Science Friction: 15 Book MEGA Sci-Fi Romance Bundle (Excite Spice Boxed Sets)

by Selena Kitt

  We stop for a second, and I get a good look at the crowd. Yeah, that’s more than a crowd – that’s a giant mass of humanity, at least a million people.

  Then the alien winks at me with her radiant, green eyes and leads me inside the spaceship.

  Chapter Two

  - Prince Brax’on -

  I survey the mass of Earthlings with a skeptical eye. It’s an attractive species, and the variety of body structure, height, skin color and features is very appealing to me. They are on average a little smaller and more delicate than Itherians, and that also appeals to me.

  If I am to produce heirs to the Itherian throne, an Earthling could well be the best option. But this is just the first encounter with the Earth aliens. There will be many more, so there’s no reason to procreate with someone I might find at this particular gathering.

  Indeed there are many fine women around, and especially that one with the curves and the blue dress and the sociable demeanor looks like a good alternative. I like the way she curtsied jokingly right before she went inside the ship. She has the makings of a princess that would be loved by the people.

  I take a step back from the viewscreen and look down at the main party floor. It’s filling up well, as more and more Earthlings are being brought into the ship. This first party is just a get-to-know-you sort of thing, to get closer acquainted with the Earthlings and their ways.

  My cousin, Duchess Tana, sidles up to me. “See anyone you like?” she purrs. It’s a double entendre. She’s referring to herself.

  “Hmm. There appear to be some options here,” I say, not wanting to commit to anything.

  “I know you’re picky, Brax. Too picky, some say. It’s almost weird how you still haven’t found a woman you find worthy of bearing you children and heirs to the throne. Not even among your closest.” Her eyelids flutter.

  I just grunt. “You may have noticed that I’m not the most attractive man around. All I have is my royal status.”

  “Your royal status and your natural alpha personality,” Tana says. “Let’s not forget that last part. You can be gruff and distant, but you could get any woman, and I think you know it.” She glances at me sideways and touches her slender neck in an inviting gesture I know just too well.

  I grunt again. She knows that won’t work.

  “Well,” she says, “tonight you’ll get to choose from aliens. And so do I.”

  I can’t help but smirk. The Duchess’ sexual appetite is legendary, and she doesn’t only have male lovers. “I’m sure we’ll both have a fine evening,” I say and lift my eyebrows.

  She laughs, a very attractive thing for her to do, and she knows it. “Oh, I’m not complaining, Brax. Not at all. I just want to say that it’s never too soon to produce heirs. But at some point, it will be too late. Okay, see ya!”

  She bumps her hip into mine, purses her lips in a joking caricature of a kiss and sashays off in her long, frilly dress, heading for the stairs that will take her down to the party floor. The music and the pleasant scent fumes are already going, and there are mildly alcoholic brews to be had.

  I smile at her antics. She has often tried to entice me to join her in her bedroom, ever since we were teens, but I’ve always declined in the nicest way possible. I’m flattered by her admiration, but intimacy with cousins... no.

  I will soon join the party, when there are more Earthlings to choose from.

  I turn back to the viewscreen.

  Chapter Three

  The inside of the spaceship is like a super futuristic nightclub, with exotic dark wood coating the walls, strange materials everywhere and a pleasant haze that smells heavenly. It’s warm and half-dark and welcoming, and I immediately feel at home. There’s music, too, but nothing I recognize. Actually, this is almost beyond music, a delicate and filling mix of strange sounds that seems like delicate golden tendrils of sonic bliss caressing my ears. It puts me at ease and makes me want to enjoy myself.

  The alien woman who invited me inside is still holding my hand, and then she turns around and looks at me. Her eyes seem to sparkle with a golden light. She really is extremely beautiful. But so are all the aliens.

  “Thank you for coming inside. My name is Jaiana.”

  “I’m Aithan.” I have to force down an urge to shake her hand.

  “Yes, Aithan, I know that,” she giggles. “If you wish, I’ll get you a drink. Not too strong, don’t worry. We don’t want you to lose your head in here.”

  “Uh... okay.” I’m almost disappointed that she didn’t drag me off to bed right away. But as I look around, I don’t mind it so much. It looks like all the Earthlings who have been taken inside are right here in this large room with many levels. I spot Deliah in flirting conversation with two aliens, one male and one female, and I walk over to her.

  She does a double take, then squeals in joy and throws herself around my neck. “Oh Aithan, I’m so happy to see you here too! This is going to be soooo great!”

  The aliens just look on and smile at her enthusiastic outburst. Yes, everyone likes Deliah, even aliens.

  More aliens and Earthlings come into the exotic room, and the music seems to be turned gradually louder to compensate for the noise of all the happy and excited conversations taking place around the room. I notice that the music also has changed very slightly, and now has more of a rhythm to it. It’s extremely pleasant and both relaxing and exciting at the same time, as if it connects directly with the parts of my brain that have to do with pleasure.

  Jaiana comes back and hands me my drink, then comes so close to me that I can smell the delicate and feminine scent of her skin. She puts her arm around my waist, and I put mine around hers.

  I take a sip of the drink. It’s spicy and delicate and exotic, just like everything around me.

  Suddenly I have no idea what to say to her. Do you come here often? No, that’s ridiculous. Do you live around here? Groan. What do you do? Sigh. What can I say to an alien woman who seems to want to get to know me in the biblical sense?

  Well, I have to say something. This is silly.

  “Do you want to mate with me?” It’s the first thing that comes to mind. And it’s not a proposition, but an honest question. I can only hope that she takes it the right way.

  It seems that she does. “We want to mate with aliens, Aithan. And you are an alien, and you are here. It seems likely that you will be mating with someone before the night is over. If that is what you wish.”

  “Oh, it is,” I assure her. “Definitely.”

  The party’s picking up pace fast, and the music changes again and becomes even more rhythmic and sensual. For some reason it seems the music doesn’t make it harder to hear conversation or to be understood, which is always one thing that annoys me in bars and at parties.

  I notice an alien woman with a haughty bearing sitting in a comfortable chair while an Earthling man massages her feet. She seems to be enjoying it greatly, and it crosses my mind that she’d need to have industrial strength self-confidence to sit there so casually in a crowded party being openly pampered like that. And she looks as relaxed as if she’s in a salon.

  Jaiana follows my gaze and smiles affectionately. “Duchess Tana enjoys being spoiled by her lovers. And later she spoils them right back, in the privacy of the bedroom.”

  The Duchess is just as stunning as Jaiana, a vision of mature womanhood. “That must be... interesting,” I manage.

  Jaiana smiles at my choice of words. “Yes,” she says. “It is. An experience to cherish.”

  Another alien male comes closer, but stops some distance away and only gazes at Deliah and me, a relaxed expression on his face and a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. For some reason I can’t take my eyes off him, and I notice that everyone around him seems to go a little quieter and more tense. He commands attention without even trying.

  He’s clearly Itherian, but he’s different from the other males. He wears simpler clothes, just a black outfit that reminds me of a business suit, al
though one that has a slight purple sheen to it and an elaborate and alien design where the necktie would be. His hair is dark blond and short, and his face is not quite as perfect as that of the other alien males I’ve seen. His has more character, and shows more imperfections that somehow make him more striking than downright beautiful.

  But he has an air to him that gives me some trouble taking my eyes off him. The way he’s standing, the way he carries himself, the way he seems to take up a lot of room, the way everyone are glancing over at him, almost like kids wanting the approval of an adult, and yet he’s no older than them. There is something special about this man. Something... strong.

  And now he’s looking at me with eyes that are so gray they seem luminous.

  I don’t know what to do, and I continue my halting conversation with Jaiana, sending occasional glances over at the unusual man. I notice that Deliah also seems to have lost some of her interest in the other aliens and is now taking in the newcomer, seemingly trying to catch his attention without being obvious about it. She laughs louder, flutters her eyelids, touches her hair and shoots her hip out.

  I suddenly feel a weird pang of jealousy. I want attention, too. Why is Deliah making such a fool of herself over this man? Can’t she see he’s obviously out of her league?

  Then the man lazily straightens and casually walks over to me. I feel butterflies taking off in my stomach, and everyone in the room are following him with their eyes while still pretending to carry on their conversations. Only Jaiana keeps her eyes focused on me, but I know it’s only because she knows the man is coming over to us.

  Then he’s here, and I can smell his spicy scent on the air. So alien, yet so male... I swallow in a dry throat. The power in this one... If he decides to pick a fight, I’ve lost before it’s started.

  “Enjoying yourself, Jaiana?” the man says calmly. He has a deep, resonant voice with an edge to it - not an angry edge, just a part of his natural voice that makes it different enough from the pleasant, but bland sound of a radio announcer to be interesting.

  “You know me, Brax’on. If there’s a party with aliens, I’m all there.” They’re still speaking English, I notice, which says a lot about their courtesy.

  “Indeed I do know you, Jaiana. And a pleasant acquaintance you are. Now, who is this gentleman?” The man again turns his attention to me, and I swallow again. He’s is taller than me, like most Itherian males, and he’s plainly muscular. But still, no man should have such an electrifying presence as this. It seems supernatural, almost.

  I look up at the man’s face. It’s still friendly, and I relax just a little. There seems to be no menace in him. Not obviously, anyway.

  “This is Aithan,” Jaiana says. “A man from Earth. Aithan, this is Brax’on.”

  Again I have the urge to hold out my hand to shake hands, but here among the aliens it just doesn’t seem like the thing to do. And no one else does it, either.

  The Itherian called Brax’on calmly looks me up and down, and then his gaze comes to rest on my face. I feel them pierce me, like gray lasers, reading my soul. But there’s warmth in them.

  “You’re a very attractive human, Aithan. We share the same form, your species and mine.”

  “Thanks,” I manage. What the heck is it about this man that gets me to almost blush? The intensity of that gaze... it makes me want to look away and it makes me want to get closer, to get more of that scent- what am I thinking?! I’m not attracted to men!

  Jaiana smiles again and draws away from us, and I notice Deliah staring at me with a definite frown on her face. It makes me almost smile. She wanted Brax’on’s attention, and I got it.

  “Are you enjoying your evening, Aithan?” Brax’on says.

  I tear my attention away from the alien’s eyes and look around the room. Everyone is still paying attention to us, trying hard not to stare. “It’s fine,” I say, and my voice breaks a little. “It’s a very nice spaceship you have.”

  “Thank you. It’s our intention to share much of our technology with your world. Maybe your planet will also soon possess ships like this one.”

  “I’m sure we’d... like that,” I say lamely.

  Brax’on nodded graciously. “Tell me, Aithan, what made you come here?” He says my name with just a tiny accent, and it sounds so right, as if I’ve been mispronouncing it all my life.

  “Oh, you know. Aliens arriving, maybe see if there were some hot chicks, and...”

  I stop myself. How honest can I be with this man?

  “The opportunity to mate with an alien?” Brax’on completes.

  I can only shrug. “I guess.”

  “Not a bad purpose at all. That’s one reason we came to this planet. What is your impression of us so far?”

  “It’s good. I mean, everyone seems nice.”

  He fixes his gaze on me, holding me captive with that intensity. “Mm. And what is your impression of me?”

  Chapter Four

  - Prince Brax’on -

  I only saw him because he was close to the woman I had spotted before, the fun one in the blue dress. But as soon as I lay eyes on this male Earthling, I lose all the lukewarm interest I’d ever had in the woman. He concentrates my mind and focuses it. His tanned skin, his dark hair, meticulously styled, and his well-fitting clothes over his slender frame – it’s rare for me to find other males attractive, but this one makes everyone else in the room fade to insignificance. And he seems not to have any idea.

  “Oh, you seem nice,” he replies to my direct question. “You’re a little different from the other ali- from the other Itherians.”

  How right he is. ‘A little different’. I always have been.

  I lift one eyebrow. “Yes? In what way?”

  He swallows and hesitates, as he should, and his eyes dart around the room as he thinks. The first thing he’ll have noticed is that I’m not as handsome as most of the other Itherian males, and that is not something he wants to say to me. But I also think he’s noticed something else. Well, I hope he has.

  “I guess you look different. In a way. I mean, the clothes and stuff. And you’re not as-”

  He looks away, embarrassed. I place two fingers under his cheek and lift his face to mine. He focuses on my lips, afraid to look me in the eyes now. It can be an aggressive move, this. But that’s not how it’s meant. On the contrary.

  “I’m sorry,” he says, and his eyes widen. “I didn’t mean to insult you...”

  “You did not insult me,” I say and lean forward, towards his face. It’s far too soon, but I can’t help it. He does something to me.

  He sees it, and he parts his lips for a split second.

  Then he jerks back as if stung. “I’m not attracted to guys,” he gasps and takes step back, as if I’ve slapped him.

  He walks off with fast steps and stiff movements. His woman friend follows him, but not before she has sent me a flirting look over her shoulder.

  I smirk and raise my eyebrows at Duchess Tana, who has witnessed the whole thing from her comfortable seated position while having her feet massaged, now by one Earthling on each foot. She raises the back of her hand to her mouth, hiding a laugh, her eyes shining with mirth.

  I’m not sure if she’s laughing at me or at Aithan. It’s rare to see me be rejected. Indeed I can’t remember if it has ever happened before. It’s my own fault, I rushed into it. But it’s so rare for me to feel like this.

  It makes me even more interested in this alien male.

  He may not be attracted to guys, as far as he knows. But his body is, that’s for sure. His stiff movements as he walked away were caused both by his emotional state and the large erection he was very unsuccessfully trying to hide from everyone in the room.

  His body has betrayed what he needs and truly wants tonight: Me.

  He’s in luck. I always get what I want.

  And I think I just might want him.

  Chapter Five

  - Aithan -

  I walk away from the alien man
, trying to seem unaffected, as if we’ve just had a nice conversation and I’m just going to refresh my drink.

  I feel every eye in the room on me. They all saw it. He tried to kiss me, I think. Or did he? Maybe that’s how an alien says hello?

  I can’t help but notice that I have some stiffness going on in my jeans. Dammit! How the hell can that have happened? It was probably because of Jaiana. Yes, that’s it. She was not too far away from me and Brax’on, and she’s very attractive. Of course that had an effect on me. Or maybe that woman having her feet massaged. Or even Deliah.

  It can’t possibly have been because of him, with his easy manner and huge confidence... I’m not attracted to men. I’m just not.