Harden My Heart (Club Release 3) Science Fiction Abduction Romance

by Pixie Moon

  “Hi, I’m Hallie and this is Skyla.”

  “I’m Kinsey Lea. It’s nice to meet you.” They are so pretty that a touch of doubt worms its way into my heart. Tairin has to see how pretty they are. I look up and see that he is watching me. My heart beats a wild rhythm when I see the possessive look in his eyes. For now, I belong to him. And I love it.

  “Let’s get the guys some drinks and then nibble on some snacks as we get to know each other,” Hallie says. Her dark brown eyes are filled with curiosity.

  I look over at Din Tairin. “Go on, seema. We’ll be in the backyard talking.”

  I’m all mixed up inside. I want to see if Hallie and Skyla are as nice as they seem but I want to be near him too.

  “Come on, it’ll be fun. We have a table close to the guys but far enough away that we can talk without them catching every word,” Skyla says. Her green eyes are bright and she has an intriguing glow about her.

  I look back at Tairin and then follow the two women into a kitchen. To my relief they are both dressed similar to me. Our soft dresses are sheer in some places but the darker color patterns on them keep us from being totally revealed to the others. As I look them over I notice that Skyla has a little belly on her.

  She giggles and rubs her rounded belly. “I’m pregnant. Usually I’m happy but sometimes I want to snap everyone’s head off. Or eat all the food I can find. I apologize in advance if I hurt your feelings.”

  I flip my hand. “I’m sure you won’t.” She seems way too nice for that.

  Hallie’s eyebrows shoot up. “Accept the apology. Trust me, she gets real bitchy at times.”

  Skyla’s cheeks flush making her look even sweeter. “She’s right. My hormones are all over the place. Once the baby is born, I’m not going to miss these raging emotions at all.”

  As we fill some glasses with stros it dawns on me that Din Ryk must still have his balls since he got Skyla pregnant. A pang moves through my chest. I would have liked to have had a baby with Tairin.

  When I see my lover sitting at a massive table with the other males, I feel bad for him. Losing his balls must have been traumatic. Although he doesn’t have any scars that I’ve seen. I’m glad he got the best medical care.

  Although, him being a bit uglier would make it harder for him get rid of me. I place his drink in front of him and yelp when his hand grips my thigh and pulls me in closer to him. My heart races when his hand slides up and under my dress. I shudder when his thick finger slips along my slit. In no time I feel moisture dampen my folds. His eyes brighten before he removes his hand.

  “Go enjoy yourself, seema.”

  His voice jerks me out of the trance I’d been in. Heat stings my cheeks. What are his friends going to think of me? I glance around and see that Hallie is in Din Zar’s lap being kissed hungrily and Skyla is being felt up by Din Ryk.

  Relief cools my stinging nerve endings. A touch of joy whips through me. I like that Din Tairin openly shows his interest in me. Maybe things can be different here. This planet is unlike Earth. As I look around at all the big males and the two happy females, I know the difference is good. No judgmental frowns and no jealous or hateful gazes.

  “Let’s wander the yard as we talk,” Hallie says as she steps away from Din Zar, off the patio, and onto lush pale green grass.

  A bright blue camleon flies away from a nearby tree and chirps happily as it lands on my arm.

  “Dang, I’ve never seen a camleon do that before,” Skyla says. Her gaze is glued to the bird.

  “Me either,” Hallie echoes.

  I give a small shrug and the bird flies away. “I love birds.”

  “Looks like they love you back,” Skyla says as we walk around enjoying the plants.

  We stop near some purrdot flowers and I smile when they lean toward us. Their yellow petals are open as wide as they can go.

  “The plants are amazing here. So lush, beautiful, and interesting.” I look around at all the vibrant nature around us.

  “How is Earth? Is it any better?” Skyla asks. Her eyes are hopeful.

  I hold my hand out so a flower can breathe me in. “No, it looks dead compared to Zaphin.”

  Skyla’s shoulders drop. “That’s what I was afraid of.” She nods. It’s a sad nod, one that makes my heart hurt. “I have family there,” she says.

  Hallie takes Skyla’s hand and squeezes it. “The town you came from was good. I’m sure your family is doing well. You know they’d be happy if they could see you. Maybe they can sense your happiness. Some people can.”

  “Not my sister, Sunny, but maybe Alberta.”

  “See, it’s all right. You are where you’re supposed to be,” Hallie says and then looks at me. “We all are. You can be happy here too, Kinsey Lea.”

  I can’t help myself, I look over at Din Tairin. He is deep in conversation with his friends. My heart constricts. He is getting deeper and deeper under my skin every day.

  I turn back to Hallie. “Maybe.”

  A knowing look enters her eyes. “You can.” She glances around at the plants lining the jungle and then looks back at me. “Have you seen a hugmar tree?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” I like her shift in subjects.

  “Come on then, I’ll introduce you to one.” At Hallie’s strange wording, I look at Skyla and she smiles as she encourages me to follow them.

  We walk up to a tree with big leaves in varying shades of green. I look up at the interesting plant. “It reminds me of a huge leafed vine but with many shoot offs and a thick trunk.” I touch a leaf and smile. “It’s so soft.”

  “Yes, I love how responsive a lot of the plants on Zaphin are,” Hallie says as she reaches out and touches the tree’s trunk.

  My jaw drops when a warm pulse moves through the leaf I’m touching. “Did you feel that?”

  Skyla laughs. “Oh, she felt it. Hallie and the hugmar trees in this area are connected.” She tilts her head thoughtfully. “They have a bond that most don’t have.”

  Hallie shrugs as she gently strokes the trunk. “The plants here are like friends. I love them all.”

  Another pulse moves through the leaf. “This is a special planet. The more I learn, the more I like it.”

  “It does grow on you,” Skyla agrees.

  A blur of green dances from behind the hugmar tree. I look closer and three fluffy tails spread out and bob around. I take a step back. “What is that?”

  Skyla’s laughter floats around us. “Come on out, crazy thing.”

  I watch a furry cat like creature scurry up to Skyla. She digs into a small pocket on her dress and pulls out a cracker. The green and tan animal makes a purring sound as it rubs against her hand. A moment later the cracker is gone and the furry thing dashes away. The last thing I see is three tails waving.

  I look at Skyla for answers. “That is a flurcot. We have one at home that lets me pet its head and belly. They are curious creatures that will always take a handout.” Her gaze moves in the direction the flurcot went. “They are great hunters though, so they don’t rely on people to keep them alive.”

  That she carries crackers is telling. I like the animal lover in her and the plant lover in Hallie. These two seem like good people. I’m glad Din Tairin’s friends found them and brought them here to this amazing planet.

  A camleon flies over and lands on my head. It ruffles my hair before flying up to my face and chirping like crazy.

  “I wonder what it’s saying,” Skyla says.

  “I’d love to know that,” I answer.

  “It’s amazing how the camleons respond to you,” Hallie says over the loudly chirping bird.

  The camleon flies around Hallie and Skyla before flying away. A splat of water hits my arm. I look up and laugh. “Rain.”

  “So far, it hasn’t lost its appeal,” Skyla says.

  Hallie nods as she moves out into the open. “Since we came from Earth, I don’t think it will ever get old.”

  “I hope not,” I say as I hold my arms out t
o let more drops hit me.

  “Skyla, go inside,” Din Ryk calls from the patio.

  She growls but heads inside. We follow and I worry about her attitude. With a baby on the way, Skyla can’t afford to piss her man off. Not to the point that he’d leave her.

  “Hallie do you have some towels we can use to dry off?” I glance at Skyla’s little baby bump.

  “Yes, follow me.”

  As we follow Hallie deeper into the house, I notice that the guys are entering. A quick glance at the wall of glass reveals a downpour. My heart longs to run out in it, but I know Skyla needs to be inside, even if she doesn’t want to be.

  We quickly dry off and then head to the kitchen at Hallie’s suggestion. With a tray of snacks on the counter, we nibble as we talk.

  “The food supply here is so much better than on Earth.” I pick up a berry and plop it in my mouth. Sweet bursts over my tongue.

  Hallie shivers. “And safer. Here you don’t have to worry about falling into a trap every time you see a plot of food producing trees.”

  Damn, what happened to her? I would ask but when the haunted look in her eyes leaves, I decide not to. No since in bringing up painful memories. I glance at them and know we all have bad memories. Memories best put away in a dark corner of our minds and maybe someday totally forgotten. Fat chance, that. But it sounds good.

  Hallie looks over at Skyla. “You still working at Midday & More?”

  Skyla’s eyes brighten. “Yes.” She looks at me. “I work at Ryk’s brother’s restaurant. You guys will have to come by sometime.”

  My jaw drops and a berry falls from my mouth. “Sorry about that.” As they laugh, I quickly pick the berry up off the counter and eat it. “You’re allowed to work in public? I didn’t know that was possible.”

  “I need to work. I don’t do well at home.” Her gaze drifts over to Din Ryk’s and love shines through her eyes. “Ryk understands.” Her gaze swings back to mine. “He didn’t like it at first, but now he’s good with it.”

  “Are there many restaurants on the planet?” I’ve been too busy acclimating to his home and friends to even realize what other wonders are here on Zaphin. I should have thought of this sooner.

  Hallie swallows a bite of muffin and then says, “There are several. And malls and museums too.”

  “Really?” I’ve been missing out.

  “Yes, we have lots to explore. Skyla even has a vehicle. She can drive us around,” Hallie says excitedly.

  I look over at Skyla. “You have a vehicle?”

  “Yes, I needed one to get to work. But I do take it out to other places at times. Like here or to the mall. We will have to go out. It’ll be fun.”

  Excitement rushes through me. “How can we plan a trip?” That thought is daunting. We can’t yell through the jungle at each other. A load of disappointment dumps heavily onto my chest.

  “Don’t look so disappointed. I’ve got this.” Hallie grins and waves for us to follow her. She goes over to a black and silver device. I realize we have one in our living room.

  “This communication device is all we need. You both have one in your homes, don’t you?” Hallie asks.

  “Yes,” we both answer at the same time.

  “I thought so. Here’s how it works.” I watch in wonder as Hallie shows us how to use the device to contact each other. We can use just voice or a holoimage depending on the device model. I’m loving this planet more by the second.

  Hope swells in my chest. I could have friends, food, technology, and…my gaze moves over to Din Tairin who is at the far side of the living room talking to his friends. A fresh pang of longing moves through me. Could we grow to love each other? Oh yes, he is deep under my skin. For better or worse.

  Gold and purple eyes lock with mine. Din Tairin inhales deeply and I swear I see approval flash through his pretty eyes. I don’t know what that look is for but it moves me. I’m doomed.

  “You two think you’ve got it?” Hallie asks drawing my attention back to her.

  “Yes, thank you.” My nerves tingle with excitement. “I look forward to talking to you two.”

  “Yeah, I wish we’d thought of this sooner,” Hallie says.

  Beeps fill the air.

  I look over at the guys. They are all checking their wrist coms. The growl that comes from them has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up and goosebumps racing down my arms.

  “Those prelling grounfos are gathering recruits,” Din Ash spits out.

  “This can’t be good,” Din Hauk says.

  “No, it can’t,” Din Von agrees in a gruff voice.

  All three of our males stand and stalk over to us. A shiver of fear slithers up my spine.

  “You three are to stay alert all the time,” Din Tairin says. The serious look in his eyes has me shivering again.

  Din Ryk looks us over. “No going out without our approval.”

  Skyla stiffens. “I don’t think coming to a friend’s house will hurt anything.”

  The low warning growl Din Ryk releases has my heart pounding.

  Din Tairin inhales and his vents flutter. He looks at the other girls and then me. “You should be afraid. A group of rebels is planning something so you three need to follow our orders.”

  How did he know I was afraid?

  Skyla growls and Din Ryk growls back at her. His vents flutter as his gaze stares hard into Skyla’s. After a long moment, she looks away. My heart races even faster. She shouldn’t be challenging him. He could get rid of her. I don’t want her to be left in the jungle.

  Tairin inhales again and so do the other males. He pulls me into a hug and breaths deeply. “Everything’s going to be fine as long as you three follow orders.”

  The beeping of their com units has me jumping. He blows out a breath and releases me. I watch him frown as he reads the newest message.

  “Remember what we said,” he says before walking over to the others. I watch as all the guys gather.

  They are snapping and growling as they talk about rebel groups that are starting to work together. What is happening? My stomach sours. It’s just my luck to find all of these good people and then have the planet consumed with problems.

  Hallie urges us to follow her down a corridor and into a lush bedroom. Looks like all of the warriors like nice big bedrooms. My mind switches to all of the big people on Zaphin. I hope nothing bad happens. Like home invasions. Another shiver runs through me.

  “Is this common? Trouble from that group?” Maybe it’s nothing much. I could be overreacting. Fear of losing a good thing can do that to a person.

  Hallie plops down on the bed. “No, not on this level that is. The grounfos seem to be stirring up more trouble than usual. Have you noticed anything strange at the restaurant, Skyla?”

  “No, but then everyone knows my bosses don’t put up with any shit in their restaurant.”

  “What are the grounfos? Are they from here or another planet?” I ask.

  “They are zaphinians who believe in taking what they want. They usually run in small groups,” Skyla says. The tremble in her voice makes me wonder if she’s had a run in with them before.

  “They are bad. They believe that mean and sneaky people should be rulers. Only the vicious matter,” Hallie says.

  Another shiver moves through me. “Maybe we should do as the guys say. I don’t want any trouble.”

  “We do need to be watchful,” Skyla says.

  “Yeah, but we can still have some fun,” Hallie adds in. “The grounfos can’t be everywhere at the same time.”

  Skyla nods. “True.”

  Hallie looks at Skyla. “You really need to stop pissing Din Ryk off. You know he can punish you.”

  Skyla’s shoulders sag. “I know, but lately I just can’t help myself.” She rubs her baby bump and then snorts. “It’s not like I can hide my feelings from him.”

  “Yeah, that’s fucked up. I hate the way they can smell emotions,” Hallie says.

  My jaw drops. “W
hat?”

  They stare at me in disbelief and then look at each other.

  Hallie looks at me and shakes her head sadly. “You are in for a shock, missy. You know how the vents along their noses flutter?”

  “Yes.”

  Hallie looks toward the door and then back at me. “Well those vents allow them to scent your emotions. They always know how we are feeling.”

  “Flipping fuck. I had no idea.”

  Skyla rubs my shoulder. “It’s not always a bad thing.”