Beauty and the Beast: Interstellar Brides® Program: The Beasts - 3
breath, absorbed her scent even deeper, into my DNA. My cock hardened, eager to make her mine.Mine.
“I love seeing your photos, so keep sending them in and good luck to the Kaur family with Howard. As always, don’t forget the sunscreen. Back to you, Mike.” She smiled, not at the male she addressed—who I guessed was the male behind the desk—but straight at the lens of one of the cameras.
She was the most beautiful, perfect creature I had ever seen. And I was one of the most hideous. Fuck. This was going to be a disaster. Gods be damned, I had to speak to her regardless. And if she rejected me on sight, I would persist. I would be gentle. Patient. I would do whatever I had to do because she was mine.
I could wait no longer and walked toward her. I sensed Tane behind me. The door closed behind us with a loud bang, and she reacted by the smallest narrowing of her eyelids, as if annoyed but unwilling to break her form. I doubted she could see me or anyone else with the lights shining directly into her eyes.
I paced closer, ignoring the gasps of the small humans as I let the beast within rise to inspect our mate. He was not out of control, as Braun’s and Wulf’s had been. We were one in mind and body. I had made peace with my beast, tamed him, and learned complete control when I was young, before Dr. Helion had recruited me to the Intelligence Core. I prided myself on that icy calm and had no idea it had all been practice for this moment. I would not lose control now, not in front of the one living being in the universe I desperately needed to impress.
I stood in the dark as my female chatted with the male, then pointed once again to the green wall about wind and air pressure.
Perhaps I should have stayed back, but I couldn’t. It was impossible. She wasn’t in danger, but she was mine and I wanted everyone on the set and viewing through their screen elsewhere to know this female was under my protection. That she was mine to claim, to protect and seduce.
“Mine.” The beast spoke, the deep timbre of his voice reverberating through the studio space like a cannon blast had fired.
My mate stopped speaking mid-sentence, and while she continued to smile, it slipped slightly. “What’s going on out there? Mike?” She looked to the male who had introduced her but received no response. He was staring, slack-jawed, at me.
I had just stepped forward into the lighted area in front of the camera nearest my female and ignored the scramble of people moving to point their large recording devices in my direction.
When a bright light shone down on me from above, I growled but stepped up onto the raised set, closer to my mate and her green screen.
“My lady, I am Warlord Bahre.”
Her gaze finally met mine, and I nearly forgot to breathe. Her eyes were vibrant green, nearly as bright as the screen behind her, and for the first time ever, my mate looked upon me. I felt as if I’d been struck by three ion pistols set to stun.
This was the moment I’d been waiting for my entire life, to present myself and my beast to my mate. I’d fought the Hive. Survived some of the most dangerous and hellish places that existed in the universe. I’d fought Hive and criminals. Assassins and killers. Hell, survived missions Dr. Helion had warned me I would not. I’d lived to be in this moment, my job now to see to her every need and happiness.
I sank down onto one knee before her. She was even more beautiful up close. Perfect from the pale pink of her fingernails to her full lips. Her sweet scent settled into my flesh, and I knew I was forever changed. My mate. My queen. My life.
I knelt, in beast form, and bowed my head in respect. I had worked many years to perfect my speech as my beast and was now grateful the discipline had paid off. I spoke as a male of honor, not an animal, as I made my vow.
“I am Warlord Bahre, my lady, and I am yours.”
3
Quinn
Oh. My. God. There was an Atlan kneeling before me. A beast. I glanced up at the camera, saw the red light on top of it still glowing, which meant he was kneeling before me on live TV.
Not just any Atlan, but Bahre, the one Ellen, Susan, and I had been talking about just a little while ago. Up close… very up close, he was bigger than ever. More handsome. Dark hair fell over his forehead. His shoulders were so broad I wondered if he could fit through a doorframe without turning sideways. He was all muscle, corded and thick. His dark shirt hugged his torso. He exuded testosterone or pheromones or some kind of invisible scent that had my nipples going hard.
On live TV.
While my panties didn’t actually go up in flames, they were certainly wet. On camera. In front of every TV in Miami. I thought of the first bachelor beast and how he’d tossed his mate, Olivia, over his shoulder and carried her off the set. This was embarrassing enough. I didn’t need that happening to me—not that this alien could actually be my mate or anything—so I pasted on the biggest, fakest smile and tried to slow my racing heart as I reached out and grabbed his biceps to tug him back to his feet.
The muscle in his arm was like a small boulder, but he stood immediately. I had to tilt my chin back to meet his eyes, way back, even in my four-inch stilettos. I licked my lips and swallowed, took in his face. Strong cheekbones. Deep brow. Chiseled jaw. A scar that ran along his forehead. It was the eyes though, dark and