Alien Knight Blind Date Disaster

Sure. Looks like a dirt road. More like a dirt track in the middle of a field. And, uh, trees at the end.” She glanced his way again. “Lots of trees.”
Falden’s lips quirked. “Indeed.”
Gripping the wheel tighter, she let out a slow breath. “Right. Of course, Commander,” she stressed the title sarcastically, “I’m sure all military VIPs have special entrances full of unnavigable dirt roads. Why didn’t I think of that?”
Falden’s eyebrow quirked. “I should blindfold you.”
Snorting in derision, she asked, “And who would drive the car then, tough guy?”
The heat left his icy blue eyes as he replied with solemnity, “I’m trusting you.”
A warm glow spread through Isabella at his words, her heart melting just a little more. “Me, too.”
Passing the turn to the security checkpoint, she followed rolled down the window and followed his instructions. He leaned over her so the little black box could scan his face. Seconds later, a gate opened. Just beyond it, the paved road gave way to a barely visible, deeply rutted dirt path. Having slowed considerably, the car still ate up the road, dust billowing out all around them. Her nose and mouth filled with dust, grit coating her teeth, making them grind against each other like sandpaper. Coughing, she gently patted the dash, croaking, “Sorry, baby, I’ll wash you when this is over. Promise.”
Finally they made it to the end of the field, nothing in front of them now but tall trees. A forest. The engine purred as they rolled to a stop. They were out of road. “Now what, Commander?”
She couldn’t help using his title. She was getting irritated. There was no secret entrance. They were at a dead end. Had he been misleading her? Keeping her busy so she wouldn’t be able to do her job?
“Do you see the clump of trees over there?” he said, pointing to three very large evergreens to the right.
Isabella squinted, trying to see something, anything unusual about the trees. She wanted to believe in fairy tales and magic, but she just couldn’t. “Mmm hmm… don’t tell me… there’s a secret door that opens to another world, and all we have to do is open it and walk through.”
“Close”—he nodded, his eyes twinkling with humor— “but there’s no door. You must accelerate straight into those trees.”
Isabella gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white, her palms suddenly clammy. Cold sweat beaded her forehead. Fear pounded through her veins. He wanted her to ram this beautiful, perfect car, into a bunch of trees? With the two of them still inside? “You’re joking, right?”
“I do not see any other way in. My communication device is missing.”
“Can’t we just knock? Punch in the super-secret code?” she asked, her voice sounding far more timid than she’d envisioned.
Falden’s gaze settled on her lips. Intent. Focused. His large hand tunneled through her hair, pulling her toward him. His lips coaxed hers open.
Instinctively, she leaned into the kiss, giving herself to him. Her eyes drifted shut as he took control, losing all track of time and space. She never wanted the kiss to end, knew she’d remember the moment forever. Falden was very, very dangerous.
When he pulled back, his smile was pure mischief. “Hit the gas, Bella. Straight into the heart of those trees.”
She looked at the trees, back to his grin. What the hell? She’d just had sex with an alien. And he was in the car with her. So… “Okay. But if we die, I’m going to haunt your ass for all eternity.”
He chuckled. “Agreed.”
She took a deep breath, wrapped her hands around the steering wheel and pressed down on the accelerator. All the way.
If they were going to die, she didn’t want to suffer.
The trees reared up like giants in front of the car. Isabella held the steering wheel straight and closed her eyes, braced for impact.
Nothing. One moment the car’s wheels were spinning in dirt and pine needles, the next it was like they weren’t moving at all.
Cautiously, she peeked out from beneath her eyelids to see gray space. Walls. Artificial lights hanging from the ceiling of a very large tunnel. “What?”
A sudden knock on the window yanked Isabella out of her shock, her heart slamming as she glanced from a grinning Falden to a grim faced guard on the other side of her door.
Standing outside the car was a heavily armed, huge alien warrior. Where the fuck did he come from? Glancing around the deserted tunnel, a shiver raced down her spine. He’d appeared out of nowhere.
She looked up at him through the open window and cleared her throat. She was definitely feeling rattled.
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to turn this car around and go back the way you—”
Falden shifted forward so the guard leaning down to speak to her through the window would see him.
“Commander.” The guard’s face registered deep shock, but his voice remained composed.
“Cassiel, tell Bron to decloak and release the barrier. Alert King Dagan that I need an immediate audience with him in Dungeon Six.”
“Yes, sir.”
The guard turned to wave at someone she couldn’t see, and a large gated entrance appeared where the before there had been nothing. And the eerie silence? Gone. Almost like the car had been trapped in a forcefield or something and now they were free.
“Holy shit,” she breathed.
“The gate is made of a special metal that is not found on your planet. The entrance is protected by electromagnetic forces strong enough to deflect or immobilize a human military attack. Once we’re through the gate, you must stop the vehicle.”
Isabella’s eyes narrowed. “So we didn’t crash. We got stuck inside some kind of alien force field? Wow. That’s some sense of humor you have, making me think we were about to kamikaze the trees. Real cute.”
Falden watched her fume. Saw the gears shift in her mind and knew she was absorbing every detail, filing it away in case she needed it. She was adorable. Adorable and his.
The punch to his arm was barely