The Alien Reindeer's Winter Cabin (A Winter Starr Book 11)

by Cindy Heart

  “I’m not going anywhere without you. We will need to split up for a little while. I know how to attract him. He’ll come after me. I’ll bunker down and kill him. That will weaken the Illwills enough to make them easy to handle.”

  I leave out many parts of the plan that would make it seem more difficult than I just made it sound.

  She’s already shaking her head before I finish. “No, no, no. No way, mister. This plan involves you going back to the cabin, letting him attack you, and hoping you survive, right? Don’t lie to me, Rain. I saw what happened the last time he attacked. We barely made it out of there.”

  I can’t argue that we’d escaped pretty easily back at the cabin. I knew that had been due to luck as much as anything. I also can’t lie to her about my plan.

  I hang my head. “Basically,” I admit.

  “It’s good to know that all men everywhere are stupid, I guess. You don’t need to do this alone. We’ll gather up the whole town and make a stand. You’re not allowed to take one step out of my sight.”

  I run my hand through her soft hair. “Against many kinds of monsters, that would be a fine plan. It won’t work against the Frothmronk.”

  Growing annoyed with all the things I’ve thrust into her life that she doesn’t understand yet, she spins her finger in the air. “Go on. Explain.”

  With the clothes picked up, I move on to organizing the mess of things on top of her dresser.

  “It’ll bring the parasites with it. The Illwills. Before you know it, the whole town will shoot each other. It’s best if I do this alone.”

  “That can’t be right. I get the town thing, but surely we can work together. Maybe we can divide and conquer. You handle the Frothmronk and I’ll—”

  “Yoohoo!” my mom calls out. “I made hot cocoa. Come out with your clothes on and keep me company.”

  Holly pokes me in the chest. “This isn’t over. Do not go anywhere without me.”

  I absolutely would have left her behind if she hadn’t ordered me to stay. The thought of taking her into danger makes me want to vomit. The prospects of leaving her behind to defend herself if I’m wrong doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better.

  In the end, I promise to stay, and once promised, I won’t break my word with her.

  Her mom finishes stirring the last of the three mugs when we return to the kitchen. “Marshmallows, Rain?”

  “No thanks. I prefer it plain.”

  When she hands me my mug, she asks, “You aren’t from around here, are you?”

  “No, ma’am. I’m from a little ways away.”

  When she asks, “Where from?” I settle in for the interrogation.

  But Holly comes to my rescue. “All over, Mama. Rain’s a military brat. You name a place, he’s been there.”

  “Fort Gordon?” she asks, quick as a whip.

  I smile. “No, ma’am. Must have missed that one.” Desperate to avoid her listing base after base that I’d have to deny living at so she couldn’t press on with more detailed questions, I push a question back on to her. “What’s the secret to staying happily married like you have for so long?” I wrap my left arm around Holly’s shoulder and squeeze her against my hip. “My parents didn’t last together very long, so I could probably use some pointers.”

  I don’t explain that what split them apart was a black hole. Technically, my mom ended up on the inside of the event horizon, my dad on the outside. Very few relationships survive that.

  “Oh, really, now?” she asks, her eyes locking onto her daughter’s.

  I hope Holly won’t kill me, but whatever it takes to steer the conversation away from the fact I’m an alien.

  Holly

  My mom is going to have our wedding planned by the end of the week and expect grandkids nine months from now.

  Does that sound all that bad?

  It doesn’t, but it’s hard to be looking forward to the future when there’s an alien and its parasite who are trying to destroy all life on the planet. Whatever might be happening between Rain and I will have to wait until after we save the world…assuming he stays after that.

  I can’t stop hearing his admission that his normal first reaction to the monsters would be to run to a new planet. If he’s a runner, he’ll be running on his own. I’m not planning to leave Applemore for some guy I just met, no matter how tight of an ass he’s got or how perfect he keeps turning out to be when things get crazy.

  Rain is going to drive me insane if he keeps cleaning my house. How am I supposed to find anything if he keeps moving it around?

  Taking the garbage bag from him, I say, “I’ll take this out to the garbage can. It’s a little tricky to find in the dark if you don’t know where to look.”

  The cold air feels great on my skin. I stick out my tongue and catch a snowflake before heading toward the alley where the garbage cans are kept. A growl to my left startles me out of my tranquil moment. A small round ball of floof cowers behind the garbage can.

  Thinking it’s a dog, possibly injured, I squat a few feet in front of the can and say, “Hey there. You doing okay?”

  I know it can’t understand my words, but I make my tone as friendly as possible to show I want to help.

  A small furry green creature unlike any I’ve ever seen before emerges from behind the garbage can. I hold my hand out palm up and let it sniff my fingers. Two more bounce out and join the first. They make a soft chittering noise as if discussing what to do about me.

  “You could try being nice,” I say in the friendliest voice possible. “Maybe don’t exterminate all of us humans?”

  The first of the creatures rubs itself against my hand. Its fur isn’t soft like Rain’s beard. It’s coarse and scratches my palm, but I don’t back away.

  “See. We can be friends. I’ll bring you all the trash you could possibly want to eat.”

  Down the block, there’s a loud bang of metal.

  The Illwills scatter. Moving much faster than I would have thought possible, they quickly disappear into the night.

  “Oh well. I tried. Don’t try to hurt Rain and me, and I won’t have to crush your cute, tiny bodies.”

  I won’t be able to stop Rain if he wants to leave the planet, but if he stays, I won’t let anything come between us.

  By the time I get back inside, Rain has managed to convince my mom to go to sleep in the bedroom. She’s already snoring.

  “Did you hypnotize her?”

  He shakes his head and whispers back. “She must have been running on fumes when she got here. All the adrenaline must have worn out. Ready?”

  “Let’s go kill some monsters.”

  I back my sister’s car out of the drive and head out of town in silence. The sun won’t rise for hours. Except for the main roads, very little of the city has been plowed.

  I eventually crack the seal. “You really think they’ll come looking for you in the cabin rather than causing trouble in town?”

  “I hope so,” he says with a grunt.

  His eyes never leave the window on his side of the car. He immediately returns to silence.

  On the best of days, I can’t deal with moody, silent men, and with an alien attack imminent, it is miles from the best of days.

  “Hey, don’t block me out. Why would they bother with you when they can just feast on the more vulnerable people in town?”

  “I’ve got something the Frothmronk wants. He’ll come for me. The Illwills will follow.”

  More silence.

  “Stop that bullshit, Rain. I’m scared out of my mind here. Stop throwing me nuggets and serve me the real meal. I need you to talk to me right now. Hell, tell me stupid childhood stories if that’s all you got, but I’m going to have a hell of a time helping you if you don’t involve me in the plan.”

  “The plan? Fuck, the plan was for me to fly off to another planet and hope to lose the monster along the way. The new plan is to kill it, I guess, and hope I can keep you alive since you won’t let me fight it on my own.”


  I step on the accelerator.

  His fingers grasp hold of the door. “Slow down.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got my own plan.”

  I’m spitting mad. My new plan is to drop his crabby ass off at his cabin and…what? Leave him?

  I can’t leave him.

  He’s traveled untold miles to reach me. Sure, he wasn’t exactly looking for me, but I feel like we belong together, and I think he does, too.

  But would it kill him to say it? He did say as much before my mother arrived, I suppose. Would it kill him to act like it?

  “Holly, hon. Why don’t you tell me the plan while you slow down to a safe speed?”

  “Safe speed? I hit you with my car already. I have a feeling you’ll be just fine if you’re inside the car if I get in another wreck.”

  “But will you survive it?” he asks, surprising me so much I let up on the gas pedal. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you get hurt because you’re mad at me, especially when I don’t even know what stupid thing I did to piss you off.”

  When he adds his delicious smile, I can’t stay too mad at him. I’d just be punishing myself.

  “You sure you want to talk rather than grunting at me like an animal?” I want to glare at him, but I keep my eyes firmly on the road ahead of us.

  “Sorry about that, Holly. Sometimes the animal in me comes a little too close to the surface when I’m stressed.”

  I laugh until he finally asks me what’s so funny. I wipe away tears from the corners of my eyes. “I forgot. How in the world did I manage to forget that you are an animal? After all, you were in full-reindeer form when you hit the car.”

  “When your car hit me,” he corrects with a playful tone in his voice.

  “We can argue that until the cows come home. Hey, do you know any cows? I’m thinking of finding another house and could use a recommendation for some moooooovers.”

  His voice gets very serious. “My mom was a cow. She was worked to death by some farmer who made her plow too much of his farmland.”

  “Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I was joking. Please forgive me.”

  He snorts before breaking out laughing. “Gotcha.”

  I let go of the steering wheel and swat at him with both hands. He grabs the wheel and keeps us on the road while I bang away on his rock-solid chest.

  When I take control of the car again, he asks, “Are you really planning to move?”

  I shrug. “Yes and no. I think about it almost every day. There’s so much world out there, and I rarely even get outside Applemore. I talk myself out of it each time because everyone I care about is here, and what’s out in the big, wide world that’s so much better than in town, you know?”

  “I’ve seen a lot of places, but at the end of the day, they all kind of blur together. The sights are fun, but it’s the loved ones that make a place worth being.”

  “What brought you to Earth? Fast-food restaurants?”

  “Not gonna lie, you humans eat some really gross stuff. No, it wasn’t the food. It was…a job. I was…conscripted into a career from birth. I served my required time. Lots of us stay on and live in our little community after we retire so we can be close to friends and family. Many start families of their own. I was just done with it and needed to get away.”

  I don’t know what to say. I miss my family something awful when I go away for a week of vacation. Leaving everyone on the other side of the galaxy and moving to a planet where I don’t know anybody is impossible to comprehend. “I’m sorry. That must be rough to leave everything behind.”

  Based on the exhaustion I hear in his voice, I’m certain it’s more than rough. There’s no way he’ll choose to stay with me forever.

  As quickly as I reconcile myself to that reality, I make another decision as I pull up to the cabin.

  I’m going to do my best to enjoy every second I have with him.

  “Hurry up,” I say as I jump out of the car, removing my shirt as I dash to the front door. “We should have a little bit before they show up to try and kill us.”

  If I’m going to die, I’m at least going to have one last orgasm before I go.

  Rein’ok

  By the time I catch up to her, she’s shed all of her clothes, and every incredible, curvy inch of her is exposed. While making my way to where she’s lying on the couch, I pick up all of them. She rolls her eyes at me as I take the time to fold each of them and set them on the coffee table.

  “What kind of neat freak are you?” she asks.

  She means it as a joke, but I hate a mess. It was bad enough in her own house—I was just a guest, after all—but I’m not going to let her trash my cabin.

  I also know telling her any of that will lead to a fight I have no interest in getting involved with while she looks so beautiful.

  Instead, I joke. “While studying up on the cultures of this planet, I read that women get turned on by a man who does his share of the chores.”

  “Not gonna lie, it’s pretty damn sexy. It would turn me on even more if you worked in the buff so I could spank that ass of yours when you get too close.”

  Breathing out a sigh of relief at dodging the conflict, I pull off my sweater and throw it at her.

  She fake gasps. “So messy.”

  I turn away from her and make sure to bend with my legs straight as I pull down my pants and underwear so she gets a nice view of my ass.

  She gasps again when I throw those at her, too. “Such a litterbug. You need a spanking.”

  I back up until I feel her hand swat my ass.

  “That’s just obscene,” she says, spanking me even harder. “It doesn’t jiggle one bit. That’s not natural, mister. It’s fucking hot, but it’s not natural.”

  I pull her to her feet and give her ass a squeeze with both of my hands and give it a rough shake. “I’m sorry for my broken ass. Everyone knows all of the best asses have plenty of jiggle, ma’am.”

  We kiss like the sun will never rise again and we have all the time in the world.

  We kiss like lovers.

  I want to tell her, but I still can’t let myself believe in miracles. How can I when all the signs of us being torn apart are right there in front of us? If I have to choose between fleeing the planet to draw the Frothmronk and the Illwills off-world to keep her safe or putting her in harm’s way, there’s no choice.

  If I had some help from Saint Nick or even my old sleigh crew, things would be different, but I’m just one man against a monster capable of ending civilizations.

  Lost in my thoughts, I haven’t noticed Holly push me onto the couch.

  She gets my full attention when her lips wrap around my dick. I open my eyes and stare straight up into her pussy.

  I push aside all thoughts of the future or the dangers surrounding us. Why would I want to worry about those things when her juicy pussy is right there waiting to be licked?

  I suck her gentle folds into my mouth and start to work. She’s so ripe and delicious, she takes my breath away.

  Doing my best to ignore the incredible sensations of her soft tongue and eager lips, I focus on her pleasure. I trace tiny circles on her clit and feel it harden beneath my tongue. When she moans against my dick, I slide my fingers deep into her and pump them in and out, matching the pace of her lips along my shaft.

  She comes quickly, but it’s the strength of her orgasm that catches me off guard.

  Wrapping my arms around her legs, I lap up her juices until she screeches and giggles, begging me to stop.

  She collapses against my body, my dick seemingly forgotten, but I don’t even care. She must be exhausted like her mom. More importantly, she’s content. That’s all that really matters. If I survive the battle, I’ll worry about my own needs.

  She surprises me, though. “I want more, Rain. I need you inside me right now, but my legs are too weak to move.”

  She doesn’t need to tell me twice. My animal instinct jumps at the chance.

  I rise from
the couch, lifting her with me.

  She wraps her legs around my waist, her eyes wide with anticipation. “Where are you going to fuck me?”

  “Right here.”

  With my hands under her ass, I easily lift her and drop her onto my ready cock. She slides around me like we were made for each other.

  We were made for each other. She’s my fated mate.

  Destiny dragged me across the galaxy so I can fuck my woman the whole night through. I’ll deal with the Frothmronk when it comes, but for now, I only have thoughts for my woman.

  Using my strength, I fuck her right there in the middle of the room. We kiss as we fuck. My chest rubs against her hard nipples.

  She bites my lip, making me roar and fuck her even harder.

  It doesn’t take long for her to regain her energy. Soon she’s riding me harder than I’d even dared to fuck her.

  My dick throbs inside her.

  She comes again.

  Her orgasm sets off the eruption inside me. I try to hold onto the moment as long as I can, but like all good things, it comes to an end eventually.

  Even this?

  I don’t know. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means leaving her behind and taking the monsters with me.

  I kiss Holly once more before setting her down.

  “Want some water while we recover for another round?” I ask.

  She nods. “You really think that thing is going to come looking for you here instead of terrorizing the town?”

  “I do. My kind have fought theirs for millennia. Having a chance to take out one of my kind without help will be a temptation it can’t refuse.”

  “You’ll have help. I’ll be here.”

  I smile at her words of encouragement and even let myself believe them.

  The real question is will I stay when it attacks and let her put herself in harm’s way just to try and help me?

  Holly

  I’m standing by the window again, staring out into the snow. “Where is it?”