Ann nodded her head and offered another smile to them. “Hope you get home without getting caught. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Janis stared as the young woman walked off with a spring in her step.
“Are you alright?” Nicolas asked
“Yes. It’s just that I’ve spent years convincing myself every human was evil and out to hurt me. Then we run into Ann. It made me remember how much good there is in humanity.”
“You do know you’re human, right?” he said with a frown.
“We’ll talk about it later.”
They took off in a different direction than the one Ann took. Janis casually took his hand, never looking at him. He squeezed her hand briefly and picked up the pace.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“The office of our security firm isn’t too far from here. We’re located between the strip and town.”
“Won’t they trace us there?”
“It depends, if they know who I am, they will try. I paid for the room with a credit card I have in a different name. I used cash in the store. So unless they know who I am, I haven’t left any leads behind. I’m sure Sampson’s had security cameras trained on us. They may have also run my plates, but that would’ve led back to the false ID I used with the hotel.”
“Why are the plates on your car tied to your fake id?”
“Because I changed them this morning as a precaution.”
This had become too real too fast. Sure she always kind of thought something strange was going on, but she thought she was just being paranoid. When you were the only person who burned from the touch of others it was easy to be slightly paranoid.
“Should we be bringing this kind of trouble down on your family? What about Rena? She’s pregnant. I need to find a place to lay low and everything will be ok. Maybe we can meet again after all this has blown over.” Her desire to flee was butting up against her need to be part of something and belong to someone.
“Janis, if you stay with us, your life will never be safe again. We are males who have come from a different planet. Not just a different planet, but an entirely different solar system. We are the Created. The women who mate with us become different also. They’re not entirely human anymore. They become the beings of two different galaxies. Their lives become intertwined with ours and they are no longer safe. Rena knew and accepted this fate long before she became pregnant. My family is the best protection you can get.”
She nodded, taking him at his word. She wanted to be part of his family, a place where no one thought she was different. He could touch her and she could touch him back. After so long she could belong. Was this real?
The car that stopped beside them took her by surprise, but it was the face of the male from earlier that day who made her jump.
“Get in.” Dante motioned to the car door. “Change of plans. We’re all meeting at your house, Nicolas. They sent me to find you. Your cover isn’t blown. It’s funny how those cameras seem to malfunction.”
Nicolas gave Dante a feral smile as they both chuckled.
“Rest, Janis. It’s a long ride,” Dante said softly.
“Have you learned anything?” Nicolas asked as Janis laid her head against his shoulder and fell asleep despite herself.
Dante met his eyes in the rearview mirror before nodding his head no. “I know what you know. Someone wants your mate dead. What can you tell me?”
Nicolas smiled as he looked at Janis. She didn’t understand yet, but she would. He was hers. He wasn’t going anywhere and would do whatever it took to keep her safe.
“I first saw her a couple of months ago at the same Sampson’s where she was last night. I immediately recognized her as my mate. I didn’t want to scare her off. I intended to maybe bump into her in line and start a conversation. Then several other women walked into the section we were in. They all gave off a similar feel to Janis. It confused my senses; by the time I understood she was gone.”
“What do you mean the women had a similar feel to Janis?’
“They each gave off the same kind of feel, which was unusual. Most humans don’t do that.”
“Did they know each other? Did they act like they were friends or even casual acquaintances?”
“No, they were all focused on not touching one another. I doubt they actually registered the presence of the others.”
“Did they look alike?”
“They were all different, heights, weights and colors.”
“Nicolas, how could there be more than one like Janis?”
“How are there so many of us? Could someone on this planet be using humans for some type of testing?”
“Have you met Lorali?” Dante countered.
“I know, but she was in the military. We both know that while the military is held in awe, its members are also the first to be picked for any test the government deems worthy. They’d have had to perform their tests on Janis when she was first born or…”
“Or in utero before she ever took her first breath.”
“There are more humans living like she did.” Nicolas balled his hand before deliberately relaxing it. She’d wanted adventure. He was about to give it to her and then some.
The car came to a stop in front of his house. He could feel the presence of the others as he eased Janis out of it without waking her. He took her upstairs and laid her on his bed before going back downstairs.
Dee stood up and walked over to him, giving him a swift hug. “How’s Janis?’
“She’s sleeping; I don’t want to wake her yet.” Nicolas leaned down and whispered in her ear. She laughed and told him he was welcome before going back to Niko’s side.
Nicolas walked over to Aran and stopped. “My mate is in jeopardy.”
“We will watch over her, Nicolas. She’s one of the Created now. We protect our own.”
Nicolas nodded. “We think she’s part of an ongoing experiment. Janis can’t touch humans, which is ironic because she’s human. Their touch burns her. When we went back to collect her car, we found it burned. When we went to confront the manager at the store, both the customer service rep and the manager knew this about her.”
“She’s not military. Why would they experiment on her?” Lorali asked. Her hands were sliding up and down her arms, as memories of the trials she’d gone through at the military’s hands washed over her.
“My dad was a Marine. He died when I was young, but mom gave birth to me at a military hospital.” Janis said, having come down the stairs to catch the tail end of the conversation.
Nicolas crossed the room to her side, placing his arm around her. He led her over to one of the many loveseats.
“Can you tell me which one? Also, do you know who your mother’s doctor was?”
“We were stationed in Virginia when I was young. My mother moved here after my dad’s death. She needed to get away. My house used to belong to my grandparents.” She ran her hand over her face, looking for stable ground. “The doctor’s name was Harold Young. I know because he continued on as my pediatrician. I hated him. There was something about him that always scared me.”
Dante nodded and stepped out of the room.
“I’m sorry to bring all of this to everyone’s doorstep,” Janis said, looking at Rena.
The women laughed. “You’re coming late to the party, but don’t worry we’ll get you caught up,” Dee said with a wide smile.
“We’ll look into the doctor. Until then, there is nothing we can do,” Nicolas said to Janis.
“What? Nicolas, should we pretend today didn’t happen?” Janis asked while she tried to connect her past with the present.
“No, we go on with our lives until something else happens or we learn more.” The others nodded or made sounds of agreement.
“If you spend too much time dwelling on this, you will do something stupid or drive yourself crazy. No sense in being as crazy as the people who are trying to torment you.” Rena rubbed her stomach as she spoke to Jani
s.
“Everyone seems to be taking this without too much stress.”
“We’ve been through a lot and have come out the other side mostly intact. I’m still learning, but we handle things like a family here.” Lorali gave her a reassuring smile. “I bet when Dante reappears, he’ll let us know dinner is being catered by his restaurant tonight.”
“Seafood. I love that male.” Aran growled at Rena. She laughed and stroked his arm.
A cell phone went off, grabbing Janis’s attention.
“Aran.” The room got quiet as he listened to the frantic voice on the other end of the line.
“When did this happen? Do you need help? Clean it up and the come to Nicolas’s. Stay in touch.”
Aran hung up his phone and then wrapped his arms around Rena as everyone waited for him to speak.
“That was Ash. He was going over some of the surveillance tapes at our warehouses and thought he saw something strange. He went there to take a closer look. The tainted Created was there. He left pictures as well as threats written in blood on the wall. There were no bodies, but he made it clear he was coming after us and his little game of tag would be ending soon.”
They were being targeted by someone who had the same DNA as they did, but something was different. It was a smell that told them he wasn’t the same. None of them knew what was wrong, but he was somehow tainted.
“Good.” Sergey flexed his arms before picking Lorali up and placing her on his lap. “I’m ready to end this.”
Rena stared at Dante as he walked back into the room.
“Yes Rena, your seafood is on its way.” They all laughed while Dante gave them a glare for good measure.
“I had one of my brothers do some quick checking with the hospitals around the city. He was looking for reports of anyone who came in with burns stating they were made from the touch of others. There were fifteen cases that dealt with different females in the last three years. Not one case with a male was reported.”
“That’s impossible. I’ve never been to a hospital around here,” Janis replied. “I learned my lesson long ago. Being treated as the newest oddity in the emergency room has never been fun. I learned to take care of myself; it was easier that way.”
“They were all different individuals, Janis. We believe you’re one of several. Whoever did this to you, did it to other babies. You have sisters out there.”
“Sisters?”
“Yes, other females who had their DNA tampered with in the same manner yours was tampered with. That makes you sisters.”
“Janis, I know you don’t like doctors, but it would be helpful if tomorrow you would let me draw some blood and give you a physical. I may be able to isolate what was done to you.”
She nodded her head. “Of course, whatever it takes to get my life back.
The doorbell rang. “Dinner!” Rena called out, rubbing her pregnant belly.
Chapter Eight
Janis stood quietly as she watched Nicolas’s family leave one by one or couple by couple. Dinner was a blast. They laughed and egged each other on. The women were friendly and included her in their circle without any hesitation. She felt like she was a part of something. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time that feeling had occurred.
She was feeling great. Dante made her a special dessert, one she insisted she should skip. She would’ve, if he hadn’t tempted her with cheese-cake and chocolate. She really needed to work on her resistance to temptation. She thought it was better not to ask him how he knew what her weakness was.
Nicolas walked over to her smiling after bidding the last of his brothers goodnight.
“Finally, we’re alone.”
She nodded her head and felt her face flush. What did he think was going to happen? She’d made some pretty outlandish claims today when they were at that boutique. She wanted to fulfill them too, but how did you tell a man you never had sex before? All she had were images in her head about how she thought things should work.
She ran her hands through her hair before smiling brightly at him. “I guess you should show me where I’m going to sleep tonight. Rena brought me more clothes for tomorrow, plus a few things for tonight, but tomorrow I’ll need to go shopping.”
“Follow me.”
She followed him up the stairs. He led her to a different room than the one she occupied earlier. The room opened up into a huge sitting area with a bedroom attached.
“This is big.”
“We hired an architect who worked with each of us, individually. I think she wanted to make sure our homes reflected who we were. Then we had them built. You’ll see eventually they have a lot of the same features. The architect laughed when we came up with similar houses without consulting each other. She said it was proof we were brothers. You’ll find our security measures are almost identical. On that, we consulted to make sure we had everything necessary to defend our home base.”
She nodded. “Why the sitting room before the bedroom?”
“We saw it in a movie once. The female talked about how having this room to spend time with her male made it her favorite room in the house. I would say it made an impression on all of us.”
“Must have been a good movie. Your room, like your house, is beautiful.”
“Thank you. The closet is on that wall.” He pointed towards it. “You can hang your clothes in it. That door leads to the bathroom.”
“Isn’t this your room?”
“Yes.”
She licked her lips and ran her hand through her hair. “Don’t you want me to sleep in the guest room? I won’t run away. I promise.”
“No. I want you in this room.”
“Nicolas, I know I sort of promised a lot at the boutique, but I was just trying to convince Ann of our mutual attraction.”
“I’m aware of that.”
Janis took a deep breath. “I think I should sleep elsewhere, that way neither of us believes something that is obviously not happening.”
“If you wish to sleep in the other room, then I’ll take you to it. I’ll sit outside the room so I don’t disturb you. I didn’t realize you were afraid to lie by my side. You curled up next to me earlier, but I’ll respect your wishes.”
“Slow down, big fellow. I think I’m lost. Why would you sleep outside the door?”
“I don’t want to be away from you. If you’re in the other room that will be too far for both me and my other half.”
She looked up into his eyes. All she saw was sincerity as the navy of his eyes deepened. She sensed he had no intention of allowing her to get away. Breathing room is what she needed in lieu of stripping naked and asking him to plunder her unexplored depths.
Talking a deep breath she chose a different path. “How about we compromise? I walk into what I bet is the best bathroom an earth and sink into your tub. You stay out here and wait for me. After I soak, then we’ll talk more. Deal?”
“Deal.”
The thought of lying beside him wearing little was making her body wake up. She wanted him, her nipples hardened as a thrill of something sinful hit her stomach. She never realized her body could become so sensitive just standing in the presence of a desirable male. She did her best to hide the naughty grin that was trying to take over her face.
The bathroom was beautiful. There was a deep soaker tub which was exactly what she needed. She dropped her clothes and strode towards it. She may have to give all of the females a big hug the next time she saw them. They’d gotten together and made a mall trip, giving her a basket of bath products.
She liberally used the scented bath salts and sprinkled a little of the bubble bath in with them. She stepped in and allowed the hot water to soothe her aching body.
Closing her eyes, she leaned against the slanted back of the tub. A picture of a shirtless Nicolas formed. How she wanted to explore his body and touch those muscles that called to her.
She sighed as she heard the word mate ring through her head. She shook her head in denial. It wasn’t po
ssible. She’d already come to terms with the fact she’d never marry or have children. Even if she could suffer through a man’s touch, how could she take the chance of passing on the curse? No, marriage was out of the question.
You wouldn’t suffer if Nicolas touched you, a little voice in her head whispered. She stroked her hand through the water, ignoring the voice.
Imagine what it would feel like to feel his mouth on your nipple. Her nipples hardened at the thought. She could almost feel his strong fingers tugging on them before he lowered his lips to catch one between his teeth. Would he bite down or suck it deep into his mouth?
A soft sigh escaped her, as her hand found one hard bud and pulled. She moved her hips back and forth in the tub, feeling her body get needy.
Was it really a long stretch for her to imagine staying with him? Finding out what he meant by the word mate? She wanted to give him a chance.
There was a knock at the door. “Janis, is there something I can help you with?” His voice was low and husky, making her want to stroke herself.
Damn, she cursed to herself. Of course he could smell her. He was an alien. Wasn’t that a trait they all shared?
“No, I’m good. I’ll be out soon.”
Knowing that staying in the tub would only prolong her torture, she got out, dried off, and looked for something to sleep in. Was this a nightgown or an outfit meant for seduction? Her own nightgowns were sturdy pieces of cotton that came to the knees and showed nothing.
She tugged on the gown that seemed to emphasize her breasts and stopped mid-thigh. This would definitely send the wrong message. She grabbed the matching robe. It didn’t offer much more, but it was better than nothing. Taking a deep breath, she walked out into the next room.
“See.” She gave him a smile she wasn’t feeling. “I’m fine.”
“Yes. You’re beautiful too.”
Where was he when she was a teenager? Forget it. She was just glad he’d finally shown up.
“I think we should talk.”
“Alright, let’s sit out here.” He led her to the sitting room and took a seat on one of the plush loveseats.
Nicolas: Love me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance Page 5
