Alien Knight Blind Date Disaster

could see the crystalline swirl on his forehead, and she’d bet money he had more markings. He was sexy as sin with dark brown hair and icy blue eyes.
Caldorians were generally taller, stronger, and faster than humans, and he looked to be at the top of the evolutionary heap, even for a Caldorian warrior. Her girlie bits had gone into overdrive until he’d opened his gorgeous mouth and all that drivel started spewing out. She should be thanking him. Now she could do her job without fear of falling for the asshole.
And her job, right now, was to get one step closer to finding Sevron and his brother. This man had to be working at the Caldorian Earth base, a secretive place that no one could get any real information about. They were constantly in the news, but nothing personal was ever revealed. The lack of any worthwhile information had her hackles up from day one.
Sure, the Caldorians had come to Earth two years ago to help set up intergalactic trade with Earth, introduced the Intergalactic Council, and continued to provide security for Earth until Earth was able to fend for itself properly. Great. But then Earth was attacked and suddenly everything became even more hush-hush. Something strange was going on there, and the mysteries were mounting.
Trust no one. That had been the one, crystal-clear instruction her client had given her. But now she had information and no way to reach him. She hadn’t been expecting a Caldorian to show up tonight, but perhaps she could turn this into more than a simple exchange. She had to get on that base. Had to find her client. Had to figure out what the hell was going on and if the things she’d learned were true.
God, she hoped they weren’t.
Isabella knew “John Doe” was the best lead she’d had in ages, and she could put up with some douchebag maneuvers if it meant she got the information she needed. That didn’t mean she had to be a pushover. Far from it.
Looking down at the large, warm hand on her thigh that felt deliciously naughty, she ignored the heat spiraling straight to her core, wrapped her perfectly manicured fingers around his wrist, lifted his hand from her person, gave it a nice hard “pat,” which could probably be heard all the way back in the kitchen, then dropped it unceremoniously back in his lap. “Look. Are we going to do this or what? Say the code words or I’m out of here.”
Falden looked at his hand bemusedly, then up at his date. “Did you just slap me?”
Isabella tried to look sweet and innocent, batting her lashes. “Slap you? No, of course not. I thought I saw a bug crawling on your hand, and I just wanted to remove it for you. Didn’t you see it?”
Falden’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he combed his stinging hand through his hair in frustration. He was absolutely sure she’d just slapped him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember if that was supposed to be a good sign or a bad one, according to the list.
Isabella continued to stare with large, innocent doe eyes until the waiter arrived with two ice waters and two glasses of Scotch, which, had he asked, she would have told him she preferred her Scotch served neat. And really, she hadn’t planned on drinking at all.
As the waiter positioned their drinks, she took the opportunity to look around him, glancing toward her friend, Jessica, who still sat at the bar. Their gazes locked, and Jessica motioned in an odd way with her chin, moving her gaze to the side and behind her “date” to one of the booths. There, seated in plain sight, were two more smoking-hot alien males, dressed identically to him in black pants, designer shoes and tight black mock turtlenecks that stretched across impressively muscled chests.
Jeez. Why did all Caldorians have to come in just one flavor? Super-hot? She’d seen enough aliens on around their base and on the news to know their warriors were sexy as sin. But John—no way that was his real name—was entirely next level sexy. She didn’t do one-night stands, not since her early college days. But this one? Temptation had a new posterchild. Too bad he was such an ass.
The thought forced her to hide a grin behind a small cough. She could just hear her friend, Jessica now, ‘You don’t need him to talk, girlfriend.’
Isabella settled her hand in her lap as the waiter cleared his throat, his gaze anywhere but on her. Shit. This was really going to make her angry. Even the waiter was buying into the man-in-charge bullshit.
Shifting from foot to foot nervously, the waiter asked her male companion, “Are you ready to order? We have a delicious menu. Would you like me to go over the chef’s specials?”
Isabella opened her mouth to say yes, she would love to hear the specials, when an ultra-deep, sexy voice filled the silence. “I’ll have the filet, rare. Nothing on the side. The lady will have the spinach salad with vinaigrette dressing. Earth women watch their weight.”
The waiter glanced over his shoulder and made eye contact with her, clearly apprehensive if the hands twisting around and around one another at his waist were any indication.
Why argue? This wasn’t a real date. She smiled through clenched teeth at the waiter, her head churning with anger, not so much for him but for the man sitting next to her. She really wanted to brain him with her purse. “The salad will be fine. Right next to the blackened salmon.”
“Very good.” The waiter took the menus that neither had opened and scurried away like the hounds of hell were after him. Isabella lifted her glass of Scotch whiskey in silent salute and took a sip before looking at her “date” again.
And God, did she look. He was too perfect to be real. At least on the outside. Usually big men sacrificed speed for strength. If she had to guess,