Page 3 of Kien's Kindred
Nisha clamped her teeth on her tongue then turned toward Tasha with a stare that conveyed her friend owed her big for this one. Tasha rushed to her side in solidarity.
“That’s really not the way you speak to someone who’s helping you,” Tasha scolded him.
Phate looked up from studying the communication thing to glare at Kien. “Tasha’s right. Without Nisha, we would have to find another female to ride with you and reveal ourselves.”
One side of Kien mouth quirked up. Nisha wondered if he already had someone else in mind. That locomotive on wobbly tracks running through Nisha’s mind earlier? Was now sliding off the rails. Nisha curled her hands into fists so tight her nails bit into her palms.
A thin smile formed on her lips. “You don’t want to go with me, Kien? Fine. I have enough to do without jumping into an episode of roadside nonsense with an alien.” She picked up her duffle bag and looped it on her shoulder. “See you later, Tasha. I’m going home.”
Not going with Kien fit perfectly into her plan. She could put this entire mess behind her.
With head held high and emotions firmly locked down, she strode through Tasha’s apartment. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that he hurt her feelings—yet again.
Just as she reached the door, a strong hand wrapped around her arm, stopping her in her tracks. “It doesn’t take much to rile you up does it?” As he asked the question, Kien’s voice was full of laughter.
Nisha tensed under his touch. Even though she wore a jacket and had on a long sleeve shirt underneath, she could still feel the palm of his hand as if it laid bare on her skin.
Why did she react this way to the biggest player who’d ever come through her tiny town? She prided herself in being able to beat players at their game. She could bring any man to their knees. Usually. But with Kien? He left her a bundle of hot nerves.
“I don’t like being underappreciated. Especially when I’m using my time and effort to do a favor for someone and they’re acting an ass about it,” Nisha ground out.
“Apologize to her. Now,” Solgre snapped instantly.
The quirk dropped from Kien’s lips, and the room quieted. After a moment, he met her gaze and solemnly said, “I apologize, Nisha. I didn’t mean to offend.”
Despite wanting the apology, the sudden turnaround made her uncomfortable. She knew very well what was at stake. These three aliens had come with the assignment to observe Earth. Through an event they couldn’t control, they crash landed and had to set up shop in Point Breeze, Minnesota while waiting for a rescue.
Phate had been more than forthcoming about their mission and their species.
The Thellians were scientists who valued exploration and advancement over war and oppression. They were a peaceful species and didn’t have any neighboring habitable planets in their solar system. But unlike Earth, Thelli was part of a collective of planets that shared resources and alliances.
When the communication from NASA had been received, the Thellians had dispatched the closest spaceship to Earth on a reconnaissance mission to observe and report back their findings. If it hadn’t been for the solar flare, Solgre, Kien and Phate would’ve completed the assignment and been on their way to their vacation destination and Solgre’s easily treatable medical condition wouldn’t have been an issue.
But here they were, stuck on Earth for another month until their rescue arrived. Unfortunately, Solgre’s condition was rapidly deteriorating, and he couldn’t go a month without his life-saving medicine.
Nisha and Kien were to pretend to be a happy couple on vacation while they retrieved it to prevent anyone from following them or discovering their spaceship.
And to think, to everyone else, it was a random Sunday. She wished!
Nisha pulled her arm from Kien’s grasp, unable to withstand the heat from his touch any longer. “Apology accepted.”
How was she going to spend a week with this alien when she could barely last a few minutes in his presence?