Resident Alien: Department of Homeworld Security, Book 2

by Cassandra Chandler

  Kira was bringing him back to his nerdy high school days, designing robots in advanced engineering classes and exploring computer systems he really shouldn’t have been getting into.

  She knelt and opened a drawer. Rooting around, she stood with one of his long-sleeved shirts. She draped it over her head, lifting her arms through the sleeves as it settled around her body. He didn’t know he could be jealous of a piece of clothing, but in that moment, he sort of wanted to be that shirt.

  She bent over, nearly killing him as the hem rode up to just below the curve of her ass. His shirts were long, but she was tall. His brain calculated their heights and he realized that if she braced herself on the bed, they’d be perfectly aligned for…

  This was not helping. His cock was so hard it hurt. He made sure the quilt was covering him, keeping his arms out from his body enough that he hoped she wouldn’t notice.

  “I can grab some clothes for you too.” She rifled through his shirts.

  If he tried to get dressed in front of her, she’d see how worked up he was. Even grabbing the shirt from her was out of the question. He didn’t want to let go of the quilt for a moment.

  “I’m good.”

  She glanced back at him, one dark eyebrow raised high on her forehead. Then she shrugged and stood. She pushed the drawer shut with her foot before walking back to him.

  “There’s another quilt on the couch,” Brendan said. “I recommend wrapping up and sitting near the wood stove.”

  Maybe he should sit far from it. Cooling off could help. He thought about running back to the lake and diving in.

  She ran her hand over the quilt, looking up at him with a shy smile. “You don’t mind?”

  “Of course not. What kind of host would I be if I let you freeze?”

  Half a dozen sci-fi movies hit him at once that made his off-handed comment send a chill through him—stories where aliens used human bodies as hosts. He shook off the thought, but was grateful for its calming effect on his body.

  His cock was already starting to calm as she wrapped herself in the quilt. He let out a sigh of relief when she was covered.

  “You sure you’re okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  They walked around opposite sides of the couch and sat facing each other. The warmth from the wood stove washed over him, helping to banish the last of the chill from the lake water. He stared at her for a moment of comfortable silence.

  Kira. The woman he’d talked to every day for months. That he’d laughed with, teased, offered his heart to…

  She kept her head bowed a bit as she smiled at him—a shy smile, but gorgeous. Then she laughed and leaned back against the couch. His heart gave a little jerk in response. Warmth spread through his chest that had nothing to do with the quilt or the fireplace or seeing all of her incredible body and everything to do with knowing she was safe.

  Chapter Six

  “I can’t believe you’re actually here.”

  Kira laughed, her stomach fluttering. “That makes two of us. I suppose you’ll want answers to those questions now.”

  “Only one matters at the moment. Are you okay?”

  Of all the questions to start with… Her throat felt tight. She coughed so she could answer him.

  “Yeah. I have a bit of a headache, but trust me, it was much worse for them.”

  “Them who?”

  Right. He would need context. Kira wasn’t used to talking to other people.

  “The station was being boarded by hostiles. I set it to self-destruct.”

  His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. She stared at his lips again. They looked soft.

  “Kira.”

  He scooted closer, then picked her hand up from her lap. He held it in his, tracing his thumb over the backs of her fingers.

  More bumps spread over her skin. Tingling spread through her chest and down her belly, pooling between her legs. It reminded her of Coupling, but felt so much better. She could feel her nipples brushing against the shirt she had borrowed from him.

  She swallowed hard.

  “Are you all right?” he asked again, emphasizing each word.

  “I… No.”

  That wasn’t right. Of course she was fine. She was alive, uninjured, and had secured a safe location to regroup.

  “What happened?”

  She shook her head. “You can’t tell anyone any of this. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I kind of figured. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about you. And I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  It was such a sweet sentiment. But if the Tau Ceti or even her own people showed up, Brendan wouldn’t be able to stop them. Neither would she.

  He waited patiently. Ready to listen to her. That was new. She was in this far, and he deserved the truth. She trusted him with it.

  “I am an alien,” she said.

  His lips tightened a bit. She noticed because she was still staring at them. She couldn’t seem to look away.

  “I’m part of a Coalition of planets that has—well, had—a listening station in orbit, watching Earth’s broadcasts and observing your development. It was automatically gathering data and compiling it, then sending it to a committee for review until about two years ago when I was assigned to the station. I was told to start parsing the data before it was sent, which is usually a sign that a planet is nearing a tipping point.”

  “What kind of tipping point?”

  “There are a variety. Maybe the planet was getting to a point where they were ready for first contact. Or a big event was imminent—like a war or a meteor impact—and the committee wanted someone there to get the best record possible.”

  “That’s not reassuring.”

  Neither was the truth that she had pieced together. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure in Earth’s case it was something else.”

  “I’d worry less if you were smiling.”

  She smirked and shook her head. “It’s a simple story of corruption.”

  “Again, not really helping me relax.”

  She took a deep breath and tried to explain everything again. “Earth is designated as a nature preserve. You have no idea how rich this planet is in resources or how rare that is. And the planetary liaison assigned to manage Earth was just arrested. I’m certain that’s not a coincidence.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “The head ship of the fleet—the Arbiter—was involved. I’m sure everything will be sorted out in short order. Except for me. I think the liaison used his connections to have me assigned to the station so that he could filter the reports I was sending to the Coalition. When the Arbiter left orbit, no one contacted me. I don’t think they know I’m here.”

  “My equipment can send a signal. You can let them know—”

  “I don’t want them to. I don’t want to be found. I want to stay here…with you.”

  “Oh…” He looked puzzled, but then his face relaxed and he smiled. “Oh.”

  “I mean, I can figure something else out. But after all our talks, I thought—”

  Brendan didn’t let her finish her sentence. He released her hand so that he could cradle her face, pulling her close as he leaned toward her. Those soft lips gently brushed against hers.

  Stars…

  Kira melted into him. That was how it felt. His lips moved on hers slowly, gently coaxing her response.

  She had used Coupling with other people a few times. It had always seemed more mess than it was worth. Kissing had not been involved. If it had, she might have formed a different opinion.

  Rising on her knees, she kissed him back. His lips were warm and strong. They parted to let his tongue slide along her mouth. When she gasped, he pushed his tongue deeper.

  She moaned against his mouth, opening herself to him, pressing her chest again
st his body. Her tongue tangled with his as she gripped his shoulders and pushed him back against the couch. At some point, she had shifted to straddle him and his hands had moved to her hips. She wasn’t even sure when, but she loved it. She loved feeling his firm grip, the heat of his kiss, the hardness of his…

  Moons, his…member…was poking her belly. Without the aid of Coupling.

  Of course he could hold an erection without the Coalition drug. Earth mating practices were far different from what she had experienced. Giving and receiving pleasure from another person using only their bodies… Kira wanted to know what that was like. With Brendan. Immediately.

  Contact, stimulation—touch and friction.

  Clenching her fingers on his shoulders, she slid up his body. He hissed in a breath and moved his hands to her ass. She felt muscles deep within her responding.

  The cotton of his boxer-briefs was so thin. She rubbed herself along his length, groaning as the tingling between her legs grew into a current of electric pleasure coursing through her. Nothing had ever felt so good. Not Balance, not Coupling. She wanted more.

  He tilted his head to the side, breaking their kiss. That just gave her a better angle to reach his neck. She latched onto his skin, layering kisses and nips as she worked her way up to his ear.

  “This is all happening kind of fast,” he said. “Not that I’m complaining. But are you sure you want—”

  “Yes.” Stars, she was sure.

  Reaching between them, she slid her hand down the hard plane of his stomach, tracing the ridges of his abs. She didn’t stop until she hit the elastic of his waistband, stretching it so she could reach him.

  “I’ve heard this called a cock,” she said, wrapping her fingers around him.

  He groaned and his eyes rolled shut. “Um, yeah. That’s one word for it.”

  She applied more pressure, watching his response. Loving it. He leaned his head back against the couch, eyes still clenched shut, lips tight. He pulled in deep draws of air between long pauses, as if all of his body’s attention was on her hand.

  Stimulus. Simulation.

  He groaned as she started moving her hand on him, mimicking mating. She imagined what he would feel like inside of her, filling her. More electricity arced through her body, this time centering from between her legs, even though he wasn’t touching her there.

  How could her body be doing this without Coupling? Without even being touched?

  If they had used the drug, they would have already climaxed by now. She wondered what else they could do in the time their bodies needed to respond naturally to each other.

  “In one of the broadcasts I reviewed, a man who swore he had encountered aliens called them cocksuckers, as if it was a bad thing.” It didn’t make sense. The heat and wetness of her mouth would be an even better simulation than her hand. “Is that a bad thing?”

  She watched his throat move as he swallowed.

  “That’s a loaded question.”

  “I want to give you pleasure.”

  He gripped her wrist and pulled her hand away from him.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “You don’t have to do this.” His expression was grave. “I’ll help you no matter what.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You don’t have to trade sexual favors to get me to help you.”

  She felt her eyes grow wide. “People do that? Seriously?”

  “Well… Yeah.” He shrugged, scowling at her.

  Kira started to laugh. She couldn’t help it. The idea of trading sex for anything was so…alien to her. That thought made her laugh even harder.

  “Care to clue me in?” Brendan asked.

  “I’m sorry. That’s just one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.”

  She wiped at her eyes as she sat back so that her weight was on his lap. He picked up the quilt that she had cast off and threw it around her shoulders, keeping his scowl in place. She had a feeling it was mostly for show.

  “People in the Coalition… Well, they don’t really have sex,” she said. “Not like on Earth, anyway.”

  “See, now you’re just making me uncomfortable.” He grinned a little, letting her know he was joking. But she could sense there was a thread of honesty woven into his statement.

  “There’s a drug called Coupling that we can use instead of having sex. It takes care of everything.”

  “Your people only have sex alone?”

  “Not always. For some, it doesn’t satisfy all their needs. Those people pair up and use it together.”

  “Nobody just…gets it on the old-fashioned way?”

  “Gets what on?”

  “Has sex.”

  “Oh. Not that I’ve ever heard. And I’m a very good listener.”

  She loved talking to Brendan, but she wanted to do other things. It had been too long since he had kissed her. There was too much space between them. The energy that had been building in her was threatening to turn to frustration. She wanted to go back to pleasure.

  She leaned forward and brushed her nose along his neck, then pressed a kiss there. He didn’t relax into her as she’d hoped, so she pulled back again.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “You’ve done that before, though. Right?”

  “Done what before?”

  “‘Coupled’ with someone. Used that stuff with another person. I mean, you’re not…”

  “I’ve had sex before, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  He let out a breath. “Okay. Cool. Because this is going fast and it’s already complicated enough and—”

  She kissed him again, pressing her lips to his firmly to make sure he received the message. She wanted this—wanted him—for no other reason than that he was himself.

  Chapter Seven

  For someone from a culture that didn’t exactly have actual sex, Kira sure knew how to kiss. And the way she had gripped him… Every touch, every look was equal parts naivety and confidence. He didn’t know how she pulled that off. His cock didn’t care—it just wanted more.

  He was glad his boxer-briefs were still in place. Otherwise, he’d have been tempted to just slide into her. As compatible as their bodies seemed, he wanted to make sure they took precautions.

  Gripping her ass to hold her, he leaned forward, then stood. Their quilts fell away as she held onto his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Taking you to the bed.” He started across the room.

  “Oh. Okay.” She gave him another of those megawatt smiles. He had to pause for a moment to kiss her properly.

  Kira in his arms. He didn’t care if she was an alien or not. She was the person who knew him best in the universe. The person he loved.

  He broke off the kiss and carried her to the bed, setting her down on the side closest to his bedside table. The fire he had built up chased the chill from the air, but he left her shirt on to keep her warm. There was still plenty he could do and reach.

  Kneeling before her, he ran his hands up her calves then under her thighs. Her lips parted and she hissed in a breath.

  “When you take that drug, do you touch each other?” he asked.

  “Not like this.” She shook her head, her smile faltering. “It’s more like a lot of awkward hugging. That’s how it always felt to me, anyway.”

  “That doesn’t sound very appealing.”

  “I only tried a couple of times. I don’t think—” She cut herself off, eyes widening as if she had caught herself before letting a secret slip through.

  There was no point for him to try to keep his secrets from her. The technology she had demonstrated already left his advances centuries in the dust. No wonder she’d been able to pick up his signal—she was the intended audience.

>   He hoped eventually she wouldn’t feel the need to keep things from him either. He wanted her to trust him fully, like he trusted her.

  “You can tell me anything,” he said. “I thought you knew that by now. Especially with everything you’ve already shared.”

  She pinched her lips together so tight they disappeared. But she nodded.

  “I’m not…normal.”

  “Oh.” Maybe their anatomy wasn’t as compatible as he thought. “If there are things I need to know before we go further, tell me. I can handle it. I just… I want to be close to you.”

  “I want that too.”

  She put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him again, then rested her forehead against his for a moment. When she leaned back, she had that determined look on her face that he had seen while she was programming her escape capsule to detonate.

  “Coalition citizens are genetically engineered,” she said. “Part of that is being designed so drugs like Coupling work well with our physiology.”

  “That’s profoundly disturbing.”

  She let out a snort. “What’s disturbing is that they don’t work on me the way they’re supposed to. Coupling is okay if I use it by myself. But Balance just makes me feel…weird.”

  “Balance?”

  “It helps us maintain emotional equilibrium.”

  “Your government drugs you to keep you happy?”

  This was the worst foreplay ever. But Kira’s desire to stay on Earth made a lot more sense.

  “There are septillions of people in the Coalition. Balance helps keep the peace. The species that can’t use it are invariably the ones who initiate conflict.”

  His stomach started to twist. The aliens he’d thought might take him to a more peaceful society were real. And he wanted nothing to do with them or their version of peace.

  Well, most of them. Kira was an exception.