Maid For An Alien Prince: A SciFi Alien Romance (Intergalactic Exchange Program Book 1)

by Roxie Ray

  “I remember a scent,” Brittany said. “I didn’t even think of it yesterday, but now that I’m trying to remember anything I might have overlooked I can clearly recall that the man had a distinct scent.”

  I frowned. That was an unusual detail, but at this point I was willing to go with any clues we could come up with. “Can you describe it for me?”

  Brittany wrinkled her nose. “It was pretty foul, and I can’t place it, but it was strong. Kind of like methane.” Not exactly a lot to go on, but it was better than nothing. The fact that it was so distinctive gave me hope that we would find whoever it was that tried to harm her.

  “Do you recognize what it could be?” she asked us. I frowned and shook my head, but Dordus grinned.

  “Sounds like ass to me,” he remarked with a chortle. “Maybe we can identify the attacker from the smell of his own fart?”

  Brittany glared at Dordus, obviously annoyed at him making light of the situation. Dordus started to laugh, and I cracked a smile—until I noticed Brittany turning her glare on me. I tried to cover the laugh with a cough and gave Dordus a look as I said, “Shut up, asshole.”

  I wasn’t sure if Brittany didn’t like male humor or if maybe it just wasn’t funny on her planet, but either way she wasn’t amused. Dordus was usually pretty good at easing the tension in a stressful moment, but this attempt failed miserably.

  Rising from where I was seated, I crossed the room then sat beside her, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her close, hoping to comfort her.

  “I’m going to find who did this, Brittany. I swear to you. Whoever tried to hurt you is going to pay.”

  I was vaguely aware of Kain and Dordus leaving the room, and I tilted Brittany’s face up so I could look into her eyes. I wanted her to know how serious I was. That I was willing to do whatever it took to ensure her safety. The last thing I wanted was for her to live in fear.

  She nodded, and I pressed my lips to hers, showing her just how much she meant to me. She kissed me back, leaning into me, and I deepened the kiss, feeling the pulse of our bond. It seemed that every day that passed, it felt stronger than the day before. Just like my feelings for her.

  “Come on, let’s go home so you can relax.”

  When we got back to my house, I went to run a bath in my bathroom while she changed out of her clothes. Just as I was adding some scented oils, she appeared in the doorway in a silky robe.

  I paused, my heart squeezing as I took her in. Her long, dark hair flowed down her back, and even though she’d been through hell, she looked just as beautiful as ever.

  I stood and went to her, taking her hands and kissing each of them in turn then led her to the bath.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “I thought you might enjoy a little pampering,” I said with a smile.

  “That actually sounds amazing.”

  Turning her around, I untied her robe and pushed it gently off her shoulders, pleased to see that she was completely naked beneath it.

  Part of me wanted to fuck her right here on the bathroom floor. It was an urge that never quite went away. But I also wanted to pamper her, like I’d said, so I pushed the urge away and focused on her. I helped her into the large tub and then stripped down myself and stepped in, settling behind her.

  With as much gentleness as I could manage, I pushed her hair aside and ran my hands down her back.

  “Just relax,” I murmured.

  She drew in a deep breath and blew it out again, her tense shoulders dropping—a stark difference from how they’d been all day. Then I began to massage her shoulders, her back, her neck.

  She slowly began to unwind and eventually spoke. “Tell me more about yourself, Niall.”

  “What do you want to know?” I reached up and threaded my fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. The moan of pleasure that elicited had my cock springing to life, but this was about her right now.

  “Tell me about your childhood.”

  I obliged her, telling her stories about growing up in the palace with two younger brothers. The trouble we’d gotten into and how we’d driven our tutors and nannies mad with our antics.

  “Sounds like you were nothing but trouble,” she remarked, laughing. It was the first true laugh I’d heard since the incident, and it warmed my heart. I loved her laugh. Her smile. I loved making her truly happy, especially when she’d been so closed off in the beginning.

  Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her back against my chest, and she settled against me in the steaming water, perfectly relaxed and at ease now. I gently stroked her stomach with my thumb, treasuring this moment together. We’d come so far, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her now that I had her. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and I considered myself so very lucky the mating gene had been triggered between us.

  Leaning down, I kissed her neck, and she sighed, a smile of contentment on her face.

  Holding her even tighter, I spoke, my voice rough with emotion. “I promise to always keep a smile on your face, sweetheart.”

  And I meant every word of it. Brittany had come to mean more to me than I could have possibly imagined. I wanted to give her everything she wanted and make her happier than she’d ever been. I wanted to keep her here with me on Hollander, forever.

  We hadn’t talked about the future yet, though, and I could only hope she felt the same. For the moment, at least, she was here in my arms and we were perfectly happy. It was enough to simply hold her and be together—for now. So I lost myself in the feel of her and vowed to cherish every second with my mate.

  14

  Brittany

  Cleaning helped clear my mind. It had been two days since the attack, and for the first time I was alone, more or less. Niall had gone to work early this morning, kissing me softly and whispering that Kain and Dordus would be standing guard outside the house before he left. I hadn’t wanted him to go, but at the same time I hated feeling like I was dependent on anyone.

  I’d spent my entire adult life taking care of myself and not needing a man to do it for me. So it did rub a bit that now not only one alien male was protecting me, but two. I would have much preferred Niall to stay home all day, but I understood he had things to do.

  By early afternoon I felt like I’d cleaned everything twice. There truly was nothing left to do other than order the food for the meal I wanted to cook for Niall tonight. He’d seemed to love the first one, my favorite Earth recipe, and I wanted to see how he’d respond to more of my favorite dishes.

  The problem was, when I went to use Niall’s Holopad to order the items I needed, I couldn’t seem to figure it out. Merida had helped me that last time. I would have asked Dina, but it was her day off.

  I looked down at the Holopad again, frustrated. Being forced to stay in the house all day was starting to drive me crazy. I hated the idea that I couldn’t simply go to the market and buy what I needed, all because some unknown assailant wanted to do me harm. Well, fuck that. I wanted to do something nice for Niall, and no one was going to stop me.

  I went looking for Kain. He may not like me going out, but I wasn’t going to give him a choice. I needed to go to the market, and I was certain with him and Dordus with me, I would be fine. Anyway, who was to say the attacker was after me specifically? They could have been targeting any human.

  I headed outside and found Kain leaning against the wall near the door cleaning his nails with a knife. When he saw me, he merely arched an eyebrow and spun the knife around in his palm a couple times before sheathing it in the belt strapped around his waist that held half a dozen more that looked just like it. How many weapons was the man carrying? He had two swords strapped across his back and some wicked-looking guns that must have been made from some advanced tech in holsters at his hips. And those were just the ones I could see.

  I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the weapons—even though it made me feel safer knowing he had them.

  “I need to go to the marke
t.” I went with the approach of stating it as fact. I certainly didn’t like the idea of asking for permission.

  Kain slowly pushed off the wall and crossed his arms over his chest before exchanging a look with Dordus, who I hadn’t even noticed standing on the other side of the entry. How was it possible to miss such a hulking beast of a man?

  “Why?” Kain asked.

  I barely contained my sigh of frustration. Yes, someone had tried to hurt me. And yes, that was unnerving and still hard to believe, but I was a nobody here on Hollander, which further made me believe I wasn’t the intended target. Or maybe the attacker disliked all humans. Either way, I refused to be kept inside like some helpless damsel. That wasn’t who I was, and just because I happened to be an alien prince’s mate, I wasn’t going to start acting like one.

  “Because I need to get some things for dinner tonight.” I put my hands on my hips and glared up at him, daring him to argue with me.

  He shook his head and chuckled, muttering to himself something that sounded a lot like, what have you gotten yourself into with this one, Niall? But thankfully, he didn’t push the issue.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “Obviously.” I rolled my eyes for good measure.

  “Would you like me to come as well?” Dordus asked, giving me a hopeful look.

  I didn’t see why not, and started to say as much, but Kain broke in. “Actually, Dordus, I was thinking it might be time for you to head back to Raider. I’m not sure how long things are going to be…tense here on Hollander, and I need someone back home overseeing things for me.”

  “Of course,” Dordus said, all business now, no sign of the jokester I was starting to see him as. He turned to me, giving me a regretful look.

  “I do hope I didn’t offend you the other day with my inappropriate joke. You just remind me of my daughter back home, and humor is my go-to method of lightening the mood.”

  “You have a daughter?” I asked, curious now about this man. I’d seen him as a mindless buffoon type of man at first, kowtowing to Kain and making stupid jokes. But maybe there was more to him than I gave him credit for.

  “Dordus here is a single dad,” Kain said, clapping him on the back. “And a good one at that.”

  The two men shared a look, and I suddenly felt guilty for misjudging Dordus. I wanted to ask him more questions, but Kain was a man of action, and seemed ready to get moving now that it had been decided.

  “I’ll be in contact with you this evening for an update on things at home,” Kain said to Dordus before taking my arm.

  Dordus nodded and gave me a slight smile. “It was wonderful to meet you, Brittany. You’re in good hands—not just because you have Kain watching over you, but also because of Prince Niall’s love.”

  My mouth dropped open, and I didn’t know what to say, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because I barely had time to wave to Dordus and call out a goodbye over my shoulder as Kain hauled me down the mountain. I didn’t resist, though, because I didn’t want him changing his mind about accompanying me to the market if I lingered too long.

  Since I didn’t have a transport pod of my own, and Niall had taken his to work—even though I wouldn’t know how to drive the thing even if he’d left it—Kain decided we should walk, and I didn’t argue the point. I could use the fresh air. Forty-eight hours of being cooped up inside was more than enough.

  It took maybe half an hour to reach the outskirts of the market, and for a moment I paused, sucking in a sharp breath.

  “You okay?” Kain asked, keenly observant, which I supposed was a good thing if he was serving as my bodyguard.

  “Fine,” I said, going for easy and carefree, not wanting to let on that being back at the scene of the crime had me a little unnerved, even with Kain scaring everyone off with a single glance.

  I squared my shoulders and set off onto the main drag of the market, searching for the stall I’d seen the other day that carried human fare. I guessed there were enough humans on Hollander that there was a niche market that catered to them and the things that reminded them of home.

  Kain was right there the whole time, a comforting presence to me as I did my shopping. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was being watched. I wasn’t sure if it was my paranoia or if people were looking at me because of the hulking Raider warrior at my side. Or something else entirely. What if the person who had pushed me was here, watching and waiting for another opportunity? It made my skin crawl and my nerves jittery.

  Looking around the stall, I didn’t even notice a human woman in my path until I bumped right into her, spilling all the items I was carrying onto the ground.

  “Oh my gosh.” I gasped and reached out instinctively to steady us both. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was…” I took in the smiling woman before me. She had to be one of the most beautiful humans I’d ever seen. Back on Earth, she would have been a model for the endless media streams. I wondered what she was doing here on Hollander.

  “It’s no problem at all,” she said kindly. “I’d be distracted too if that guy was following me around.” She inclined her head toward Kain, an amused grin on her face.

  I couldn’t help but laugh as I bent down to retrieve the items I’d dropped. “I’m Brittany,” I told her.

  “Sophie,” she replied, squatting next to me to help me collect my items. It didn’t escape either of our notice that Kain was standing over us watching with blatant suspicion, his hawk-like eyes not missing a thing.

  “Nice to meet you.” Then she whispered, “What’s with the beefcake? You must be a big deal or something to need a bodyguard like that.”

  I instantly liked her and her candid attitude. Not to mention she was incredibly sweet and friendly for helping me out like this. She could have stalked off in a huff since it was my fault for running into her in the first place.

  “I promise you, I’m nobody special,” I said with a wry grin. But Sophie didn’t look completely convinced.

  “Here, let me help you with these things,” Sophie said once we’d collected all my items, turning to head toward the cashier with half of my haul in her arms.

  I followed behind her, thinking she was probably one of the nicest people I’d met so far since I’d been here. And she was human on top of that. I didn’t know any humans other than Dina.

  We made small talk as I checked out, and just as I was getting ready to thank her again for her kindness, she said, “Hey, if you’re ever just looking for a friend, I have coffee every Tuesday at a quaint little shop nearby. I’d love for you to join me sometime.”

  I blinked, taken aback. Even on Earth, I hadn’t had any friends. I hadn’t had time for them. But the idea of a friend appealed to me more than I thought it would. I was going to be here on Hollander for at least a year—maybe longer if things kept going well with Niall. Even though we hadn’t talked about the future, and we were only just getting to really know each other, I already felt an attachment to him and knew I could see myself remaining on Hollander with him, if he wanted me to.

  If that were the case, I would love to have a real friend here, and Sophie seemed like a great one to start off with.

  “Yeah,” I said with a smile. “That sounds great, actually. How about tomorrow?”

  Sophie smiled, showing of her glistening white, perfectly straight teeth. Yeah, she really could have been a model. “Perfect. I’ll meet you there.”

  She quickly gave me directions to the coffee shop, then we said our goodbyes. Kain didn’t say anything about the interaction on the way home, but he didn’t look entirely pleased.

  Niall was there when we returned, so Kain took his leave, promising to be back first thing in the morning.

  “How was your day?” Niall asked, sweeping me into his arms and kissing me thoroughly. “I missed you.”

  I melted into his embrace, a goofy smile on my face. “I missed you too.”

  It was strange how we’d seemed to fall into this relationship so naturally, so
quickly. But maybe that was part of the mating gene. Being with Niall just felt right. Even in the face of all I’d been through, and my vow to never get entangled with another rich asshole, I felt like I could let my guard down when it came to Niall. I could trust him. He was different.

  We chatted about our days while I prepared the meal I’d gone shopping for, and I told him all about Sophie.

  “I’m meeting her for coffee tomorrow.”

  He smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “That’s great, Britt.”

  I narrowed my gaze. “You don’t sound like you think it’s great.”

  Niall chuckled. “No, it’s not that. I’m actually really happy you’re meeting people and making connections. I love the idea of you having friends here.” He paused, his eyes troubled. “I just want you to be careful. Someone is out to hurt you, and you can never be too safe.”

  I went to him, going up on tiptoes as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I love that you’re so worried about me. But you don’t have anything to worry about when it comes to Sophie.”

  Niall lowered his forehead to mine, wrapping his own arms around my waist and holding me close. “Just promise me you’ll be careful. That you’ll be safe.”

  “With Kain trailing around behind me, I’m surprised I was able to make a friend at all,” I said teasingly. “Anyway, maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and wasn’t an intended target. Maybe whoever shoved me into the road disliked all humans.”

  Niall inclined his head slightly. “Hmm, maybe, but I still want you to be careful.”

  “I promise.”

  “Good,” he said with a growl, holding me even tighter. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

  I bit my lip. It was the closest he’d come so far to admitting any type of feelings for me, and it made my heart beat faster, a thrill racing through me as he kissed my cheek, my jaw, my neck. Then he was kissing me harder, demanding, and I gave myself over to the sensations he always sparked inside me.