—are you telling me you’re not up for the challenge?”
Mattie lifted her chin.
“I’m always up for any challenge,” she told him. “You’re coming with me to Christmasville and we’re going to make the whole damn town believe we’re engaged!”
“Excellent!” Commander Sylvan said.
“Perfect!” Sophie clapped her hands in excitement. “Oh, I knew it was a good idea!”
Mattie smiled at her, but it was hard to make the corners of her mouth turn up. She had just agreed to pass off her surly, rude, grumpy bodyguard to her family as the man she deeply loved and wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
Oh God—what had she gotten herself into?
TWO
GRATH
Gods, what had he gotten himself into?
Grath paced back and forth in his suite aboard the Mother Ship. He was supposed to be packing for their pretend mission to Earth, but he had no idea what to pack. Also, he couldn’t believe he’d agreed to this in the first place!
From the moment he’d met the curvy little Earth scientist, he’d been trying to stay as far as he could from her while still protecting her. And now he had agreed to get much closer than he should.
Because it wasn’t that he disliked Madeline Porter. On the contrary, he secretly liked her strong, straightforward personality and admired her courage. She was absolutely fearless when it came to diving into an unknown situation. But that could be a real problem because, damn it, she was just too small and delicate!
Grath knew she hated it when he said that, but it was true, damn it! His heart leapt into his throat when he saw her plunging into a possibly dangerous situation. And though he did his best to keep her safe, he lived in fear that one day he would be a second too late and she would be killed or maimed because of her reckless bravery.
But there was another reason he had been trying to keep his distance—it was because of the tingle he’d felt the very first time they shook hands. It was a tingle he had only felt once before with a female and it had ended in total disaster.