Bachelor Beast

Smart. Jimmy Steel was one of the smartest criminals on the planet.

The table held two other couples, all in their sixties if they were a day. Each one of them wore more money in clothes, jewelry and shoes than I made in a year.

“James, dear, introduce us to your beautiful date.”

Date? I was not his fucking date. I was his hostage. And James? No one called him that. No one I knew, and I knew just about every top-level drug distributor he ruled over in Miami.

His hand clamped down on mine on top of the table, and I held my tongue, forced a smile.

“I’d like you all to meet the lovely Olivia Mercier.” He nodded and tilted his chin as if he were the best boyfriend on the planet. “Olivia, this is Marcia and Walter Smith, and Agnes and Harold Jenaway.”

The second name rang a bell. I’d heard it somewhere before. I looked more closely.

“Senator Jenaway? From Florida?”

She chuckled and her beaming husband took her hand in the same way Jimmy’s still covered mine. I doubted Harold had to squeeze quite so hard to keep his wife from breaking free. “My dear, I told you someone would recognize you here.”

She smiled back at him, their banter natural and easy, as if they’d been married forever and could read each other’s thoughts. “You were right, Harold. As usual. New York is not th

It had been especially made for his supersized frame, huge and sturdy. His gaze shifted to Genevieve and Willow, and he offered them a respectful nod. Nothing more.

Chet walked over to Wulf. Their size difference was impressive as both men stood on the raised platform. I’d seen reruns of The Dating Game from the seventies, and this set had a similar feel with orange carpet and a white lattice backdrop. It only made Chet look more ridiculous and Wulf more… just more.

What woman would want an Earth man after knowing that Wulf wasn’t the only Atlan out there? He’d choose Genevieve or Willow, but he was here to promote the Interstellar Brides Program, where any volunteer could get a perfectly matched mate of her own.

I’d considered taking the matching test but learned that I didn’t meet the qualifications since I was the guardian of my niece and nephew. While I hadn’t given birth to them, they were legally mine, and I couldn’t leave them here on Earth for a hot alien match. No. Tanner and Emma were everything to me. I didn’t need a man if it meant giving them up. Never.

“Let’s look back on the warlord’s time here o