by Leslie Chase
8
Verikan
The Earthwoman's kiss was like nothing Verikan had ever experienced before, and he savored the delicious sensation of it, of her against him. The life-giving energies of the pool flowed through both of them, and he could feel his body come to life under its influence. But that wasn't what made him respond so strongly to her, or her to him.
Something about Josie lit his soul on fire.
The mating instinct was stronger than he'd thought, and he struggled to control himself as he swept her up against his body. Hers was so perfect, the full delicious curves enough to drive him mad even, and the smoothness of her skin was a delight to feel. The kiss woke a powerful feeling inside him, one that he could feel her respond to as he carried her through the water to the edge of the pool, pressing her against the rock and drawing her close.
At last, their lips separated and he looked down at her with fire in his eyes. Her own eyes were a beautiful green that none of his species had, and he could lose himself in them forever if he wasn't careful.
The moment stretched, and then she broke eye contact with him. He wasn't the only one struggling to resist the urges that coursed through them, he realized. Josie lifted her hand to press against him again, her fingers running over his chest and making his heart race. But this time she straightened her arm, pushing him away.
With an effort, he pulled away and gave her space. Josie looked up at him for a moment, and he could see the regret in her eyes as they separated. Both of them were breathing heavily, and he found it hard to keep his eyes off her heaving breasts.
"You're still going to invade Earth," she said eventually. "Aren't you?"
He wanted to deny it. His instinct was to spare her world, and not just for her sake. The war would inevitably cost both sides dearly, and he didn't have dragons to spare. But he had a duty to the Empire, too.
"I haven't decided yet," he said. He refused to be dishonest with her, as much as he wished he could reassure her.
Josie nodded wordlessly, turning and pulling herself from the pool. Verikan watched her, unable to take his eyes off her glorious curves. The sight of water running down her back and over her curves made him growl under his breath. The urge to pounce on her was nearly overwhelming.
Verikan was almost relieved when she pulled on her jumpsuit. Without looking back at him, Josie took a deep breath and spoke.
"If you attack Earth, you'll be killing my people," she said. "Find a different way to look after yours."
Her voice was choked with emotion and Verikan winced. He was hurting her by just the thought of invading Earth, but he couldn't let his feelings for her get in the way of his duty to his people. Torn on the horns of that dilemma, he pulled himself out of the water and stalked towards his wardrobe to replace his clothes. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Josie sneaking a look at him.
Her doubts hadn't stopped her being attracted to him, that was clear from the way her face reddened as she looked at him. Verikan pulled on fresh clothes, covering himself reluctantly before turning back to face her. They looked at each other, neither of them sure what to say or how to move on.
"I respect your choice," he said. "But I must protect my own species."
"You can do that without attacking mine," Josie said, crossing her arms. Verikan sighed, shaking his head. Sitting down on a couch, he looked up at her and felt the tension in her. Some pains medical technology couldn't touch.
"This is too much," he said eventually. "I've just woken up after centuries of sleep, and everything I know is gone. I can't make any quick decisions here, but I can promise that I will look for a way forward that doesn't involve a war with your species. Does that help?"
Josie's face brightened, and she almost smiled. Chewing on her lip, she sat down opposite him and looked him in the eye.
"A bit," she said. She didn't sound entirely happy, but then he couldn't expect her to be. "At least you're listening to me. That's more than I'd expect from an invader. Maybe we can work out a diplomatic solution."
A smile tugged at her lips, and she relaxed a little. "It's not really my job, anyway. You should talk to the commander of my expedition instead."
"Is that Commander Woods?" Verikan asked. "The alarm that you heard earlier was caused by him and some others entering the palace. Mordrak captured them."
Josie's face paled and she drew back again, looking worried. "I thought it might be. Are they alright? I need to see them, to tell them what's going on."
Verikan nodded unhappily. That was a reasonable desire, though he didn't want to let her out of his sight. But that wasn't going to be practical in the long run, no matter what else happened. Both of them needed time to think about what was happening.
"They aren't injured, at least not seriously," he said. "I will take you to them. As long as they don't resist they'll be treated well, don't worry."
Josie nodded eagerly at that and stood. Verikan sighed, pulling himself to his feet. The last thing he wanted was to be parted from her, but there was no reason to put this off. He didn't want to send her into danger, and he couldn't trust Mordrak. Turning back to the wardrobe, he lifted down a small wooden box.
"One thing before you go," he said, taking Josie's hand gently. A flush spread across her cheeks at his touch and he could feel her body respond to his closeness. With an effort he ignored the pull towards her and continued, his voice as calm as possible. "I told you that I have claimed you, that you are mine. You may not accept that yet, but if you want to be safe from Mordrak you will at least acknowledge it."
He felt a shiver run through her and knew that she was conflicted. After a moment she nodded reluctantly, her blush brightening.
"What does that mean?" she asked. "What would I have to do?"
"Wear this, and all dragons will know you're mine. To harm you will be the same as harming me, an offense against Imperial Law."
Opening the box, he lifted out a thin blue crystal bracelet. Josie looked at it dubiously.
"This isn't me agreeing that I belong to you, okay? I'm no one's property."
He nodded acceptance. "I know that, Josie. I just need you to be safe, that's all. This will protect you from Mordrak. If he, or any other dragon, threatens you, just show him the bracelet. It will also serve you in other ways — it contains a primitive computer capable of translating our speech into your language."
Verikan hoped that she wouldn't ask why that was. He didn't look forward to explaining that those who wore these bands were often primitives taken from their worlds as slaves. Even though a dragon warrior could learn languages quickly through their implants, many felt that speaking the tongue of a conquered species was beneath them.
Fortunately, she didn't seem inclined to ask about that. Nodding with visible reluctance, Josie pulled back the sleeve of her jumpsuit and offered him her left wrist. He snapped the bracelet shut around it and she gasped.
"It tickles," she said, shaking her arm.
"Don't worry, that's normal," Verikan told her. "The crystals are adjusting, that's all. In a few moments you won't notice it's there."
She frowned but didn't object, pulling her sleeve back down over the crystal bracelet. Verikan nodded and led her towards the door. If I don't let her go now, I never will, he told himself firmly. As appealing as that sounded, he needed to get some space, to spread his wings and think for a while. And she needed to see her own kind, too.
He didn't like being parted from her, but if they were going to be together they both had a lot to think about first.
9
Josie
Walking through the alien palace, Josie felt like she was in a dream. She wasn't sure if she wanted to wake up from it. The gorgeous alien prince who wanted her as much as she wanted him was by her side, and part of her — a large part — thought that she was being stupid by turning him down.
As long as he's threatening to invade Earth, I can't have anything to do with him, she told herself. But a treacherous corner of her brai
n argued that maybe she'd have an easier time convincing him to back off if she didn't refuse him. It was so tempting to turn back.
She refused to give in to that urge, to be ruled by her desire rather than her mind. But it wasn't easy, and she knew that she'd be kicking herself for that decision as soon as he was out of sight.
"Here we are," Verikan said at last, stopping outside one of the smaller doors in the palace. He looked at her, and again she felt the intensity of his desire for her. It took another effort of will to keep herself from leaping into his arms. "I will see you again soon, Josie."
A gesture from him and the door slid open. Before she could regret her decision, she stepped through, and the door closed behind her. She slumped against it, looking around the small room. The surprised faces of her fellow explorers looked up at her.
"Are you okay, Josie?" Commander Woods asked, pulling himself to his feet.
"Thought you were dead, or something," Dr. Cain said, and for a wonder she sounded as though she cared. Her skin was a pale gray, her eyes bloodshot, and she looked like she hadn't slept in a week. "Thought those monsters killed you."
"What are you doing here?" Josie replied, pushing off the wall and walking over to the group. "You don't look well enough to be in a spacesuit."
I'm going to feel really bad about all the things I've said about them if they're here to rescue me. But the look the doctor and the commander exchanged told her straight away that things weren't that simple, or that positive.
"You found an alien base," Cain said, sounding thoroughly miserable. "We couldn't make out much of your message, but that much got through. I wasn't going to miss out on seeing that. Anti-nausea meds exist for a reason."
They didn't seem to be doing her as much good as she'd like, and she lowered her head again, clenching her jaw. Josie crouched down beside the others, and they made space for her.
"We're glad you're still around, Josie," Woods said after a pause. "And you seem to have gotten on better with the aliens than we did. All they've done is lock us up in here, we haven't even had a chance to talk to them."
Josie couldn't help noticing the undercurrent in his voice, a touch of suspicion. I suppose that's fair, she admitted to herself. The other humans had been trapped in this cell without supplies, while she'd been kept in more comfortable conditions.
The others had kept on the outer layers of their spacesuits too, and it suddenly occurred to Josie that without her suit she was trapped on the base. The undersuit was comfortable enough to wear, but it wouldn't protect her from the vacuum of the surface if they tried to escape. She frowned at that thought, hoping that it wouldn't come to that.
"I've spoken to their leader," she said, leaning back against the wall. She took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts. "They've been here for a long time, buried and in suspended animation. Now that they're awake again, they're trying to decide what to do. Some of them want to conquer the Earth."
That brought a long moment's silence as the other humans digested it. They exchanged glances, no one seeming to know how to respond. None of them had come to Mars expecting to face something like this.
"Okay," Owens said from his corner, the first to break the silence. "We've got to get out of here. Get back to the base, load up the Red Horizon and make for Earth."
Commander Woods smiled and shook his head, a calculating look in his eyes. "Not right away, guys. Look, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Whatever happens next, we're in on the ground floor and the company is going to be really pleased if we handle this well. But if we run, then someone else gets to make their fortune as the people who introduced the aliens to humanity."
"They aren't friendly, Mike," Dr. Cain said, not looking up. "Look at how they've treated us so far. And if they're talking about an invasion, we have to warn Earth."
"I'm not going to let a setback like this stop me from getting rich," Woods said. "We can work past that, that's the whole point of this colony."
Josie's head snapped around at that. "What do you mean, the point? We were here looking for aliens?"
"Not as such," Woods replied, gesturing for her to calm down as he spoke. "More like alien ruins, lost technology, that kind of thing. The scientists back on Earth knew that there was something to find around here, and the survey was worth doing—"
"And you didn't think that was worth telling us?" Owens interrupted angrily. "You kept us in the dark ‘til we stumbled onto a base of alien invaders."
"Hey, no one thought there'd be living aliens," Woods said. He pursed his lips and took a deep breath before continuing. "That does make things more of a challenge, I'll admit. But it's also a much bigger opportunity! Just think of the possibilities."
"Just think of the danger," said Dr. Cain. "They didn't exactly greet us as friends, did they?"
Everyone looked at Josie, and she blushed under their combined gaze. She was the only one who'd spoken to the aliens, and it made sense that they'd want to hear from her. But what could she say? That the alien leader was an arrogant ass and at the same time the hottest man she'd ever met? The thought of him in the pool made her melt all over again. Struggling to focus on something useful, she looked at them
"I, um," she said, coughed, and then started over. "I don't think they're friendly yet, but their leader, Prince Verikan is a good man. One of the others attacked me, but Verikan defended me. Maybe we can work with him. If they don't decide to invade."
God I hope so, she thought, biting her lip. Dr. Cain made an unconvinced noise, but Commander Woods smiled at the others.
"See, humans and aliens can get along," he said brightly. "We just have to build on Josie's sterling work and we'll have things sorted out in no time."
"Now hold on—" Josie started to interrupt, not sure of what she planned to say, when the door opened again. Her words cut off and she looked round to see one of the aliens standing in the doorway, framed against the light.
"I am Askelon, scientist and warrior of the Dragon Empire," the newcomer said, his English perfect. "You will all come with me now, your assistance is required."
"Where are we—" Owens said, and then cut off under Askelon's glare. The alien might be a scientist, but he didn't look any less dangerous than the other two. He was tall and muscular, and the look in his eyes brooked no disobedience. The clothing he wore wasn't as intimidating as Mordrak's crystal armor, but it was more like a military uniform than a scientist's. Strange devices on his belt might be weapons for all Josie knew.
Resisting didn't seem like a good idea to any of them. The humans stood and, under Askelon's watchful gaze, shuffled out. He guided them through the corridors of the palace to another large chamber. In the center of the room was a round table above which floated a holographic globe of Earth.
Josie stared at it as the humans filed around the room. It was incredibly detailed and life-like, and the biggest hint that it was a hologram was the way that the clouds moved. The others were staring at it too, and she could almost see the dollar signs in Commander Woods eyes as he worked out what that kind of display technology would be worth.
Askelon gestured and the clouds faded out along with a lot of the details of the surface.
"You will tell me of the political entities on this planet. What territories do they claim?" the alien said. It wasn't a request.
"We can put you in contact with Earth—" Owens started, only for Askelon to round on him with a hiss. Pulling a crystal device from his belt he pointed it at Owens, and the human doubled over with a surprised scream.
"You will answer my questions clearly and concisely," Askelon said, ignoring Owens' cries of pain. "Or I will use my neural inducer to ensure your obedience."
Commander Woods looked at his fallen companion, then up at the alien. Josie had the disconcerting realization that her boss was pricing that torture device as well. He smiled his most ingratiating smile as he stepped forward to answer Askelon's question. Radcliff, the engineer, followed him.
While th
ey gave a quick rundown of the political situation on Earth, she and Dr. Cain knelt over the fallen Owens. To her credit, now that she had a medical issue to deal with the doctor focused on her work. Her own illness was forgotten as she checked Owens' vital signs
"Is he going to be okay?" Josie asked in a whisper. The doctor frowned and nodded.
"I think so, but it's hard to tell. Whatever that monster did to him, it didn't leave a physical mark."
Owens groaned, and Josie helped him sit up. Dr. Cain unfolded a patch from a pocket of her suit and applied it to Owens' neck.
"That should stop the pain for a few hours, but I'll need to have a proper look at you to see if there's any damage."
The three of them looked up at the hologram. By now, most of the major nations of Earth were outlined on the surface. Noticing their attention on the hologram, Askelon looked down at them and nodded.
"Do any of you three have anything to add?"
They shook their heads in unison. Askelon's eyes narrowed and his great wings twitched, and for a moment Josie thought that he wouldn't take that for an answer. But he didn't raise his torture device and after a second he relaxed and smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile, more like a predator contemplating a tasty meal. Josie shivered under it, considering showing him the bracelet that Verikan had given her. Something to make it clear that she wasn't his prey.
Before she could decide, Askelon looked away, raking his gaze over the assembled humans.
"A great deal has changed since we last looked at your planet. It will take a significant effort to bring it into the Empire now, but with the resources at our disposal it will happen. You are in the fortunate position of being able to assist."
"What?" Heedless of the risk, Radcliff spoke up. "Help you conquer Earth? Why would we do that?"
