Chapter 3
Under normal circumstances, she knew, she’d be thrilled to have the attention of a specimen like Sa’Zhan. He was everything she could have dreamed of, tall, fit and handsome.
Except, of course, he wasn’t exactly a man. He was an alien. This presented all sorts of problems.
For one thing, she hardly knew anything about him. He was very nearly a complete mystery to her. For another, she had a life here on Earth. Not much of one, that was true, but she was still young, still finding her way in the world.
Despite what some of her friends and acquaintances thought, nobody had shit figured out at 24.
Hannah’s face was hot from crying. She stood and saw the outline of the bathroom door where Sa’Zhan had said it would be. She moved in front of it and the door slid open.
Inside was a fairly typical, albeit very shiny, bathroom. There was a sink with a mirror above it, a toilet and a shower stall with a sliding glass door. At least she assumed it was glass.
Who knew for sure what anything on this alien spaceship was really made out of?
The sink worked just like any old sink she’d ever used. Hannah turned on the cold water and splashed her face. She dried off and looked at herself in the mirror. Well, Hannah, she thought, what now?
Her stomach growled, giving her a clue. How long had it been since she’d eaten anything?
She didn’t even know how long she’d been on this ship. She decided to go looking for the kitchen, or the galley, or whatever it was called.
Leaving the room, Hannah turned right this time and walked along the hallway. The ship was very quiet, and the air smelled like … well, like nothing at all. It almost seemed to be a sterile environment.
What would it be like, spending all your time in a place like this? Terribly boring, Hannah thought. She wondered what Sa’Zhan did with his free time.
She passed three other crew cabins before coming to a door marked “galley,” as she had guessed. She paused before getting close enough to trigger the automatic door. What if he was in there?
Hannah wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing or not. Mustering up her courage, she moved to the doorway and went through when it opened.
Sa’Zhan was, indeed, in the galley. He turned when she entered and gave her a smile.
“Very good,” he said.
“I suspected you might be along sometime soon.”
Sure you did, Hannah thought. Telepathy and all. She wondered how much he really knew about her. More than she was comfortable with, that much was obvious.
Still, she decided to put forward a strong front. She would deal with this on her own terms.
“So,” she said, “are you the ship’s cook as well as the captain?”
“Food preparation is fully automated. I simply press a button.”
“Well, that’s convenient.”
Hannah took in the space around her. The galley was circular, like the crew cabins. Sa’Zhan stood across from the doorway at a control panel of some kind. Below the panel was a recess in the wall. Hannah assumed that was where the food came out.
On either side of the room, two tables extended from the walls, each with bench-style seating, like picnic tables. The galley was otherwise smooth and featureless. Hannah guessed that this ship had been built purely for function, as creature comforts were in short supply.
The food, on the other hand, was actually quite good. Sa’Zhan brought two plates over to one of the tables and gestured for Hannah to have a seat.
Before her was a plate of what appeared to be chicken and broccoli with rice. Giving it a tentative bite, she discovered that it was, indeed, what it appeared to be.
“So, how does this work?” she asked.
“The food, I mean. Where does it come from? How is it cooked?”
“I am afraid the explanation for that would be rather beyond your understanding.”
Hannah felt her cheeks burning with humiliation.
“I’m not an idiot,” she said.
“I never suggested you were,” Sa’Zhan said, a confused look on his face.
“For example, what do you know of the field of scientific study known on your planet as ‘quantum physics?”
“I’ve heard of it,” Hannah said, sullenly.
“Well, the most knowledgeable scientist on Earth has a child’s understanding of the field compared to the average Ventosian. It is not a question of intelligence. Our civilization was traveling among the stars when you Earthlings were still hunting mammoths.”
“Oh. Well, then.”
It made sense when Hannah thought about it. Of course a star faring civilization would be advanced beyond her understanding. It was just that she was so out of her element, and sharing this rather small space with a distractingly handsome alien didn’t help.
They finished their meals in silence. Hannah could feel Sa’Zhan watching her, but she avoided eye contact. So many conflicting emotions were raging through her, and she couldn’t handle any more.
She also had about a thousand questions, but she didn’t know whether he would or could answer them to her satisfaction. She’d never been so uncomfortable, so out of place, her entire life. Things back home seemed so simple now. How ridiculous her concerns had been!
Hannah got up, meaning to go back to her crew cabin and take a shower. Maybe that would help clear her head. Before she could leave, Sa’Zhan stood and put a hand on her arm.
“Please wait,” he said. “I would like to show you something.”
His grip on her arm was assured but gentle. Hannah felt her heartbeat speed up at his touch. In that moment, her confusion fell away and she realized she’d follow Sa’Zhan wherever he wanted to take her.
He led the way out of the galley and turned right. She hadn’t been to this part of the ship before. They passed a couple more crew cabins, and a question occurred to Hannah.
“If you’re the only person on this ship, why are there so many bedrooms?”
“The ship has a capacity of eight,” Sa’Zhan said.
“On some research missions, there will be a full crew. In this case, that was not necessary.”
They continued onward. At one point, Hannah noticed a door on the right marked “Bridge.”
Now there was a place she’d like to see. The command center, the heart of the ship.
A few feet further on, Sa’Zhan stopped before a different door. This one was marked “Main Cabin.”
The doorway whooshed open, and Sa’Zhan stood to one side, indicating that Hannah should enter. She did so, very aware of the nearness of his body as she passed by him.
The room on the other side of the door was different from any she had seen so far. While it was also circular and shiny, it was quite a bit bigger than the regular crew cabins, and there was an actual bed, not just a sleeping alcove.
There was also what appeared to be a large view screen on one wall, with an array of colored buttons and controls on the surface just below it.
“This is my cabin,” Sa’Zhan said.
“Or perhaps I should say our cabin. It will no longer be necessary for you to have a separate space. You will become my mate tonight, and we will be together here.”
“Um, no,” Hannah said.
This was all happening too fast. She turned for the doorway, but it did not open. “Let me out of here,” she said.
“Do not be ridiculous,” Sa’Zhan said.
He gripped her wrist and pulled her over to the bed. He was much too strong for her to resist, but she tried anyway.
“I said no.” Hannah struggled against his grasp.
At last, he released her and looked at her with consternation.
“I do not understand. It is time for us to be together. It is customary among my people for soulmates to do so.”
“For starters, I’m not one of your people,” Hannah said.
“I don’t just hop into bed with someone because they’ve got some kind of mating urge.”
Part o
f her did want to hop into bed with this striking alien, though. And Sa’Zhan seemed to sense her uncertainty, because rather than backing off, he boldly stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her.
His lips melted into hers, hot and passionate, and for a moment, she almost gave in. She felt him, big and hard against her thigh, and nearly swooned into bed.
Then rational thought returned, snapping her back to reality. Her hormones were running wild, but she couldn’t allow them to rule her. She put her hands against his firm, muscular chest and pulled her face away from his.
Sa’Zhan let go of her, confusion evident on his face. He was clearly not used to taking “no” for an answer.
“This is most unusual,” he said.
“Well, I’m sorry about that,” Hannah said.
“But I don’t feel whatever it is you say you feel for me. I’m not experiencing some kind of telepathic bond with you.”
“Hm. I believe I am beginning to comprehend the problem. You do not feel love for me as I feel for you. The mating will be suspended until you are ready.”
Well, Hannah thought, that’s a relief. Although Sa’Zhan seemed pretty sure the “mating” would take place no matter what.
The idea was exciting to her, but she couldn’t decide something like that right away. How long would he be willing to wait?
Chapter 4
Hannah returned to her room, unsure what the next few days would bring. One thing she did know was that she needed a shower. She went into the bathroom and took off her clothes.
She slid the shower doors open, and was confused to see that there was no showerhead or controls.
“How the heck do you work this thing?” she said aloud. She was quite surprised when a soft voice answered back.
“Please enter the shower enclosure.”
“Um, what?” Hannah looked around, but there was no one else in the room, obviously.
“Please enter the shower enclosure,” the voice said again.
“I got that part. But … who are you?”
“I am this ship’s AI unit.”
“AI? You mean artificial intelligence?”
“That is correct.”
Wow. Sa’Zhan’s technology was really, truly advanced. Hannah felt a little weird, knowing a computer was aware of her every move on the ship. Then she realized she was being silly. It was only a computer, after all.
“Okay,” she said, getting into the shower, “now what?”
“The sonic shower functions automatically,” the AI said.
And then something odd started happening. There was a humming sound just at the edge of Hanna’s hearing. Her body began to tingle all over. It was almost like a static charge was running through her.
This lasted only a few seconds, and then a gust of warm air swirled around her. She stood there for several moments. She felt clean and refreshed. How awesome was the sonic shower?
Hannah returned to the sleeping alcove and snuggled in. Despite the crazy day she’d had, she fell asleep easily, and her dreams were peaceful.
The next morning, Sa’Zhan greeted her in the galley with a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon. It was strange but oddly comforting how he always seemed to anticipate her needs. That was the telepathy at work, she supposed.
“So, what would you like to do today?” he asked her when they had finished eating.
“Um, I don’t know,” Hannah answered honestly. On a normal day, she might go for a walk after breakfast, or catch up on her reading. But this was definitely not a normal day.
“Well, then, I have an idea. Come with me.”
Sa’Zhan took her to the bridge. It was a truly awe-inspiring sight. A viewscreen at least twice as big as the one she’d seen in the main cabin took up the curved front wall of the room.
All around the bridge, there were flashing lights and smaller viewscreens at individual stations. Moving pictures appeared on most of these screens. Hannah moved closer to one and saw that it was showing programming from a cable news network.
Another appeared to be a live feed of some kind of military base, seen from above. Hannah wondered what the people of Earth would do if they knew an alien with this level of technology was here, and apparently monitoring them. Really freak out, probably.
Hannah wasn’t freaked out. She was excited. And she got even more excited when Sa’Zhan told her what his idea was.
“How would you like to see a black hole?” he asked.
“Is that even possible? I thought black holes were super dangerous to be close to.”
“They are. But we will not get too close, I promise. Your safety is always the most important thing. I will protect you.”
The words, the way he said them with such passion, made Hannah’s heart beat a little faster.
She smiled. Sa’Zhan directed her to have a seat at one of the control stations.
“Please do not touch anything,” he said.
“I won’t,” Hannah promised, and she meant it. The last thing she wanted was to push some random button and send them spiraling into the heart of a black hole.
Sa’Zhan took a seat at a console directly in front of the viewscreen, just a few feet away from Hannah. He adjusted some controls, then said, “Prepare for spatial transition.”
The soft voice Hannah had heard in the bathroom answered. “Ready for spatial transition.”
“Confirm transit coordinates for research site 9F19,” Sa’Zhan told the ship.
“Coordinates locked in.”
“Begin transit.”
Hannah didn’t know what to expect, but there was virtually no sensation at all. Certainly she couldn’t tell that they were moving. But Sa’Zhan worked at the controls, monitoring a screen at his station and communicating with the ship’s AI. Apparently they were going somewhere.
Hannah tried watching the big viewscreen, but it showed nothing but lines of colored light, sweeping past the edges. Looking at it made her feel a bit nauseous, so she turned her head to watch Sa’Zhan instead.
His every movement was completely assured. His face had a kind of casual intensity to it; what he was doing was important, she realized, but he’d done it many times. He was totally in control.
There was a slight vibration throughout the ship then and Sa’Zhan turned to her.
“We are here,” he said.
He pushed a button on the control panel and Hannah saw the viewscreen change.
She was looking at a black hole, she realized. An honest to goodness black hole!
One of the great mysteries of the universe, at least for someone from Earth. On the screen, she could see a large, utterly black circle, surrounded by curving bands of pure light.
At the edge of the black hole, objects were moving, circling and then disappearing. Sa’Zhan stood and went to the view screen, pointing to one of these objects.
“What you see here are planets, suns, even entire solar systems, falling into the black hole’s event horizon,” he said. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s amazing,” Hannah said.
Then a thought occurred to her. “Where else can we go?”
Sa’Zhan laughed. It was the first time she’d ever heard him do that, and it sounded lovely.
“We can go anywhere in the galaxy, my love.”
For the rest of the day, they traveled. Sa’Zhan showed Hannah the most incredible sights in the galaxy. Massive star fields. Supernovas. Galactic phenomena that there were no words in English to describe.
Sa’Zhan slowly began to open up to Hannah. He told her about life on his home planet, about the ancient wars Ventosians had fought against slave traders.
They were at peace now, he said, a spacefaring civilization that traveled far and wide across the galaxy. He also told her about himself, about his own travels.
“I have been to many places,” he said.
“I have been alone for a long time. I had begun to despair that I would never find my soulmate. But then, on a small
blue planet, I discovered you, my beautiful human Hannah.”
Hannah felt the heat rising in her cheeks. She felt something stir in her stomach. And she felt her heart open as she realized this man, this alien, might really be her soulmate.
Sa’Zhan smiled wolfishly at her. Hannah immediately understood that he had sensed what she was feeling. She smiled back at him and he rose from his seat.
Without warning, he scooped her up in his big, strong arms and carried her out of the bridge, into the main cabin just across the hall.
He put her on the bed and looked down at her. Hannah could feel her hands shaking and her whole body trembling. She nodded at him.
Sa’Zhan climbed up on the bed with her, kneeling by her feet. Hannah could see how hard and ready he was, and she thought he would ravage her right then, but he surprised her.
Sa’Zhan lifted her right leg and kissed the bottom of her foot, then her ankle. He continued upward, slowly, trailing kisses along her calf, her knee. He came to the hem of her dress and pushed slightly upward so he could kiss the inside of her thigh.
He hiked her dress higher and just brushed his lips against her panties. Hannah breathed in and out in little gasps and moans as sensations like she’d never known raced through her.
With skilled, careful hands, Sa’Zhan removed her dress completely and resumed where he had left off, putting his warm, soft lips on her stomach, then licking up toward her heavy breasts.
He took them in his hands, kneading them, lightly pinching her sensitive nipples. He kept this up as he moved to kiss her on the mouth, his tongue greedy for her own.
Hannah grabbed his face in her hands, kissing him back hard. The way he played with her breasts was driving her crazy. She wanted more.
She bucked her hips off the bed, rubbing herself against him. Sa’Zhan growled deep in his throat.
“You will be my mate now,” he said, his voice husky.
“Yes,” Hannah said. “Yes, right now.”
Sa’Zhan rose and stripped quickly, revealing all of his magnificent, muscular body. Hannah stared. She’d never seen a real, live man naked before.
Never seen anything like the big, beautiful erection he was sporting with her own eyes. He saw her looking and smiled again.
Alien Romance: Alien Desires: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance Collection (BBW, Alien Invasion Romance) Page 6
