Romance: Craved by the Alien Lord: (BBW Scifi Alien Romance) (New Adult Alien Invasion Space Romance)

by Ruby Scott

  Ethan lay on top of her, breathing heavily and unable to move. "Wow."

  Ella's vision started to return, and she looked at the outline of Ethan's face from the corner of her eye. She was too weak to move her head, but she felt a curious tingling sensation running through her muscle. Then it intensified, and the fatigue slipped from her body like someone had thrown a switch. She sighed, feeling light and comfortable for the first time in days.

  "Is that the bond?" Ethan asked just then, and Ella looked at him to see his eyes wide with wonder. She laughed.

  "Yes, that's the bond." Her heart did a somersault. "Hey. Thanks for coming back."

  Ethan was quiet, then he kissed her deeply. His eyes were solemn when he pulled back.

  When he pulled out of her, he lay on his back and pulled her to his chest, his favorite position. She felt so safe in the strong grasp of his arms. she forgot about the worry of the past few days. She couldn't even hear cars driving by. She wondered how far from the city they actually were and made a mental note to ask.

  "I could hear you," he said quietly, interrupting her train of thought.

  "What?"

  "When we bonded...I could hear all of your thoughts. Your fears, your joy, the way you feel about me, even though it hasn't been long...it's real." His voice was full of emotion too complex to hold back. "I've never felt so close to someone. This is what a bond can do?"

  "This is what a bond can do." Ella snuggled into him, smiling as his body relaxed and his breathing steadied.

  While Ethan drifted off to sleep, she watched his aura shift from cool green to a buzzing yellow, then to a deep ocean blue. She wondered what colors hers was; she felt like a schoolgirl in love for the first time again, and she wasn't used to such vulnerability. Later, when she asked him, he grinned and kissed her.

  "I can't read it," he said simply. "I like that about you. Keeps me on my toes." He seemed unbothered by it.

  Ella held back a laugh, glad she could still keep some secrets.

  THE END

  © Copyright 2015 by Ruby Scott - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  Chosen by Two Bears

  by Ruby Scott

  “What about Logan? He was ok.”

  “He barely had any chemistry with us at all, the guy was like a…dead fish.”

  “What? No, he wasn’t.”

  Hailey wrinkled her nose at Pete. “He smelled a little like fish, I think. That’s probably why I’m saying that. He was actually far more…zombie-like.”

  Pete’s dark blue eyes rolled upward, weighing Hailey’s judgement. “You’re right. Why did he smell like fish? It’s 10 am. Did he have fish for breakfast?”

  “He is a bear,” Hailey said thoughtfully. “Bears eat fish. What about Hernando?”

  “But he’s not…a wild bear,” Pete said stubbornly, raking his hand through his brown hair as he grew more fixated on the issue. “Was he just eating raw fish for breakfast? He’s Italian. Why’s he doing that?”

  “We’re not choosing him, so it doesn’t matter, remember?.” Hailey folded her long legs under her body, turning herself on the couch so she could face Pete head-on. “No chemistry. We need chemistry to establish a bond. That’s the whole point of this --- adding another bond to our relationship so we can boost our power---”

  “---so we can start a pack, I know, I know.” Pete sighed, and his slim shoulders released the tension that had been bunching them up. “I want to start a pack so badly.”

  “Then focus,” Hailey said gently. “What about Hernando? He had chemistry.”

  “With you, “ Pete said. “He barely looked at me when we tried forming a practice triad. It was all you.” Hailey thought he sounded hurt. She scooted closer to him on the couch and placed her palm on his cheek, turning his face to hers so she could peck his lips.

  “Then he’s obviously too stupid to be a part of our trio,” she said. He smiled at her and pressed her hand closer to her face.

  “Sean?” Pete asked, happy to move on with his ego nursed back to health.

  “Hmmm.” Hailey remembered gripping his hand and the ensuing thunderclap of energy that had ripped through her body. But it had been brief, and it left almost no trace after it faded away, unlike the energy in some of the other triads they’d formed. The point was to mingle their respective ursine energies and see if their beasts responded to the other’s positively, indicating potential for bonding and growth, like a true shifter triumvirate should. Sean had snapped together with them at first, but his confidence wavered and his control proved to be a veneer over a pit of fear that ran astoundingly deep. Pete knew Hailey could grasp these things better than he could, and he watched her process the events before she finally spoke.

  “Sean seems strong, but he would need too much training and coaxing. We’d have to hold his hand the whole time. We need someone who is already at our level.” Hailey’s voice was sure and steady. Looking into someone’s metaphysical energy landscape was as simple for her as reading a sentence was for other people.

  “I did wonder why his hand was so clammy,” Pete said thoughtfully. “His aura was all over the place too.” He looked at Hailey in wonder. “I’m so glad I’m doing this with you. You’re so talented.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, sending a gentle pulse of electricity through Hailey’s arm that warmed her to her toes. His other hand tenderly gripped the back of her head, lazily fingering the loose brown curls.

  “It doesn’t hurt that you’re beautiful, too,” he whispered, and he pulled her body to is as he kissed her. Hailey wrapped her arms around his neck and uncurled her legs so she could straddle his lap. His large hands encircled her waist, pulling her soft body tighter against him until they were lying horizontally on the plush couch. Hailey finally pulled back from the kiss, breathless, to see that Pete’s eyes had bled a pale yellow, identical to his bear formed pupils.

  “Oops,” Hailey said, giggling. “Looks like we got a little carried away.”

  “We always do,” Pete said, palming Hailey’s ass and kneading it gently until her giggle turned into a moan. She kissed him again and pressed her lower body against his erection, relishing the soft groan of frustration he let out when she pulled away and scrambled off the couch. Teasing him was fun, but they couldn’t afford to get any more distracted. The energy between them was so strong it would give them a constant buzz if they weren’t careful. Opening their boundaries to mingle their own energies with other’s eight times in the last two hours also didn’t help; it was like stripping naked and having someone pass their hands over your most sensitive places for minutes at a time, only to have them pull back from you each time you started to feel like you were close to the edge.

  “I wish we didn’t have to stop,” Pete said miserable as he sat up on the couch. He stood and reached for the clipboard with the list of applicants. “We have two more names. A Joseph and an Jacob.” He frowned. “Are we sure Jacob isn’t a girl? I knew a girl Jacob in college.” They both agreed they needed male energy to compliment the more feminine energy Pete carried with him.

  “They checked “male”,” Hailey answered. “I trust them to know their own gender.”

  “You’re right. I’m just stalling. Want to move on?” He sounded like he hoped she said no.

  “Sure,” Hailey chirped. She straightened her dress, and the simple act of brushing her own thighs with her hands sent a shiver down her spine. I have to get rid of this energy soon, Hailey thought, eyeing Pete’s slim frame and picturing him writhing under him as she rode him hard. She shook her head roughly and took a deep breath. Focus.

  Pete walked out of the room and into the kitch
en, which they were using as a waiting room. They wanted to use their den as a practice room for two reasons: Hailey thought it was cute to audition other bears in a place they called a den, and it was also the frequently the main stage for meetings and power bonding with their past pack. That had been before they’d discovered the disturbing background of some of their former pack members, though; when they’d objected to some of the unsavory goings-on, they’d been booted. Now they could move fifty miles to be closer to another pack, or create their own by creating enough power to establish their own mini-council. Pete didn’t want to be a lackey anymore, and Hailey wanted to see how far she could push her abilities, so the choice was clear. What was less clear was how they were supposed to find a third person to bond with them when they were apparently surrounded by a bunch of misfits ---nervous, angry misfits who didn’t trust anyone for long enough for a cup of coffee to cool. It was frustrating, but Hailey kept reminding Pete of the eventual payoff. They’d been auditioning people for months, however, and it was getting harder and harder to stay convinced herself.

  Pete came back in the room with a look of panic etched into his features. “Joseph is gone. Apparently someone from our older pack threatened him, said he’d break his legs if he tried to form a pack with us.”

  Hailey swelled up with rage. “They can’t do that! It’s against our laws!”

  “Derek’s pack is as old as the high council itself,” Pete said wearily. “They’ll give them a slap on the wrist, and he’ll keep screwing with us.”

  “No, he won’t,” Hailey said viciously, moving across the den to stand in front of Pete and stare up into his face. “Not if we make him leave us alone. Not if he’s too afraid of our power.”

  Pete’s lips curled into a smile slowly. “Babe, I love you, but you’re five feet tall. Derek is never going to be afraid of you.”

  “I’m 5’2, and he doesn’t have to be afraid of me physically,” she snapped. She bunched her shoulder length curls in one hand and released them to let them spring back in place. It was a nervous habit she couldn’t shake. “Stature doesn’t have anything to do with power, you know that. If we can create a sufficient display of power, he’ll leave us alone.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” Pete asked. There was more than a drop of doubt in his voice. “What if the person we bond with doesn’t give us a flashy power boost?”

  “They will,” Hailey said fiercely. She raised her light brown eyes to Pete’s. “We’ll make sure they do.”

  Pete was shaking his head, and his eyes held worry. “We can’t choose what our third will be like.”

  “But why can’t we choose not to bond with someone who doesn’t feel…” Hailey rooted through her mind for a word. “…big enough?” His rationality was cooling the fire Derek’s audacity had kindled.

  “Because we don’t have time,” Pete said gently, cupping her chin with one hand. “We both need other bears to bond with. The only way to find them will be to form a triumvirate and put out a call.” He kissed her softly, pulling back before the jolt of energy could convince them not to stop. “Focus.”

  Hailey smiled up at him, feeling her eyes start to water. “I love you,” she said. “Thank you for being so…you.”

  Pete laughed, his eyes sparkling with warmth. “It’s a pleasure. Now let me go prep Jacob for the triad, and I’ll bring him in. You’re gonna like this one,” he said, winking. “He’s a hunk.” Hailey laughed as Pete walked away. She was happy he was so open to the idea of sharing her with another man, and even happier he seemed to be ok with a sort of casual openness to their marriage. It was unavoidable that their bond with another person would bring them into their life in a more than platonic way, and while they would retain their own autonomy, it would be far closer to a romantic relationship. Metaphysical energy was still impossible to fully explain, but it was near impossible not to give part of your heart to someone when you bonded. Pete had understood this from childhood, thanks to the warm and loving household his two mothers and sisters created.

  Hailey had met Pete after moving to the area four years before. It was a week before she met another bear, but before she knew it, she was being given a tour of the different packs and being introduced to the oldest pack in the city. After the claustrophobic feel of her tiny pack in Maine, Derek’s group was a breath of fresh air. Pete was even more so; he was clever, funny, and relentlessly supportive, plus he’d been the only male in Derek’s pack not to ask her on a date immediately. Pete had been there for her for three years, never wavering, not even when she had the gall to accuse their former pack leader of sabotaging other packs for his own gain. Pete had grown up with the pack---had been a member for ten years, in fact, since he’d turned 16---but it hadn’t stopped him from trusting her instincts. He’d to listened to her present her case, helping her sort through the information she’d been taking over the course of a few months. When he’d taken her hand and told her he’d believed her, Hailey knew that this man was supposed to be her mate. Pete helped track down the officers Derek had been paying to look the other way as he broke up newer packs who didn’t believe in the same traditions he did, and the people he’d bribed into silence. He’d supported her and kept her going when Derek suspended and finally expelled them from the pack, and Pete never showed a morsel of regret for any of it. He was more prone to panic than she was, but in those times, Hailey had the opportunity to locate the pocket of wisdom and stillness in herself and strengthen it while learning to support him, as he did with her. It was the perfect example of the kind of nurturing, constantly growing bond they sought to create with another person.

  Pete walked back into the room, interrupting her train of thought. She smoothed the blue dress she was wearing over her legs again and made sure the smile on her face felt genuine and relaxed. She finally had her grin set properly when Jacob walked into the room and sent her jaw toward the floor.

  He was taller than Pete, maybe 6’0, but it was his breadth that stole Hailey’s attention. His shoulders were broad, so wide that Hailey probably couldn’t reach both arms around them. He wore a dark gray tank top and a black hoodie, but his biceps were pronounced through the fabric, and she could tell they were about as big around as a football. He wore black jogging pants that clung to his muscular thighs, and he moved as gracefully toward Hailey as a dancer would while crossing the floor. His skin was a smooth tanned hue, perfectly unblemished, and his face was chiseled and startlingly symmetrical, like a living work of art. His eyes were hypnotic, a deep gray that perfectly matched his shirt and that projected a sense of arresting calm. As he moved closer, Hailey felt a knot of tension in her shoulders she hadn’t known she was carrying melt away. She took a deep breath, noticing that her airways were clearer than before. Her heartbeat even felt slower; she thought that she should be panicked, but couldn’t seem to work up enough concern to actually get there. Jacob smiled and held out his hand as he stopped in front of her, and she took it, feeling her arm move without having to think about it.

  As soon as their palms connected, the breath was sharply pulled from Hailey’s lungs and she was enveloped in a velvety darkness, as if all the light in the world had winked out at the same time. All that remained was Jacob, peering into her eyes with his own dark irises held wide in shock, chest heaving slowly as he struggled to breath around the sudden influx of power coursing between them. She felt like they were hurtling through space, and she could see pinpricks of light behind him in the distance, swirling around him like constellations in the sky. He gripped her hand, and the air got harder to breathe; then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. Hailey felt his hand leave hers, and he stumbled backward into Pete, who was watching them with an expression of calm incredibly uncharacteristic of him.

  “What the hell just happened?” She had stumbled over to the couch and was slumped forward, her elbows planted on her thighs. “What the hell was that?”

  She raised her head to look at Pete. He was handing Jacob a bottle of water, and he w
alked over to hand her one as well. She studied his face; he looked vaguely concerned, which was simply not a state Pete knew how to occupy. Pete knew how to be calm, and how to be frantic---not much else. Now his brow smoothed out, and he looked almost blissful. Hailey felt herself acknowledging the wrongness of it, but was unable to feel upset or afraid. She wanted to be hysterical, but Jacob was emanating such a powerful air of tranquility that it was impossible. She noticed he was gazing at her, and she looked back, even though she wanted to look away. He looked more concerned than Pete, and it quieted her need to rage.

  “It knocked me on my ass when I shook hands with him, too,” Pete said. “Literally. I was on the floor.” He shook his head and chuckled, as if the idea of being knocked out by the sheer force of a stranger’s metaphysical energy wouldn’t normally be enough to give him an anxiety attack. “It was like I was being plunged into an ocean deeper than any natural body of water. There wasn’t light, or sound, or movement. Nothing but us.” His eyes met Hailey’s, reflective and calm. “I should be freaked out right now, right?”

  “Yes!” Hailey was glad to hear him say it first. “And I should be freaked out that you’re not freaking out!”

  “But you can’t be.” Jacob spoke then, and his voice was as mellow and cool as the energy whirling between them. “It’s like drowning, except you can still breathe. You’re still being pulled down, and as you do, your mind is growing clearer and sharper. Everything is more vivid and intense.” He walked over to the couch and sat next to her gingerly, and she gazed at him, transfixed.

  “Your muscles grow heavier, longer, more elastic. Every sensation is euphoric. A single moment is suspended across your entire existence, and everything is bound to you in the greatest way possible. And you realize that drowning is really just another type of rebirth, for another type of being.” His face was inches from hers, and Hailey wanted ---needed--- to kiss him. His mouth was full, and as she gazed at him, he bit his bottom lip tenderly. Something in her snapped, and he lunged forward and threw her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his before he could react. She felt his hands on her thighs, and the tingling in her skin intensified until they became tiny bonfires everywhere he touched. Then she was being pulled back and away, leaving him gasping for air and staring at her, his expression dazed and somewhat annoyed.