“It is a tragedy.” This wasn’t working. “They were too different and not a good match. Raw attraction of the kompli-komplan bound tied them together but they could have no life. They were slaves to that bond. We must be stronger than our instincts and resist.”
Vera’s liquid dark eyes looked at me sadly before turning on her side, facing the fire.
I covered her with a blanket and settled behind her, careful not to touch skin to skin.
She was unhappy with my interpretation of the story but I am right in this. She will see.
Chapter Six
Vera
We walked. The valley sloped towards the abandoned settlement. In the sunshine, I grew too warm for the layers and removed the makeshift cloak, scarf and wrappings. The strange fur coat covering Glin seemed to thin, growing less dense and shorter and finally vanishing all together. I tried not to stare.
We passed specimens I recognized from Terra. The Douglas Firs were particularly tall and had the bright green tip of fresh growth at the end. I twisted off the new buds and put them in rucksack pocket.
“What are you doing?” Glin asked.
“Making an herbal tea.”
“That could be poisonous,” he said with a frown.
I shook my head. “This is Terran and perfectly safe.” I gave the tree trunk and appreciative pat. I’d love to stumble across a wild coffee shrub but that wasn’t going to happen.
When the sun was at its zenith, we rested and chewed on ration bars. I know it’s rude to complain about other cultures, but these bars are barely edible. They’re a strange mixture of pungent garlic and cloying sweetness. The bars are nutritionally complete, I’m sure, but they don’t win any praise for taste. At least we’ll be protected from any vampires.
I really hope there are no vampires on Blackborn.
A shiver overtook me as I remembered exactly the kind of monsters on Blackborn. Edder. Garlic was poisonous to the Edder. I lost my appetite.
At least the water is crisp and fresh. Straight out of the river and into a canteen with a purification tablet, the water is remarkably satisfying. The processed city water on Juno has dulled my palate, but I don’t recall plain water ever tasting this good. Could be the exhaustion talking.
The constant movement has kept me limber and stopped my muscles from stiffening. I mean, I ache. I can feel the tenderness and heat from the blossoming bruises on my torso but it could be worse.
Signs of the colony start to appear. We found an old stone mill, half tumbled down and half covered in an ivy-type plant. Badly decaying fences outline fields. We walked on a road, even, the paved surface still serviceable after a century. Farmhouses appear, security shutters drawn tight over doors and windows. Then I spotted snow apples.
Without warning, I clambered over the partial stone wall and made my way into an orchard. The trees were tall and heavy with fruit.
“What are you doing, Terran?” Glin asked, voice gruff with disapproval. Let him disapprove.
“Do you know what these are?” I asked, walking into the stand of trees. I reached for a low bow, plucking a red apple easily.
“They could be poisonous. Do not eat it,” he said.
I bit into the flesh, the outer skin gave a satisfying crack and my mouth flooded with the sweet and tart juices. “It’s fine,” I said, mouth full. Snow apples were not native to anywhere but a lab and grown on every Terran colony. Engineered to be hardy, drought resistant, the trees required little in the way of nutrients or even light. They could and did grow anywhere with very little human effort. This orchard, planted a century ago, was thriving.
I tossed an apple to Glin. He caught it but frowned, not eating. He sniffed the fruit. “It’s a snow apple,” I said. “Every Terran colony plants these. They’re idiot proof and grow anywhere. Juno has then, too.” My city had a smaller, ornamental variety that lined the city streets. Shade in the summer, fruit all through the fall and winter. Although, these apples were definitely bigger and tastier than the ones that grew outside my building.
I took another bite and hummed happily. Glin finally took a small bite. He chewed thoughtfully and then nodded. I smiled at his raving endorsement of the fruit. We loaded up my rucksack with two dozen apples. They’d be a nice addition to our meals of ration bars and more ration bars.
I was being unfair. The fish last night was tasty and filling. It was almost sweet the way Glin brought the catch to me, already gutted and cleaned. I can’t cook for the life of me, but it was sweet when he handed me our dinner. Was I going to let him know I thought it was sweet? Hell no.
Shrugging the rucksack on, I chided myself to not get too sentimental about the big blue alien. He clearly can’t stand my company or even look at me. He’s just doing his job, getting me to Fremm to see my sister. Nothing more.
We reach the colony just as the sun set. I almost cried at the thought of a night in soft bed with heat. Well, sleeping two nights wrapped in Glin’s arms for warmth was nice but he’s not interested. Strictly business; he’s just doing his job. So tonight I get a big soft bed all to myself.
I’m gonna pretend I’m not disappointed.
The buildings clustered tightly together in a radial pattern. This must have been the original landing, judging from the square boxy buildings. They look exactly like the hab units disassembled from the colony ship at Juno. Some things don’t change, apparently. The units stacked together formed larger structures. A few even had timber and stone facades, which is much fancier than my own barebones settlement. At the center of the town was a green space, probably the location of an intended memorial or park. Lots of colonies did that. Juno had Founder’s Square. It was a nice spot to spend a summer afternoon.
Blackborn was the opposite of a nice spot to spend any length of time. Snow drifts pressed against buildings. The street was relatively clear of snow. Heavy shutters covered some of the buildings. Others were the doors were hanging open or missing altogether. I rubbed my hands up the length of my arms, trying not to think what the missing doors meant.
When the Edder attacked, the colonists were unprepared. They went to greet the aliens as new trade partners. Quickly the scene turned to slaughter and the survivors barricaded themselves in buildings. The Terran government tried to open communications. They only received one message, broadcasted on a continuous loop: “We do not negotiate with meat.”
Ultimately, the Terrans fought back the Edder and rescued the remaining colonists. The colony was perfectly safe but who wanted to live there? Blackborn was abandoned and future colonies were given better defenses. I’ve seen the story in films. The Edder were a favorite reoccurring boogey man in space theme. It would be an interesting insight into our psyche as a species if the Edder were not so terrifyingly real.
And here I was, too far from home with a stranger who couldn’t stand me, standing at the heart of everything that terrifies a human.
The reality of what happened to the Tal colony three days ago struck me. The slaughter at Blackborn kept happening to other colonies and no matter how we prepared, the Edder were hungrier than us. All those people gone, all those houses empty and I’m concerned about getting a soft bed tonight. I am shallow.
Glin kept checking his wrist communicator. He seemed to be following a map. I didn’t care. My feet hurt. My back hurt. My shoulder and ribs hurt. I wanted a hot bath and a soft bed. Hell, I’d even get a ration bar without complaining.
“How long will it take to recharge the batteries?” I asked.
“Depending on the power supply, thirty-six hours to ninety.”
So not a quick little visit to Spookyville.
Glin paused outside a multistory building. It was not the largest building in the town but it was grand and clearly had never spent any time as a hab unit. The doors and windows were shuttered tight.
In the approaching darkness, I looked at the external control panel. The panel lit up when I brushed away snow. Still has power then. “I think I can override the security protoc
ol and get us inside.”
“Stand aside.” Glin nudged me to the right and his heavy axe slammed into the panel. The lights flickered and died out.
“What did you do that for!” I shouted in disgust.
The shutter rumbled and slowly retracted, revealing the unlocked door. Big blue show off. “Great, now how are we suppose to lock the damn door?” I asked.
“There are other doors.”
The was once a grand house. Still was.
The lights flickered to life.
A staircase in discolored white paint gently curved upwards to the second story. The kitchen was to the left. I could see the cabinets and worktable. To the left was a communal room with a large hearth. The wood, painted a rust red, seemed to have aged better.
Most importantly, the house was warm.
The house was pleasant, if you can get past the whole slaughtered-by-man- eating-spiders-from-space vibe. Beyond the stairs was a narrow hallway. Formal dining room to the left. A library to the right. Posh. At the end of the hall was a doorway and some type of atrium. I’ll explore it later.
About to climb the stairs, Glin cautioned me. I said, “We’re the first people here in one hundred years. It’s fine.”
There were four bedrooms upstairs. Each bed was already made, waiting for the residents to return. Amazingly, the sheets were soft and clean. I run a hand over the linens with a sigh. Soon. The smallest room at the back had one forlorn doll and other toys scattered on the ground.
I picked the room farthest away from the child’s. I took off my shoes with a sigh. Free for the first time in two days, my feet were more than a little aromatic. Glin wrinkled his nose.
“And you smell like a bed of roses,” I snapped but the point was made. I stank. I needed to clean myself up before I crawled into bed. “Does this place have a sonic shower or bath or something?”
Glin looked at his wrist comm again. “Bathing facilities are on the ground floor, behind the building.”
An outside cleansing room. Fantastic. Talk about old fashioned.
I opened a chest of drawers, revealing neatly folded garments. “I wonder if the fabric can still be good.”
“The house had an air tight seal, which should have slowed the decaying process.”
“Airtight, huh. I guess that explains why we’re not wading through dust.” The rooms were eerily immaculate. Not a speck of dust, just as if the owners were out and could return at any moment. The building must have a functioning maintenance bot.
I held up a tunic. The size was good. Whoever lived here was a little taller than myself but the same relative size. In the wardrobe I found exactly what I wanted. A thin smile tugged on my lips as I stroked the fabric. It didn’t crumble to dust or tear when I removed it from the hanger. Colonist used a durable synthetic fabric. Early colony ships often took a generation to reach their destinations. Nothing was worse than waking out of stasis to find all your clothes had degraded with age.
I held the garment up to myself, admiring the color. It was perfect.
“Go on, get,” I said, shooing Glin out of my way and heading out the door. “I want a bath and I want it now.”
The hall on the first floor opened into a courtyard.
“There must be a hot springs,” I said.
The building enclosed the courtyard on all sides. At the center was a circular pool with steaming hot, purplish water. The stone pavers were swept clean and the pool was free of debris. Above us was the clear evening sky with the appearance of the first stars. To the left of the courtyard was storage. The right looked to be the cleansing rooms and linens. A quick check inside found towels, still soft and fluffy.
“How is this place so clean,” I asked, hugging the towel to my chest.
Glin pointed to a small service vent at the floorboard. “Automated. I also think the security shutters covered the courtyard.”
That would make sense. I picked through the bottles in a cabinet. “There is no way this soap is still good.” No shampoo, no conditioner. My curls would be a frizzy mess tomorrow but I don’t care. My scalp itched and my skin practically crawled. I found a packet of very dry bar soap. Brown at the edges, it smelled like dust. Oh well, better to smell like dust than sweat.
With towel and soap acquired, I returned to the pool. I nearly took off my shirt before I noticed that Glin was still hanging around. “Can I have some privacy.”
He shook his head. “I can’t leave you alone. What if you are attacked?”
“In the bath?”
“Would you not be vulnerable?” He folded his arms over his chest and a stubborn expression fixed on his face.
Fine. Be that way.
“Well, you can’t just stay here and watch me like a creeper,” I said. “If you’re staying, you have to take a bath, too.”
He grunted but began to remove his clothing.
I bit my lower lip and turned around quickly, hoping that the blush enveloping me wasn’t visible from behind. “Don’t you dare look at me,” I said, hoping he would. I can’t believe he agreed to my ridiculous demand. I shucked off my clothes quickly, leaving them in a pile on the pavement and went into the water.
The hot water enveloped me and I sighed with relief. Tense and sore muscles relaxed. I could see the angry green and purple bruises on my sides. They were warm to the touch, so of course I prodded and poked. I dunked myself under and worked my fingers into my curls, letting the water permeate down to the roots.
When I surfaced, Glin stood at the edge with a towel wrapped around his trim waist. The strange stripes on his torso were glowing again. The man was all muscle in his chest, shoulders, arms and thighs.
“Don’t stare,” I said, trying to cover myself under the water. “Its rude.”
He grunted and picked up my discarded clothes.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“The sonic cleaner is still operational. Perhaps you would like clean under garments?”
Gorgeous and he did laundry.
Too bad he can’t stand me.
The bar of soap revitalized once in the water. The colony must have had a very resilient formula for soap. I worked the ancient bar into a lather which no longer smelled like dust but faintly of roses.
I didn’t notice Glin’s return until the surface of water rippled. I turned my back to him, working the soap into my hair. Conditioner would have been nice to keep my curls from frizzing out but beggars can't be choosers.
Once I removed the grime of a shuttle crash and two days travel, I covered my chest and handed the soap to Glin. I was doing a poor job of covering my generous breasts and his gaze lingered perhaps a moment too long and my stomach fluttered with excitement when our hands touch.
“You make it hard not to stare,” he said gruffly, taking the soap and turning away.
In the light from the courtyard, I have a clean view of the scars on his back. Old lacerations run down the length of his smooth back, marring otherwise flawless skin. Some might consider the scars ugly but they only highlighted the perfection of his form.
I sighed, desire and longing surging in me. My pussy ached. I squeezed my thighs together to ease the ache.
Glin’s back stiffened but he continued to work the soapy lather over himself.
The blush overtaking me was fast and fierce. I was sitting here naked, demanding he not look at me but creeping on his naked self. I should be ashamed of myself. I said, “The water is working wonders on my muscles.”
He nodded but said nothing.
Chapter Seven
Glin
I do not understand this Terran woman.
She demanded a bath. I provided. She demands privacy but knows I cannot leave her unguarded. She demands I join her in the pool, so I do. She covers her eyes in mock bashfulness at my naked form but I catch her peeking. I can smell her scent, it lingers on the soap she gave me and here I am covering myself in her scent so I will never be able to escape the wildflowers and sunshine. She will be with me always.
>
I don’t mind.
For such a small, fragile creature, Vera is resilient. I can’t help but to admire Vera. She did not complain during our journey. She remained calmed during the emergency landing and took direct action as I assessed our situation. I find myself touching the wound on my shoulder and smiling. I could see how stiffly she moves but tonight when she disrobed, I saw the extent of her bruising, and still she did not complain or ask for more consideration.
Her body is fragile and soft but she is mentally strong.
I find myself appreciating the softer aspects of her form. Her breasts have a pleasing, heavy weight to them. I longed to cup them in my hand, teasing her nipples. The curves of her hips are intriguing but I am fascinated with her sweet, round ass. I want to nip the cheeks with my fangs and then part her thighs, sinking deep into her. I desired to lift her out of the water to the edge of the pool and clean every inch of her with my tongue, especially the fragrant folds between her thighs. I want so much from this woman.
I do not understand myself. I can’t injure her. I cannot risk it. Vera is the sister of my princess. She is not for me. I rub the flat of my hand against my chest, willing my heart to listen. If I repeat this lie often enough, it will be true.
I tried to explain last night why she could not be my kompli. Our respective positions are too vast. And when I think of how quickly the mottle green, yellow and purple bruises spread across her warm brown skin...I cannot risk hurting her.
Vera would not have any of it.
I have not been entirely honest with Vera. I led her to believe that I could repair the batteries. Possibly I can, there is no certainty. Perhaps if I find the right equipment. I did not wish to be frank about our situation least I spark panic and worry in her eyes. I would slit my own throat if it would ease her mind.
Huh.
I would do anything in my power to ease her worry. I wasn’t expecting that.
When she finished bathing, Vera demanded I turn my back and close my eyes. I could feel the ripple in the water as she left the pool. I tried not to imagine the sweet curve of her bottom as she climbed out of the pool. Not for me, I repeated, lips moving silently. Not for me.
Alien Warrior's Mate: Alpha Alien Romance (Alpha Aliens of Fremm Book 3) Page 4
