“I don’t think you ever had to.” She looks at me with blessedly glassy eyes. A warm feeling fills up my heart. Her lips are red and wet when she says, “Every girl must be swooning at your feet.”
“Not all the time,” I lie.
I don’t want her to feel just like any other girl. I also want her to have a good impression about me. I have never felt such strong emotions towards a girl, and once upon a time I wanted to marry Sasha? I have no clue what I want with Alice, but I am certain it has to be bigger than a silly wedding dance.
She rests her head on my chest once more. And for the first time in my life, I feel peace.
Chapter 13
Alice
My emotions are raw. Erien’s hot body is a pleasing contrast to the cold air around us. I must have fallen asleep on him because I feel his sturdy fingers running through my hair. I stir awake.
“Erien,” I whisper.
“Let’s get moving before things get exciting again.” His hot breath warms my ears.
I lift myself off of him. My underwear is sticking to my groin. There is a slight throbbing there, an ache for more, but it is not as distracting as before Erien had mercifully rubbed his rigid body against mine. Somewhere deep within I wish it had been more but I now have a profound reverence for Erien. He respected me like no man before ever had.
I watch him stand and shake out any lingering fluids in his appendage. I avert my eyes. A tinge of guilt overwhelms me. Did I just hit second base with an engaged man? I feel myself blush. It won’t happen again, I promise myself. Now, about getting to the city.
Erien clads himself in the trench coat, though only for decencies sake. It fits like an undersized shirt on his ripped body. His muscular body makes him much bigger than the average man I know, and his height adds a condescending demeanor which is only softened by his long hair. His face is intriguing, and I cannot wait for the sun to shine on it so I can see clearly – not like I haven’t seen him many times in my dreams.
He strolls toward me and picks my clothes from the floor. As he gives them to me, his free hand clutches my chin in order for him to take a good look at my face.
“Did I hurt you?” He has the courtesy to ask.
A warm shiver ripples my flesh. “No. And I thank you for that.”
In the meantime, he helps me put on my tank top. I wear my pants and ask it to contain whatever desire might be aroused later on. I cannot act like this with a man about to be married. His gaze locks into mine.
“No need to thank me. The feeling was mutual.”
I hesitate. “And your fiancée?”
“I lied about that.” He doesn’t miss a beat. I reel back in shock. Why would he lie about that? Does that mean…? He clears my thoughts by saying, “The part about having my balls in the bowels of a woman is true though she is not my fiancée. She’s my brothers. That’s another story.”
I gape. “What?”
This time I do not hide my emotions. I think it is morally wrong that he would sleep with someone betrothed to his brother… and, was he just using me? My blood runs cold. What kind of man is he? He takes my hand but I snatch it away from him.
“Do you want to stay here for all eternity? There is life out there,” he says.
“I am not going anywhere with you!” I pout.
“Women!” He snarls. “Now that you are sated, you get to have a moral compass?”
“We didn’t fuck!” I shout at him.
“What difference does it make? We could have… Okay, if you want to stay here, then stay! But show me which way I am supposed to go because I am not sticking around.” He is angry.
I walk away from him. He deserves to be lost forever. Goodness, can all men be that callous? Who sleep with his brother’s fiancée? My body temperature rises from the anger. Of course, I am no saint for having almost slept with him when I believed she was his fiancée. I am too angry to cry. Does my life have to be this messed up?
Erien rounds me up. He grabs me by the arm. I try to pull away but he is too strong. I can feel angry energy vibrating through him. His skin turns a darker tinge of gray. In my futile anger, I slap his chest in frustration. He grabs my hand tighter until I force myself to stop and stare into his glassy silver eyes.
“You want to judge me, right? O’ holy saint,” he roars.
“Let go of me.” My voice is a whimper.
“Then here this…” He ignores my squirming, “I find someone to be my bride, my brother takes her from me at the blessing of my father, I fight to get her back and end up getting banished to abyss; from adored Prince of Solasis to a butt naked nobody in hell. So yes, stand there and judge me?” He lets go of me.
Hot tears kiss my cheeks. I wish I was dreaming but this is no dream. I don’t know what to think. Who is he and where does he come from? And what on Earth am I doing in the middle of nowhere with this stranger I only know from my dreams? Will I ever really escape from Shoelace? Will morning find me back in my lice-ridden bed with my mother calling me to hold her hair while she nurses her hangover? And will Carlos be there, condoms in his hand, waiting for me to pay my debt in the back of his car? My body tremors as emotions rip through me.
In the blink of an eye, I notice Erien drop his guard. His anger is replaced by sincere compassion. He moves closer to me and this time, I don’t avoid him. He places a strong arm on my right shoulder.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he says. I study my feet until he lifts my face with his fore finger. Then under the starry sky, his soft lips touch mine. His tongue penetrates my mouth a little but he withdraws it. He knows I am too emotional to think straight. He says, “Do not be scared of me.”
I nod subtly. My voice is soft when I say, “I don’t know what to do.”
“Trust me. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
I sigh in relief.
Chapter 14
Alice
The wind is violent against my hair. Erien moves with the speed of a bullet in the direction I direct him. And I, I cling to my hero as he takes me away from my troubles to safety. It is an elating feeling. The outline of the New York skyline welcomes us. He stops to take in the beautiful sight.
“Is this the civilized land?” he asks.
His tone is guarded so I am uncertain if he is awed or rather disappointed. I do not let that keep me from beaming with joy. I am finally free from that miserable old town. My future is bright before me.
I study Erien and for the first time I see how uncomfortable he is in the trench coat. I do not have much money but I suppose we can find something in an all-night thrift shop.
“Let’s get you some clothes,” I say.
He scowls in thought. “Good idea.”
Before I can stop him, he zaps away. The wind snatches at my face and I quickly hide it against his chest. Mercifully, the trip is short. And I find that he puts me down. We are standing outside an Armani shop. It is closed for business. Erien is studying the white and red designer suit displayed in the window. I stare at him. I can never afford it in a thousand years, and I know for certain he has no money. The store is closed for business. And due to the late hour, there are no pedestrians on the streets.
“Let’s go round the corner, I am sure we will find a thrift shop,” I tug his hand.
“What’s that?” He raises an eyebrow. It makes him appear so superior when he does that.
“It’s a place to find vintage clothes,” I say because he sees like the type who is offended by the word cheap. Erien shrugs.
“This looks modest enough.”
“This is Armani, it’s not modest. Besides, we can’t afford it. And even if we could it is… closed.” I find that I am talking to myself.
Erien has already entered the shop. I gape. How did he move the glass window as if it is a sliding door? I stay rooted on the spot. He has disappeared inside the dark shop. I am afraid to follow him inside. How come the security alarms aren’t blaring?
“Erien?” I feel uneasy
when he stays inside for too long. Has he left me? I fear.
“These shoes don’t fit!” I hear his voice say from inside.
“Let’s get out of here, you are breaking and entering.”
“I only want some decent shoes, is it too much to ask?” he says.
“It is too much to pay for,” I respond.
I inhale when he steps out. Erien has chosen to don himself in a dark blue designer blazer with a triangular breast pocket. He wears fitting Capri pants that show his ass and calves to best advantage. Under the street light, I see his radiant face clearly. The foxy silver eyes, his long trimmed eyebrows, and eyelashes that are more defined than mine. He is strong-jawed and has a straight square nose that compliments his sultry perfect lips – not too big and not small either. The most alluring part of his face is certainly the white sideburns that end right at his jaw. I believe I am staring at an angel. He looks better than my dreams. If Barbie’s Ken was real, he would be standing right in front of me – except with better hair, better skin, better clothes and of course, me, instead of Barbie.
“These clothes are of terrible quality,” he says. His remark snaps me out of my reverie. What does he mean? Those clothes are perfect. They are the best material in the entire city, if not the entire world. His hair flutters in the wind. He scratches his head. “Must I change again?”
I walk up to him, and hold his hand. “No, you are perfect.”
Instantly, the security alarms blare. I am shocked. When he passed into the shop there was no alarm but now that I step inside, it blares? There is no time to think. I grab Erien’s hand and make a run for it. He can certainly move faster than I and yet he tags along as if he were slower than me.
“Why are we running?” he asks.
I don’t stop running. Even though we are well away, the thrill of it keeps me going. I find myself laughing. My laugh must be infectious because Erien starts laughing too. His is a beautiful melody coming from his diaphragm while my laughter is a mixture of a snort, cough and shrill. This amuses him. He finally brings me to a stop.
“We are acting like thieves.” There are tears of laughter in his eyes. God, he’s a beautiful man. I do my best to contain my laughter.
“We are thieves. You are wearing stolen clothes!” I point out.
“I was going to pay for them.”
“With what; a lap dance?” I deride.
He scowls in thought. He doesn’t understand me. It doesn’t matter. I grab his hand yet he refuses to walk with me. His eyes are transfixed on the grand hotel across the streets. He points at it.
“That looks like a nice place to rest a while,” he says.
I gape at him. “What; the Hilton Hotel? I get that you are a prince and all…”
He is already walking toward it. This time, he drags me along with him. I try to protest but he is as stubborn as a mule. I can’t stop him. We walk through the gold-encrusted entrance. I have never been in a hotel before, let alone an expensive one. My eyes widen in awesomeness. That doesn’t stop me from being apprehensive.
“You don’t just walk into a hotel room,” I whisper to Erien.
“Why not?” He doesn’t bother to lower his voice.
“You have to be able to pay for it!”
“I am a Prince. Besides, isn’t everything in hell for free?”
“God, which planet are you from? This is not hell! If you ask me, we’re in heaven on earth.”
“Sounds like my Gran described it to me; miserable lads clad in tin suits and pushing tin suitcases.” He gestures at the bright-eyed service personnel.
“That is luggage, and their suits are not tin. They are plated in gold!” I can’t believe the anger rising in me. He is so arrogant. He doesn’t listen to me. He keeps walking. “Hey. Hey. Do you have a credit card? Wait, you were naked on the roadside so I don’t think so…”
“What is a credit card?” he asks innocently.
His confused expression makes me want to make love to him right there. Goodness. I must be losing my mind.
“Something you use to pay for all this,” I tell him.
“Don’t worry. If there is anything to pay, my father will settle it.”
I let myself follow him to the elevator. I wonder if he knows how to use it. I feel like I will trip against my own leg as we pass by the reception. The polite hostesses don’t stop us at all. I am dumbfounded. I suppose that he looks the part while I look like the average street walker next to him.
We are almost past the reception when Erien pauses and winks at the woman in reception. It takes everything in me not to be appalled. Erien walks right on as if it’s just another day in his life. It must be. An unsettling feeling dawns on me. Is it too early to be jealous? I muse.
“She’s very beautiful,” he says.
I try not to blush in abashment. He called her beautiful. He had called me pretty. I wonder if he thinks I am not his class. What if what he gave me by the roadside was just a pity fuck? No, he had been really horny then. But it wasn’t for me? He’d been making love to someone else – his brother’s fiancée – and I’d just finished the job. Suddenly, I feel disgusted with myself.
“Do you think she will sleep with me?” Erien asks me as we step into an empty elevator.
“Does everyone sleep with you?” I fume.
“Don’t you want to?”
My blood boils and my pride is wounded. I let out a simple, “No.”
He isn’t bothered. “That’s a change of pace. Hell truly is different.”
I grit my teeth. How can I make him understand that this is not hell? Wait, I don’t understand why I am still with him. I press the elevator button – any button because I have never used on in my life. He stares at me with inquisitive silver eyes. His beauty makes me want to cry. His arrogance makes me want to slap him.
“I have to go,” I say.
For the first time he looks sad. “Go where?”
“I don’t know… to find my life.”
Erien leans back. “You lost it?”
His voice is casual yet it drives me on edge. I groan inwardly. Did this guy think everything is a joke? I punch more buttons on the wall. I must have pressed the wrong one because the elevator stopped and opened up to a nicely furnished corridor. Erien steps out. I am forced to follow him. If I am caught wandering about alone in a hotel, I will be arrested. Though I hate to admit it, Erien has a charm about him that lets him get away with anything. The self-entitled son of a gun; I sulk and continue to follow him.
Erien takes command of the corridor as though it were his home. Abruptly, he stops at a door. He opens it before I can stop him.
“Oh, nice décor,” Erien said to a shocked man inside. The man was clad in only a bathrobe and seemed disconcerted that someone had opened the door to his room. He appraised Erien before I jumped up and closed the door to his face.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” I manage to say.
God, I hope the man doesn’t call security. I can only imagine what he is thinking. Erien has already moved on. I only catch his frame entering another room further down the hall.
“Good lord, whatever I did to deserve this man!” I say, uncertain whether Erien is childish or simply cocky. I think it is the latter.
I run the length of the hall to the room he has entered. It is my hope that there isn’t anyone in that room. I find Erien is pouring himself a scotch in a glass. Quickly, my eyes scan the room. It doesn’t appear that there is a host, still I run around the expensively furnished hotel apartment. It is larger than I expected. Thankfully, it is vacant.
When I return, Erien is sipping on the scotch. He seems to like it. I stare at him, baffled.
“We can’t stay here.”
“This room is as good as any,” he says.
I walk to lock the door – just in case of security. I open the door again so as to put the ‘do not disturb’ sign. Hopefully, no one will disturb us. I don’t know what I have got myself into. Erien doesn’t seem too concerne
d. I turn to give him a piece of my mind but find that he is no longer there.
“What are you up to now?” I ask aloud. I do not get a response.
I walk the length of the lavish apartment, looking for him. I must have passed him twice because I didn’t expect him to be standing by the window – hidden beneath the curtains. I stopped short. Could it be? I approached him slowly and stood behind him; the only thing separating our bodies being the thin curtain between us.
“I’ve never seen something so beautiful,” his voice was filled with awe.
Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Heart Complete Series (Books 1-4): A SciFi (Science Fiction) Alien Warrior Abduction Invasion Romance Box Set Page 7
