Page 54 of Kidnapped By the Beast

The words froze Brandt where he stood.

“Gone?” His voice came out too harsh, too loud. Heads turned, then quickly looked away again at his glare. “What do you mean gone?”

“I took her to a stall to buy a breast covering you wouldn’t object to,” T’linga babbled, wringing her hands. “I turned around for just a moment, and she must have wandered off! I’ve been looking and looking but I can’t find her anywhere.”

A cold weight settled in Brandt’s gut. He had a bad feeling about this—a very bad feeling.

Damn it! I should never have let her wear so little to cover herself. I gave her nothing but gauze. What was I thinking? She wanted to hide her breasts, and I forbid it. What if some Terian has seen her on display and decided he wanted to kidnap her?

Then an even harsher voice chimed in—the voice of his guilt.

Fool. You told yourself it was about nectar production, but you also liked seeing her that way. Admit it. You liked how the males stared at her, knowing she was yours. And now?—

Now Alexandra might be in real trouble and it was all his fault.

Brandt clenched his fists.

“Where did you last see her?” he demanded, his voice low and dangerous. “Show me—I’ll track her down.”

“This way.”

T’linga hurried ahead, leading him back to the breast-covering stalls. The merchants looked up warily as Brandt bore down on them, his golden eyes flashing.

He didn’t need to speak at first. He had already caught her scent—faint but distinct. Sweet, feminine, with the faintest edge of arousal he now knew as hers. He was completely attuned to her after being so intimate in the past week and now his senses locked onto her sweet fragrance like a hound on the trail.

But he forced himself to stop and question the vendor, to be sure.

“Yes,” the Terian merchant said, nodding quickly. “I remember her—an off-worlder woman with only two breasts. She seemed like such a nice, decent, respectable girl. But then…” He hesitated, his upper set of eyes narrowing. “She asked to buy a harlot covering.”

Brandt’s frown deepened. “A what?”

But T’linga didn’t share his confusion. She gasped, her lavender skin going pale.

“He means green. Lexi must have bought a green breast covering!”

Brandt frowned in frustration.

“Green? So what if she bought a green one?”

T’linga turned to him, her voice trembling.

“Green is the color of prostitution for us. No one wears it unless they’re selling themselves.”

Brandt’s stomach turned to ice as he realized the true gravity of the situation. Alexandra was lost in the market, dressed as a sex worker!

Gods, Alexandra! How could you?

But of course, she hadn’t known. She’d probably been looking for something the same color as her eyes, which were a lovely shade of green.

He stepped closer, looming over the merchant, hoping against hope that he was wrong.

“Did she put it on?”

The Terian swallowed hard.

“Yes. I’m afraid so. Then she wandered off to…sell herself.”

“Sell herself?” Brandt snarled, barely keeping his voice in check. “You ignorant fool. Don’t you see? She never meant to—” He cut himself off with a growl, raking a hand through his hair. “Never mind.” He bent lower, his eyes burning into the merchant’s. “Which way did she go?”