“You’re really quiet.”
“So are you,” she shot back.
“I was trying to figure out the best way to ask you.”
“Ask me what?”
“Ask you to stay, to spend the night sleeping in my arms.”
“You don’t want me to leave?”
He turned completely on his side to look at her. “I want you to stay, Amber. Not because I want your body again, though I do want your body again. I want you to stay because I love the feeling of you lying in my arms. I want to wake up to your beautiful smile and hear your voice in the morning. You give me peace, Amber. Please spend the night.”
She gave him a shaky smile, one she was determined to cry through, stupid tears. Didn’t her eyes know males didn’t like tears?
“I want to stay, but I don’t have clean clothes.”
“Then we’ll go to your condo tomorrow and get some, besides you don’t need any clothes right now.”
“I like the way you think.” She reached over and gave him a kiss. “Shall we see if the second time is actually better?”
He growled in her ear and flipped her over. “I think I am already getting better. She laughed until he kissed it away.
*~*~*~*
Amber opened her eyes to find her ferocious beast asleep by her side. The smile that hovered around her sleeping mouth bloomed wider as she looked at him. He was magnificent. His face was beautiful, a study in contrast that she would love to look at for the rest of her life. His wide forehead and his magnificent eyelashes hid his eyes as he slept. The sculpted cheek bones. She sighed gazing down his neck to stop at his chest.
She needed to feel his abs the eight pack the man possessed was making her hot again. She wanted to spend days, months exploring it. Last night had not been enough. She looked down his legs to find him semi hard even in sleep. What would it feel like to lick him with her tongue, to take him in her mouth and suck on his thick mushroom shaped head? The walls of her vagina became slick just thinking about it.
Slipping out of the bed, she tried not to wake him. She wandered into the bathroom taking care of her needs before hitting the shower. How could she ever take another shower without picturing her hands on him? She washed quickly saddened by the thought that her one night was over and now she would have to go back to the reality of her lonely condo, the one she fought for and would give up for just one more day with Alexei.
She found a robe and slipped out of the room; maybe she would make him breakfast as her way of saying farewell. She padded down the steps stopping at the bottom as she looked into the game room.
She. Was. Dead. And she didn’t care. She wouldn’t take back what happened between her and Alexei, and she didn’t care who knew about it. She squared her shoulders and raised her head because she wouldn’t be ashamed of what happened either.
“I’m happy you’re here because if you were a weak female, Amber, I would throw you out on your ear,” Rena said. “My son deserves better than that. But you’re strong and I like that. I brought you some clothes.”
Amber’s mouth opened, but no sound escaped.
“Close your mouth, dear.”
“How did you know?”
“Let’s call it mother’s intuition. If you’re lucky you will understand one day.”
Amber looked at the clothes sitting next to Alexei’s mother and then back at her.
“You’re not here to tell me that he’s too good for me or that you’re disappointed in me or to threaten me with Ash?”
“Would any of those things make a difference?”
“No. I care about Alexei and I am glad I got to spend time with him.”
“So it’s over then, it was a one-night stand?”
“No! I mean I don’t know. I guess it depends on what he wants.”
“What do you want, dear? Do you want more?”
“Yes,” her shoulders slumped, “But I really don’t want to be talking about it with you. No offense or anything.”
“None taken maybe you should talk about it with him.” She nodded to the top of the stairs where Alexei was standing.
Amber turned to look at Alexei.
“I missed you. I waited for you to come back to bed when you didn’t I came to find you.”
“I should have known you weren’t asleep.
He gave her a small smile. “What I didn’t expect to find was my mother.
He turned and glared at his mother.
“Good to see you too, Son. The two of you have roughly thirty minutes before the rest of the family shows up. If I were you, I would stop standing around in towels and talk to each other.”
Amber walked over to retrieve her clothes before turning to the steps, she could feel Alexei but not see him.
“Alexei?” He stood inside the doorway waiting for her. “Well I owe your beautiful mother a thank you for the clothes.”
“Were you going to leave, Amber?”
She went over to the sitting area in his room. It was made up of two chairs, a small table in between them, and a pretty lamp. She sat hard in one of the chairs.
“I don’t know. Last night was incredible, but that doesn’t mean you want to be with me or that we were even meant to be together. Maybe you thought it was just a one-night stand. I think I’m just confused.”
“It wasn’t just one night, Amber. It was way more than one time. I thought you wanted more.”
“I do want more, but more of what? More sex, or a relationship, or a possible tomorrow. That’s what I am asking, more of what?”
“More of us, Amber. Can’t we take this thing one day at a time and see what happens between us? I don’t want to let you go, but I can’t vouch for tomorrow any more than I can vouch for today. What if there isn’t a tomorrow, then all I know is I want to go out with you.”
“I like that, I want that. So we’ll take it one day at a time like friends?”
“Uh huh, like friends in an exclusive relationship. I don’t want to share you.”
“I like that even more.”
“So you’ll stay tonight?”
“Did I agree to that?”
“Not yet, but I’m trying.”
“Well you’re in luck; I live by myself so if you survive the wrath of Ash I’ll be spending the night.”
He groaned. “I doubt I am going to get off with a long heartfelt talk.”
She shook her head no. “Isn’t it kind of comforting?”
“That your father is planning to beat me into a pulp?”
“No, that the world seems to be ending, but family is still family.”
“Actually it is. Let me grab a shower, I want to be clean when Uncle Nicolas has to bandage me up.”
He walked out with laughter floating over his shoulder.
Chapter Fourteen
Alexei stood in his training room with his Uncle Ash. He was waiting for the other male to say something, to accuse him, to throw him against the wall. Instead he simply stood and stared at him.
The weight of the silence became more than he could bear. “I care for her.”
Ash nodded, but continued his silence.
“Is this where you beat me into a pulp?”
“Finding your mate is a day for celebration in a Created’s life. I would think it would be the same for a hybrid. Losing your mate is like a rusty sword being thrust into your heart and slowly turned.”
Alexei felt his legs go slightly wobbly underneath him. He backed against the wall and slid down to the floor. Ash walked over and sat beside him.
“Every day I ask myself what would my life be like if I hadn’t let Brooklyn walk away from me. If I had gone against her wishes and whisked her away, even if that meant leaving everything and everyone I knew behind. I wake up lonely and I go to bed lonely and the one thing, the only thing that kept the ache in my heart to a bare minimum…the one person that keeps me from drowning in a sea of sorrow is Amber. Without her I would be lost. How Dante knew I have no idea.”
Ale
xei sat in silence, waiting.
“You say you care about her? Well I care about her too. If you hurt Amber I am coming for you. You want to learn how the Created plot and wait tirelessly for their prey? Hurt her and you will find out. No one, including your father, will keep me off of you. Do you understand?”
“I understand, Uncle Ash, I love Amber. She is my mate; I’m just waiting for her to understand. I will do my best not to hurt her.”
“You’re young to mate but I have suspected since you were a child that she was the one for you.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“When should I have told you when you were five or fifteen? Each Created has to come to terms with finding his own mate. Even if he grows up with her.”
Alexei gave a mental shrug unable to undo the past. “Uncle Ash, what happened to your mate?”
Ash stood before he looked down at Alexei. “I don’t know. We prearranged a spot to meet, she never showed up. I searched for her, Hale searched for her, we all searched for her, but it was as if she didn’t exist.”
“Will there be another mate for you?”
“How can there be? My heart belongs to her. I will be content in the grandchildren you and Amber provide me.” The smile of genuine pleasure on Ash’s face disappeared quickly.
“If genetics and fate will allow you to have children while I am still alive. Stay seated, your father is coming.”
Ash turned and walked out greeting Aran as he entered the room.
“You’
re still alive. It warms my heart to see this.” Aran walked over and took a seat by his son.
“Did I do it all wrong?”
“If there’s a right way I’m still looking for it. After all these years I still stumble with your mother. She watches me flail around then comes to my rescue. I’ve watched you, Alexei, not once have you touched a female, not even your prom date.”
Alexei shrugged his shoulders. His prom date was beautiful, but she wasn’t Amber who was way too old for him at the time or so he told himself. Touching his date felt wrong, touching anyone except the female he gave his heart to years ago seemed to leave him feeling dirty, so he waited. Last night was worth the wait.
“I don’t know when it happened or when I knew, it feels like I always knew.”
“You grew up with your mate; that’s rare and something not to be taken for granted. It’s easy to miss what is right in front of your face for a chance to search the world to find it.”
“I understand; I won’t grow so content that I feel like I need to look for another. Mother brought Amber clothes this morning.”
“I know. I am also glad you found Amber, that you listened to your heart, but mating is not easy understanding your mate is very difficult, and will be for you also. Do not think just because you grew up on Earth that you understand Earth females. Very few Earth males understand their females, so don’t be disappointed when you don’t understand yours.”
“Were things easy for you and mom?”
“They were perfect, your mom was docile and acted just like a responsible Created mate should.”
Alexei’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped before booming laughter emerged from him. “It was that hard?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t easy, but at least you have an advantage. You don’t have to tell her you’re an alien.”
That thought sobered him up, it was an advantage. Now all he had to tell her was that he wanted to tie her up. But he’d think about that later.
“Why did the need to mate kick in so early in my life?”
“Because your mate is here now. In another hundred or two hundred years your mate would be dead. Your biology adjusted accordingly, that’s what the Created biology in you does.”
“Are we done here?”
“Not yet. Alexei, if you hurt Amber, Ash won’t need to come after you because I will. Your body calls you to mate, I understand that, but you are in charge of your body, if you’re not ready you ignore the call, you do not harm others just to know what a particular feeling is like.”
“I understand. If I hurt Amber, no one will have to hunt me down I will present myself on Ash’s doorstep and take what is coming to me. All I can say is that I will try to make her as happy as you have made Mom.”
“You just said a mouth full.”
Aran rose and extended a hand to Alexei. “Let’s go get breakfast before they eat it all.”
*~*~*~*
“Who lives in a swamp?” Amber was wearing boots that came up to her knees; branches from the trees snagged at her hair and shirt, and hit her in the face.
“Other beings who seem to like it warm and are potential allies against the threat in the sky,” Alexei replied leading the way.
“The threat that’s done nothing! They are sitting there in their ships waiting. For what?”
“My money is on Yaksim. We took out their advance scouts at least the ones here. We foiled their attack on the US government; I bet their waiting for their leader before they launch an all-out war. That gives us time to get our act together.”
“I think all of this should already be in place.”
“Amber, I think it is in place. You and I, the cousins, I think we are being used to move the chess pieces, nothing else.”
“You’re probably right. Do you want to talk about what happened earlier?”
“Which part? The part where they let me live or the part where they both threatened my life?”
“Was it really that bad?”
“Yes and no. Let’s leave it at that.”
“All right.”
Alexei stopped holding up his hand for silence, four females came out of the swamp.
“Stop there gator bait, are you looking for us?” came from one of the women.
“Only if you’re the ones Dante actually sent hugs to.”
The four of them smiled, “Now there’s a Created we’d like to see,” they said in unison.
“Who are you and how do you know Dante?” one of the women asked.
“I’m Alexei and this is Amber and you can say Dante is our uncle.”
“Hi, nice to meet you.”
The women were standing somewhere around five five making her feel like a giant compared to them. They were all slight and extremely lithe with skin so tan it appeared golden, she bet they glowed in the sun. Their blue eyes shone eerily in the semi darkness of the swamp and she would kill for hair that didn’t frizz up in the heat like theirs. Yeah, they were otherworldly but according to Dante they would be great allies.
“Follow us. I assume you came about the ships covering the skies.”
“War is coming, have you decided how you want to handle it?”
One of the females eyed Alexei. Amber decided to let them all know he wasn’t in charge of everything. Like for instance his body, which belonged to her because they were exclusive even if they were only together one night so far.
“We could always leave, we are debating.” The woman reached out to touch Alexei only to find Amber standing in the way.
“Doesn’t the male have a mouth of his own?”
“He does, but I have better things for him to do with it.”
“The human has claws, sisters.”
“Damn straight and he’s off limits.”
“I want to hear the male say it.”
“You heard the female, I’m taken.”
“Well you are truly Created, one of only three species that can resist a Siren. Come in.”
They were led to a huge log cabin in the middle of the swamp. The bottom floor had an open concept plan. The house could have been featured in a magazine, it was that nice. Amber lifted her jaw and walked in, the coziness of the place enveloping her.
“I’m not sure how I expected Sirens to live, but this wasn’t it.”
“We get a bad name simply because most find it impossible to look away. Truly it’s just genetics. Of course I wouldn’t mind if you’re male wanted to look.”
&
nbsp; “You would if I tore you apart.”
The Siren opened her mouth, exposing rows of deadly teeth that weren’t there before. Amber reached for her knife allowing it to circle her head as she looked at the Siren.
“That’s what I love about both the Siren’s and humans. We are willing to fight each other over such a small statement when the real enemy is in the air plotting to take over our planet or worse,” one of the Sirens spoke up.”
“I agree, sister, but if we have to watch them fight maybe we should place a small wager on it. I want the human she has guts.”
“I’ll take our sister. She enjoys a good kill.”
“I’m not going to kill her; I’m just going to beat her until she learns some respect.”
“I should at least know the name of the Siren I’m about to put in her place.”
“You can call me Janelle.”
“Bring it, Janelle.”
“I’m putting away the teeth, you can put away the knife.”
Amber nodded her head sheathing the knife and motioned for her to come on. Janelle threw a punch that missed Ambers face and hit her shoulder. Amber threw herself at Janelle using her larger body as a weapon. They crashed to the floor, Janelle flipped her using her superior strength. She rose up and hit Amber in the mouth.
Amber used the wind, making it dance to her tune, the force of it turned them allowing her to be on top. She reared back and punched Janelle in the eye. It turned black causing her to let off an inhuman screech. The fight degraded into hair pulling as neither of them reached for anything deadly.
One of the sisters yawned, “I’m calling it a draw.”
Someone reached down and picked up a kicking and punching Amber off of Janelle who was giving as much as she was receiving.
“Stop Wild Cat, you have defended your claim. I’m all yours.”
Amber sniffed, “This wasn’t about you, it was about showing them just because I’m human you can’t threaten me or mine and think its ok.” She turned to look at them, “You can run if you want. Leave our planet behind, but with or without you we will win this war.”
Alexei Page 9
