Conquered by the Alien: A Scifi Alien Romance (Fated Mates of the Titan Empire Book 4)

by Tammy Walsh

  I panted, struggling for breath after my outburst.

  “So, are you interested or not?” he said.

  I blinked.

  Seriously, what was wrong with this guy?

  “Why don’t you ask for one of the other girls to do it?” I said. “I’m sure they’d be more than happy to.”

  “Because they’re species my mom does business with. She can use her connections to learn about any one of them. She’ll know the truth. That this whole thing is a ploy.”

  “Oh, so you decided to resort to the backwater trash a.k.a. me.”

  “Right,” Dyrel said, grinning and leaning back in his chair. “That’s exactly it.”

  He seemed to have no grasp of the insult he’d just slapped me with. Even worse, he seemed genuinely pleased with himself.

  I gritted my teeth and bit down on my anger.

  “So, your mom can’t run an investigation into me because she doesn’t know any humans,” I said.

  “That’s right,” he said.

  I bolted to my feet.

  “This. Is. Horseshit!” I said. “I’m not leaving here with you. You’re a damn psycho! I’m staying right here and I’m going to work and save up and get out of here! I thought you people were supposed to be advanced and civilized?”

  I gave him the finger.

  “And this is how we say, ‘No thanks,’ in an impolite way!” I said.

  I marched toward the door, stamping my feet the entire way. I couldn’t believe the balls on this guy. Who did he think he was, thinking he could pass me off as some kind of poor girl in need of his help? Well, fuck him! Fuck him and his entire species!

  Fuck them all!

  I was a slave to no man—or alien!

  I reached for the door.

  “I could arrange for you to be taken back to your home planet,” Dyrel said quietly.

  My arm froze, unable to move another inch toward that gleaming metal handle.

  Home.

  “When?” I said, my voice little more than a croak.

  “Once we convince my mom we’re in love and we’re going to get married,” he said.

  The handle was right there. Right in front of me. All I had to do was reach out and take it.

  But I couldn’t.

  I had to work for over two years in this place to return home. With Dyrel, it would only take me a month to get the same result. Even if it did take more effort, what was the harm in trying?

  I turned back to him.

  He stood there with a cautiously optimistic smile on his face.

  “Are you interested?” he said.

  “Some ground rules before we consider this bullshit crazy plan of yours,” I said. “First, it’s for one month. That’s it. I’ll try my best but if we fail, we fail. You will honor your end of the bargain and send me home. In first class.”

  “Fine,” he said. “So long as you try your hardest.”

  “Buddy, you don’t know what hard is until you see how I roll! Second, there will be no hanky panky while we engage in this little deal of ours. Understood?”

  His eyes passed over me. I noticed a glint of humor in them.

  “Fine,” he said. “No… hanky panky. But there might be a need for us to hug, kiss, or do some other activity to convince my mom we’re really in love.”

  I ran the situation through my mind. If Titan relationships were anything like human ones, then a little touching would be involved.

  “Fine,” I said. “But only what is strictly necessary. By the way, Titans don’t do any strange sex in public events, do they?”

  “No. Why? Do humans?”

  “No. And I’m not about to start now, buster,” I said, jabbing him in the chest with my finger.

  I was surprised when there was no softness there but hard, solid muscle.

  “Not for nobody’s mom,” I said. “Capiche?”

  “Capiche?”

  “Understand?”

  “Yes. But what does capiche mean?”

  “It means understand.”

  “Oh. Yes. I capiche.”

  I narrowed my eyes. Was he deliberately trying to annoy me?

  Silence heightened the space between us and made it hum with energy. I didn’t think I was the only one who felt it. It crushed me like a submarine hitting new depths, drawing his lips closer and closer.

  Boy, I wanted to claim those things right now…

  Control yourself, wench!

  I extended my hand.

  He just stared at it.

  “Take it,” I said.

  He did, but awkwardly, like a germophobe.

  I rolled my eyes and shook his hand.

  “This is how we say we agree to a deal on Earth,” I said.

  Dyrel clenched his fist and brought it to his chest.

  “And this is how we say it among my people,” he said.

  I mimicked the gesture.

  We’d made a deal.

  I only hoped it wasn’t a deal with the devil.

  “I am not wearing that thing,” I said.

  Okhet turned the cloak to one side so she could peer closer at it.

  “What’s wrong with it?” she said.

  “I’ll look like a character in the Handmaid’s Tale!” I said. “That’s the problem with it!”

  I recoiled the moment Okhet held it up for me to slip on. I already felt icky with having been literally sold and handed over to Dyrel.

  “But it’s traditional,” Okhet said.

  I sighed.

  “Fine,” I said. “I’ll put it on. For you.”

  I slipped my arms into it. It was heavy and warm. It wasn’t so bad. I embraced Okhet.

  “Thanks for being kind to me,” I said. “You were the only one that was.”

  Okhet shrugged and smiled.

  “It’s nothing,” she said.

  “No, it was,” I said. “Really. I would have done something really dumb if it wasn’t for your warnings.”

  Okhet gave me a wink.

  “Have fun out there with your fancy new Titan boyfriend,” she said.

  “Woah,” I said. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “Lover, then.”

  “Woah! He’s not my lover either.”

  Okhet leaned in close.

  “Yet,” she said.

  I grumbled under my breath. I couldn’t wait to get away from this place.

  “You’re all nuts, you know that?” I said.

  “I know,” Okhet said. “But no one else will have us.”

  I chuckled and leaned in close.

  “Yet,” I said.

  I felt a little sad at the idea of never seeing Okhet again. She reminded me of the warm comforting feeling I shared with my bffs back home.

  Who knew where they were right now? I might never see them again. They were probably a million miles away (literally! And that was a conservative estimate!) or they could be in the next building and I would never know it.

  Okhet stepped through the doorway first and waited for me to join her. We walked down the gaudy hallway.

  The other girls glared at me, shooting me vindictive looks. I guess they had good reason to. After all, I wasn’t one of them and I’d stolen their most prized client!

  Suck it, assholes!

  I embraced Okhet again at the door that led to the company’s entrance. None of the girls could go any further than this.

  Except me.

  Because I now had a master.

  I cringed.

  I held Okhet’s shoulders and spoke loudly so everyone could hear.

  “I vow to find you the best Titan match ever,” I said.

  “What are you doing?” Okhet hissed, casting furtive looks at the others.

  I lowered my voice.

  “Just play along,” I said. Then, louder: “I swear, I will find you the best match. Maybe even the emperor himself! My future husband is heir to a rich and powerful business. He knows the emperor personally. I will put in a good word for you.”

  T
he other females gasped and whispered among themselves.

  Okhet chuckled and struggled to keep the smile off her face.

  My words had the effect I wanted. The other girls were put out by the fact I hadn’t offered to help them the same way.

  Serves you right for being assholes!

  Of course, I didn’t know anything about Dyrel’s business or his social circle. It didn’t matter. The girls thought I knew what I was talking about and that was what mattered.

  “You might need to lower your expectations a little,” I whispered to Okhet. “I’m not sure I can swing the emperor for you but I’ll try my best.”

  She waved as I backed into the door and immediately ran into Dyrel, Shrisa, and another Titan I hadn’t seen before.

  “The emperor?” Dyrel said with an arched eyebrow. “You can be put to death for speaking badly of the emperor, you know.”

  He heard what I said.

  He heard the whole damn thing.

  “I… did not know that,” I said. “And I’ll bear it in mind for future reference. And it’s not like I was speaking badly of him. I was saying he’s a great catch. That’s got to be nice to hear from anyone, right?”

  Shrisa had a big smile on her face, so I guessed she must have made a lot of profit on me.

  At least someone was happy about this whole situation.

  “Shall we?” Dyrel said, extending his elbow to me.

  I took it. He led me out of the waiting room and away from that company for what I hoped would be the rest of my natural life.

  Dyrel

  It was more difficult to get her to join me than I expected. Many of the other girls were falling over themselves to be with me. I wondered why I never liked to make things easy for myself, why I always took the harder trail.

  Why couldn’t I have chosen one of them?

  Because they were all there for the same reason.

  To find love.

  I might be many things but I wasn’t a heartbreaker.

  At least, not on purpose.

  When I suggested the concept of her pretending to me by fiancée, she wasn’t put out. The other girls would have been taken aback and refused to accept the mission.

  Vicky was not like the others.

  The moment she stormed off toward the door, I made my offer to send her home once the mission was achieved.

  It got her attention.

  And I knew she was the right girl for me.

  I dropped Zyod off on the way to my apartment building. The shuttlecraft felt very quiet after that with just the two of us.

  She had her cloak turned up so I couldn’t see her face as we sailed across the city. She peered out the window at the scenery. I wasn’t entirely sure what I should say.

  She was a stranger here. She didn’t know anyone and I was her only way of returning home. I supposed the gentlemanly thing to do was assure her she hadn’t made a terrible mistake.

  “You can go anywhere you like in my apartment,” I said.

  I waited for a response but none came.

  “There’s a park nearby and you can exercise or go shopping or do whatever you like,” I said, making another attempt to reach out to her.

  It was no use. She wasn’t listening. Or maybe she was but she was ignoring me.

  “How much further until we’re inside?” she said.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “About twenty minutes. Why?”

  “Because I’m not the biggest fan of flying.”

  I leaned forward and peered around the edge of her hood and noticed her eyes were shut. They were clenched together so tight lines formed on her forehead and cheeks.

  She hadn’t pulled the hood up to hide from me. She’d done it because she was afraid of flying!

  It was a relief.

  “I’ll let you know when we arrive,” I said.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  There was no way for me to hurry faster with our single speed inner-city traffic—not unless I initiated the illegal chip I’d had installed.

  I was only supposed to use it in emergencies. I considered pressing it but decided an extra ten minutes at this speed wasn’t going to kill her.

  I signaled and turned off the road and pulled inside the private parking area of my apartment building.

  “We arrived,” I said.

  She slowly opened her eyes and her entire body relaxed.

  “Thank God for that,” she said. “Now how do I get out of this thing? There are no door handles.”

  I pressed the button and the door drifted upwards. She had a short temper for someone so beautiful.

  I led her to the hyper elevator and we stepped on.

  “Penthouse,” I said.

  If she was impressed with me having the best apartment in the building, she made no sign of it. Maybe all humans lived in penthouses, I thought.

  Thinking about it, what did humans even eat? Did they eat meat? Did they eat Titans?

  I glanced at her out the corner of my eye but couldn’t make out any more of her face than the tip of her nose.

  Damn that hood!

  We continued in silence as the elevator brought us to my floor. My apartment occupied the entire level, so there was only one door. I pressed my thumb to the security panel and it swung open.

  “Welcome home, Dyrel,” Computer said as it booted up the welcome system.

  The lights came on and gentle music played over the speakers.

  Vicky took a moment to peer at the apartment. Even she couldn’t hide her surprise. It was a great place to live, with tall glass windows along each wall, affording us an unparalleled view of the entire city.

  And soon, I might no longer have it.

  Not without Vicky’s help.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” I said. “Something to eat?”

  “Water, please,” Vicky said.

  “Let me take that for you.”

  I helped her with her cloak. An arm extended from the wall as the cloakroom door slid open. I placed the cloak on the arm and it drifted back inside the wall. It would clean, fold, and press it.

  Vicky rubbed her hands together nervously and followed me into the kitchen. Her eyes took in every detail.

  I liked watching her, the way she looked at things. For her, everything in this world was new. Everything was the first time. I wondered if kitchens were very different on her homeworld.

  “What’s it like being rich?” Vicky said. “I’ve always wondered.”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “It’s the way I grew up. I suppose you get used to however you’re born. What was it like growing up on Earth?”

  “I guess it’s the same.”

  She turned to waltz around the island to meet me at the small dining table. I glanced at her ass and the line of her body beneath the clothes that didn’t look like they were made for her.

  She should remove them.

  She should remove them right now.

  She glanced up at me and I hastily tore my eyes from her body.

  “We need to get you some new clothes,” I said.

  “I don’t have any money,” she said.

  “I know. I’ll buy them for you.”

  “I get free clothes too? You didn’t mention the perks of this situation.”

  I handed her a glass of wine. We sat on adjacent seats.

  We were close.

  She didn’t shuffle back, so I took it as a sign we were cool.

  Maybe, if I was very lucky, she might ease up a little on her “no sex” rule.

  No. What was the word she used for it?

  Hanky panky.

  I chuckled. It was a funny way to describe something so serious. But maybe sex was something funny on her planet. I could convince her it was a serious business if she gave me a chance.

  And boy, did I want that chance.

  It wasn’t only because she was from a distant planet far out of the purview of my mother that I chose her.

  My eyes had been attracted to her th
e moment I saw her empty that garbage can.

  It wasn’t the activity that set my senses to tingling. It was the way she was doing it.

  A sexy person could do anything and they would turn you on. They could be emptying the guttering at a country residence and you’d suddenly feel the undeniable need to carry them down off the ladder and take them to bed.

  Or they could be doing the laundry, struggling with getting the load out the way they always did, then they would turn their head at that particular angle that reminded you of why you married them in the first place, why you needed to be with them for the rest of your life.

  I had no idea where this relationship would head—if it would even end up anywhere—but I knew right then, if I was going to fake being in love with anyone, it was going to be with her.

  “Have you lived here long?” she asked.

  I snapped out of my daydream.

  “Hm?” I said.

  “In this apartment. Have you lived here long?”

  “About five or six years.”

  “It seems empty.”

  “That’s the way I like it. Makes it easier to keep tidy.”

  “And do you keep it tidy?”

  “Most of the time.”

  She nodded but gave nothing away. It was like she was playing a game of quirlatch (a similar game to poker) while I was playing shnorg (a similar game to checkers).

  The wine hit my system. It was like tossing a rock into a pond and watching the ripples roll out from the center, affecting every part of the pond’s surface, except it was your senses the alcohol affected.

  Vicky’s cheeks turned red and I could see it was having the same effect on her too.

  “What will this little plan of yours entail me having to do exactly?” Vicky said.

  “Take a few classes and lessons, learn how Titan traditional culture works,” I said. “And we’ll have to come up with a cover story for how we met.”

  “We can’t say we met in Star Cross’d Lovers?” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “It’ll need to be something romantic but realistic. Something that will never make Mom doubt it’s true.”

  “Sounds like it’s going to be difficult.”

  “It won’t be easy.”

  But you know what would be easy?

  A kiss.

  I looked at her lips.

  They took up my entire vision.

  Surely a kiss wouldn’t hurt?