She’d wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing her useless crotch against the small of his back. It had roared to life as if it had been sleeping. The heat from his body had invaded her, making her want to rub against him.
She was propelled to achieve that feeling of bliss she was no longer privy too. How could this happen now?
“Are you alright?” His voice went through her like a smooth drink that settled in your stomach and warmed your body, giving you a slight buzz and making the world right again.
‘Fine.” She murmured, feeling her nipples harden. Nipples that never hardened in the cold anymore, because her nerves were dead. She would never feel again. That’s what the doctors had told her.
She watched as claws sprang from the tips of his fingers. She should scream. She might even scream later, but right now she was lost in the sensation of feeling something she’d been missing.
He climbed the tree, careful not to jostle her body. For one brief moment, she lived a fantasy where she loved an alien.
Chapter Three
He placed her on a tree branch and made sure she was secure before jumping down. He landed on his feet. Blending in with his surroundings, he took a moment to watch Lorali as she sat in the tree scanning.
Already he felt like a part of him was missing. What was it about her that was already calling on to him?
He shook his head. He’d been skipped. On his world, mating went in order, the oldest then the next and so on. He’d been skipped. Niko had found his mate before him. Birth order was important on his planet. Aran was born first that made him the commander of their group. He’d been born second making him the second in command.
If Aran was to be believed, Niko had found his mate first, but had fought it for some time. Aran was the oldest. He would never lie to them. He took off at a jog, trying to forget a pair of blue green eyes. He needed to keep not only the children safe, but her as well.
“If I’d known this mission would be hampered with pretty humans, I’d have volunteered for it.”
Sergey found himself growling at Dante.
Dante held his hands up smiling. “I’m trying to figure out when your contact became female.”
“Not female. A human woman. Nothing else.”
Dante turned to look at the woman lying on the tree branch with the scope of the rifle to her eye.
“Definitely female.” He walked away, leaving Sergey to ponder what his words meant.
The brothers blended in with their surroundings, forming a loose circle around the Quest. Dante sauntered up to the ship, looking like he might be a bit lost.
“Hello.” Dante’s voice called out as he approached the ship. The gang plank was down and he stepped on it calling out another greeting.
“I need some help.” He tried to sound desperate. He failed miserably.
The brothers silently laughed as they watched him.
“Don’t come any closer.”
Sergey looked up. There on the deck, standing in front of several large crates, was a man holding a machine gun.
“I don’t want any problems.” Dante’s hands went up in the air as he inched closer. “I seem to be a little lost. Can you help me?”
The man raised the gun. “I’ll give you to the count of three to move before I start shooting.”
“One.”
Sergey ran faster, getting closer.
“Two.”
Sergey leapt onto the deck, making it shake.
“Thr…”
The man fell to the ground, clutching his leg that had been shot out. The brothers stared in shock, before giving the woman in the tree an invisible nod.
Men came out from everywhere shooting at Dante, the only visible target they could see. The brothers came up behind them and took them out, while Dante knelt over the man clutching his leg.
Once they were all incapacitated or dead, they began the search for the missing children. The crates on the deck were empty. They must have been used as decoys in case they were questioned about their load.
Sergey motioned for Ash and Hale to cover the door as he went inside the hold of the ship. It was pitch black. He adjusted his eyes to be able to scan the room and found nothing. He was in a large room with supplies that included a multitude of guns and other ammunition.
He silently walked to the back of the room, but found nothing. He stood still allowing his ears and other senses to pick up what his eyes may have missed.
He pointed to the floor when Dante came down. Dante nodded and picked up one of the discarded guns, making sure it was operational before he aimed it at the trap door Sergey had found.
Sergey grabbed the trapdoor and pulled. It was a new door engineered to be heavy. If he were human, he may have needed the help of the others to lift it. Immediately, he heard the sounds of sobs and heavy breathing. The floor had kept him from hearing it clearly.
No one jumped out. He laid on the floor and looked in to see about fifty young ones huddled together in a corner, looking small and fearful. Their wide eyes begged him not to hurt them.
He stood up and left quickly, going for reinforcements.
“What happened?” She demanded when he appeared at the bottom of the tree.
“Jump.”
“Are you crazy? I’ll break something if I jump.”
“I’ll catch you.”
“Where are the children?”
“Jump.”
How did she end up with this crazy alien? Maneuvering herself onto the tree branch, she got into a sitting position and used her hands to push off. “If I die, I’ll come back and haunt you.” She threatened, even as he caught her easily.
“The children are in the bottom of the ship. I thought a female presence might help to put them at ease.”
They moved quickly as he kept her hand. There was no reason to hold on to her, he told himself several times. It didn’t seem to matter. He couldn’t let go. Her body was calling to him, imprinting on his on some deeper level and his beast was allowing it. No, demanding it.
She was much too fragile to mate with them, he informed his beast. Yes, she was deadly with a rifle, but that didn’t mean she had what it would take to be with them.
He led her to where the children were. He peered down into the hole and then jumped. Looking up, he held out his arms to her.
Not taking as long as the first time, she braced herself and jumped. He caught her, never even offering a groan. Setting her down, she turned to face the kids.
“Hi.” She said in a soft voice that went straight through him. “I’m Lorali.” She crouched down low, putting herself on their level.
“I came here to help you.” Several children gave soft whimpers, while others stood completely quiet as they watched her with big frightened eyes.
“It’s ok to cry. I’d want to cry too. I’m so proud of you because I can see you were all so brave, even when the bad men tried to scare you.”
More eyes turned to look at her with tendrils of hope, wanting to believe, but not daring too.
“That is Sergey. He’s going to help me get you out of here.” The children took one look at him and began to whimper loudly.
“He looks scary I bet.” Some nodded. Some tried to fold themselves into even smaller shapes.
“He’s just a big teddy bear.” She walked over to him and tugged on him until he bent over.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he stood. She swung back and forth as he waited patiently. Eventually, she climbed over his head, making sure she was as rough as possible so that the children would be at ease.
“He’s like a big jungle gym.” She slid down his back and landed on her feet.
Several of the kids cast her a fast smile, causing her to smile wider at them. She walked over to the boy who looked the oldest.
“I can see you’re a brave boy. Will you let us get you out of here?”
He nodded and put his hand in hers. She led him to Sergey who carefully lifted him up to Dante. Once the chil
dren saw that he was fine, they all wanted out. After that, the rescue kicked into high gear.
Once they had all of the children out, there was nothing to do, but wait. Sergey identified the princess. He’d made it very clear to the General that the princess would disappear if the other children weren’t taken off first.
The men on the deck that had been taken care of were being carted off by military personnel on call for that purpose. Next, some very harassed child care workers showed up.
One look at the frightened children had them softening up. They may not love the politics of the job or the hours, but they loved the children. Lorali made sure each child was settled and promised to be in touch with the workers to see if she could lend a hand.
Sergey watched her from an unobtrusive spot he’d chosen. He was making sure the princess wasn’t found, while keeping an eye on Lorali. The child care workers had liked Lorali immediately accepting that she too cared for the children and their well-being.
Finally, the General walked up with a man who carried himself like a Prince at his side. Sergey stepped out, having made sure that Lorali couldn’t be seen. He gently tugged the princess out with him.
She took one look at her father and ran to his open arms, calling Papa. The Prince scooped her up, holding her tightly, allowing tears to roll down his face.
“Whatever you need, it’s yours.” He said to the General, before disappearing into the back of his chauffeured vehicle with his daughter still clutched in his arms.
“The government owes you.” The General said as nonchalantly as possible.
“General, you owe us. We’ll collect.” Sergey’s voice was matter of fact, without any warmth in it.
The General turned and walked away.
The brothers escorted Lorali back to her car. They said their farewells and left her alone with Sergey.
“What will you do now?”
“Make sure the children are looked after. Then I may look for another city.”
“Take care, Lorali. It was nice to meet you.
“You too Sergey.”
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a card. “If you ever get tired of your vagabond lifestyle, there will always be a job for you here.” He handed her the card.
He turned to leave. Then thinking better of it, he turned back to face her.
Leaning over, he placed a searing kiss on her lips before walking away. His beast clawed inside of him, wanting to go back. Ignoring him, he kept walking.
Chapter Four
Lorali stood across the street, staring at the business in question. She’d resisted the urge for a month, until she couldn’t stop herself from jumping into the car and driving in his direction.
She’d gone home that night in a daze, her fingers clutching the steering wheel, glorying in the feel of it. She could still remember the feel of the tree branch under her body, the sheer joy she’d felt when her finger had tightened on the trigger of her rifle. To not have to second guess the amount of pressure to place on it had been a relief.
She’d touched everything she could that night, wanting to hold onto the incredible sensation of actually feeling something. She’d finally fallen asleep late in the night.
She’d woken the next morning to her world of deadened senses. She thought it was a dream and had cursed herself, until she’d caught the sight of something clutched in her unfeeling hand.
She’d fallen asleep with the card he’d given her. A tear she couldn’t feel had tracked down her face, as the coldness of living a life that never changed overcame her.
The children had saved her. The need to make sure they were ok was all she had. She’d worked tirelessly until they were all taken care of. Her own experience of having to suddenly live with a family she’d never met motivated her to make sure they had the best possible placement. Now she stood across the street from a building, scared to go in. Scared that it really was a dream, that he’d never made her body feel those incredible things. Afraid to dream.
She hung her head, wanting to turn around before squaring her shoulders. She’d survived the army. She’d survived horrendous torture, which meant she should be able to do something as simple as walking into an office building.
She was met at the door by a guard who directed her to another guard sitting at a desk in the lobby. She walked over to the second guard giving, him her best nonthreatening smile.
“How may I help you?”
“I’m looking for Mr. Sergey Dare. Can you direct me to him?”
“Are you expected?”
“Yes.”
The guard picked up the phone and had a brief conversation with a woman. His secretary? Then she was directed to take the steps up to the second floor and walk to the end of the hall.
Giving the guard another warm smile, she waved and headed for the staircase he’d pointed towards.
Climbing the stairs, the butterflies in her stomach were making her slightly nauseous. Taking deep breaths, she calmed herself while delivering a stern lecture. She wouldn’t hope for miracles. Her condition wasn’t reversible.
Her soda had obviously been spiked with something able to make her have hallucinations. It was simply a hallucination. Her hands had felt nothing. That searing kiss had been brought on by lack of sleep. It had never happened.
That much she really believed. No woman would let a man go if he kissed like that.
She focused on the open door at the end of the hall, on the glimpse of the secretary she could see. Pasting a smile on her face, she entered the open space.
“Hi, how may I help you?” The secretary was nice. She looked very professional. She was wearing a grey suit, which gave her a sleek corporate look. She was beautiful too. Lorali couldn’t help but notice that.
She was the kind of woman a business owner went for. Feminine with the ability to smile. Lorali felt a familiar ache of dislike course through her. She resisted the urge to touch her short hair that was nowhere as neat as the woman who was looking at her expectantly.
“I’m looking for Mr. Sergey Dare.”
“Is he expecting you?”
“Yes.”
“Your name?”
“Lorali Johnson.”
She picked up the phone and reached for a button. “Mr. Dare, you’ve a visitor. She says her name is Lorali Johnson. Yes sir.”
“Follow me.”
Lorali nodded, her words not getting past the lump in her throat. They left the open area, passing a seating area with wide windows behind it. They came to another door. The secretary knocked before opening it.
“You can go in. He’s expecting you.”
Lorali walked in and heard the small click of the door as it closed behind her. She looked around. His office was huge. It had several loveseats situated at different angles. The windows were wide and let in lots of sunshine. He was standing in front of one of them, looking out.
She walked closer to see what he could be looking at. From his position at the window, he had a perfect view of the corner she’d just spent the last hour standing on.
“I’d begun to wonder if you would actually make it up here.”
“Similar thoughts haunted me as well.” He had on a suit that must have been tailored to fit. The jacket covered his impossibly wide shoulders and tapered down to his narrow waist. The pants flowed over his ass like they were privileged to be there. She ached to be the one covering him.
She called herself some choice names, bringing her libido, the one she could no longer feel, under control.
She felt his rich brown eyes on her as he turned around. Looking up, she lost herself in his gaze. He pulled her in, captivating her, making her want what she knew was impossible. She licked her desert dry lips as she felt her nipples harden into painful buds.
Not happening, she told her brain. One man didn’t have the power to make you feel, the power to make you fly. She wasn’t wonder woman and this wasn’t a Disney movie.
“Lorali, I’m glad you decided to come to
me.”
“I came because you offered me a job. I find myself in need of one.”
“Have a seat.” He pointed to one of the numerous loveseats around his office.
She chose one in the middle of the room, furthest away from where he was standing. Her mind screamed coward. She caged it quickly. She was just being cautious.
He smiled as he watched her sit. He walked towards her, making her eyes go round. He moved silently, looking like he was stalking prey. She would’ve appreciated it if she wasn’t the one he was stalking.
He took a seat next to her. “What happened to the children?”
She gave him a genuine smile. “They’ve all been placed in loving families. That wasn’t an easy task.”
“Why not?”
“Many potential parents want babies and not children who already have set personalities. Add to that the language barrier and the problems mount. We were actually able to track down a couple of family members for some of the children. We had to find potential families for the rest of them. Then we had to vet the families.”
“You did this in a month.”
“I have experience.”
He looked at her, waiting for more of an explanation, but she said nothing.
“What happened to the princess?” She asked while trying to calm the rapid beating of her pulse. Something about him was pulling her, she felt him even though she hadn’t touched him.
“She was reunited with her father.” His eyes engulfed her making her heart beat faster.
“Do you think that was a good idea? He did lose her to begin with.”
Sergey thought back to the reaction of her parent. “He’ll never lose her again.”
“Good. So about that job.” She needed to focus on the reason she’d come.
“What would you like to do?”
“Just like that? I name the job and it is mine?”
“Yes.” He smiled at her.
“That’s not how it works. You have to interview me. How else will you know if I’m qualified to do the job?” Her voice rose and fell as she tried to explain what he needed to do.
“I know that you’re military trained. You served in the desert and you use a rifle as if it is an extension of yourself. What else do I need to know?” The nice even tone of his voice set heron edge.
Sergey: Love Me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance Page 2
