Alien Prince's Mate: An Auxem Novel

by Lisa Lace

  “No, thank you.”

  “Why the sour face, Chief? You haven’t touched any of the food, either. You better snag yourself a hunk of meat before these gluttons devour it all.”

  “Let them.”

  “Come on, don’t you think we can celebrate a little bit?” Barthan swiped a crispy drumstick from a passing plate. “I know we don’t have the pillar yet, but it’s as good as ours already. I attached a tracker onto your girlfriend’s ship before we went down into the cave.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend.” I scowled and leaned away from him.

  “I see what I see.” Was Barthan taunting me? “And I saw the way you were looking at her. It was the same stare you gave Commander Leeva on the first day of training. Back then, we could have pulled down your pants, and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

  “You are full of shit. I didn’t look at Leeva differently than anyone else.”

  “I’ve known you for fifteen years.” He leaned away from me, staring across the room with squinted eyes. “Do you think you’re going to win this one?”

  “Go ahead and say whatever you want to say. I’d get more out of arguing with a wall than I would with you.” I fought against the urge to smile.

  “Whatever the case, cheer up. We’ll get to Christine before you know it. When we do, I promise that we will go on easy on her.”

  I had the feeling that I didn’t have Barthan’s full attention. I felt his thoughts in my head.

  I cannot wait to drag my tongue all across your body and between those sweet, soft thighs.

  “I don’t want you anywhere near my soft thighs.”

  “Sorry about that.” Barthan patted my shoulder consolingly. “I must have been on the wrong frequency.”

  I glanced over my shoulder. Isley stood across the room in a middle of a conversation with three other crew members. As she spoke, she played with her earrings, sneaking quick glances in Barthan’s direction.

  “I’ve been tuning into Isley’s head all night. The waning crescent moon is making my blood boil, and I need to take the edge off. Know what I mean?”

  “I see you’re using your telepathic abilities responsibly, as always.” I raised my eyebrows.

  “It’s called making sure my skills are in prime condition.” Barthan sucked off the last meat on the drumstick and threw the bones into the trash. “You never know when I’ll need to be ready in a combat situation.”

  “How was the drumstick?” Isley appeared behind Barthan. She moved a little too close to him, pressing her bursting cleavage against his arm. “I’ve been craving a little meat myself.”

  It was starting to feel like a bad movie. Isley wasn’t looking at me, and I mimed gagging myself at Barthan.

  “What would you say about getting out of here? I can show you the special package of meat I’ve been saving for you back in my chamber.” Barthan casually slipped an arm around her waist. “Go on. I’ll see you in a minute.”

  “Don’t keep me waiting.” Isley slurred her words together as she overtly pinched Barthan’s crotch. “I’ll see you later, Chief.”

  “Isley.” I nodded at her.

  “Mmmm.” Barthan’s eyes were glued to the ample, jiggling shape of Isley’s ass as she walked out of the briefing room. He whistled under his breath. “What about you? Care to join in on the fun?”

  “In your dreams, brother.”

  “I wasn’t suggesting that you join us, necessarily.” Barthan tucked in his chin. “Although I remain adamant that our brotherhood will not truly be complete without having worked together in every field. I meant you should go out and live your life. I know you do not like fraternizing with anyone at Magnum, but you could have your pick of the Empress’ women. They aren’t half-bad to look at.”

  “I’ll pass.” I dismissed him, gesturing at the exit. “Go enjoy yourself.”

  As Barthan headed for the door, I scanned the room for Natya. In a sense, Barthan was right, but we had different definitions of how to live my life. We were due to leave in the morning, and it wouldn’t be long before we reached Christine. We didn’t want her discovering the tracker on her ship.

  My roving eyes found Natya in the opposite corner of the room. She was sitting on the floor, using the surface of an empty barrel as a table. A small group of Urwanian females from the Empress’ troop crowded around her. I drank the last of my ale and crossed the floor to join them.

  “I see.” Natya’s smooth voice came from inside of the circle. “Your airi is a kind and sensitive soul, but does not seem to have warrior blood.”

  “Tell me more.” A soldier knelt next to Natya. She had her elbows perched on the edge of the barrel and dreamily cupped her face in her hand. “What does he do?”

  I peered through the gap between a pair of shoulders. Natya had a collection of divination tools neatly laid out in front of her. She grabbed a handful of herbs and blew into her fist. A few of the red plants shot out of her hand and landed on the barrel. As she leaned in to analyze the patterns of the herbs, the Urwanian soldiers looked on with interest.

  “There are many possibilities. They are artistic and spiritual. Perhaps they are a skilled craftsman or a writer. Maybe even a musician.”

  “A lover of the arts. It sounds fantastic.”

  I smiled and cleared my throat. “I don’t mean to intrude, Natya, but when you finish, would you mind talking to me for a few minutes? I need to discuss something with you.”

  “Commander Axl! How wonderful of you to join us! Natya was doing an airi reading for us. Hey, Natya, why don’t you do one for the commander?”

  “Just call me Axl. I don’t do that stuff.”

  “Come on,” whined the soldier on the far right of the circle, linking arms with the teammate next to her. “Don’t be a downer. The reading will take less than two minutes.”

  “You don’t have to be worried about your well-being.” Natya carefully maintained an expressionless face. “It won’t hurt a bit.”

  “Fine, but make it quick.”

  The soldiers cleared a space for me. I sat across from Natya and watched her pour steaming black tea into a shallow bowl. The crowd leaned in for a better look. One was so close that their hair tickled my ears.

  “Take these stones.” Natya pulled out three translucent pebbles from a satchel and dropped them into my palm. “Blow on them before you throw them into the elixir.”

  I shook my head but closed my fist, blew on it, then tossed the pebbles into the bowl. When the rocks hit the dark liquid, they cracked open. Puffs of red smoke rose from the fluid. For an instant, the particles formed the image of a lomas bird. The puffy, pint-sized creature flapped its wings and flew away, vanishing into thin air. I blinked at the hissing black bowl.

  “A lomas bird! The omen of serendipity. Isn’t that sweet? I had no idea you were such a romantic. Do you have any idea who the lucky woman might be?”

  “Axl’s airi is the lucky one.” I felt a finger lightly drag across my cheek.

  “All right, I did my time.” I stood up and rolled my pointed finger around in circles, indicating that I was in a hurry. “If you’ll excuse us, ladies, Natya and I have some business to attend to.”

  As soon as the giggling soldiers were out of earshot, I turned back to Natya. “We need a plan.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “Have you ever heard of TerraMates? Some of the guys from Magnum know all about it, and you’d be surprised at the Earth girls who want to marry an alien.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  CHRISTINE

  A drop of sweat made its way down the bridge of my nose and lingered on the tip. The muscles on my arms and back burned and screamed for mercy, but I had to meet my goal. I pursed my lips and breathed through my mouth with hard, rapid puffs. With excruciating pain, I hauled myself up, aligning my shoulders with the iron bar.

  “Twenty-nine...”

  Almost there. I dangled from the bar, catching my breath. Blowing away the strand of hair sticking
to my cheek, I solidified my grip around the bar and pulled myself up one last time.

  “And thirty!”

  I fell from the bar and peeled off my workout gloves. My body was giving off so much heat that I thought I could have fried an egg on my stomach. Grabbing my squirt-top bottle, I doused myself with water and started stretching. I planted one foot on the edge of the pull-out dining table and bent over, reaching for my toes.

  A small, high-pitched cheep interrupted my routine. I straightened up and pulled my leg off the table. Another cheep sounded, this time accompanied by the flapping of tiny wings. My eyes swept across the room, finally locating the culprit. A cute bird sat on the pull-up bar lodged in the bathroom doorway.

  “Well, hello.” I ambled towards the bathroom door, retying my ponytail. “What are you doing in here, little buddy?”

  The bird ruffled its vibrant purple feathers as it hopped around on stubby yellow legs, warbling happily.

  “You look adorable, but I’m about to take off, so you have to get out of here.” I hit the green button on the wall-mounted panel. As the doors on the ship started to open, I walked back to the bird and extended an arm. “Come on, cutie. Hop on.”

  The bird ruffled its wings again in response, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “It’s like you don’t understand what I’m saying.” I loudly tapped my foot. How could I move the bird out of my spaceship? I stood on the tips of my toes, swinging my hands from left to right, but the bird wasn’t motivated at all. It effortlessly jumped over my hand, ridiculing me with its incessant chatter. “Stop that right now! Oh, good.”

  The bird spread its wings and soared over my head. Instead of flying out the open door of the hatch, it landed on the shoulder of an alien in the doorway. My jaw fell open.

  “Axl?” I squeaked, staring at him. “What are you doing here?”

  The bird let out a final cry and took flight, vanishing through the door. I started to reach for my weapon, but when I saw that Axl was unarmed, I stopped myself. He took another step toward me, the buckles on his belt jangling noisily.

  “Calm down. I’m not here on business.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  It felt like I had become paralyzed from the neck down. Axl’s piercing golden stare settled on my chest. I peeked down at my shirt, and my face turned red. My white tank top was almost completely soaked through with sweat and water. The visible brown buds of my nipples poked through the thin fabric.

  The corner of his mouth pulled back into a suggestive leer. “I think you know.” Axl ran a hand over his flaxen beard.

  “What do you mean?” I stammered, awkwardly sliding an arm over my chest.

  My frozen body seemed to thaw out as I watched him. He touched a button and turned the dial on a nearby panel. As the doors sealed shut, the ship lights dimmed and changed color, filling the interior with soft red lighting. I refused to admit it out loud, but something about his confident swagger made me weak in the knees.

  Axl removed his breastplate and set it aside. Even under the muted lighting, I could see the skin-tight fabric of his uniform cast shadows onto his sculpted chest. He lifted one leg up and rested a dirty boot against the beige couch. Usually, the filth would annoy me, but today I didn’t care. I rushed into him from behind and tackled him to the ground.

  I clamped the sides of my legs around his waist, pinning him to the floor. Under me, I could see a smug smile on his face. His hands traveled up my waist slowly, teasing me with possibilities. I sensed that he knew I couldn’t hold on any longer. He started to rub his palm against the bold outlines of my nipples peeking through my top. He moved delicately, barely enough for me to feel faint tickles. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that he enjoyed watching me squirm.

  “Easy there.” Axl had a small, sexy laugh. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him, nibbling on my lip as he spoke. “We have plenty of time.”

  “No, we don’t.” I drove my tongue into his mouth while unbuckling his belt and yanking off his combat slacks. My fingers found his stiff cock at once. I pumped my hand up and down the engorged muscle, imagining that I could feel the blood rushing to the tip. Axl’s heavy breaths grew muffled as he nuzzled against my neck. He licked and sucked on my earlobe, moving his hands beneath my shirt.

  “Aren’t we a little hasty today?” Axl leered as he tweaked my nipples between his fingers.

  “You’re one to talk. I could stay away. Apparently, you couldn’t.” Handling him was a delight. His head bent back, and his eyes squeezed shut in pleasure. “You don’t look so tough now.”

  He tightened his grip around my waist, grinding against my stomach.

  “I want you inside me.” It was as if I had spoken a set of magic words. Without waiting for me to pull down my leggings, he reached over and ripped an opening straight down the spandex material. He pulled my panties aside, stroking the tip of his glistening cock against the lips of my quivering pussy.

  As I hovered over him, I held the base of his cock and lowered myself onto him. I whipped my head back, biting tongue as he entered and stretched me open. I could hardly feel my wobbling legs, but once I had a taste of him, I couldn’t stop.

  I reached for his ankles behind me and started to ride him, drenching his cock with my juices. My heavy, full breasts began to get sore from the bouncing, but I didn’t want to stop now.

  “Christine, you have a new message.”

  My eyes sprang open. The speakers chimed with an insistent series of beeps. With my chest still heaving, I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the dancing envelope icon on the screen of the control panel.

  “Thanks, Desiree.”

  “You’re welcome. Our estimated flight time to Kwakzulu is four hours.”

  Relaxing against the back of the pilot seat, I dipped a hand between my legs and felt the damp crotch of my leggings. Immediately, I shot out of my chair and sped toward my closet to change out of my workout clothes. I was glad there wasn’t anyone around to see me. I was a little shaken. I had never had a dream that vivid before. I pulled on a clean shirt and slipped into the kitchen to fix myself a cup of tea.

  “Desiree, has anyone from the Urwanian Department of Justice called us back yet?”

  “Unfortunately, no. Would you like for me to contact them again?”

  “No, that’s fine.” I sighed, carrying my tea back to the pilot’s chair. Calling again wouldn’t be any help at all. I had been on hold for hours and only moved up a few spots in line. “I guess it’s too much to hope for a response from any of the consuls.”

  “None of them have benn in touch with us yet.”

  I sipped on my tea tentatively. I had spent the better part of my day making too many calls to different branches of the Urwanian government. I could only leave vague messages that didn’t mention the pillar.

  My paranoia prevented me from saying too much. The Makroid might be tapping Urwanian lines of communication. I was already trying to avoid one group of aliens. The last thing I needed was for a deadlier band to start chasing me.

  I had reluctantly decided that I had no choice but to visit one of the consuls in person. I was going to take my chances with the consul in Kwakzulu. Face to face, I could gauge the official’s sincerity, and hopefully, pass the pillar to the appropriate hands.

  I reached over and clicked into the message alert. “Whoa.” When the message opened, bursts of digital confetti, along with bundles of red and gold balloons, flooded the screen.

  The top of the letter had a giant ‘Congratulations’ printed across it, with the logo of an intergalactic matchmaking service tacked onto the top left corner. I skimmed through the rest of the message, reading it out loud as if hearing the words would make them less real.

  “Ms. Christine Blackwood, everyone at TerraMates would like to congratulate you on your successful match. We understand from your partner’s call yesterday that you would like a spot reserved as soon as possible. We are pleased to inform you that
we have an opening in tomorrow’s schedule. We can fit you in for a beautiful ceremony in the morning and will provide a complimentary photographer and two tickets to an all-you-can-eat buffet. Please contact us to confirm your reservation.”

  “I’m not going to confirm shit.” I minimized the message and punched in the number for the support line.

  “Hello, this is Trina from TerraMates. How may I direct your call?”

  “Hi, Trina. Maybe you can help me. My name is Christine Blackwood, and I just received a message from your company congratulating me about a wedding. My wedding. Unfortunately, there must have been some mistake. I never signed up for the service.”

  “Let me check that for you. Black like the color, wood like a forest, correct?”

  “Yes.” I took another drink of my tea, tapping my fingers on the armrest.

  “One moment, please. I’ve located your file in the system. You are correct. It says we’ve moved your wedding up to tomorrow.”

  I spat out my tea, the brown liquid splattering all over the yoke and dashboard. “There must be another Christine Blackwood in your system.”

  “Ma’am, we don’t make mistakes at TerraMates, but I’ll be happy to take another look. Is your permanent address still 2031 White Grove Drive?”

  “Yes.” I shook my head. “Sorry, Trina, I realize this isn’t your fault, but I’m going to need you to go ahead and cancel it. Everything. Burn all the papers.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Blackwood, but there is nothing I can do for you right now. We have already processed the paperwork. You will need to settle the matter at the original place of issue on Earth.”

  “Are you sure there’s nothing you can do for me? I’m a little preoccupied right now.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Blackwood.”

  I terminated the call, cursing left and right. Did I need to do anything? They wanted me to confirm the reservation. Couldn’t I just cancel it?

  I had no idea how they had any of my information. If I didn’t show up, maybe I would be married and have three kids in a couple of months. I needed to clean this mess up right away.