Page 15 of Rescued by the Alien Bull Rider (Cowboy Colony Mail-Order Brides #6)

JOLENE

“ W hat was that?” I asked dreamily. It was hard to focus on anything beyond the delicious echoes of Zohro’s calloused touch.

I was intensely aware of my lack of panties, the dampness between my bare thighs, the deep ache that Zohro had both created and nearly soothed.

His fingers had drifted so fucking low, so fucking close.

I blinked dazedly at him, beathing hard, my whole body tingling.

Zohro’s broad back was to me. But he whirled around to face me once more.

“I said, ‘I killed someone,’” he snarled. “I am a convicted murderer.”

“You… What?”

“That’s right.” He raised his chin, somehow managing to look both imperious and distraught. “I’m a murderer. We all are. You’ve come to a penal colony planet.”

My skin was ice. Shakily, I fastened the button Zohro’s touch had undone.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “You’re… You’re a rancher!” Desperately, I scanned the house, the property. There were no bars. No security features.

“I am incarcerated labour,” he corrected me viciously. “I toil for the empire. Provide them with their precious cattle in exile because they cannot find decent Zabrians who want to do it themselves.”

The “I’m a murderer” thing had been terribly disturbing and disorienting. But it was that last part that really stung. Because Zohro was living the precise sort of life I’d always wanted. The ranching life I loved. And apparently, that was a punishment to him. No decent Zabrian would want it.

Did that mean, by extension, that no decent Zabrian would want me?

I knew this was too good to be true . It had been too fucking easy. I should have known I’d never find a home to welcome me that fast.

Should have known I’d never find one, period.

“I don’t…” Tears welled in my eyes. Zohro saw it, and his fingers tensed at his sides. “I don’t know what to do right now! I can’t…”

I couldn’t leave. I had barely any money and no way off his property. And if what he’d said was true, then even if I found another ranch nearby to crash at, I’d just run into the same problem. I’m a murderer. We all are.

I brought my unborn child to a prison planet. I’d thrown myself to the mercy of murderers.

How could I have been so stupid?

There was no stopping the tears now. I choked on my next breath, salty liquid sluicing hot lines down my cheeks. Zohro remained motionless, apart from his tail. It pulled his big knife from his belt.

But even as he raised the knife, I couldn’t believe that he would hurt me now. This was Zohro! I hadn’t known him long, and he could be crusty as hell, but he’d shown me true goodness. A thorny sort of kindness.

The sun caught on the blade as it moved. I flinched, my eyes scrunching shut.

When I opened them a second later, I found Zohro holding the knife out to me, handle-first.

“Take it.” His voice was ragged. “If it will make you feel better. Cut me with it, if you must.”

“Cut you?! Why?” I sobbed.

His jaw worked. His eyes were like white fire.

“Because even a blade this sharp,” he rasped, “couldn’t shred me like the look on your face right now.”

He took one of my trembling hands and pressed the knife’s handle into it, gently forcing my fingers to close around the smooth wood. Then, he put something else into my other hand. It looked like a comms tablet, its screen cracked and black.

“Call the warden,” he said to the device. Then, guiding my hand, he pressed the screen against my ear and walked away.

I watched him stalk through the grass through a haze of tears. When I finally blinked them all from my eyes, he was gone.

“What is it, Zohro?”

I nearly dropped the knife onto my own toes at the sound of a deep voice in my ear.

“Um. Hello?” I cleared my throat. “Who is this?”

“Who is this ?” The rumbling voice echoed in disbelief. “Who are you ? This is Zohro’s data tab you’re calling from.”

“My name is Jolene Macdonald.”

The voice grew more distant, as if speaking to somebody else. “Do you know a Jolene Macdonald? No? No, I can’t hand over my data tab right now. I’ve got a situation here, and-”

A new voice cut him off, this one female and… Human?

Oh, thank God.

“Hello? This is Tasha Wallace. Am I speaking with Jolene?”

“Yes.” My legs felt wobbly. I moved back towards the house and sat on the bottom step leading down from the porch. “I am… I was? Zohro’s fiancée.”

“Zohro’s fiancée?” she echoed, sounding confused. Behind her, the deep voice from before muttered, “What the blazes has that pink fool gone and done now?”

“Where are you right now?” Tasha asked me. There was a competent professionalism in her voice that made me feel instantly more at ease.

“I’m at Zohro’s house.”

“Stay put,” Tasha said. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Just before the line went dead, I heard her say, “Start the slicer, Tenn.”