Gift of the Beast: Holiday Starrs Read online

  Garr had heard all the Christmas songs at his work and around town. He didn’t know why people felt the need to play the same songs over and over again, but besides that, he didn’t really have anything against it. So, he turned on the radio. A cheerful tune immediately started with bells jingling in the background.

  “Not that one!”

  He changed the channel.

  “No, no, no,” Lila chanted, a mischievous grin on her face.

  Garr changed the channel again. And again. Lila giggled in the back of the car the entire time and even Shea couldn’t hide her smile. Clearly, it was amusing to them to make him change the channel constantly. He had to admit, he certainly hadn’t had a quiet moment with them in the car.

  He kept changing the channels until Lila was satisfied, and then turned the volume up to her liking. It was too loud for him to be comfortable with – he would never hear an approaching threat over this – but Lila seemed happy, at least.

  She started singing along to the upbeat tune. Garr wondered if that was the point of playing the songs over and over. So you could remember the words and sing to it? Garr tried to focus on the singing to distract himself from the strange feelings he was having in reaction to Shea, now in both his groin and his chest.

  He drove onward, staunchly ignoring his feelings. This wasn’t the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. It wasn’t even close. And with Lila singing and asking odd questions, it seemed easier by the minute.

  He could do this.

  Chapter 5

  Shea

  It was odd seeing an alien drive a car. It seemed so mundane for someone as exotic as Garr. Before she’d moved to Space City, Shea had never really thought much about aliens. There were quite a few of them in Space City, and she had become accustomed to their presence over the past few months, especially since her sister was mated to one.

  Still, there were some things that threw her off every once in a while. Shea didn’t think she had ever seen Zeriq drive, and she could now understand why. Garr was so huge that he barely fit inside the car. It was clearly not made for a man his size, even the big SUV he owned. He must have had to shop around for quite a bit before finding a car with a roof tall enough to accommodate his height – and his horns.

  Shea couldn’t understand how kind Garr was being. With anyone else, she’d be suspicious they were up to no good, but for some reason, she trusted Garr, even though she barely knew him. She wished she could think of something she could do to thank him properly. She supposed that they had a long drive ahead of them, and Garr wasn’t exactly a big talker. She’d have plenty of time to think, once Lila settled down.

  She felt a bit sorry for Garr. Shea could see him wincing at the loud music at times, but he never asked to turn it down. She especially appreciated that, because if he did, it would start the road of a thousand whys from Lila.

  Shea was feeling kind of stressed and really didn’t want to have to answer more endless questions. She usually held up pretty well under Lila’s barrage, but there were certain days when it was just hard. Days like when your car broke down and your plans for the day were thrown completely off.

  It had helped having another parent to hand her to, but of course, she didn’t have that luxury anymore.

  “You don’t need to play the music this loud, you know,” she told Garr quietly enough that Lila wouldn’t hear. They’d just had a bathroom break at a gas station and were about to get back on the road.

  Garr just shrugged and gave her a small smile as he entered the car. Shea resisted the urge to push him to talk to her – because clearly, he could talk. She’d finally heard his voice, all deep and masculine. She was painfully curious, but she wasn’t going to force him to do something he didn’t want to do.

  She knew about the trauma the Ezak-X had gone through before the Alliance had rescued them. Garr was doing such a wonderful thing for her and Lila, the least she could do was ensure that she didn’t do anything to trigger him.

  It started snowing sometime in the afternoon. Just a few snowflakes at first, which had excited Lila, but the snowfall rapidly grew worse the closer to New York they got. Lila had eventually fallen asleep in the backseat, bored by seeing nothing but white through the windows.

  Shea had checked the weather forecast before they’d left, and there had been a warning about a possible snow storm in the northern parts of the continent, in Canada, but it hadn’t been supposed to come this far south. At most, a bit of frost that would clear as soon as it hit the ground.

  Perhaps the storm had changed its course, because it was now clear that it was much worse than that. By evening, they could barely see twenty feet out ahead of the car.

  When the storm worsened, Garr slowed them to a crawl. He started pulling off the road at a turn Shea hadn’t even been able to make out until they’d taken it. She was about to ask what he was doing, but of course, they couldn’t keep driving in this. It wasn’t safe.

  She caught sight of a sign advertising a hostel. Yes, that’s what they needed. Somewhere to spend the night before setting off the next morning. It was a pity they wouldn’t make it to her parents’ house tonight, but it couldn’t be helped.

  Shea couldn’t believe that Garr had spotted the sign for this place through the blizzard. She supposed it must be his keen senses. He could probably see much better in the snow than she could.

  Garr parked the car in the overfull parking lot. It looked like a lot of people had chosen to take shelter from the storm here. Shea hoped they still had rooms available.

  “Mommy? What’s going on?” Lila’s sleepy voice emerged from the backseat.

  Shea turned to her daughter. “It’s okay, honey. We’re just going to take a break here to take shelter from the storm.”

  The wind howled around them, and a cold gust blew in as Garr opened his door. Despite the heating in the car, Shea shivered. She looked out the window, eyeing the snow nervously. They hadn’t been able to get a parking spot close to the hotel, and the icy ground looked deadly. She couldn’t even see the hostel from here.

  Garr looked at her intently, grabbing her attention as he got out of the car. “Stay.”

  Shea didn’t know what he intended, but she trusted him. He closed the door and went around to the back. He grabbed their luggage and carried it away into the snow, presumably taking it inside. Then, he returned and opened the back door, holding his arms out for Lila.

  Shea sighed in relief. It would be much easier to get across the stormy landscape if she didn’t need to worry about Lila. Somehow, she trusted Garr with her. He was big and strong. He would be able to carry Lila better in the current weather.

  “Go ahead, honey. Let Garr carry you.”

  Garr took a sleepy Lila from the backseat and closed the door. He was bent almost double, using his own body to protect her from the snow. Lila didn’t even seem to notice the cold weather. She quietly clung to his chest as Garr carried her.

  Garr waited to be sure that Shea was with him before hurrying to the hostel. He kept his pace slow enough for Shea to manage to stay level with him. She trekked through the snow carefully, her toes freezing halfway to the lobby.

  The hostel was completely packed. Once they got inside, Garr handed Lila back to Shea and stood with his hands behind his back and his feet spread apart. It was a posture Shea recognized he took whenever he was waiting for instruction.

  “I’ll get us rooms,” Shea said. “Would you mind waiting here with Lila?”

  Garr nodded, and Shea placed Lila down on her feet.

  “Wait here for a moment with Garr, okay?” She brushed a few snowflakes off Lila’s hair. “I’ll be right back.”

  Through the throngs of people, she fought her way to the reception desk. “Hi, we need two rooms, please.”

  “Sorry, only one room per family,” the receptionist said with an apologetic expression. “We’re packed and expecting more. With this storm, we can’t afford to turn anyone away.”

  Shea wanted to argue, b
ut she didn’t really have an argument to make. She would never forgive herself if she took a room from a family who later got hurt in a car accident because they had to keep driving through the storm with no place to stay for the night.

  “Just the one, then. For two adults and a child.”

  The receptionist nodded, and she got the keys. She walked back to Garr and Lila.

  “Alright, we have a room.”

  “Mom, I’m hungry,” Lila whined, wiping her eyes sleepily.

  “We’ll get something to eat once we’re all settled in the room, honey.”

  With Lila sleeping and the snowstorm growing worse with every mile, they hadn’t stopped at a shop for snacks for hours. It was no wonder that she was hungry. Now that they were inside, Shea could feel her own stomach rumbling as well. She glanced at Garr. He hadn’t said anything, but with how big he was, he must need a lot more food than the two of them combined. He had to be starving.

  “Come on then,” she said to Lila and grabbed her hand.

  Garr picked up their luggage as she led them up to their room. Opening the door, she immediately came across a problem, one she should have foreseen, but she’d been too focused on getting a room to think properly.

  There was only one bed – at least, only one adult bed.

  There was a small, half-sized children’s bed for Lila, but the only other bed was a queen-sized one in the center of the room. Shea gulped.

  “Well, I guess we’ll have to share.”

  Garr looked at her with a sudden deer-in-the-headlights look. Then, he violently shook his head. He deposited the luggage in a corner, took a cushion from the bed and, before Shea could say anything, lay down on the floor.

  Shea stared at him in shock. Sure, sharing wasn’t ideal, but she hadn’t expected this kind of a reaction from him. Garr patted the pillow, seemingly happy on the floor, but there was no way Shea was going to let him sleep there.

  “No, Garr, we can share the bed,” she protested. “I’m not going to make you sleep on the floor.”

  Garr shook his head firmly. His gaze told her that he was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a bed with her, but surely, it was better than sleeping on the floor?

  “At least get up from the floor for now so that we can have dinner,” Shea pleaded.

  That, Garr at least consented to. He stood again with his legs apart and his hands behind his back.

  “I’ll go grab us something,” Shea said, walking to the door. “Could you watch Lila again?”

  Garr nodded. Shea felt bad for leaving Lila with Garr, but at least Lila was tired now and hopefully wouldn’t be too much of a bother to him. She thought it was best to go grab the food alone. If she took Lila, she would take her time picking what she wanted, and Shea didn’t think that was a good idea right now. She just wanted to take something quickly and have it in their room.

  ‘Quickly’ seemed to be hopeful thinking though.

  As she got to the diner on the first floor, there was a huge line for food. But at least there was food to be had. Shea wondered how long it would be before the hostel ran out of space for new travelers. They were on a main highway, so it was likely that anyone going home to visit their families for the holidays in this direction would end up here.

  It took her a while, but Shea returned to the room with three trays of mac and cheese – a double portion for Garr – and three cups of juice. It was hardly the delicious home-cooked meal she’d been expecting, but it would do.

  Garr took his tray and ate silently. Lila had clearly cheered up while Shea was gone, and she immediately started asking her questions about the hostel.

  “Why are there so many people here?”

  “A lot of people have stopped so that they don’t have to drive in the storm.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s not safe otherwise. They may get into an accident.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the snow makes it difficult to see, and it makes the road more slippery, so the car could slip more easily.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ll tell you later, honey. How many of those puzzles did you do?”

  “Three!” Lila exclaimed excitedly, with obvious pride at her achievement.

  “That’s great!” Shea smiled. “Well done, Lila. You have a bit of time to finish the other two tomorrow and still earn your extra Christmas present. Are you done eating? Let’s get you bathed and to bed.”

  Garr sat silently on the edge of the bed while Shea sorted Lila out. Somehow, his silence was in no way awkward, though Shea could feel his eyes on her at times.

  She also called her parents, explaining the situation and telling them to expect her and Lila in the morning. She finally put her daughter to bed and turned to Garr, who was sitting exactly where she had left him.

  “Please, Garr, share the bed. It’s plenty big enough. We’ll both fit. I wouldn’t feel right about you sleeping on the floor when there’s a perfectly good bed right here.”

  “I’m used to it.”

  His words caught Shea by surprise. She was used to Garr not volunteering any words unless he absolutely had to. He could have just shaken his head. He didn’t need to speak. The fact that he had made her feel special. He had chosen to speak to her.

  But at the same time, the words sent a shiver down her back that had nothing to do with the cold weather outside. He’s used to it.

  She supposed that besides everything else the Krezlians had done to the Ezak-X, they hadn’t given their slaves nice soft beds to sleep on. Had Garr been sleeping on the floor his entire life before the Alliance had pulled him out of their clutch? It was difficult to think about.

  “Even so, there’s no reason for you to be on the floor, even if you are used to it,” Shea said. “Please, share with me? I don’t take up much space, I swear.”

  Garr appraised her with his completely black eyes. There was a strange vulnerability in their depths. As if he’d realized he was revealing more than he wanted, he quickly turned his gaze away. Shea couldn’t tell if he was considering it or not, until finally, without meeting her gaze, he nodded.

  “Thanks! It’ll be fine, you’ll see.”

  She got into the bed, using the smallest amount of space possible. She didn’t want to make it weird by putting on her nightgown or anything, so she just slipped under the covers with her day clothes.

  Garr lay down opposite her, carefully draping the blanket over both of them. Shea turned out the light, casting them both into darkness. There was a small crack of light coming in from under the door, but that was it. Specks of light reflected off Garr’s dark eyes.

  His gaze met hers and he stared at her in the darkness. Shea stared back. She lay completely still on the bed, hardly daring to breathe, trying to stay as unobtrusive and quiet as possible. She felt her heartrate speeding up.

  Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea after all. Her fingers itched to touch Garr. To crawl closer for comfort. What would it be like to kiss him? To have his powerful body covering hers as he thrust into her slow and hard?

  Shea shut her eyes. What the hell was she thinking? This was completely inappropriate. She knew that Garr was uncomfortable even being on the bed with her and she was thinking that?

  Taking a calming breath to come back to her senses, she opened her eyes again.

  And found that he was still staring at her.

  This time though, there was something more in his eyes. An unnamed emotion shimmering in their depths. His nostrils flared as he looked at her. And before Shea realized what she was going, her hand brushed up against his.

  Garr jerked away as though he had been burned. He leaped out of the bed, tossing the blanket back as he did so. The blanket landed on Shea’s face, and by the time she managed to disentangle herself from it, the door was already closing.

  Garr was gone.

  Crap.

  “Garr!” she hissed, keeping her voice low in the hopes of not waking Lila.

  Shea clim
bed out of the bed hurriedly and stuck her head out of the door.

  Garr had already vanished.

  With a heavy breath, she shut the door and leaned against it. What the hell had she been doing? She went to sit on the bed, staring morosely at the wall.

  Garr had been more than kind to her and Lila, and now she’d gone and scared him off. Of course, he wouldn’t like being touched by a complete stranger like her! Even more so because of everything he’d been through. Shea knew that he was a very private person. What had she been thinking?

  Clearly, she hadn’t been.

  She must be hormonal or something. Yes, Garr was hot, but it wasn’t like her to put her hands on someone who didn’t want her touch. She’d let the moment get away with her, and now Garr was upset. Understandably so.

  Shea was torn between giving him space and running after him to try to apologize. She felt utterly horrible. She lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to sort her jumbled thoughts.

  Garr probably didn’t feel comfortable coming back into the room after her inappropriate touching. Great work, Shea.

  So, should she run after him?

  No, that would probably freak him out even more. She needed to give him space.

  She sat up in bed, determined to wait for him to come back and apologize. He couldn’t be gone long, right? It was snowing outside.

  The thought of Garr having to brave snow just to get away from her grabby hands made her feel even worse. Shea sighed and readjusted herself on the bed, sure that Garr wouldn’t be gone long…

  Chapter 6

  Garr

  Garr took a deep breath as he rushed out of the hostel. It was still snowing outside, but the freezing air was a relief. Maybe it could calm the hot desire boiling inside of him.

  He was already ashamed of his sudden flight. It wasn’t decent to leave Shea like that without any kind of explanation, but he couldn’t help himself. When she had touched him, a flood of desire had suddenly roared up inside him, so strongly that he had feared he wouldn’t be able to control it.