Ash: Love Me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance

by Simpson, Serena

  Ash closed his eyes and allowed a smile to steal over his face. His brothers and his sisters would come ready to go to war if he called them. They protected each other; to them that was what family was about. They had come so far from the sterile mechanical wombs from which they were born. They started out as nothing but a jug of mixed up DNA the scientists threw together to see if it would form a viable life form. They had no idea what they were getting when they created them

  “If we need you, I will call.” Brooklyn was now a part of the Dare family, she just didn’t know it yet.

  “Stay in touch.” His brother broke off contact.

  Ash didn’t move he laid on the bed counting slowly to ten. He was on seven when Amber called.

  “Is he treating you right?” Ash’s growl rolled through as a greeting to his daughter.

  “Dad,” she was laughing, “you ask me that every time I call you.”

  “I want to make sure that boy is treating you nicely.”

  “That boy,” Amber snickered, “treats me like a queen.”

  Ash grunted. “It’s a good thing, because if he didn’t…”

  “Dad!”

  Ash could see her sitting there with that smile on her face that told him she was up to something and he better be careful.

  “Is it true, dad? Did you finally find her?”

  “I finally found her and the timing is perfect. You’re all grown up with a mate to watch over you or is it the other way around? You’re also gone and haven’t given me any grandchildren.

  Ash teased her although they both knew there wouldn’t be any more children born until he fathered a child or was no longer breathing. He had raised the subject before thinking aloud that maybe Aran should take care of him. Aran had taken him up on his offer. But he called it beating sense into his baby brother. After the fourth time, Ash learned how not to think aloud.

  “Will you show me what she looks like?”

  Ash sent Amber several mental pictures of Brooklyn.

  “She’s beautiful, Dad.”

  “She is, but she is even more beautiful on the inside.” He told his daughter how they met for the second time and told her about someone trying to kill Brooklyn. “Amber, be careful. I don’t know how long this person’s arms are or where he will reach. Warn that boy to take care of you.”

  “His names Alexei, Dad and I will tell him.” She laughed because she knew her dad loved to tease her about her mate. “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you, Amber. Don’t worry daughter, Brook will not steal my love for you. My heart is big enough, I can love you both.”

  “I know, Dad. I will be getting in touch with you in a couple of days.” She disconnected.

  Ash lay on the bed rubbing the hole in his chest. He missed his family, he missed his daughter. He wanted to take Brook and leave. They could wander around space as one big happy family unit. It wasn’t time for that yet. There was an assassin to find and whoever was pulling his strings. Once they were dead, then he would talk to her about joining his family.

  Brook came out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around the top of her generous chest leaving just enough undone to mesmerize him. He loved the swell of her chest as it was pushed a little up and out by the towel.

  “I’m willing to help you dry off.” He offered his help with a look of anything I can do let me know.

  She simply grinned at him. “I thought it might be better if I came out here so you could take a shower and not be waiting on me.”

  “Thank you.” He got off the bed; it was too much temptation as she stood in front of him in nothing but a towel.

  She trusted him; the words sang through his brain. He spent enough years with Amber in the house to have picked up a few things. Earth women didn’t just walk around with a towel on in front of anyone.

  “Come with me. Please.” He added it as an afterthought, remembering his sisters didn’t like to be ordered around.

  They walked into the hall way and he moved to the room next to his He opened it to reveal a woman’s space.

  “This is Amber’s room. She said if you found anything in here you could use feel free to help yourself.”

  He backed out and went to jump into the shower. He finally had a mate. A chance to have what his brothers had. A chance to have what he spent years longing for. He sniffed as he got into the shower. Joy burst through him again. His mate was more than attracted to him, she had taken care of her pleasures while in the shower. He stroked his finger over his large protruding cock and sucked a breath in as it jerked.

  He thought of her soft hand holding him and let out a rough sound. Squeezing a dollop of soap in his hand, he wrapped it around his cock and stroked until his breathing became ragged. He could see her standing before him going down on her knees and taking him into her mouth. He shot his wad, growling her name.

  Chapter Seven

  The hover car ride was silent. They were rising through the different habitable levels in the atmosphere.

  “They say that the poorest people live on the ground. That is not true as you saw my house. There are many others who choose to stay with their feet planted firmly on the ground who are very wealthy. The level we are on is unofficially known as the poor level, officially it’s called Prauville, Pa. It was named after the mayor who set it up. It was the first level the more influential moved to when it was finally decided it made more sense to live in the air than on the ground. As more people clamored to live in the air, the influential ones moved up to higher levels, spending more money to make sure the construction of each level was steady, but also increasing the economy.”

  He drove around allowing her to see what each level boasted. He stopped and allowed her to get a good look at the Skyline. It was grander than any hotel she remembered visiting.

  The levels were far enough apart that when she looked up all she could see was more sky. There were even clouds between some of them. It was like living on the ground in some ways because she could see the sun shining through. If she didn’t know she was in the air, she would have assumed she was on the ground. The houses looked more futuristic. They seemed to be all windows that had the power to darken or lighten depending on what the owner wanted. The shape and design of them were at odd angles.

  Ash told her that the windows were made so that breaking into them was a thing of the past and it helped to keep crime low in the domes.

  The houses and even the industrial areas fell by the wayside as they climbed higher.

  “Who lives up here?”

  “Dante and his brothers.”

  “Is that it?”

  “Yes, their restaurant is up here. It’s invitation only. It’s the only way to get this far up, without an invitation you will drive in circles but never reach this level.”

  The restaurant came into view. It was beautiful; the walls seemed to glow with soft welcoming colors. There was a grand floor to ceiling window that allowed her to look in and be amazed by the diamond chandeliers that sparkled and gleamed with brightness. Just this small glimpse outdid anything she remembered from old Earth. Glancing down again she grimaced, this place deserved more of a compliment than her in the clothes she had worn all day long.

  “Do you want to turn around?”

  “Are you sure I look presentable?”

  “You’re absolutely gorgeous. Dante and his brothers will be excited to see you.”

  “I want to go in.” So what if she didn’t live up to her father’s standards, he died and left her alone in a new world. She was free to do, be, and act anyway that appealed to her as long as she didn’t embarrass Ash. That she wouldn’t do.

  Her heart beat a little fast as she stood beside Ash. Was it only a day and yet he made her emotions sing? No, it was more than a day, it was three hundred years of dreams and desires until the real male was finally standing before her. The dreams she had didn’t compare to him, her fantasy nothing but an illusion when compared with the reality of him.

  She took hi
s hand when he helped her out and moved with him towards the door. They walked into a warmth that greeted her, wrapping around her like a long lost friend. She looked at Ash out the corner of her eyes to see if he noticed it. There was no change; he was probably used to it by now.

  A tall man with dark hair and a unique looking scar on his cheek met them at the door. He was dressed in a casual pair of pants and a dress shirt open at the top. His body was heavily muscled.

  “Brooklyn, I have waited a long time for the honor of meeting you.” He gave her a half bow.

  She raised a brow never letting her face betray the surprised that this male she never met knew exactly who she was.

  “Brook, this Dante, he is the first born of the brothers and the restaurant is named after him.”

  “Dante, you seem to already know who Brook is.”

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Dante. Your restaurant is impeccable.” She gave a small sigh of relief she didn’t feel as nearly underdressed as she imagined. She looked up and Dante gave her a wink.

  “Thank you. Follow me and I will seat you.”

  He seated them at a table for two, it was intimate but large enough for them to have enough room for several plates if they wished.

  Her shoulders wanted to relax like it was the most natural thing in the world but she knew the importance of maintaining a flawless façade in front of strangers. This stranger even more so since his familiarity with her niggled at the back of her mind making her wonder if she ever met him before.

  “It seems we are the first customers of the night.” She smiled up at him feeling safe without knowing why.

  “You will be the only customers tonight.” He left her with a smile that spoke of mystery.

  “He’s different. Is he what you are?”

  “No, I am not sure what he is. The only person who may know is my oldest brother, Aran, and he’s not telling.”

  “Why does being the oldest seem to matter so much?” She sat with her back straight and her hands placed in her lap.

  “Anytime you want to you can relax. Maybe put your hand on the table so I can touch it.” Ash slipped off his shoe and placed his foot against her leg inching his toes up her pant leg. He needed to touch her, his beast didn’t feel steady when it wasn’t touching some part of her body.

  Eyes rounded in surprise but the smile on her face said she liked what he was doing.

  “Each group of Created have a family of six. We are created and incubated in order. Aran is the first of us. He was programmed in the womb to be the Leader. The next was Sergey, he was programmed to be the second–Aran’s back up in case anything happened to Aran. After him was Niko, he was programmed on military security as well as numbers. Then came Nicholas, he was programmed to be the physician in case any of us needed him. Then there was Hale, he was programmed to be the tech genius and lastly there was me.”

  “What were you programmed to do?” She took one of her hands from her lap and casually laid it on the table.

  Without a word he captured her hand in his, rubbing a thumb across the back of it in a gentling gesture.

  “I am the jack of all trades. I have the ability to pick things up fast. The correct term is I am a sphere, a replacement part in case one of the other parts is too damaged to repair.”

  “Did you feel like an outsider?”

  “Yes and no. While we were on the planet we were created to protect, I felt like an outsider. The scientist reveled in making sure I knew I had no real function. They tried to get Aran to point that out to me, but he chose to ignore them.”

  A small smile hovered on his lips as he remembered Aran tuning out as they tried to explain Ash’s role in their brotherhood.

  “I went to Aran once before we came to Earth and told him I understood I was replaceable and volunteered to do the things that were life threatening instead of another brother who was needed.” Ash shook his head. “Wrong move. Aran went all beast on me. Beat me until I was ready to listen. Then he told me and each of my brothers that no one was replaceable, which meant no one had better die. If we did, he would charge the gates of where we were to get us back and none of us would appreciate being back after Aran got through with him.

  “I was scared to die after that. Then he pulled me aside and this is what he said. ‘You are what I say you are and not the scientists. They are simply the idiots who created us. One day we will leave this planet and I need you. Our brotherhood needs you.’ Then he walked away. When we came to Earth, he coddled me at first. I think he was scared he would lose me. But I am the jack. I learned to be the glue in the end that helped to hold us together. Aran and my other brothers never let me feel like an outsider but I still know what it feels like when those in charge don’t treat you right.”

  She nodded her head. Another male came to take their drink orders and hand them menus. He stood tall with black hair and beautiful green eyes. It made an eerie combination that reached out to try and grab her.

  “Hi, I’m Julian. Nice to meet you, Brooklyn.”

  “Does everyone know my name?”

  “We do. What can I get you to drink?”

  Soda had fallen out of favor centuries ago according to Jaz. They now drank these incredible spritzers that caused her tummy to feel all giggly without the harsh benefits of drunkenness or hangovers the next morning.

  She ordered her favorite spritzer. Jaz told her it was alien in origin but since humans won the war, she decided she could drink it without guilt.

  Julian took their order and left.

  “Where does he fall in his group order?”

  “He’s third.”

  “What does that make him?”

  “I don’t know. Dante and all his brothers are more on the secretive side. As far as I know, no one is sure what they were programmed to do. There was even a rumor once among the Created that as the first they were too powerful to be programmed.”

  “Dante was the first ever Created to not only survive but thrive. All we know for sure is that the scientists were scared of him. We never knew why.”

  Julian walked back with Spritzers and collected the menus. “Dante has decided you won’t need these.”

  “He just took the menus.”

  Ash rubbed her instep with his foot. Brook kicked off her shoe some time ago loving the feeling of him touching her.

  “Dante gets in these moods where he decides he knows what you want more than you know. Truth is I have never seen him miscalculate before.”

  “Well then, dinner should be great. What have you done since the war ended?”

  “I spent a lot of time helping to purify the ground water. There was very little clean water. Even though we won the war, it looked like humans would end up killing themselves fighting over a necessary source of life. We, my brothers and I, were able to sponsor scientists who were working on cleaning the water not for the rich but for everyone. Now it is one less thing for the people of Earth to come to grips with. There are still areas of the world that remain closed off, considered biohazard zones. The area we met was just opened, I hadn’t even known until that day.”

  Ash just sat looking at her still unable to believe she was really there.

  “Tell me something about you, Brook.”

  “I wanted to be the perfect daughter, while on the inside I was rebelling. I couldn’t help it. I thought it was unfair that others got to live and love while I had to play a part every day. What’s worse, I felt so bad about it. I was a princess; I should have been on top of the world. I had everything and I told myself that every day.

  The truth was I would have been willing to trade it all for a chance at happiness. I used to dream of going to college. It almost happened for me. I talked to my dad about it every day from the time I was nine, then when I was fifteen I woke up and my legs were weak. I was taken to the hospital, a year later I was diagnosed with a rare medical condition. I would get worse not better until I died.

  That’s when I lost my chance. My father, who was al
ways strict but still loving, took complete control of my life. I learned to evade my bodyguards if I wanted to be alone. I taught myself to live vicariously through others. I watched strangers—I couldn’t see them well, but voices tell a lot. I believed they had the one thing I craved—love.”

  She dropped her head. Memory after memory swarmed her and the soft tears she had denied herself for months finally fell. Ash moved his chair around to her and pulled her into his lap. She buried her face in his shirt and cried for every possibility she lost when her parents took her final decision away from her. Then she cried for the parents she lost. She would never say goodbye to them and somehow that felt like the ultimate betrayal.

  Chapter Eight

  Brook sat back in her seat looking composed when Dante brought out plates of steaming food.

  “I decided to make your favorite, Brook.” On her plate was a thick hamburger and french fries.

  “How did you know?”

  He smiled at her and gave Ash his food.

  Ash watched him walk away. “I’m going to feel like a fool for saying this, but I swear Dante knows everything. He just doesn’t talk about it. Why are hamburgers and french fries your favorite food?”

  “When I was growing up, my father didn’t allow me to have common food. I ate like the grownups whether I liked it or not. I remember the first time I went away with my mom. It was just the two of us, I was so excited. When we got where we were going, somewhere in Virginia, there were more grownup things to do. One day she woke me up, dressed me in jeans, huge glasses and a hat. We snuck out of the hotel and she took me to a movie and after she took me to this restaurant with harsh lights and lots of laughter. She ordered me a hamburger and fries, encouraged me to try and said I would like it. Ever since then, when I ate that burger and watched my mom smile at me like I was the most important person in her life, it’s been my favorite food.”