Agatha

Blinding blue-white light engulfed me, so bright it seemed to coalesce into a shimmering fog. I found myself staring at the overhead light in my bedroom, mere feet away, yet impossibly out of reach. Paralyzed, I struggled against invisible bonds, realizing with mounting horror that I was floating several feet above my bed.

"This one looks like she"ll turn a good profit." A being with a lightbulb-shaped head and sickly green skin materialized beside me, his voice a grating rasp. "Got all the right fat deposits." He slapped my flank with a long, three-fingered hand, the touch making my skin crawl.

"That"s the stuff." His eyes, huge and solidly black, glittered with malice, mouth a tiny slit in the grotesque expanse of his face. More of his kind surrounded me, their gazes clinical and assessing. A nightmarish tableau of cartoon space aliens.

Fat deposits?

"We need to check her for fertility."

One of them stood near my feet, fingering a long, silver tube with a handle and trigger. Squeezing a small container, he coated the instrument in glistening goo.

What the hell was he planning to do with?—

Two others grabbed my ankles, forcing my legs apart.

Puh-puh-probed?

"I love when they"re awake for the fertility test. Fun to watch them squirm," the little green man with the instrument leered.

"You aren"t going to warm that probe up a little?" one of my captors asked, painfully tightening its grip.

"What, and spoil a good time?" The leader casually flipped up my sleep shirt, exposing me to their hungry gazes. "Hang tight, sweet cheeks. This will only hurt for ten, twenty minutes, or so."

The others cackled, a sickening chorus of depraved glee.

I caught the glint of the instrument as he aimed it toward my most intimate parts, the impossibly bright light reflecting off its cruel gleam. Despite their stick-figure frames, I couldn"t break free, couldn"t even twist away.

No!

I tried to scream, but no sound escaped my frozen lips.

No! No!

"No!" I thrashed violently, feeling myself plummeting—only to be caught by a broad palm and strong fingers, pulled into blessed warmth.

"Nightmare?" Norsuk"s deep rumble cut through the fog of terror, his face swimming into focus mere inches from mine.

"A memory, I think," I gasped, heart hammering against my ribs. "My abduction. It was so..."

"Horrible?"

"Green little men, probes, all of it!" I flung my arms around his neck, clinging to his solid strength. "I"ve heard about it all my life, but I thought it was just crazy people or terrible sci-fi movies."

"You"re okay," he murmured, claws carding gently through my hair, the sensation impossibly soothing. "Ssh. Go back to sleep. You"re safe now."

"Yeah." I nestled closer, shivering as his touch ignited a trail of sparks along my scalp. "I feel safe with you. I don"t want to."

Throwing caution to the wind, I surged up and captured his lips with my own. Fireworks.

To my shock, Norsuk didn"t pull away. His fingers tangled in my hair, tugging me flush against him as he deepened the kiss.

It was molten, his lips firm and demanding, and I mashed my mouth against his with equal fervor. Tingles raced through my body, setting every nerve ending alight.

The texture of his skin drove me wild, silken scales and corded muscle. My hands roamed his massive shoulders, reveling in their breadth. His claws scraped lightly down my nape, eliciting a breathy moan.

Lost in sensation, in him, I pressed closer, desperate to feel every inch.

The cots shifted apart. I yanked back with a startled yelp, nearly tumbling to the floor.

Norsuk"s gaze seared into mine, pupils blown wide with hunger. But he merely lay back, putting distance between us.

"Sorry! What was I thinking? Sorry!" I babbled, lurching to my feet and pacing in agitation. "That was weird, right? We aren"t even the same species. Is this bestiality for you or for me? Eew!"

Even as the words left my mouth, I knew they rang false. Alien or not, dinosaur or not, Norsuk was the most breathtaking male I"d ever laid eyes on, let alone, kissed.

Cheeks burning, I couldn"t bring myself to face him. "We"ve slept enough. Time to check the lockers again!" I flung one open, bracing for an onslaught of bugs that never came.

"You don"t need to apologize." Norsuk"s voice was a low rumble, sending shivers down my spine as he rose.

"I feel like I"m leading you on," I mumbled, rummaging aimlessly through the contents. "This...whatever this is...it can"t possibly work out. I need to go home. Back to my apartment, my job."

Finding nothing of use, I fled into the next room, Norsuk"s heavy tread echoing behind me. I could feel his eyes boring into my back, the weight of words unspoken hanging between us. But he remained silent, mouth pressed in a grim line.

I threw myself into searching, upending trunks and lockers with manic energy. "Ha! Boots!"

Triumphantly, I held up a pair that looked close to my size. The bundle of sleeves wrapped around my feet would help them fit. I tugged them on, clomping around experimentally. A bit loose, coming nearly to my knees, but serviceable.

Sexy.

Not.

Digging further, I unearthed a trunk of smaller clothes. A belt with a miniature pickaxe holstered at the hip. A buttery soft leather jacket with reflective stripes running down the sleeves. Had women worked these mines, or were some of the men just far smaller than Norsuk"s towering form?

I snuck a glance over my shoulder. He quickly averted his gaze, pretending not to have been watching me. My oversized, golden protector.

Get a grip, Agatha.Who could blame me for being drawn to him? Dinosaur or not, he was a living Adonis, and the way he"d kissed me back...

Focus.Different species be damned, we had more pressing matters at hand. Namely, getting the hell out of these mines. I needed to get home, and mooning over Norsuk wouldn"t help.

Squaring my shoulders, I faced him. "So, what"s the plan?"

His eyes widened. "Plan?"

"We do have a plan, don"t we?" I arched a brow.

Norsuk"s mouth twisted wryly. "Um..."

"You know what we need? A map," I declared. "If we find a map, we can find an exit. Right?"

He considered this, then nodded slowly. "That follows."

"I guess we can start one ourselves. You see any paper or pen? Anything to write with?"

Angling his head, he gestured back the way we"d come. "In the other room."

"Show me."

We returned to the previous chamber, where a strange, rubbery sheet lay rolled up in the corner. Unfurling it, a long, thin object clattered to the ground. I made a few experimental strokes. It would do.

"Use the other side of the blimm to erase," Norsuk advised.

Flipping the makeshift pencil over, I found it worked like an eraser, despite its odd curves. I sketched a quick compass rose at the bottom of the sheet, then roughly mapped out the chambers we"d explored thus far.

"What do you think?" I held up my handiwork for his inspection.

"Looks accurate." He shrugged. "At least we won"t get lost."

Getting lost was the least of my worries. I just wanted out, before I did something even more foolish than kissing a sexy space dinosaur.

Snagging another lantern, I figured out how to power it on and forged ahead. "This is all living quarters," I mused, peering into yet another bunk room. "Any idea where we might find a work area?"

"All we can do is keep searching," Norsuk replied, his bulk crowding the narrow doorway behind me. "I have no clue about these old mines, but we"re bound to find something soon enough."

Soon enoughwasn"t nearly soon enough.