Dana

Dana Drake was rarely impressed. She knew a lot of guys, but all of them were born and raised on Murario. It was the first time to see an Earthian, in flesh and blood. Jackson Marmy was even the first to ever set foot on Murario and that was some kind of big deal, as her dad had said. For what reason, she could not remember. Her dad liked to prattle about things she could not quite understand.

She had seen plenty of Earthians on the interplanetary broadcast, though. They always seemed so carefree and somewhat empty headed. Some of her friends were talking about Earth guys like they were some sort of gods. Damn, those girls could get all mushy and stuff over celebs they saw on their little dusty screens. She was not like them.

At least she hadn’t been until today. When Jackson Marmy had stood on that platform, resting against that wooden thing she had supposed it was some sort of weapon, she had almost felt the need to pick up her jaw off the floor. And not because she had been shocked, but because she could not think of any other means to express the sudden, almost physical hit, she had felt when she had looked at him.

That young man was beautiful. A few golden strands had flown in the harsh wind from under his tall hat. When his eyes had scouted the perimeter, Dana could only think of just wanting to rush to him and watch him from up close. She had wanted to look at him and sniff him. She bet he smelled nice. He was tall and graceful and had an air about him, like he was from another world, indeed.

It had taken her a few minutes to come to her senses. She had used to think she was immune to guys' charms, as her friend, Isabella, called them. But right now, all she could think of was how she was going to survive being so close to this guy and not do anything. Had he been from Murario, it would have not been an issue. Guys here liked being proposed by girls. It was almost like a dating ritual. Especially since guys knew badass girls like her were strong enough to let their feelings show.

But she could not do the same with this one. Also, she could tell he hated her guts for some reason. All right, she should not have laughed when he had asked if he was in danger. But even her dad had found the idea funny. An Earthian on Murario? What was everyone thinking? There was no lost love for Earthians here.

Ugh, she needed to keep a straight head. There was no time to daydream, even if the guy sitting in the car next to her right now smelled nice and looked like the most beautiful man in the universe.

It was not like she was a dimwit, anyway. She had had her fair share of stolen embraces and kisses. But she had never gone all the way. Somehow, she hadn't wanted to feel like a fraud. She hadn't wanted to sleep with some guy only for experimenting purposes. Isabella called her old fashioned and mocked her, saying she was going to die an old wrinkled bitter spinster. Or probably Isabella had added some other things, one less flattering than the other.

It was not like she was walking around with her nose held up high. She just didn't want to be with just some random guy. At 20, she was already thinking, though, that Isabella was right, and she had to resign with the idea that Mr. Perfect wasn't anywhere around.

The only thing was that Mr. Perfect was real and presently sitting next to her, grabbing his boy stick nervously, like he expected to get jumped at any moment. Dana was pretty certain the poor fellow was right, in a way. If she was to take him along when hanging out with her friends, the beautiful Earthian was going to get a lot of attention. People from other places often said women on Murario were straight out of hell with their straightforward manner of asking out guys. Not that they were particularly complaining. Only that Dana hated behaving like the rest of the girls.

Maybe it was her late mother’s fault she was like that. Their library at home was full with all kinds of romantic books from Earth, in which women were wooed and dressed nicely and men were gallant and ready to sacrifice themselves for their sake. The nicest thing Dana had to dress was an old dress from her mom, and that was safely stashed in a box in her room. Not even her dad knew about it.

The old man, he meant well. But he wanted Dana to be strong. And she was strong. But really, to put her in charge of taking care of this beautiful stranger? He had no idea what kind of torture that was for her. The man looked like dreams come true. Although he was a bit too arrogant, even for an Earthian.

Plus, he looked like he had just had a breakfast based on nothing but lemons. She wished the atmosphere was not that tense.

Of course, it was not like this Earthian was going to consider Dana beautiful or at least attractive. She had had to cut her hair after an accident down at the mine. She had to be thankful she had still gotten to keep some of her hair. It was not the most stylish haircut but Isabella had assured her that when her hair was going to grow, it was going to hide the shaved parts on which hair was never going to grow again after having her scalp burned with acid. At least, the skin had healed without visible bruises with the help of some really expensive grafts. But doctors here had no means to have her hair grow back and it would have been a waste anyway. She had to be thankful to be alive.

She sighed. Some boys had called her pretty, but what did they know? Jackson Marmy was from Earth, where women had skin like alabaster, eyes like the summer sky, perfect teeth, and, of course, perfect hair. She was no match. Probably he was laughing on the inside at her desperate attempts to just talk to him. Yet, if she watched carefully, he looked worried. Was it the first mission of this kind for him? He seemed quite young.

"How old are you?" she blurted out.

"Almost 21," the guy replied promptly. "You?"

"20," she answered back.

"Oh," he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked again, a little gruffly. His manner of speaking was getting a little on her nerves.

"I thought you were younger, like 16 or something."

That gave her pause. Did she actually look younger than her age? Never before had she been said that. But, of course, he was from Earth.

"You look awfully young," the guy chatted away. "I mean, for being a bodyguard. Also, way too pretty."

Dana saw the turn at the last minute and swerved. The guy was a bit too white in the face when she looked at him again.

"Not that I would have a problem with that," the Earthian continued, looking away like he felt guilty or something.

Isabella was going to go nuts. This beautiful guy had called Dana Drake, the daughter of a miner, the one known as the fastest sharpshooter in their district, the girl with only one dress she had never worn, pretty. He had called her pretty.

"Thanks," she found her voice. "For saying that I'm pretty," she added. Hello, there was life on Earth, what did you know? "You're not bad either," she told him with a small smile.

"Well, about that," the blond grimaced and adjusted his gloves. "I noticed you looking at me. Please, do not take it the wrong way. I am not interested."

Wow, Dana could still remember the cold shower she had taken in the morning. It hadn't felt that cold.

"Interested? In what?" she feigned ignorance, while biting her lower lip.

It wasn't normal to suddenly feel her nose itching like she was on the point of crying when being rejected by a guy she had barely met.

"Oh? It seems I misunderstood. I apologize," Jackson replied.

He was so rude with his politeness. Dana felt the sudden need to strangle him. A little, not much. So there went her hopes and dreams. She was pretty, she looked 4 years younger, and he wasn't interested. Game over. What was the big deal anyway?

"We arrived," she regained her voice and stepped out of the car.

At least, this time, the asshole didn't wait for her to open his door. He somehow managed to extract himself from the car.

"The luggage was delivered. It should be waiting for you," Dana said and she pushed through the door after using the code on her index finger.

Jackson Marmy seemed depressed as he got into the elevator next to her. She had heard men on Earth were gentlemen, holding doors and such. For now, this guy was a terrible disappointment. Maybe he was too caught up in his mission or something.

***

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Jackson

Jackson took in the small apartment that was supposed to be his quarters. Dana had seemed distant after he had frankly told him he wasn't interested. He hated doing that, especially since he had noticed the youth trying hard to rein in his emotions after being rejected.

Maybe he needed to explain himself. To let the guy know he wasn't into guys. It was nothing personal. After all, for a guy, Dana was looking quite handsome, despite the fact that some of his traits were a tad too feminine. But no, he could not say that. He risked insulting the guy even more. And that he needed to avoid, seeing that his life depended on how sure the guy's hand was on his weaponry in the case of an emergency.

"Are you handy with those weapons?" he decided to make conversation as he opened his luggage and he began putting his clothes away in an empty closet, seeing that his bodyguard made no attempt to help him with that. After all, the guy was a guardian, not a personal servant.

"Yeap," came the reply.

"I would like to see a demonstration of that, later on, if that is possible," he said.

Politeness usually worked on people. Jackson had thought himself the master of letting people down gently. Somehow, this guy was still miffed over being rejected, and Jackson had to make it all better. That was his job.

"Sure," Dana shrugged. "Hey, want a beer?"

Jackson should have protested, but when in Rome ...

"Sure," he mimicked the other's words.

Dana opened a tall white cabinet. Apparently, the drinks were in there. That was good to know. The guy began looking and bent from the waist, as he rummaged through the contents of the cabinet. Jackson followed the nice shape of the young man’s body with wide eyes. There were so many issues with this guy. Besides a pretty face, he had the curviest curves Jackson had ever seen. He stood there, paralyzed, feeling the need to swallow hard. It was not okay for a guy to have a body like that.

"Hey, where are you looking?"

That was enough to startle him and break the spell.

"Nothing," he replied. "I mean, nowhere."

"Nowhere?" Dana seemed pissed. "You were just checking me out."

Jackson straightened up his clothes.

"I was definitely not!"

"And you said you weren't interested just earlier!"

"Oh, stop it already! I cannot be interested, all right?"

That seemed to make the other young man relax.

"Because of your job," Dana said, like he was trying to find an explanation.

"Yes," Jackson jumped to the straw being handed to him. After all, it was the truth. He was not here to play with a barely out of his teens youngster who happened to be his bodyguard and the son of the most prominent foreman on the planet. Plus, he had never been attracted to a guy until now. Maybe the flight had done something to his hormonal balance. There had to be an explanation for the mess in his head. He turned quickly to hide his blushing cheeks.

"Sorry, man, I understand," Dana spoke from behind him. "Maybe, when you're finished with your mission, we could get together and have some fun."

Jackson was pretty certain that was not going to happen. He hoped to be out of this hole soon and preferably without getting involved with anyone, particularly a young man who looked too much like a girl for his own good. For Jackson’s good. Whatever. Yet, a little white lie could not hurt.

"Sure," he replied.

"He, he, it's a date then," Dana giggled behind him.

How was this guy surviving in this harsh world? Frankly, he seemed pretty sweet, Jackson thought. And, on a planet like Murario, sweet could not cut it.

"I should get some rest," he said.

"Sure, I'm in the studio apartment next to you," Dana said.

"Next to me?!" Jackson asked, alarmed.

"Well, for convenience," the guy explained.

"And who is going to protect me if you're not here?"

"Man, it's not like someone will get you in here."

"You cannot know," Jackson became a little frightened. "I have no idea what kind of danger your father speaks about, and I am not willing to gamble with my life. You will stay here."

"All right, I'll take the couch in the living room," Dana replied quickly.

Jackson knew that must have looked terribly convenient and the guy, being attracted to him and everything, saw an opportunity in this. But he had no means to know, and waiting for an escort from Earth was too remote a possibility to even consider. For now, this pretty boy was his bodyguard and that was it.

"Good," he said shortly and he threw the tall hat on his bed.

He began pulling at his tie, his mind filling with possibilities. Why was he here? Why was only one bodyguard assigned to him? Was this some kind of plot from which he was being left out?

***

Dana

Dana could not be happier. Okay, the guy was pretty strange and he was overreacting, but he was beautiful like a movie star. And he had just checked her out, and he wanted her to sleep in the same apartment with him.

But man, he looked worried, as he was undressing. When he took off the small leather bond from his hair and shook the loose strands, Dana felt her jaw dropping again. And now he was taking off his shirt, showing creamy, perfect skin, while mumbling to himself. All right, he had a nice body, not too skinny, slender and graceful, with taut muscles everywhere. Now his hands were on his belt and ...

"What are you doing?" she asked, realizing too late what was happening.

"I need a shower," the guy explained while pushing his pants down.

Okay, she was not ready for this. She turned and walked away. Isabella was going to call her a coward. Maybe she could sneak a peek? She gasped, when she saw him marching towards the bathroom in nothing but his birthday suit.

"Could you please quit staring?" Jackson demanded impatiently. "A bit of privacy would be nice."

She stormed out of the room. Okay, now she could tell Isabella she was not a coward. Only crazy.

***

"Dana!"

She jumped from the couch and hurried towards the bathroom. Jackson had an almost accusing look in his beautiful blue eyes as he stood in the door. To her relief and also regret, he wore a towel around his waist.

"Could you please explain to me how is this old fashioned contraption supposed to work? It does not seem to take any verbal commands. Maybe I need to input my vocal print?"

"Verbal commands? Yeah, right," Dana snorted. "No, you need to operate it manually. Right now, it will be lukewarm, at best."

She passed by him and began fiddling with the faucet, making the water start to sprinkle.

"Oh, thanks a lot," Jackson said happily.

The bathroom was tiny, so Dana found herself caught between the sink and the blond as he passed by her to use the shower. She inhaled, despite her better judgment. He was taller than her by several inches, so she basically rubbed her nose involuntarily against his chest.

She made a small sound of appreciation, and then froze on the spot. Jackson was staying still, too, almost pressing her against the sink. It was a good thing she had all the weapons on her. She seriously doubted she was going to resist having his naked chest pressed against her like that if she were to wear nothing but a t-shirt.

He cupped one of her cheeks slowly and made her look up.

"Dana," he said softly.

She dared looking him in the eye. Okay, this was it, this was something just waiting to happen, and it was terribly dangerous. What if he was going to kiss her? She was going to melt on the spot, throw off all her clothes, and embarrass her dad by jumping an Earthian who also some sort of big shot.

She moved her head away and laughed nervously.

"Do you need anything else? Soap, towels, maybe someone to wash your back?"

Oops, she had just gone and done it again. It was a good thing her skin was dark, like her mother's. He was not going to be able to tell she was blushing like crazy.

"Funny," he commented, but began laughing as he took off his towel and climbed into the shower.

She swallowed hard while taking in the shapely muscles on his back. Was this man perfection? There was no flaw to complain about? Had he been made in a lab somewhere?

"Hey," he called, while looking at her over his shoulder. "If you don't want to double as a personal servant and have you wash my back," he drawled the words, "how about being a good little bodyguard and go sit somewhere while I finish here? Come, chop chop!"

She almost stumbled on her way to the door. It was so painful to unglue her eyes from his long legs, and strong back on which blond hair ran like a golden waterfall.

This time she promised herself she was not going to get caught with the guy in close quarters unless she needed to save his life. She chugged down her beer, and hoped he was never coming off that bathroom for as long as planets spun.

***

Jackson

Jackson sighed. The water was indeed just lukewarm. He had to do with what he was given. But that was not the only problem. Who would have thought that bad boy had such a soft side? Despite his forward gaze and straight words, he was as shy as deer in the woods. He had been forced to go hunting once. The thrill of the chase had gotten to him in the end, but he had let the deer go when he had caught it in his line of shooting. The poor animal had looked paralyzed.

Not that Dana Drake was like deer or anything. Those damn soft lips were asking to be kissed. Jackson could not believe himself. He was hardly a defiler of innocents, with his lack of experience and everything. But, for a moment, he had wanted nothing more but to lean in and kiss those lips, and unravel the promise in them.

Dana had been swift to dodge that. The boy's simple reaction had made him instantly just want more the kiss to happen. And he was not into guys, what was wrong with him? Now he had to deal with a new shape of frustration growing inside him, and especially its physical manifestations were inconvenient.

Dana's cheeks were soft. The guy looked like he didn't need to shave. He shook his head fast. What was he thinking? He could be in serious danger and all he could do was to let his body do the thinking instead?

The problem was that he had found the boy's reaction endearing, and now there was curiosity and hunger gnawing at him. He wanted nothing more but to discover how kissing Dana Drake felt like. And it was stupid and insane, because he had never acted on impulse ever since he had been appointed to act as negotiator aka entertainer for foreign commissaries most probably in need of comic relief, or something close.

And Dana Drake was a guy, all right? Yes, he had never felt so drawn to someone so fast, and he had seen thousands of beautiful women in his life. Dana was like none of them. Of course, because he was a guy, but, for the sake of clarifying the situation, he needed to ignore that small inconvenience for now.

First of all, he had never been particular to females with black hair. Women of all colors and shapes had passed through his radar, and he had been appreciative of them all. So it was not like Dana was catering to some preference he had. Also, short hair? Nah, he liked women with long hair, as a general rule. Plus, sexy undercuts were usually part of the outfit for retrograde punk artists. He could not recall ever listening to that kind of music.

So, what was it? Dana's face. He hummed. Yes, that was a damn pretty face. He wished he could clearly see the guy’s eyes.

All right, maybe everything was happening because Dana’s preferences for guys. That had to be it, right? Dana liked guys, so it was natural for him to make himself appealing to other guys. This was how things worked, right? Maybe he had had some work done to make his lips full so full and ... kissable. But really, on Murario? People here didn't have enough hot water. The idea of going under laser surgery for lip enlargement seemed ludicrous.

So the guy was this pretty because he had been born this way. He clearly took after his mother. Hadrian Drake was nothing short of an ogre, although he could see some of the parent's brazenness and good humor in the offspring, too.

And, also, his body. Jackson still remembered the nice shape of that body. And his strong thighs looked nice, too, and his legs were long for someone this short. Jackson could not say anything about the rest, because the guy wore that oversize leather jacket. All those weapons had to weigh a ton, but Dana didn't seem to mind.

All right, he needed to clear his head and keep it that way. Dana could have the most kissable lips and the most attractive body in the universe, that didn't change the fact that Jackson had to watch his back. Or the fact that he wasn't, absolutely not, into guys.

He got off the shower and quickly dried himself, pushing away the recent memory of how Dana had looked at his naked body, like he wanted to jump him on the spot. That wasn't helping at all.

He could not suppress a smile when he saw the youngster sleeping on the couch, still wrapped in his leather jacket, an empty bottle on the coffee table next to him. Jackson shrugged and turned on his heels. He needed to hit the hay, too. Yet, he could not bear leaving his mighty bodyguard sleep like that. He was going to wake up with a stiff neck in the morning.

So he carefully untied the boy's boots and placed them on the floor. Grabbing a pillow and a blanket from his bedroom, he gently made the young man move to rest his head properly. He had a mind to unwrap the guy from his leather jacket, but he felt like it was not his place to do that. Draping the sleeping guy in the blanket, he went to his bedroom.

"Have nice dreams, Dana," he said to no one in particular, seeing that the boy was already fast asleep.

***

Dana

She opened her eyes as soon as she heard the door to his bedroom closing. She flexed her toes in delight and let out a small groan. No one was going to believe her, not even Isabella, that a guy like that had taken off her boots. She had been asleep only to that point, and faked being still, too afraid that he was going to stop touching her. She straightened up and took off her jacket and her vest, as well as her jeans. She was too hot to sleep with her clothes on. Her top and panties had to count as pajamas for now. Pulling the blanket over her shoulders, she murmured to no one in particular.

"Sweet dreams, Jackson."

And I hope you'll dream of me, was what she wanted to add, but didn't dare, because, come on, it was not like a guy like Jackson was going to dream about an ordinary girl like her, when he had probably dozens of female admirers at home. Women who were too beautiful to be real.

That was her. She was real, and she was plain. Now without the hair, maybe even a little ugly. Yet, that didn't stop her from falling asleep with a smile on her face and to dream of Jackson Marmy inviting her to dance like in one of those very very old movies, where the protagonists were sliding over polished floors dressed in luxurious clothes that might just have weighed a ton if they weren't so vaporous. And she was even wearing one such dress in her dream, and Jackson was smiling, looking down to her, and complimenting her.

"You're pretty, so pretty," dream Jackson cooed into her ear.

She woke up and limped towards the fridge to drink some cool water. Dream Jackson could have been more creative with compliments. It was just that had been the only compliment he had paid her, and her brain apparently had no idea about more inventive words of praise.

The nights could be unpleasant. Eventually, she wrapped the blanket around her, so she could go back to sleep.

TBC