Riv's Sanctuary: A Sci-fi Alien Romance

by A. G. Wilde

  The female wrapped her arms around her bare torso and he assumed she was cold. Never mind, the room would adjust to a temperature that suited her soon enough now that there was a being inside it.

  As she moved farther into the room, his gaze followed her.

  Her light hair hung over her shoulders, hiding her face and neck from his view.

  “Dis iz naice und uhn-ex-pekted,” the female said, turning.

  Big brown eyes met his. “T-ank yoo.”

  A brilliant smile split her face and made him stiffen. It transformed her features so much his eyes narrowed to slits.

  When panic and fear were replaced by happiness, those large brown eyes of hers became entrancing, making her beautiful to look at.

  Riv’s nostrils flared.

  Beautiful females were the most deceiving things in the galaxy.

  All the more reason she had to leave.

  Turning on his heels and without a backward glance, he stormed down the corridor and left the dwelling.

  He needed to sort out his head.

  She didn’t come after him. She was learning quickly.

  He’d given her a room to stay in and he hoped she stayed in it.

  He’d prefer to be alone till he decided what he was going to do. But he knew without much consideration that there was only one option.

  He had to return her to Geblit and be in the Torian’s debt once more.

  Stepping into the warm sunshine, the door slammed behind him and a nosy tilgran lifted its long neck to look over the fence of its enclosure.

  “What?” Riv snarled and the tilgran lowered its head once more.

  Brows set in a frown, he headed around the back of the building toward the oogas grazing there. He needed to feed them, clean their pen, and give them water before the day ended.

  This was a bad day for Geblit to turn up. If he didn’t have so much to do, he’d have taken the time to return the female to the Torian, but he couldn’t. It would have to wait till tomorrow, or even possibly the next day.

  He only hoped she understood enough to get that he wanted her to stay inside and out of his way while he tended to his animals.

  Riv paused as he reached the ooga enclosure, his hand on the gate as he cast his eyes to the window of the spare room.

  Maybe he shouldn’t have left her alone in there.

  Who knew what she would get up to while alone.

  Movement by the window caught his eye and Riv snorted.

  She was watching him.

  Fine.

  She could do whatever she wanted. As long as she didn’t wreck the place or get in his way.

  As he opened the gate and entered the enclosure, the oogas lifted their large heads from the yellow-orange grass and glanced at him before dipping their heads again.

  Patting the back of one of the animals, Riv’s brows slowly relaxed from their frown.

  Silence.

  Sweet, sweet silence apart from the occasional snort of an ooga and the soft sounds of their chewing.

  This was why he preferred animals.

  They didn’t speak.

  That had always been a winner for him.

  But, most of all, they didn’t judge. He could be himself around them.

  Life was simpler.

  Glancing back toward his residence, he frowned.

  The female was still at the window, watching him.

  He could feel those brown eyes following his every move.

  Phek.

  Well, he guessed he had an audience then.

  Wouldn’t be the first time others stood and watched him while he worked.

  Lauren knelt on the floating bed, eyes fastened outside.

  Riv was in the field working with the cow-hippo things and she couldn’t help but stare at her host.

  The sun was hot out there, she could see that. Even from where she was, she could see his skin had a thin sheen of perspiration over it.

  He seemed to be completely in his element, moving bales of hay, shoveling animal dung, and tending to the animals.

  He’d looked her way a few times and she wasn’t sure if he could see her or not, but that’s all he did, glance her way.

  She watched as he paused and rolled his shoulders, stretching his arms into the air.

  Eyes widening, her cheeks flushed as Riv pulled his shirt over his head and put it to the side. No longer hidden, a set of stacked muscles were displayed.

  Damn.

  This seemed inappropriate.

  She probably shouldn’t be looking. Yet, she couldn’t look away.

  Maybe she’d been in that terrarium for too long and the little bit of sun on the way to the Sanctuary had suddenly awakened her libido…

  Or maybe it was because he had snarled in her face so many times in the last hour that her heart sped up with anxiety and her pussy was mistaking that for attraction or something but…

  Damn.

  Lauren blinked.

  He looked good for an alien dude—and for the past year, she’d seen a lot of alien dudes.

  He was humanoid. Maybe that’s what this was. He was the first humanoid male she’d been in close contact with since she’d been taken.

  Sure, she’d seen a few through the transparent shield of her terrarium but she’d never been close enough to feel their breath on her face—and Riv had come in real close to her earlier. Close enough that she could still smell his faint musk.

  Lauren’s eyes widened a little.

  Suddenly, that deep inhale he did when he’d leaned in close took on meaning.

  Had he caught her scent too?

  Biting her bottom lip, she didn’t move her gaze.

  Instead, she watched as he bent and began working on the animals’ enclosure.

  She imagined his hands would be calloused with such hard work. She’d always loved a guy who knew how to use his hands.

  Shit.

  Where’d that thought come from?

  Geez.

  A whole year in the terrarium and she hadn’t even touched herself. Suddenly, on an alien farm watching a hunk of an alien and she was having thoughts.

  Lauren shook her head and frowned at herself.

  She was just about to move when she felt his eyes on her.

  Riv was looking her way, a frown on his face and she was sure, at that moment, that he could definitely see her.

  Even from where she was she knew he was snarling.

  Yea, that was her cue to make herself scarce.

  Slinking down on the bed, she lay flat against it.

  The door to the room was closed and she realized she felt safe now. Safe enough to relax for a bit.

  That was saying something.

  Despite her first impression of him, when she’d thought he was going to rip out her throat with his claws, she somehow felt safe.

  She didn’t know why, but she did, and it was a feeling that was so alien she lay rigid on the bed, staring at the roof and wondering if terror would follow shortly.

  Even in the terrarium, she hadn’t felt safe. Even with the barrier to the outside, she’d felt wary all the time.

  With a sigh, she swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

  Was this going to be the first time she felt safe in a year?

  Damn.

  Another sigh shuddered through her.

  She’d stay inside and wait for Riv to return. He obviously didn’t want her in his space so she’d wait till he got used to the idea she was there before pushing him further.

  It was difficult enough the fact he couldn’t understand what she was saying. She had to be careful to not piss him off before she could find a way to communicate with him better.

  9

  She must have fallen asleep because when she opened her eyes, the room was dark.

  Stretching, the light in the room came on because of her movement.

  She stood immediately and cast her eyes out the window.

  It was night.

  It was very unlike her to fall asleep so earl
y in the day. She’d gotten used to staying awake until the zoo closed and faces were no longer peering into her terrarium.

  For her to fall asleep without forcing herself to…

  Moving lights in the field outside caught her eyes and she moved closer to the window, squinting.

  It took her a few moments to realize it was the robots she’d seen when they’d been approaching the Sanctuary.

  They were still hard at work.

  Apart from those lights, the animals’ enclosures were also well lit and she could see the cow-hippos moving about lazily. Some were laying on the ground and looked like they were sleeping.

  Glancing at the watch on her hand, Lauren grimaced.

  It was still a habit she had, checking that watch, but the time was still frozen at six.

  Funny. The last time she remembered looking at it while on Earth was right before she’d been taken and it had said six o’clock.

  That brought back a memory she’d rather forget. Looking at her watch while she’d returned from the mall was the last thing she remembered doing before she woke up on the alien ship.

  It wasn’t something she liked thinking about.

  As she let her shoulders fall in a sigh, a deep boom that seemed to shake the very room echoed outside her door.

  Spinning around, wide-eyed, she almost jumped out of her skin. She expected to see a monster standing there but the door was still closed.

  Had she imagined it?

  She didn’t really know.

  Spending a year all alone was like living in solitary confinement. Her imagination had run wild a few times.

  She could be imagining she heard something; she wasn’t really sure.

  It’d sounded like a deep bass drum and Lauren blinked now as she stared at the door.

  She was just about to settle herself, thinking she’d imagined the sound when it came again.

  And this time, it was louder.

  It vibrated the air in the room and against her skin, almost like when standing too close to speakers at a rave.

  Scrambling backward, she tried to put some distance between her and the door and to her horror, whatever it was began scratching at the door, trying to get in.

  Shit.

  Glancing around her, there was nothing in the room she could use as a weapon.

  The thing was scratching frantically now, its claws digging at the door and Lauren gulped.

  As another boom sounded in the air, her gaze fell on the chest on the floor.

  Trying to keep her trembling bones upright, she put her weight behind the chest and pushed it toward the door.

  It was heavy and it was the only thing that could buy her some time. Maybe it would barricade the door and keep the thing out. If whatever beast lay outside managed to enter, she could at least hope it would trip over the chest, fall flat on its face, and buy her some time.

  As if the thing could smell her now that she was closer to the door, another loud boom erupted before renewed scratching.

  Shit.

  Shit shit shit.

  Hands fisted in her hair, Lauren paced.

  She had nothing, NOTHING, to use to defend herself.

  She was about to go into full panic mode when she heard a low mumble.

  That didn’t sound like the monster.

  It didn’t sound like the monster at all.

  It sounded like Riv.

  He was speaking to the monster and soon she heard footsteps padding away.

  Had it gone?

  She could only assume it was one of his pets. It didn’t sound like he was fighting for his life out there so that meant the beast and him must be on good terms.

  Lauren moved closer to the door.

  Of course, he’d be friends with a beast. Why didn’t she preconceive that?

  That’s something she’d have laughed about if she had any friends to laugh with.

  And, if you laughed to yourself, people—even aliens—tended to think you’re crazy.

  She was so alone.

  Resting her ear against the door, she tried to pick up any sounds.

  There were none but, for a reason she couldn’t determine, she remained plastered against the door.

  Call her strange, but it didn’t feel like she was alone when she did that.

  Riv leaned against the door to the room he’d left the female in.

  He hadn’t seen her since earlier that evening when she’d been watching him through the window, and for some reason, he was interested to know what she’d been doing all that time.

  From the looks of it, she hadn’t exited the room to search his house, which he appreciated.

  It meant she probably hadn’t left the room at all.

  He believed his theory to be true because his tevsi, Grot, had caught her scent as soon as he’d entered the dwelling. The tevsi had bounded straight to her room, which meant that’s where her scent was the strongest.

  He’d found Grot trying to claw his way inside and had to send him to bed.

  Leaning against the door now, Riv placed an ear against it and listened.

  He couldn’t hear a thing.

  There was no way she was sleeping after the racket Grot had made. But if she was, that made his dark-cycle easier. It meant not seeing her till the next light-cycle.

  Pleased with that, he was about to walk away when something terrible happened.

  He didn’t know if he pressed the panel that opened the door by accident or if she’d opened it on her end, but the next thing he knew was that the door slid open and the human was standing right there.

  Not only was she standing there but she must have lost her balance or something because she was suddenly falling against him.

  As she made contact with his chest, a soft exclamation left her lips.

  His arms went around her immediately, out of pure instinct to stop her from falling, and the shock of it made his eyes widen to meet hers.

  She was cradled against him, her soft figure pressed against his hard one, as they both froze, staring at each other.

  She recovered first, regaining her balance and righting herself and with that movement, he pulled his arms away from her.

  She was saying something, which he assumed was an apology of some kind judging from her tone, but it sounded far, far away in the background. Even if he could understand her words, he wasn’t listening…couldn’t listen.

  That one touch…

  The feel of someone against him…

  Swallowing hard, he blinked a few times to focus.

  She finished speaking, her brown eyes hitting him with deep consternation, and he wasn’t sure what he should do.

  So he did nothing.

  With a grunt, he jerked his head at her in greeting and a farewell, turned, and walked back down the corridor to his room.

  10

  Maybe she had a knack for getting into trouble or maybe someone had put a hex on her while she was on Earth, but she couldn’t have made up the events of her life even if she’d tried.

  If she ever did make it back to California, she’d write a book.

  A memoir.

  Lauren the Not so Lucky.

  It’d sell heaps.

  Staring upward at nothing in particular, she wrung her hands as she lay flat on her back.

  It was morning and she’d spent much of the night before thinking about the fact she’d made a fool of herself in front of Riv.

  She’d been leaning against the door for much longer than she’d care to admit when he’d opened it and she’d lost her balance and fallen directly against him…

  Ugh.

  She’d said sorry, explaining that she was just clumsy, falling over her own two feet but he’d only looked at her strangely and walked away.

  Nothing said.

  Huffing out a breath, she folded her lips and pulled out one of the meal bars from her pocket.

  The thing was as hard as a rock and she was pretty sure it was made for an animal that constantly grew teeth that needed t
o be filed down—like a guinea pig or something.

  Maybe that’s what the zookeeper had seen her as.

  A little rodent that needed meal bars.

  God, she didn’t miss that place. Just thinking about the terrarium made the hairs on her skin bristle.

  It hadn’t been a living space. It had been a cell.

  One that she’d convinced herself was home. One she’d told herself wasn’t so bad because things could have been far worse.

  Judging from how some of the visitors had looked at her, some even miming in front of her just what they’d like to do with her, she’d reckoned that living on the outside of that transparent barrier had to be worse than being enclosed behind it.

  And now she was out.

  It was so strange waking up in a different place.

  Back at the zoo, as soon as she’d wake up her eyes would move to the transparent barrier that sealed her in. Ninety percent of the time, there’d be someone there looking back at her.

  Today when she’d awakened, her gaze had moved automatically, expecting to see the view outside the terrarium. Except, all she saw was a wall.

  For a few seconds, her brain didn’t compute what she was seeing. It took a few moments for the events of the day before to return to her and with that came the memory of her falling out of the room and unto her host.

  Grinding the meal bar against her teeth till her saliva softened it enough to bite off a small piece, Lauren moved toward the window and looked outside.

  The sky was a reddish pink that took her breath away. It was a beauty to look at.

  Back at the zoo, she hadn’t been able to see the sky.

  All she’d had were the artificial ultraviolet lights, which she’d found out were ultraviolet because the zookeeper had so kindly pointed that out to her on several occasions, as if he’d been doing her a massive favor.

  The cow-hippos were moving about lazily and, far in the field, she could see the robots working tirelessly.

  Chewing the meal bar, she swallowed hard. It was so dry it was always difficult to get down and she didn’t have any water to help her.

  Turning to look at the door, she gnawed on the bar some more.

  She hadn’t heard Riv move about but she was sure he wasn’t still asleep.