Alien Commander's Bride Read Online Free Page A

to see it bubble through to the surface.
    Some of the thugs she’d seen on the street a few days before, shooting at the Dragon, were back on the street corner again. They hooted at her from across the street and slowly made their way toward her, holding up their baggy pants as they walked.
    “We heard you were gonna marry one of those dragon bastards,” one of them said, posturing above Lexi. She didn’t have one of her smart responses right now. She didn’t have any response whatsoever. A tear clung to the corner of her eye and she turned away, blinking it back. She didn’t want to let these assholes see her cry.
    “Go away, hoodlums,” her father said. Too little too late, Dad, she thought. He would start to become protective just when she was about to go spend the rest of her life on a spaceship.
    “Have fun taking that dragon dick,” the second one said, as they laughed and jogged back across the street to their corner. Lexi let out a rage-filled groan just as the bus pulled up in front of them.
    Not a moment too soon.
    She was about to flip out and totally lose it. She’d go down in a blaze of gunfire and glory, and there would be nothing left for the Draconian to take from her. But instead, she stepped onto the bus, found a seat near the back with her sister and father, and watched her neighborhood slide past as the bus drove away.
    About a half an hour later, they filed off the bus into downtown Seattle, where the new Draconian consulate was located. It was a domed building with flags flying all around. One of these domed buildings had been built in every major city on Earth, as a gateway between the Draconians and the human women they craved.
    The sight of it made Lexi want to faint. Usually an extremely emotionally tough person, Lexi was overcome with fear and anxiety. She’d never felt so vulnerable in her entire life. The only other time that she had felt this level of intense emotion was when her mother passed away from cancer, just before the Draconians arrived.
    Standing at the bottom of the stairs that led to the Draconian consulate, Lexi felt that her heart would jump out of her chest and her brain would explode inside her head. She couldn’t breathe. Her limbs were numb, and her head was dizzy. Melody took her hand and helped her climb the stairs, her father’s hand pressed into the small of her back, pushing her up toward the front door.
    The doors slid open and they walked inside. The vast domed room held a single desk, with a Draconian male sitting behind it.
    “I’m Lexi Garcia,” she said, her voice hoarse and quiet.
    “What’s that?” the man behind the desk asked her. He had the beautiful, sharp features, and the extraordinary height of all Draconians. His skin glistened with the undertone of forest green, and the hint of his sharp, canine teeth showed below his lips.
    “This is Lexi Garcia. She entered the mating lottery and has been mated,” her father said, pushing her up toward the desk.
    The man looked down at his computer screen, typed into a keyboard, and then looked back up at her. “Yes, I have you here. You’ve been mated with—Oh, you’ve been mated with the Commander. Lucky you,” he said.
    Lucky . That was rich. Lexi saw herself as anything but lucky. Cursed maybe. Lucky? Never.
    “How does this work, now?” her father asked.
    “You say your goodbyes. The bride will be taken into the back, where she will be prepared to board the transport vessel to the Commander’s ship. The Commander has an exceptional lifestyle among the Draconians.”
    “You hear that, Lexi? You’ve been matched with the Commander. He’s rich!”
    “Great,” Lexi managed through clenched teeth.
    “So, when will I get the dowry?” her father asked. Lexi narrowed her eyes at him.
    “ Dad ,” Melody whined. “Can we just talk about the money later? Now is the time to say goodbye to Lexi. We may never see her again.”
    Melody threw her arms around Lexi, and hugged her tightly.