Alien Romance: RAYER: Space Warrior's Mail Order Bride (Space Beasts Book 2)

by Alyssa Ezra

  As decadent as her body was, Rayer would have gone for a lesser figured woman, as long as her face was the same. Her skin was the color of amber. Her straight, blunt-tipped nose was spattered with a constellation of darker markings. Her face was shaped like a rounded raindrop that was hurtling toward the heavens instead of plummeting from them. Delicately arched brows sat high above the most incredible eyes that Rayer had ever seen. Their slanted, green-gold depths were rimmed with the longest, darkest fringe of lashes he had ever seen. Her small ears sat high and were adorned with spearing spirals of dark metal. As awe inspiring as the woman’s eyes were, her lips were absolutely hypnotic. They were full; their set almost too wide for her face and their color was that of a golden statue if it were possible for the work d’art to blush under the praise and admiration of those who saw it.

  While Rayer had no idea how it would be possible to capture the glory of the riotous curls, glinting in the light in a myriad of hues from smoky browns so dark they were mistaken for black to bronze to copper to gold the same shade as the Earthling’s sun, the woman presented as his mate looked as if she had been cast from precious metals and brought to life to incite fantasies of pleasure.

  Is there even a name that would suit her?

  *

  The introduction to the man with whom she was expected to bear a child for was brief. He had stared at Cole intensely, before requesting her name. Unthinkingly, she had offered her name as she usually did: “Cole, Cole Harper.” The Prince Rayer had appeared surprised at her name, but had said nothing more to Cole, and had instead bid that the ship be underway.

  Cole now sat in a chamber attached to the room she had met the Prince in and stared out the window into the void of space as the giant ship rocketed through the galaxy to a world that no one from Earth had never set foot upon. Cole leaned against the thick, cold pane that stood between her and the void and as she watched the swirling lights amid the blackness of space, she fell asleep.

  Rayer laid his palm over the access plate and opened the door into the modest chamber that Cole had retired to after he cut their introduction short, anxious to return home. They were due to arrive by the end of the present day now that the ship had slipped into top speed and was now keeping pace with light. He stepped into the small room and noticed his mate-to-be slumped on a bench next to a view pane.

  Silently, he crossed to her side and crouched to stare at the exotic features as she rested. Rayer lifted his hand to run his thumb over Cole’s exceptionally full lower lip.

  What kind of name is Cole? Surely, it is too simple for a woman that looks like a living statue from Haltek’s lunar art colony, Neulat. Her lips are as soft as the petals of flowers still damp with morning dew. While she was at rest, with her striking eyes shuttered, it was easier to notice the smallest nuances of her features. The trio of markings, slightly darker than her skin that speckled her cheek, just beneath the outer corner of her right eye, were completely imperceptible while her all-but-glowing eyes were open.

  The golden earthling shifted in her sleep. Her balance teetered; forcing Rayer to catch her before she fell to the hard floor and a less than pleasant awakening. He slipped his arms around her – one around her back, across her shoulders, the other he slipped beneath her knees before shifting his arm higher, under her thighs. He lifted her and found that she filled his arms. As he had been training as a warrior for years, her weight was in no way unmanageable, though perhaps it would be for the more pampered men of her home world.

  Rayer turned and found the chamber to be lacking a lounge that he could settle the woman on so that she could sleep the rest of the voyage. Some people had trouble with their first trip at the speed of light, it was better that Cole slept through it. Rayer turned and walked back to the door, this time with the Earthling in his arms – he maneuvered her so that he could lay his hand on the access plate.

  The door whooshed open and Rayer passed through into the main lounging room. He briefly considered one of the lounges clustered in the center of the room, but decided, in her present state, that it would be disrespectful to leave her on display for anyone that needed to see him. Instead, Rayer took his soon-to-be mate into his private chambers – it is only fitting, he assured himself as he laid her out on the very large bed. It was big enough to fit ten people across making the woman look quite small where she rested among the cushions and plush fur bedding.

  As he turned to leave the private bedroom, Rayer glanced back at the Earthling on his bed and allowed the first real smile, in more days than he cared to count, to curve his lips.

  Well Cole, we shall see if you look as suitable in my bed in the tower as you do in this one.

  *

  Cole’s lashes fluttered against her cheeks as she slowly came awake. She blinked in the muted light of the room. She stretched her arms above her head, arched her back and rocked her hips from side to side, trying to work the kink out of her lower back had been there for a couple of days.

  “Mmmm,” she sighed as she felt a couple of subtle pops. When she opened her eyes again, Cole realized two things: her eyes had cleared, and that she was not in the same room as before. In fact, the room she was now in was even more luxuriously appointed than the one that she had spent the night in on the 500 levels. When she sat up, Cole was dumbfounded by the size of the bed on which she had been laying.

  Who needs a bed this big? It is big enough to house an orgy…Oh… is that a thing for the Sii? Do they have regular orgies? Cole was giggling at the mental image of scheduled orgies when a voice caught her attention from the side of the room – the door way.

  “That is a pretty sound. Care to share the source of your mirth?”

  Rayer! Cole stood and smoothed down the front of her dress and awkwardly sought the right words to say.

  “It was just a silly thought…”The Prince’s only response was the lift of a single brow. “Regarding the size of the bed…” The brow only lifted higher. “Fine,” she blustered, “it looks big enough for an orgy. Then I got to wondering if that was a standard Sii practice, orgies…I was giggling at the thought of prescheduled orgies or standing orgy parties.”

  When Cole finally looked back at the face of the man she had committed to entering into a relationship, of sorts, with, she found a broad smirk stretching his full lips into a winsome smile. A soft chuff of air escaped him in what might have been a chuckle.

  “No, mass mating has never been a common practice for the Sii. Though, you are correct, the bed is unquestionably big enough for one.” The Prince cocked his head at a sound that originated from the next room before continuing. “I actually came to wake you if you had not already done so. We will be arriving shortly.”

  “Oh, that was a short trip – I guess your planet is not as far from Earth as many think it is.”

  “No, it is quite far. You slept for the last fourteen of your Earth hours – I figured that your need of sleep was either in response to the travel or simply a need that you have had. Suel expressed a suspicion that you did not regularly get enough sleep. Though, I am wondering if the last fourteen hours could be explained by both reasons.” Cole shrugged; she was relatively certain that her body had taken advantage of the opportunity to get more sleep than she had gotten since she had reached primary school age.

  “Please feel free to use the facilities – Rao will doubtless be by shortly to collect you. Prepare yourself; this day will doubtless be trying.”

  I wonder if they give away awards for Understatement of the Year on this planet. If they do, I nominate that damn prince. ‘Trying’…this isn’t trying this is insanity inducing!

  As promised, Rao had come to collect Cole from the room with the giant bed. As no one offered her an explanation of how she got there, Cole elected to let it go and concern herself with other matters. Such as the insanity she was now facing.

  Disembarking had been very easy. The giant ship hadn’t actually landed; instead, it had hovered, just off the ground and had linked with a sky
-walk into Siiger’s space port. The port had been strangely empty, at least that had been Cole’s impression until she noticed big, armed guards at every door that would branch off from the wide hall along the outer side of the building.

  Rayer strode, on his powerful legs, several lengths ahead. He stayed at the front of the group. Cole found his position interesting considering how politicians and dignitaries were subtly led as they made their way around on Earth, for protection. Here, it appeared that the first individual to come face to face with an assailant would be her alien.

  Cole’s steps nearly faltered as she realized how she was considering the large and powerful male: hers… Well, I suppose for the time being he is mine. Right? Oh, does that mean he is thinking of me as ‘his?’ Trapped in her inner struggle of possession, she almost missed the incredible sight as she prepared to step into some form of conveyance. However, as was her habit, Cole quickly glanced around at her surroundings before mounting the few steps. She stopped. Her foot hovered in the air for a long moment before she lowered it and stepped away from the enclosed terrestrial shuttle.

  “Lady Cole?” Farth called out as both he and Suelkon both poked their heads out of the entry. Cole ignored them and wandered around the rear end of the vehicle and stared at the landscape in front of her.

  “Lady Coletta, is everything alright?” Rao had followed her around the edge of the shuttle and calmly waited for her to respond.

  “You can see so far. I wonder if this is what Earth was like a thousand years ago. There is no smog, no could of pollution.”

  “No,” Rao answered softly, “We have other means of powering our civilization.” Cole nodded as she continued to stare at a world of lush foliage, vibrant colors, and impossible topography.

  Mountains in the distance seemed to form in steps, and Cole could see from the way some steps glistened in the blue-ish light of the world’s sun that many levels were either metal or fluid. Directly ahead was a city that was bathed in the mist of a waterfall that plummeted from an island, for lack of a better term, that hovered overhead. The mist cast delicate rainbows of refracted light over the structures that were tall enough to be visible through the non-poisonous haze. Cole could see similar waterfalls further off in the landscape.

  Rao gently took Cole by her upper arm and steered her back to the door of their transportation into the city, she assumed. As she stepped into the vehicle, Cole angled her body onto a seat with a man she hadn’t noticed before, since it was the last seat available next to a window.

  *

  Farth cleared his throat, preparing to insist that Cole – though Rao had called her something more, Rayer made a mental note to ask the royal emissary about the woman’s full name – move to a more suitable seat. It had taken Rayer less than a moment to understand why the Earthling had chosen to take that seat. It was the last one available that would afford her an unencumbered view of the world that was now to be her home. Seeing that everyone was settled, Rayer nodded at the shuttle commander. The access closed and the vehicle shot off.

  Rayer turned his own gaze out the window beside him and tried to imagine his home from the perspective of an other-worlder, one that had never seen Siiger before. He couldn’t stall the satisfied curve of his lips as he stared at the beauty of the planet of his birth. Rayer had visited a number of other worlds and had never found one as lushly fertile – clothed in the vast array of greens and blues, with the eternally flowering trees and the dazzlingly, color-splattering mists – as Siiger. Rayer felt his gaze stray from the glimmering forest city, to the High Royal compound had been first carved from the mountain face, before it was cleverly added onto.

  During the day, only a trained eye could detect the force field that rose and domed over the palace. But as beautiful and impressive as the exquisitely constructed and camouflaged architecture was, Rayer’s favorite place was the highest mountain lagoon.

  If we get along, perhaps I will take her there, he thought as he glanced back at his female. I wonder if she realizes that we already belong to each other, mating rites aside…

  Chapter 5

  Cole had been amazed at the vibrancy of the world that was to be her home for the next year. She had gasped at the beauty of the structures when the vehicle had reached the city and had slowed to a more reasonable speed. There was a significant lack of females on the planet, but considering the Sii had sought a mate for the planet’s prince, she supposed that was to be expected. However, there were still children. Lots of beautiful boys of all shapes and sizes; many of them appeared to be replications of parents that could be spotted keeping a hawk’s eye on them as they played.

  Siiger was such a far cry from Earth, not just in distance, but in the beauty of the world. Cole would admit that she felt quite at home, trapped in buildings and enclosed passages beneath the toxic pollution that had somehow failed to destroy the Earth’s atmosphere, but had instead shoved it higher. Though, as she looked at the lush world around her, she wondered if she would ever be able to return to Earth and remain un-jaded.

  The conveyance zipped through modest streets and around bustling markets, before it seemed to slip through an iridescent semi-transparent wall. On the other side, it was as if the city had fallen off, and the shuttle was now cruising through an immaculately designed landscape up a near vertical incline.

  “We have now entered the grounds of the High Royal Compound,” Suelkon turned in his seat to tell Cole. The compound was first carved out of the mountain face – easily a thousand solar cycles ago. But as time went on, they have added to it. High Prince Rayer, has his own domain within the compound. Of course, you might consider talking to him about the area that he has claimed. Either that or you might want to see if there are a set of vacant chambers that you can claim for your personal use.”

  “What is wrong with the area of the palace that Prince Rayer has claimed?”

  “Oh nothing. Nothing, I suppose.” Suelkon turned toward one of the other men to ask a question about the most recent wave of replications. Whatever that means…

  The shuttle continued to zip through a decadent landscape until it approached a massive set of gates that reminded Cole of the newest rash of historical movies that were trending on Earth. Stone walls towered overhead and mounted within the arching stone were hinged metal gates. While the portal presently stood open, Cole could see that the swing zone was kept clear and the enormous hinges were in excellent, shining repair. The gates were ready to be closed at an instants notice.

  Beyond the gate was a vast expanse of courtyard and stair-step leveled garden. Where the grounds beyond the gates had been lovingly sculpted, they had remained fairly natural in presentation. By contrast, the garden was flawlessly manicured; every detail had been precisely planned and executed. Cole gawked at what was apparently the main entrance into the palace; or rather, what Suelkon had called the High Royal Compound.

  I should probably work to use their terminology – acclimate to the society here. Still, those are some seriously big doors. I wonder if that is a sign of power for the Sii; the bigger the doors, the more important…

  The long, tube-like vehicle slowed to a stop and the vessel’s door swung receded up. A thick woodsy scent filled the cab. Cole realized that if colors could smell, the crisp earthiness of the odor filling her nose was the scent of the color green because she had never seen such a variety of shades as there were on Siiger.

  As everyone filed out of the shuttle, the large doors marking the front entrance swung wide. A party of people spilled across the stairs that led up the entrance. All of them were clad in the most astonishing variety of fabrics Cole had ever seen. The costumes were elaborate – almost too elaborate for Cole’s more practical tastes.

  Is that how Rayer normally dresses?

  As the High Prince exited the shuttle – he was the last of their group – an elderly man appeared in the doorway. His costume was slightly more refined than those of the people who surrounded him, though not by much. At his elbow
appeared a woman that was at least half his age and behind her was a man that resembled her greatly. As Cole considered the man that stood behind the obviously royal couple, she found herself hoping that her alien – or am I the alien? – was more inclined toward the plainly, albeit elegantly cut, clothing.

  Cole could imagine women finding this other man to be particularly attractive with his lightly tanned skin, and seemingly toned frame. It was difficult to be sure with the multiple layers of brightly dyed silks draped over his frame. The man had his straight chestnut hair cropped in layers that didn’t quite brush his shoulders. His straight regular features seemed to have been arranged with precision, but were in no way devastating as Rayer’s were. His most commanding feature was his dark eyes. The contrast between the inky black eyes and his golden skin and hair was quite dramatic.

  He was an attractive specimen of the Sii, but there was something about the twist of his lips and the way his black eyes bore into Rayer as he straightened and passed through the rest of the bodies that had occupied the shuttle to stand front and center before the royal couple. Farth had claimed that Rayer took after his mother, but Cole didn’t agree. If the couple at the top of the stairs were his parents, than Rayer resembled neither of them.

  “Father,” Rayer greeted with a deep incline of his head. “Montala, Graith…” the other two were afforded a single, barely imperceptible tilt of the head.

  That is definitely not his mother – I would bet money that she is a stepmother…I wonder if that is what they call them here…