“Are you alright?” She asked.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” I said, still holding her. My heart pounding unbelievably fast in my chest. She could probably feel it. “I just can’t do this anymore. I have to get back to where I belong.” I said. I was probably telling her too much, but having her like this in my arms made me want to tell her. I couldn’t keep up the disguise anymore.
“What are you talking about? Where do you belong?” She asked.
I let her go and grabbed the sides of my head. I felt insane.
“I don’t want you to know about all this. You’re a sweet girl, Candice. And-“ I removed my hands from my head. “I think you’re so beautiful.”
The most beautiful human woman I’ve ever seen.
“I don’t want to get you into all this.”
Candice looked confused, but her inquisitive eyes asked for more.
“Please, tell me.” She said, putting a hand on top of my hand. Damn, that feels good.
“None of this is what it seems. Not the people, at least. It’s all a facade.” I managed to say.
“A facade for what?” Candice asked. God, if I was about to do this, I hoped I didn’t lose her forever.
CHAPTER 4
Candice
Without saying a word, Luke grabbed my hand with force and pulled me to a nearby tent where he kept his clothes. Inside, he pulled his black tank top over his head and put his jeans on over his wrestling shorts.
“Are you willing to come with me?” Luke asked.
“Where?” I asked back.
He grabbed my hand again without asking and walked me to the other side of the carnival, towards a ride that I had not yet seen. The words “Astro Journey” were illuminated by thousands of tiny light bulbs of every color imaginable. Luke walked me up the steps and onto the loading platform.
“Luke?” The ride attendant said in dismay. “What are you doing here?” The guy seemed a little shocked and confused.
Luke didn’t reply but instead led me into the first rocket that came on the dock. It was on a large track and it then entered a dark door where the Astro Journey began.
My heart was pounding, which I found amusing because I was about to enter a kid’s carnival ride. But Luke’s intensity was partly exciting me and partly terrifying me.
As Luke sat down beside me, he smiled and shook his head, and I began to wonder if all of this hadn’t been some kind of joke.
“Luke!” The attendant called after him as the rocket entered through the dark doors.
Inside the ride, there was an incredible silence. The walls were black but illuminated by glow-in-the-dark paint, little animatronics planets, and stars, as well as sparkling fiber-optic lights. It was quite magical and fun and filled me with a childish delight.
“What’s this all about?” I asked, turning to Luke. His face was remarkably illuminated in the black light - a deep, cosmic blue.
Without saying a word, Luke took my hand in his and held on tight. He then turned to me and looked into my eyes. Not only was his face blue, but his already cerulean eyes were now as clear as a tropical sea. Slowly, deliberately, he moved towards me and placed his lips onto mine.
Our first kiss was soft and sublime. The sensations in my body were delicious, like nothing I had ever felt before. Luke’s lips met mine with longing. I could feel that I was getting wet.
“Hold on to me,” Luke said as he pulled away.
“What?” I asked. I wondered if the ride was about to get bumpy.
In truth, the ride got bumpy in a way that no human being could ever possibly imagine.
I turned to look at the track in front of us. It had disappeared. I turned to look at the lights on the walls, and the animatronics planets and stars. They had disappeared as well.
“What’s happening?” I asked nervously.
Then I screamed. It was as if my body was being pulled by a forcefield so great that NASA couldn’t even explain it.
“Keep holding onto me!” Luke commanded.
Every cell in my body was being propelled, as stars and planets speeded past me. But they were not made of paint or mechanics. They were made of hydrogen, carbon, gas, atoms, particles.
What place is this? I thought. What world?
I had a feeling that it would be a different one, entirely.
Luke
“Get down!” I cried. There was rapid fire shooting straight our way. These weren’t bullets being shot, but shafts of light. I could feel the force of the shots in the air, and the sound was incredible. I loved war.
“Where are we?” She yelled, and I was barely able to hear her.
“I’ll explain later, just stay down,” I commanded.
Although the light from the gunfire was blinding, I could make out that we were on a sandy beach, and cold water from the ocean was lapping against my skin. Instead of being yellow or white, the sand of the planet Hecate was bright red, and it was warm to the touch.
“Do you see that dome over there?” I yelled. Candice was squinting her eyes and could barely make it out, but she nodded her head. “I want you to run there as fast as you can when I give the command.”
“Okay.” She replied. Candice seemed terrified, but hopefully, she would do what I told her to do.
I waited for the sound of gunfire to die down. Within moments, I was satisfied and signaled for Candice to run. I was still shielding her body with my own, but once I gave the signal, I rolled off of her to let her go.
“Now!” I yelled.
Candice started to run swiftly. I was proud that she was so brave while feeling so much fear, but at one point I saw a laser bullet brush against her skin. She screamed in pain but continued to run. The dome was perhaps a quarter of a mile away, and now I was starting to feel fucking terrified that she wouldn’t make it.
“Are you hurt?” I yelled from behind her. Candice looked instantly relieved that I was still with her. If only she knew that I would never leave her side for anything.
She checked her skin with her hand and continued to run. There was a small trickle of blood, but I could tell from the looks of it that the bullet didn’t go in.
“Yes!” She yelled back.
We were almost there. I just hoped that Candice’s beautiful legs could carry her a bit farther.
Once safely inside the dome, she fell to the ground. I panicked. I was instantly by her side, inspecting her wound.
“I think it’s going to be okay,” I said. “You were so brave,” I smiled, but she looked like she was not going to be able to smile for a week.
“Arias!” A man’s voice cried out. “You’ve finally returned.” The man was really no man at all but a creature that I was sure Candice had never seen before. Standing exceptionally tall, perhaps 8 feet, with eyes that bugged out of his head like a fly. The creature’s skin was jaundiced and yellowed. He was an old friend of mine and a member of the Corin.
“Septimus! It has been too long, my friend.” I replied We gave a salute to one another, then shared a hearty embrace. “I thought I’d never get here.”
“Things have been dire, Arias. The Krill have made much headway.”
“I feared as much,” I replied.
“Luke, what is going on? Why is he calling you Arias?” Candice asked, requiring an explanation.
“Everything is going to be okay,” I said. “Let me attend to some matters and I promise to explain everything later.” I could tell that she wanted answers now, but I moved on without waiting for her consent. It was time for business.
“Arias, if you will come this way, I’ll show you the war board,” Septimus said, going straight to business. He led us to a large, atrium-like space that I remembered quite fondly to be the war room. The war board was just as I remembered it; a holographic plane of light taking up most of the room and there were some men in uniform standing around it, all of a similar appearance to Septimus. Most Corin aliens look alike.
“Arias, welcome back.” One familiar face s
aid.
“Finally, there is hope.” Another one added. They all gave the customary military salute. I went from face to face and nodded in recognition.
“It’s good to be back. Let's see what we have here.” I said, looking down at the board with rapt attention.
“As you can see, now the main battlefront is here, on Hecate, and the Krill are getting close to taking it. They’ve already taken Babo, Yaros, and Escalon. If they conquer Hecate and Trovolich, the galaxy will be theirs.” Septimus said.
“I see,” I replied, with a furrowed brow. “I wish I could have been here.”
“You’ve been gone for many eons.”
“Not by choice,” I replied.
“The curse was something that only the Krill leader, Grim, could possibly engineer. It’s a shame that you have not found a way to banish it.” Another one said.
“He knew that I would be one of the only ones susceptible,” I said, looking down to the ground. Being a semi-human was the biggest goddamn curse of all.
“How did you get back this time? It might be the key to figuring the riddle out.”
Recognition comes over my face, and I turn to Candice who stood silently outside the group of men.
“I felt something,” I said, looking straight into her eyes. “I felt something powerful. That’s what opened the portal.”
Delicious feelings.
“Extraordinary. Do you know what it was that you felt?”
Still looking at Candice, I smiled. “I do.”
CHAPTER 5
Candice
After hours of debriefing, I felt exhausted and like I couldn’t stand on my feet anymore. I was relieved when Luke and I were finally led to a room with a bed and sink. It was nothing fancy, but it was clean and bright. I splashed my face with water and examined my wound.
“Is all of this frightening you?” Luke asked, walking over to me and putting his hands on my shoulders. God, that felt good.
“A little,” I said, washing my wound. “Will you explain now?” I asked.
“My name is not Luke. It is Arias.” He said, taking a seat on the bed.
“Like your wrestling name,” I said.
“That’s why I chose it as my wrestling name,” Luke said with an ironic smile. This was so overwhelming I didn’t know where to begin.
“Just tell me where we are,” I demanded.
“This planet is called Hecate. We’re in a galaxy called Orion. It’s thousands of lightyears away from the Milky Way galaxy.” Luke explained calmly.
“How did we get here?” I asked.
“You can go from one galaxy to another through a tear. In Orion, it is known as the Gate. Various things can create this tear, but the individual that is traveling gets pulled through it. The Krill are who we are fighting, and they’re the Gatekeepers. They’ve discovered many different ways in which the Gate can be opened, and they control the passage of others into and out of it. Once they knew that I was fighting for the Corin - who have always been the Krill’s enemy - they managed to put a kind of curse on me. It controls when I go through the Gate.”
My head is spinning. Portals? Tears in the Universe? It sounds like nonsense.
“Luke, Arias - whoever you are - how did I get here?” I asked.
It was a valid question and one that brought a look of confusion on Luke’s face.
“I think that the nature of my travel through the Gate comes down to emotions. You see, the Krill don’t have emotions. Most of the Corin don’t have them either, but they knew that it was my vulnerability.” Luke explained.
“In what way?” I asked, sitting next to him on the bed.
“I think that when I feel….intense pleasure……I’m sent back to the battle,” Luke explained, looking at me intently. “I’ve had this theory for years but haven’t been able to pull it off. But kissing you…..on the carnival ride—“
“It sent you back?” I asked. It instantly aroused me.
“I think so.”
“Then, how do you go back?” I asked.
“That one I already know. Anguish.” Luke said, almost casually.
“And how did you discover that?”
“It’s how I originally fell back through the Gate. We were fighting the Krill, and they were coming in for a surprise attack. A soldier….one of my very best friends….was shot and killed right in front of me. Then I just disappeared, and found myself with the Cursed Souls.” Luke explained.
“Are they all soldiers in this war, as well?” I asked.
“No, they were cursed for various different reasons, and they come from different places. Each of them has a story.”
“Why is earth where you were banished to?” Certainly, there were worse places for banishment.
“It is where we feel the most intensely, and that can be quite painful. I’m a semi-human. My mother was from earth, and my father was a Corin. I’m not from the Milky Way. I’m from Orion, but the Krill can punish me for being of human descent.”
I stopped asking questions and tried to take in all the information that had just been given to me. If all of this was real, and I was not in some kind of dream, then how could this explain why I was here, in the battle, with Luke?
“How did I get here, then?” I finally asked, searching into Luke’s eyes.
“It’s something I’ve never experienced before, and it’s still unclear.” He said. “I wonder if perhaps, as further punishment, the object of someone’s bliss is brought back with them through the Gate. Seeing you on the battlefield today damn near killed me.” He said, putting his hand protectively on my leg. I looked down at his hand and felt my heart skip a beat.
“I want to kiss you again, but I’m afraid of where we’ll end up,” I said jokingly. I couldn’t believe I had just said that, but it was all I could think about as I watched him speak. If semi-humans all were as hot as Luke was, then I was ready to never return to earth again.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll just stay where we are,” Luke replied, and put his lips on mine.
Even through the heat of his kiss, I felt incredibly frightened, for him and for myself. When Luke felt passion and pleasure, he was sent to a battlefield to face his death. And when he felt anguish, he was sent to earth, and back to me. It was a see-saw game of the heart and spirit that I didn’t know if I was strong enough to be a part of.
And yet, I was falling in love with Luke. So how could I resist?
Luke
It was abundantly clear to me as to why Candice was the amazing creature that was the key to the Gate. The way she made me feel was hard to describe. I wanted to have her right here and now, but I, too, was afraid of what the effects might be on where we would end up in the galaxy.
But there was a more important plan forming in my head. My only real freedom from this curse was to defeat the Krill altogether and restore Orion back to peace.
Feeling Candice’s body next to mine, I knew that the most reliable way to gain passage back to the battlefield was to have sex with her, to consume her, body and soul. It would be an instant way to feel the highest possible pleasure and return to the battlefield at my command, to put every ounce of my strength into winning the war for good.
Could I ever ask such a thing of her? Would she think that I was crazy, using her love, or worse, using her body? Although the thought of instantly made me feel hard.
Damn.
If I couldn’t find a way to ask for total access to her body gently, then I might have to demand it. No.
Shit. I can’t be like that with her. She’s too gentle and sensitive, and I must be on my best behavior.
But then I thought about her, lying naked in our bed, waiting for me, whenever I needed and wanted sex. She would be my warrior goddess, sending me back to the battlefield where I was in my prime. That was when I would not making love to her. That was when I would really be in my prime.
CHAPTER 6
Candice
“Oh my god,” I said as I watched the screen from th
e war room.
Luke/Arias was in single close combat with a Krill soldier, and it was so terrifying to watch that I covered my eyes. Krill aliens were much more menacing in appearance than I thought they would be. Enormous blue creatures standing 10 feet tall with fangs like dogs. Instead of two arms, they had six, which made them all the more challenging opponents.
I was not sure how anyone, let alone Luke, was able to kill even one of these formidable creatures, but already that day he had killed fifteen of them with ease. I was beyond impressed by his talents on the battlefield, and it was abundantly clear why the Corin had missed his fighting skills for so many eons.
Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Former: Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Books 1-5) Page 106
