by Jaylee Davis
A soft caress across his chest nudged him closer to awareness. He recognized the touch and the smell of the female tucked close to his side. He purred, content to hold her with one arm while he lay on his back. The flat, thin nails on her fingertips scraped harmlessly down his torso, tickling across his ultra-sensitive abs before stopping near the waistband of his tapa. They dug into his skin to gently knead his flesh as she wiggled closer. She ground her pelvis into him, rubbing her sex against his thigh. A soft, throaty moan escaped her lips.
At that moment, Vren realized two things. Bethany’s leg was draped across the front of his thigh and she wasn’t awake. His little female was dreaming, and judging from the scent of sexual excitement filling the air, she was more than ready to couple.
She’d been aroused before he’d finally gained some measure of control a few hours ago and been able to use his settling purr on her. If she hadn’t gone to sleep and given him some time to calm down, he would’ve taken her back to the couch. Given his state of need at the time, he wouldn’t have been gentle. He was rested now and ready. Apparently, she was ahead of him, at least in her dreams.
She was so different from the females of his species. A D’Lyrian female would never act so shameless in bed. It was unthinkable. No, he corrected the improper thought. Humans couple in their sleeping areas. This is normal behavior for my mate. Mine?
Vren woke completely, staring wide-eyed up at the ceiling. It was ridiculous to keep thinking such thoughts. She wasn’t his. He took a deep breath, hoping to clear his head and insanity. Her scent hit him full force, rousing him further and assuring him that she was, in fact, his. His marking scent mingled with hers. It was a sure sign that something close to a mating had occurred between them. Impossible, but unmistakable. He considered arguing with himself some more, but another breath made him forget about everything, except Bethany. Mine.
No female had ever taken his scent. Many had wanted to, but none turned out to be right for him. How could he and a human create the unique blending, which signaled they’d make a perfect pair?
He took another breath to catch his own scent to verify that it’d mixed with hers. He slightly lifted his upper lip to taste the sample, but her intoxicating arousal was too distracting. He untwined their legs, threw off the covers and reluctantly slipped out of her arms so he could stand. His movements roused her, and she squinted at him sleepily. In the dim light he could clearly see her delicate features, so beautiful and precious to him. Her golden hair spread out over the pillow and beneath her shoulders, the backdrop for an image of perfection in his view. Her lips curved into a sexy smile as she slowly stretched. He wondered if she tried to drive him wild with desire. If so, her tactic worked.
He marveled at her body, so lush in all the right places. It tempted him to forget his cultural taboo and pounce on her, but he held back. She was small and fragile. Perhaps that was why he felt such an overwhelming urge to protect her. At the moment, he craved her. He was out of bed, and they were separated. His body rebelled. The need to feel her skin against his once more was almost painful. He desperately wanted her on her hands and knees beneath him as he mounted her. His cock strained for release as the image formed in his mind. He tried his best to banish the thought.
It was sheer madness to think about mating with her. A list of reasons he should resist scrolled through his mind. Nevertheless, he scooped her up into his arms and hurried out of the bedroom. He was beyond caring, acting purely on instinct. Nothing else mattered. The only thought driving him was the fact he wanted her.
*
Vren carried her out of the bedroom. That could only mean one thing—sex. Very hot, very good sex. Bethany threw her arms around his neck and buried her face against his hard chest. He smelled so good. His sexy purr added to her desire and sent a gush of renewed moisture to her already damp pussy. He’d better hurry or she might finish without him.
Headlights filtered through the thick curtain over the kitchen sink. They brought him to an instant halt. A car horn blared and grew louder by the second as the vehicle approached the house. Bethany squirmed in his arms. He slowly released her and let her glide down his body until her feet touched the floor.
“Who’s here at this hour of the morning?” Bethany shot a quick look at the clock. The digital readout glowed. Two fifteen. She gripped his shoulders. “You have to hide!”
To her exasperation, he just shook his head.
The car engine died, a door opened and then slammed shut. “Bethany! Let me in!” A woman’s voice shouted as footsteps thudded on the front porch. The sound of two fists pounding out a desperate beat on the door came next. “Bethany, please open the door. It’s just me. Shelly!”
Bethany jerked at Vren until he reluctantly turned around. She shoved his massive body toward her bedroom as she called out, “Just a sec! Be right there!” She grabbed her robe and slipped it on. To her “lover,” she whispered, “Stay in the bedroom out of sight.”
He gave her a disgruntled green glare, but did as she told him. Bethany puffed out a sigh of relief. She dashed to the door and unlocked the latch. As soon as she opened it, her friend barreled inside, wild eyed with fear and panting.
“Close it, hurry!”
“Shelly?” She stared at her disheveled friend in astonishment. “Whiskey-tango-foxtrot?”
“The world’s gone crazy, Bethany. I thought Houston was bad, but when I drove up to your gate…” Shelly shuddered and ran a manicured hand through her long, bright red curls to swipe them away from her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you know?”
Bethany shook her head while she tried to figure out what had her best friend so freaked out.
“There are trucks and military vehicles lined up on each side of the road just outside your gate. Some of the men weren’t even trying to hide their weapons. They’re carrying assault-type military looking stuff. One truck had some missile launcher thing in the back. What’s going on?”
“You should’ve turned around, Shelly. Why are you here so early?”
“I’d planned to catch a ride with Ashley tomorrow, but after work this evening I walked to the college to see how a rally in support of the Alliance was going. A group of protestors stormed the stage and things got out of hand. A fight broke out. People started running and shoving others out of their way. I barely made it back to my apartment. By the time I grabbed my keys and jumped into the car, people were rioting in the street. I drove away and headed here. I would’ve called, but I lost my phone in the crowd at the college. Oh! That reminds me. Juan said to tell you the phone lines are dead. He tried to call you a few minutes ago, and I heard some of the men at the gate say their sat phones weren’t working either.”
“I should go. Now.” Vren’s deep voice broke into their conversation.
Shelly stopped talking to stare open mouthed at the nearly nude alien male who stood in the bedroom doorway.
“They’ll track you. Don’t leave…” Bethany said, wishing like hell she had the fortitude to add “me” on to the end of her plea.
“Who is he?” Shelly pointed at Vren.
“I’m the one they’re looking for,” he told her. “Convince Bethany it’s best for me to leave so she won’t be in danger.”
Bethany grabbed Shelly’s arm and shook her. “Don’t listen to him. He hit his head. He’s irrational, out of his mind.”
Shelly did a double take before she focused on Bethany. “You’re trying to protect him.” Her eyes widened. She raked her gaze up and down Bethany’s loosely gathered robe. Between clenched teeth, she gritted, “You’re naked underneath that robe.” Since Bethany didn’t immediately deny the accusation, Shelly gasped. “Oh! My! Gawd!”
Bethany ignored her friend’s intuitive guess and released her arm to storm over to him.
“You can’t be serious about leaving. You heard what she said. Caleb has an army out there. They’ll find you.”
“If I leave right now, they might fo
llow me and you’d be safe here with…Shelly.”
“Come on, Bethany. Listen to him. He’s not out of his mind. It makes sense.”
Vren gave Shelly an appreciative nod for her effort as he pulled Bethany into a tender embrace.
“No,” she pleaded with him. How could he stand there so relaxed, gazing at her with those gorgeous eyes, melting her will? “They’ll kill you,” she whispered tearfully.
“Maybe not,” he said. “If I go now, I might be able to slip away under the cover of darkness and find a place to hide.”
Just as she was about to rip into him for being a stubborn bull-headed alien another knock hit the door, followed by two more very firm, very insistent ones. Vren moved incredibly fast, and was in front of the doorway before she or Shelly could make a sound.
*
He held a hand up, palm outward, to caution both the females to remain quiet. Ears perked up and forward, he listened intently as he took a searching breath to capture a scent. He darted a look at Bethany and gave her a slight nod while he motioned for them to retreat into the bedroom. He was relieved when she and her friend obeyed without any argument.
“Back away!” Vren growled as he waited until he heard the male step back several paces before he opened the door. “Who sent you, Tauran?”
A uniformed Tauran male with shaggy black hair smiled broadly and spread his arms away from his sides to show he was unarmed. “Your illustrious commandant, Captain Tram, contacted us. He said an unfortunate accident had befallen one of his crewmembers. I assume that would be you?”
Vren ignored him to scan the area around the porch and yard. The male appeared to be alone. Very unlikely. He couldn’t detect the presence of any others. From his appearance and uniform, he was a spacer, one of the crew members from the Tauran battleship, which hid behind the Earth’s moon. Vren knew the details of their mission and he was sympathetic to their plight, but he didn’t trust them.
“You assume correctly. You came to the surface without any weapons or troops?”
“Tram insists on a ‘no weapons’ policy. My shuttle is nearby, waiting for a signal. My name is Morshant, and you are…”
“Vrenden.” Like the Tauran, he provided his name, but didn’t divulge his rank. The male’s overconfident attitude grated on his nerves. Morshant knew something, a secret he wasn’t sharing. “A moment.” Vren slammed the door in the man’s face, then rushed across the room, quickly slipping into Bethany’s bedroom.
He was relieved when he saw she was fully clothed and had just pulled on her boots. She grabbed his out of a bag and gave them to him.
“A Tauran shuttle has arrived to take me off planet,” he explained while pulling on his footgear. “I fear for you safety.”
“Then take us with you.” She rushed into his arms.
He crushed her to him and dipped his head to nuzzle the top of her forehead before he slid her up his until he could kiss her. She hungrily met his lips. Her soft moan of desperation put a crack in his resolve to leave without her.
The sound of more knocking on the front door filtered into the bedroom accompanied by a not so polite cough from Shelly. He’d all but forgotten about Bethany’s friend who’d been trapped inside with them and had witnessed their intimate moment.
He let out of low frustrated growl before he released Bethany. “Follow me,” he ordered.
Both females trailed after him as he stomped back to the door and then wrenched it open. The Tauran male pointed to several sets of approaching headlights coming up the road. Vren nabbed his arm and jerked him inside the house before he shut the door.
“Vehicles are heading this way,” he told Bethany.
She ran to the kitchen window and peeked out. “It has to be Caleb and some of his men. Hide. I’ll talk to them.”
“No!” Both Vren and Morshant said in unison.
It was a human word that even Taurans were familiar with. They shared knowing glances.
After he took a quick look at the two females, Morshant turned his attention to Vren. “Will their males harm them?”
“To get to me, perhaps. I’ll kill anyone who tries…” To harm my female.
“Then we should leave before they arrive. There is still time to reach the shuttle.”
“They’d be safer if we took them with us,” Vren said, attempting to keep Bethany with him.
“Strictly forbidden. Tram gave orders. Only you, alive or dead.” Morshant touched his ear and fell silent. As he listened his expression shifted from concern to relief. “My shuttle pilot reports there are three NASA aircraft headed this way. They’ll be here soon to rescue the females. We should go before they arrive.”
“Would you two stop blabbering to each other in your private language long enough to get out of my way?”
Vren whipped around to stare at Bethany. He’d forgotten that he and Morshant spoke to each other in their own languages because of the translator implants. The human females couldn’t understand what they said.
His female had a small hand weapon stuck into the front waistband of her trousers and a longer weapon clutched in her left hand. She stormed around him and Morshant to retrieve another weapon, which leaned near the door. Bethany tossed it to Shelly.
“Take this shotgun. It’s loaded with three shells already.” She threw a bag to her friend. “Here are some extras. Stay inside, take cover and shoot anyone who walks through the door.”
Shelly appeared terrified, but she managed to stammer, “O…k-kay.”
“I’ve heard about the great skill and courage of D’Lyrian warriors,” Morshant said with a sneer. “There was never any mention about how you train your female companions to fight your battles.”
Ears swept back, Vren growled viciously at the Tauran’s insult, then leveled his angry glare at Bethany. “They won’t fight!” He spoke the words in her language to make his point clear so there was no confusion.
“They’ll kill you,” she waved her hand toward Morshant, “and him.”
“I must go now before any harm comes to you. Stay inside as long as possible. Tell these human males I threatened you and forced you to help me.” His heart pounded with fear for her, but he had to go. The struggle to keep his own raw emotions under control made his voice sound harsh and uncaring when he snarled. “I must leave you. I have no choice!”
The look of shock and anguish that came over her face tore a jagged hole in his heart. She’d misunderstood him, but he was out of time and couldn’t delay any longer, not even to explain. Resolved, he turned away and practically shoved Morshant through the door before the Tauran could swing it open. Without a backward glance, he stormed out of the house. The door closed behind him with a resounding bang.
NASA’s security force would arrive soon, and they’d protect her. Nevertheless, he didn’t feel right about leaving. It was his responsibility to care for her, but his very presence placed her in grave danger. He had to go.
Chapter Seven
Dazed by his sudden coldness and dismissal, Bethany stood rooted in place at her doorway, unable to move and barely able to breathe. How could he treat her like that? One minute he was caring and loving, holding her in a gentle embrace while he kissed her passionately. Then the next, he tossed her aside as if she were an old piece of junk, unworthy of his notice.
“Bastard!”
“Did he just ‘wham-bam’ you? What an asshole!” Shelly huffed. “Now what?”
“We face an angry mob of assholes who’re gonna be royally pissed off when they find out their trophy up and flew away.”
The roar of oversized engines along with row upon row of headlights mounted on monster-sized trucks announced the imminent arrival of Caleb’s four-wheeling posse. One by one, each of the trucks parked in front of her porch. Their lights were so bright Bethany’s living room was illuminated despite the storm shutters covering the windows. She took a quick peek through the small glass panel on her front door and counted four sets total. Apparently Juan, by some miracle, had
been able to stop the rest of the convoy Shelly had seen on her arrival.
Shelly sidled up beside her. They clasped hands and waited nervously. They didn’t have long. A gravelly voice spoke over a loudspeaker the minute the truck engines died.
“This is the border patrol along with the Texas game warden, Ms. Montgomery. Come out—now! No weapons. Keep your hands up where we can see them and no harm will come to you. Answer if you understand!”
No harm? Sure, when pigs fly.
Bethany gripped Shelly’s hand tighter. “Okay! My friend and I are coming out. We’re unarmed!” They uncertainly looked at each other before putting their weapons on the floor.
“Oh, god! This sucks,” Shelly whined, and her voice quivered in rhythm to her bottom lip.
Bethany turned the knob and cracked the door open to take a peek outside first. She estimated there were about a dozen men in all. They stood in groups of three beside each vehicle. She slowly opened it the rest of the way until they could walk out together. They held their arms up high as they exited. The bright headlights blinded her at first. The glare made it hard to keep her footing as she came down the porch steps.
Heavy feet pounded on the ground, rushing toward them. Rough hands seized Bethany’s wrists. Startled, she cried out as the man wrenched her arms behind her back while another grabbed her by the neck and pulled her toward one of the trucks. Shelly let out a stifled scream, but Bethany couldn’t turn her head to see what was happening to her friend.
The men pushed her to the side of the truck and then shoved her against the metal door. The impact knocked her breath out and pain shot through her chest. Her eyes filled with tears as she fought to suck in a breath of air. A familiar male voice shouted. Caleb.
“Where is that chicken shit alien scum hiding? Tell me now or you and your fancy friend won’t like what you see in the mirror tomorrow.”
“He’s gone,” Bethany managed to choke out the words. Panic set in when she heard Shelly scream again. “Caleb, stop! Another alien came and took him. I think they had a shuttle. They’re gone!”
