by Sophie Stern
It all makes sense.
They might not be involved, but I can guarantee that if she finishes Harper’s mission for him, there’s going to be some sort of reward in it for her. Kitty doesn’t seem to be politically driven when it comes to being a rebel. Nope. She’s just a bitch who doesn’t like me and who wants to see me suffer. There’s not even a real reason for it except that she’s angry with her adoptive parents, angry with me, angry with the world.
And it hurts.
We were best friends growing up. I always considered her to be like a sister to me: closer, really. Now? Now Kitty and I are about to have our very first fight, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a big one.
“I’ve always hated you,” she shakes her head at me.
“I’ve always loved you,” I counter.
Then Kitty pulls away from me and I jump to my feet.
“This is it, then,” I say.
“You’re going down, Lana,” she tells me. “If it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to make you pay for your stupid life of privilege. You grew up with everything and what? I was your sidekick? No, I don’t think so. Not anymore.”
“You should have let Harper kill me on the ship,” I tell her. “Because you seriously missed your chance.”
I was sad then, and alone. I’m not anymore. Now, I have Cody’s love running through my veins. Now I have the knowledge and the comfort that Cody wants me, adores me, loves me. Now I know that I have something worth fighting for to stay alive.
Now I know I can do anything.
I still don’t know exactly why Kitty betrayed me. Maybe she was the one who led the rebels to our village. Maybe she’s the one who warned them someone from a rich planet was going to be there. Maybe she’s the one who gave away my father’s location. All I know is that it hurts very deeply to know that someone I trusted and adored is secretly evil.
They’re secretly bad.
I hate knowing she was more than happy to let Harper attack me for money.
I hate knowing I was too stupid to see the real her.
“I didn’t miss a damn thing,” she says. “I’m stronger than you know, you stupid girl.”
“Is that why you killed the other refugees?” I ask, baiting her. I don’t think they’re dead. She wouldn’t risk that. Not just yet. No, Kitty is clever, and if she’s going to kill them or let Harper kill them, she’ll do it in a way that makes the incidence seem unrelated to herself.
She’s good at that.
“Stupid girl. They’re not dead. Just asleep.” She smiles, looking smug with herself. “Couldn’t have them around to interrupt our discussion, now could I?”
“Kitty, it’s not too late.” I try one last time to make her see reason. “It’s not too late to make things right. We could make this right. You can turn yourself in and you and Harper can service some prison time, but then you’ll be free.”
“Oh, but darling,” she hisses. “I’m already free.”
Then Kitty leaps at me, and suddenly, I’m all instinct and bravery.
Suddenly, I know exactly what I have to do.
Suddenly, it’s a fight for my life, and I have no interest in losing.
I can do this.
I can win.
Chapter Twelve
Cody
Four days later
She’s safe.
She’s safe, and she’s alive, and she’s home with me.
She kicked Kitty’s ass and saved all of the people living in that house, and she did it without waiting around for anyone to rescue her because my girl is super fucking brave. That’s Lana. She’s an angel of courage.
“I’m glad you’re all right,” Gerald says. We’re all sitting in the living room sipping cocoa. There’s petal juice in mine, and if I know my father, he’s got it in his, too. To my surprise, I feel more uneasy about the entire situation than Lana does. She seems calm, really, and reasonable.
Me?
I’m going crazy.
“Me too,” Lana says. “To be honest, it all really did happen so fast. I’m still kind of…I don’t know…processing? I guess that’s the word I’m looking for.”
“It’s been a rough week,” he says. “You’ve been through a lot.”
“I predict many tears in your future,” I tell her gently. Lana shoots me a surprised look, but I shrug. “Your emotions are going to catch up with you at some point, love, but we’ll both be there for you.”
“Of course we will,” Father says. “But,” he winks at Lana. “I think Cody here is going to be there for you in a way that I can’t.”
“What?” Lana asks, blushing furiously.
“Goodnight, you two,” my father says, and then he leaves the room quickly.
Lana stands and looks around, as if she can’t quite believe what just happened.
“Does he think we’re going to sleep together?” She asks me.
“Do you care if he does?”
“Well, no,” she says.
“You’re blushing,” I point out the obvious, and I lean back comfortably on the sofa. I look at Lana as she paces back and forth in front of me for a long minute. She’s still as beautiful as when she arrived on Sapphira, although she’s a little bruised now. She had some minor injuries after her big fight that were healed quickly with the right topical medications, but the bruising will last for a little while.
Still, it doesn’t detract from her beauty at all, and it doesn’t make me want her less. If anything, I want this tough, strong woman even more. I want to take care of her, to worship her. I want to make her feel like she’s the most beautiful woman on all of Sapphira because to me, she is.
To me, she’s the most wonderful creature to ever exist and I plan to spend the rest of my life showing her just that.
Am I moving too quickly?
Probably.
Definitely.
It feels right, though. It feels like this is where I’m meant to be: sitting guard over a beautiful woman who didn’t need to be rescued. She didn’t need me to save her from Kitty. No, Lana did quite well saving herself, but she’s letting me look after her now, and that means the world to me.
I sat with her every day she was in the medical unit. After the incident, Kitty was arrested and she, along with Harper, will be punished in accordance with Sapphiran law. For their crimes against the people of their home planet, for their crimes against Lana and her father, they will be punished.
“Good,” I say. “Because it’s been a long week, Lana. I would like nothing better than to help you forget, even if it’s just for a little while.”
A look of relief crosses her face, and I kiss her softly.
“Please, Cody,” she says. “I’m so tired. Father is gone and now my best friend is, too. The worst part is that our friendship was all a lie,” she says. “And I don’t know how to feel about that. I don’t know what to do with the fact that she was going to let Harper take me out simply to kill people from our planet, simply because they hate us.”
“He was from your planet, too,” I shake my head. “He lived his entire life on Alipoiaen, as far as I can tell.”
“The purpose of a rebellion isn’t usually for good,” she whispers. “Even if those involved thing it is.”
I look at Lana, and I’m caught off guard once more by just how brilliant she is, by just how smart and sweet she is. She’s sassy and brave and adorable. I can’t resist kissing her anymore, so I do. I just pull her into my arms and I kiss her and kiss her and kiss her. Lana relaxes instantly, and she kisses me back eagerly, hopefully.
She kisses me like this is where she wants to be for the rest of her life, and that feeling fills me with excitement and happiness. Content, I realize. I feel content. For the very first time in as long as I can remember, I don’t feel like the entire world is going to end just because I found someone I liked. I’m not filled with the dread and the terror I expected when this moment came. Instead, I just feel like a man who is being fully loved and adored.
&
nbsp; It’s a wonderful feeling.
“Come to bed with me,” I murmur.
“What are you asking me?” Lana pulls away and looks up at me. She reaches for my cheek and she touches it gently, smiling at me. “Are you asking what I think you are, Cody?” Then she kisses my cheek and whispers in my ear, “Be bold.”
“I can’t live without you,” I tell her. “I need you.”
“My room or yours?” She giggles, and she jumps up, into my arms. Lana wraps her legs around me and I pull her closer, kissing her eagerly. The staff has gone home for the night, so there’s no one around to notice as we make our way quietly out of the living room and up the staircase to the second floor. I hold Lana, carrying her as we make our way to my wing. “Hey,” she looks up suddenly. “Wrong direction, baby.”
“We’re going to my room tonight,” I smile, kissing her.
“Oh,” she squeaks, and suddenly, my princess is the one who looks a little bit nervous.
“You’re incredible, Lana. You know that, don’t you?”
She stops kissing me for just a moment and snuggles against me, resting her cheek against my chest.
“I love you, Cody,” she tells me, and my heart suddenly soars, flying higher than it’s ever flown, and then we get to my room.
“I love you, too, Lana.”
Then I push the door open, and we go inside.
Chapter Thirteen
Lana
“Your room is about five times the size of mine,” I murmur, looking around. I’m still in his arms, still being held, but he just smiles.
“I thought something smaller would be more comfortable for you, at least at first,” he tells me.
“That was thoughtful,” I tell him. I can pretty much guarantee that if he’d offered me a room like this at first, I would have died with terror. Cody’s room is bigger than half a dozen of the houses in my village. I would get lost in here before I’d ever find the bed.
Luckily, I have a super-hot, sexy, wonderful alien man carrying me to the bed. He places me in the center and for a long minute, Cody just looks at me with adoration. It’s a funny thing, being in the center of that look. He smiles at me like I’m the most wonderful thing he’s ever seen. He looks at me like nothing else matters because we’re together.
Then he climbs on the bed beside me and he starts kissing me, and I know that nothing else matters in this moment because I am adored.
Being with Cody is about more than making some sort of conquest. He was right not to make love to me that first day when I wanted to feel some sort of connection, when I wanted to feel anything. Now, being with him feels right, and I feel complete and whole. I feel like nothing else matters. The world is at my fingertips, just as long as I’m wrapped safely in his arms.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I demand of him, and he just chuckles.
“Bossy little thing, aren’t you?” He begins to slowly unbutton my top, and I just smile at him.
“I’m not that bossy,” I protest lightly. “And I’m not little.”
“You’re little to me,” he smiles, and then he kisses me again, deeper this time. Soon our clothes are gone and we’re naked together, entwined on the bed, and the entire world is silent except for us. He moans as I touch him, stroking his body, and I know I’m making the same noises as he nips at me.
“You’re fucking beautiful,” he murmurs, nibbling his way down my neck to my breasts. He teases me there, playing with my body, and then he pushes my legs apart. Cody kisses me as he begins to make love to me slowly, gently. I shouldn’t be nervous about being with him, and I’m not. For the very first time, I don’t feel anxious or uncomfortable with my body. I just feel whole because I’m with him and I know that no matter what happens, Cody is still going to like me. He’s still going to want to be with me. He’s not going to treat me differently in the morning.
Everything is going to be just fine.
Cody moves over my body with experience and finesse. He moves with the confidence of someone who knows who they are and who is self-assured enough to know that no matter what happens, everything is going to be okay. He’s seen the darkest parts of the world and he’s come back, not unscathed but still strong, and suddenly, that’s how I feel, too.
I feel worshipped.
Adored.
Loved.
I feel brave and courageous and strong, and I love feeling all of those things as Cody makes love to me in the mansion on Sapphira. I’m far from home, but something tells me I’ve found a new home: a new place to belong.
When I come, my entire world explodes with light, and Cody follows closely behind, embracing me, filling me. For a minute, I feel like I’m nothing but a giant ball of energy, and then as my orgasm subsides, I slowly return to reality.
I open my eyes and look up at him.
“Hi,” he whispers, smiling gently at me. He kisses me and I giggle shyly.
“Hi,” I respond.
“You’re fucking incredible, Lana,” Cody tells me, and there’s something about the way he says it that makes this feel like a promise: not just a line.
“You, too,” I whisper. I lean up and press my lips against his, running my hands down his back as he hovers over me, and I realize that my entire life has been building up toward this moment, and it’s everything I hoped it could be.
It feels perfect.
And my world is whole.
Epilogue
Lana
One Month Later
Floating through space isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, but living on an alien planet? Life couldn’t be better. Leaving my home planet was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I didn’t just leave behind my childhood home; I left behind memories of my parents, of my friends, and of the hopes and dreams I had growing up.
Now I have a new dream.
“Good morning,” Cody rolls over and smiles at me. I reach out and run my hands through his mop of brown hair. His entire body is such a contrast from my own. He’s big; I’m small. He’s heavy; I’m light. He’s masculine on every level, and me? I’m just happy to finally feel confident and satisfied with myself.
“Hi,” I whisper, stroking his cheek.
“You look perky this morning,” Cody says. “Good dreams?”
“The best dreams.”
Because I’m with him.
Because now, when I dream, I wake up and all of my dreams have come true. I’m living on Sapphira with the man of my dreams, and everything is as it should be. Oh, I know that Cody and I will have hard times together. We’ll have fights and struggles. Doesn’t everyone? It’s what comes next that matters most. It’s the bond we’ve forged that will help us through those difficult times. It’s the hope of tomorrow that will keep us going.
“I’m glad to hear that, love,” he says, and he runs his hands over my skin and down my body. Cody kisses me, and as soon as he does, all rational thoughts flee from my body. Somehow, he just has that affect on me. Somehow, when we’re together, I just know that everything is going to be just fine. Everything is going to be right.
“I love you,” I tell him, and he pulls back and smiles.
“Marry me,” he says.
“What?!” I shriek, sitting up in bed. “What did you just say to me, Cody? Say it again.”
Because I’m not sure if I heard him correctly.
I’m not sure if this is really happening.
“We’re true mates, Lana,” he says. “I can’t imagine living without you, not even for a single day. Everything about you makes my heart soar. When I’m with you, I know that I can do anything. I know that I can be anything. I know that no matter what happens, everything is going to be just fine because you’re here and I am safe.”
I make him feel safe?
He makes me feel safe, too, and protected.
Maybe that’s what love is about. Maybe it’s not just all sunshine and rainbows and romantic walks and evenings together. Maybe it’s about other things, too, like making someone feel
like they’re the most valuable person in the world, because to you, they are. Maybe it’s about worshipping the other person, about letting them know just how fucking fantastic they truly are. Maybe it’s about keeping them safe, about helping them feel cherished.
Maybe love is all of this and more.
“I feel the exact same way,” I whisper. “But I can’t quite believe this is happening. You don’t think it’s too soon?”
He smiles. “Darling, I can’t wait another day. If you’ll have me, we can go make this official today. You’re a princess, Lana. You’re my princess and my soul mate. I want the whole planet to know it. Please, will you be mine?”
There’s not even a doubt or a question in my mind.
The answer is clear.
Yes.
Yes.
“Yes,” I tell him. “Of course, Cody. Of course, I will marry you. I love you, too, and I am so damn lucky to have found you when I did. I was so lost when I came to Sapphira. I was afraid and everything felt hard and scary, but you saved me. You rescued me.”
“In more ways than one,” he says.
“Humble brag?” I laugh, playfully pushing his shoulder.
“The only way I brag, baby,” he says, and then Cody kisses me. He kisses me and kisses me and kisses me, and then he pushes me back onto the bed and smiles down at me.
“You’re perfect, Lana. Do you know that, my darling princess? I love you now and forever, Lana.”
“I love you, too.”
THE END
More Reading
I hope you enjoyed reading Alien Conquest! While this is a standalone novel, you can read more about your favorite aliens and heroes in some of my other books!
Read more about Extrinsic in:
Star Princess
Read Sarah’s story in:
Star Kissed
