Vados (Scifi Alien Romance) (The Ujal Book 1) by Erin Tate Page B

from her mind. There was no point in thinking about him. She’d waited on the damned road for over an hour, keeping her eyes on the sea as she counted the minutes until he returned. Except he hadn’t. He’d said five minutes. A quick check. And then nothing.
    Not worth crying over. He’s not. I have bigger issues than a broken heart . And it was broken. Somehow, they’d connected in a way she’d never imagined. A few hours in each other’s company, a few passionate touches and kisses, and now her body craved him like no other. Hell, if she even thought about another male, she became nauseated. She wasn’t going to even think about what happened when she touched a man without gloves. The first time she’d shaken a male’s hand… had been vomitously explosive.
    And no one could figure out why. She decided once this circus died down, she’d focus on determining what happened to her. Her symptoms weren’t life threatening or worsening, so they could wait.
    Maris reached for her door—fingers clutching the key—and one of the guards stepped forward and tugged the key from her grip in a single smooth move. “Let me get that for you.”
    Her stomach lurched with his closeness and she stepped back to put space between them. “Thank you.”
    The appreciative words tumbled out of her mouth even though she was more annoyed than thankful. But… manners . She’d been taught manners.
    The smile she got from him was slick and slimy, sending another rolling wave of nausea through her.
    “My pleasure.” With those two words, he opened the door and slunk into her space while the other guard gestured toward the door. “After you, doctor .”
    It was in his eyes. Something dirty and evil and broken and—Maris shook her head. “No, if you two would leave, I’ll get to bed. I’m perfectly fine entering my home alone.”
    “I insist.” He took a step toward her and she shuffled back.
    “No, I’m—”
    This time he darted forward, moving as quickly as the other, and snatched her wrist in a tight grip. She jerked against him, but his large hand was unmoving and firm. “You’re going inside. With us.”
    Bile rose in her throat, burning her from inside out as her body rejected his touch, the feel of his skin on hers. Her stomach tightened, convulsing, but he didn’t seem to notice. No, she recognized the look in his eyes—the other male stepped into the doorway—the look in both their eyes. Sexual intent. Anger. Disgust.
    Nothing mattered. Nothing kept them from wanting her.
    “No.” She tugged again as she shook her head. “No. Whatever you want, whatever you’re trying to do… No. ”
    The smiles she got were evil, wicked, and filled with painful promises. “We’ll see what you say when I’m inside you. You gave it up to a scaly piece of shit. You’ll—”
    An eardrum-bursting boom filled the area. The sound vibrated its way down the hallway and bounced off the walls as it approached, causing her captor to release her. She recognized the tone, the modulation, and immediately clapped her hands over her ears. It wouldn’t halt the bone-jarring pain that struck her, but it’d minimize the ache as much as possible.
    Ujals were nasty pieces of business when they were pissed.
    Maris stumbled back a step and distanced herself from her guards. When her back struck the end of the hallway, not ten feet from her door, she took a moment to glance at her saviors.
    An Ujal—two Ujals—as she’d suspected. The dangerous—sometimes deadly—sounds weren’t directed at her, but at her now ex-guards. Which gave her a moment to recover.
    Recover and realize she didn’t recognize one of the males, but the other… Oh, she knew him. Intimately.
    “Vados…” she whispered his name, immediately drawing his attention. He was just as beautiful as she remembered—his red scales, deep red hair, the scar marring his face but intriguing her so much…
    Some thought of the red coloration as a sign from the devil. Maris