Venturi, Complete Serial Parts 1-4: Alien SciFi Romance (Crashlander)

by Annie Nicholas

  With a tired sigh, I did as he asked. “What now?”

  He pantomimed my being hot then tugged on my jumpsuit with a disgusted expression. Pulling out a knife, he slit my outfit open from stem to stern and tugged me loose of my last piece of clothing. I was powerless to stop him as he tossed it off the branch.

  I gaped in silence. My last tie to humanity and the ship…gone. Standing in only bra and panties, I felt more naked than when I’d been in the pool.

  Venturi poured a little water from his drinking skin over my shoulders, cooling me off. All the while, he babbled things to me in a comforting tone.

  It was a good idea to remove the jumpsuit. The heat had sapped my strength and made me nauseated. I just didn’t like having the decision wrested from me, even when it was for my own good. My mother called it my stubborn streak and that one day it would kill me. Not today, though.

  I tossed Venturi a shy smile over my shoulder. Once again, he was trying to take care of me. How could I be angry about that?

  A breeze blew the leaves and dried my damp skin. I instantly felt cooler. He offered me more fruit but my stomach rebelled at the idea. Ugh, that’s all I needed—bowel issues while traveling along giant trees. I just couldn’t catch a break. I needed food for energy but I suspected my system wasn’t made to digest what grew on this planet.

  He pressed his lips in a firm line and offered the slice again.

  I rubbed my stomach and covered my mouth. I couldn’t eat. No matter how good it tasted. I had to make sure I lived long enough to reach the beacon. Maybe later in the day, I’d feel better to try something else. Just not the jerky from hell.

  To appease him, I stuffed the other fruit we hadn’t cut into my pack.

  Venturi grunted and we continued on our journey. The branches were wide this high into the air, almost as big as the station’s main corridors. Smaller limbs grew from the main ones, creating turns and other paths to follow. Once entombed within the treetops, it was difficult to tell what branch belonged to what tree unless we were close to the trunk.

  Our route was not a simple smooth road like I was used to. I had to climb over intersecting branches or jump to other ones. That first had been heart stopping but Venturi had held my hand the whole time, his grip tight.

  He would occasionally point out tree-scape, but what was I supposed to see other than leaves? I did spot the occasional bird-like creature and watched as, in the far distance, one was swallowed mid-flight by a huge snake thing. Fear had me frozen unable to make my legs move. I would never grow accustomed to animals. Especially the meat eating kind.

  Venturi hadn’t paused as he scooped me over his shoulder and kept hiking until I couldn’t see that thing anymore. I squirmed until he set me back on my feet, playfully swatted my ass, and kept marching. I sighed, wishing for half his stamina.

  Though we traveled in the tree, I still felt the incline of the land below in my thighs. Living in space required a strict exercise program from birth or bones grew brittle. I ran five miles every morning on the treadmill per my pilot requirements.

  Right now? My lungs burned and my muscles quivered from the exertion. I stopped to lean against a small stem about my height and caught my breath. Hot damn, either I was in worse shape than I’d thought or the differences in gravity was having its way with me.

  Venturi retraced his steps and offered me the water skin, then tried to entice me with a new fruit, but my stomach seemed worse. It was all I could do to keep water down. No appetite and no energy. I peered at the thin trail of smoke between the leaves that didn’t look any closer than a few hours ago.

  I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the little twig. My head hurt, my skin was sticky, and the fruit I’d eaten this morning had upset my stomach so much I wanted to curl into a ball.

  The beacon was farther than I had imagined. I hadn’t realized how far down the mountain the nose of the ship had slid. It only made my head hurt more.

  A caress on my shoulders had me fluttering my eyes open. Venturi watched me with concern.

  I patted his cheek. He hadn’t even broken in a sweat yet. The jerk.

  He gestured to the skies behind us.

  I twisted around and my queasy stomach sank. Dark clouds gathered wherever I could see the sky between foliage. I swallowed hard. I might have never been on a planet before but I’d seen pictures of storms. Light flashed within the darkness and I jumped. Lightning? Blindly, I reached for Venturi’s reassuring arms since I couldn’t tear my eyes away from impending doom.

  He stroked my hair.

  The wind picked up and the smell of ozone filled the air. Hairs on my arms stood on end.

  Venturi tossed me onto his back. He shouted over the wind and broke into a ground eating run. No wonder he wasn’t tired. My hiking pace it must have been a stroll for him.

  I clung to his neck and squeezed my eyes shut as he leaped across a wide gap between trees. The air whistled by my ears. Oh my god, we were falling. Then we jolted to a stop, my chin hitting his shoulder with teeth-clacking force. He continued running along over the twisted limbs as thunder rolled over our heads with the storm clouds.

  Wow, they moved fast.

  Chapter Seven

  Wendy

  The wind grew strong enough to whip Venturi’s braids around his head and I had to duck fast before I added a black eye to my list of injuries. He stopped running and scanned the branches above us, pointing at something I couldn’t make out. Making sure my legs were wrapped good around his waist and arms locked around his neck, he used his sharp claws to climb the trunk of the tree. Four sets of inhuman nails dug into the tough bark as we spidermaned our way upward.

  From what I’d observed, most of the trees had trails that spiraled the trunk. This tree didn’t. Maybe it was a different species or was young. I didn’t understand why we had to go higher and closer to the storm, but I had no means to ask.

  Drops of water started to pelt against my back. Big, slow drops trickled along my spine and tickled. A stupid grin plastered itself on my face. Rain! I was experiencing rain. I blinked at the clouds to get a better look.

  Rain…

  Water from the sky. Free water. Water to bathe in and feed these enormous trees. A drop landed directly in my eye and I blinked rapidly to clear my vision. Damn, that stung.

  It must rain a lot to feed all these trees.

  We reached a branch that appeared to be another path heading in the right direction. I was glad I’d met Venturi because I would have thoroughly been lost by now.

  He set me aside and moved some of the large leaves.

  I watched, confused. He’d done a similar thing to redirect the water fall at the pool. Was he redirecting the rain?

  Then it dawned on me. He was making us a shelter.

  He was setting camp. A little rain wouldn’t make me melt. I could still travel. We had to reach the beacon soon.

  I peered at the cloudy sky. We couldn’t have been traveling for more than half the day. I set my hand on Venturi. “No.” I pointed toward the smoke. “We go.” If this storm reached the wreck, it could extinguish the fire and my only hope of finding the beacon. Or the rain could seep into the electronics and damage stuff.

  That was if everything wasn’t already destroyed.

  The alien gave me an irritated look, then pointed to the sky decorated with lightning.

  Yes, it was pretty in a scary sort of way. Rain wouldn’t drown us. We just needed to stay high in the trees and off the ground.

  He spewed forth a narration, pointing at me, the sky, the tent, himself. Basically, he wanted me in the tent. Now.

  If the others weren’t depending on me, I’d have been already inside snuggling with the sexiest alien I’d ever met. I just didn’t have the time. Already my stomach ached and it burned now when I peed. This wasn’t food poisoning. It was the radiation cooking my organs, killing me from the inside out like a slow microwave.

  Instead of crawling into the tent, I turned and moved al
ong the path. It wound under the sparse canopy of leaves. I could see the smoke clearer from this high. I just had to keep along this trajectory. At least until the weather grew too bad to see.

  “When-di,” he called.

  I ignored him and continued my hike.

  The rain was growing heavier and I was soaked. Maybe Venturi had the right idea. I hated to stop so early, no matter how exhausted I felt. Deep down, I knew tomorrow I’d be worse.

  “When-di!”

  This time panic laced his call.

  I spun around in time to see a wave of water heading directly at me from above on the tree trunk. “What the—”

  Like a ton of crates, it hit me. Air whooshed from my lungs, feet swept off the branch, and bubbles floated around my face. It was the last of my air. I didn’t even have enough to scream.

  Limbs akimbo, I tried to figure which way to the surface but my stomach told me I was falling while my brain screamed I was drowning. What felt like forever later, I was knocked aside. I couldn’t hold my breath forever so it must have been only a few seconds.

  Then I dropped and smacked against a huge bed-sized leaf belly first. I laid there stunned.

  Venturi wasn’t so far away that I couldn’t hear him shouting my name.

  Everything tingled and ached, like I just received a full body slap. I wiggled my toes and fingers, relieved I hadn’t snapped my spine. The downpour of rain made it difficult to see far, but I watched in horror as the leaf next to me filled with rain water, bowled like a cup, then tipped to spill straight along the branches to the trunk. It ran down the spiraled trails.

  The tree we’d been in had no bark path yet so the water must fall straight down in waves when the leaves released their bounty.

  All of this would have been fascinating if I wasn’t half drowned.

  I tried to sit but the leaf rocked precariously. It bowed and was already half filled. If I moved too fast, I would force it to tip. Water sloshed with each of my little moves. I froze. If I tipped, the fall would be long and the impact hard. I eyed the distance to the closest branch. Could I make it if I jumped?

  “When-di,” Venturi shouted from above and closer than a moment ago. It was followed by what I could only guess were instructions.

  Real helpful since I had no idea what he meant.

  The heavy rain filled the leaf freaking fast and I balanced precariously on all fours. I’d never make the jump. Shivers ran through my limbs and my teeth chattered as the storm blew in colder air. It had gone from sauna hot to frigid cold in minutes.

  I hated this planet.

  Venturi’s voice sounded so close now I couldn’t help but twist my head toward him.

  My eyes went wide with wonder.

  He swung on a vine, headed straight for me, one muscled arm extended. The look of intense determination on his face would be seared in my memory forever. He’d save me if it was the last thing he ever did.

  “Oh Venturi,” I whispered as the leaf tipped and I slipped out of his reach.

  He’d be so hurt and I was such an idiot not to listen to his advice. He’d known what would happen with the rain and I’d assumed an alien world would act like Earth.

  Our gazes locked as I fell. He would be the last thing I’d see and that was good because he was the best thing that had ever happened to me. No one had ever protected me or looked after me like he had. I’d always had to be the strong one in the family. No dad, a submissive mother, a little sister. Someone had to step into that role and I’d been good at it, but it only made me appreciate what this alien did all the more. Hell, he’d only known me a couple days and he’d risked his life for mine twice.

  I watched as he let go of his vine and dive head-first for my free falling body.

  “No,” I screamed and reached for him simultaneously.

  He caught me midair. The impact crushed me to his chest as he changed our trajectory. Arms wrapped around my body, hand cradling my head, and his body curled around mine.

  P artThree

  Chapter One

  Wendy

  Venturi crushed me to his chest so tight I could barely breathe. We fell among the rain drops, thunder crashing in the sky and wind shifting the huge branches.

  We splashed into another water-filled leaf. Venturi clawed it as it tipped to empty along the trunk trails, slowing our slide. He shifted me higher on his chest so I could lock my arms around his neck and wrap my legs around his torso. Not that my legs reached all the way around. The movement freed his other arm as the leaf tore and we fell again.

  This time I did scream. I finally had enough breath. Freefall wasn’t like zero G. My stomach traded places with my heart and my limbs went rigid with terror.

  Venturi grunted as his claws caught another large blanket-sized leaf. Our combined weight pulled at the tough plant, but the sharp edge of his claws tore the foliage as we dragged it down.

  It slowed our descent to the same degree the other leaf did. The lower we descended, the farther apart the leaves grew until nothing but ground lay under us as we hung from the last leaf. I couldn’t judge the distance from this angle. It seemed impossibly high. So instead of dying like a smashed bug, we would break like glass.

  I buried my face against Venturi’s neck and closed my eyes. He smelled earthy and masculine. His body hard and strong. I couldn’t picture anything shattering him.

  His head shifted against mine as he assessed the jungle floor, his claws slowly tearing through the leaf. He gave me a sharp command, his voice not carrying the edge of the fear that drowned me. Must be nice to always feel so confident.

  As we dropped, he curled his arms around me like a protective shield. I clung to him with all my might and held my breath.

  A jolt ran through my body. My chin impacted his shoulder. Teeth clacked. Heart skipped a beat. Eyes watered and blinked open.

  Venturi had landed on his feet in the mud. Knees bent, he absorbed the tremendous shock of our fall. Just as quickly, he straightened and scanned the surrounding wilds.

  I cupped his face and turned his gaze upon mine, drawing him down for a heartfelt kiss. Slow and deep, I claimed his mouth. He had saved me. Again. There were no words to express my gratitude so I climbed higher up his body and let my kiss do the talking.

  Rain soaked our skin and thunder shook the ground. Dragons and storms be damned. Nothing could stop my alien boyfriend.

  Reluctantly, he pulled away. He nipped my bottom lip at the last minute.

  Lightning lit the jungle with sudden clarity. The trunks went dark in contrast to the flash of white. I jumped, pressing my face to his.

  He went still and stroked my hair with a slow, gentle hand.

  I pulled my gaze from the jungle back to Venturi and blinked my vision clear of the blots that followed. His expression had turned fierce, his glare blazing as he watched the foliage surrounding us. It sent a shiver down my spine.

  Water poured right next to us as a leaf dumped its contents. Mud splattered our already soaked clothes. The wind whistled through the branches and my shivers grew more violent and less sexy.

  I was wet and cold. My teeth chattered so hard I worried one might chip, but I said nothing. It was my stupid move that brought us here—on the ground among dragons. If he wanted to carry me, I was fine with that. I didn’t feel so great.

  Venturi cradled me in his arms and carted me into the thick under bush. He muttered under his breath in an angry tone and his body tensed against mine. I couldn’t imagine what he’d said but the words sounded like a reprimand. He trudged through the dense plants and pouring rain with a sense of purpose. With his sandaled feet, he cleared a path by stomping and snapping the stalks that dared get in his way.

  He was angry. Rightly so. But the worst thing was that I couldn’t express how sorry I was for being such a pigheaded, stubborn fool. I shouldn’t have stormed off and tried to force him to continue our journey. I wanted him to yell at me. Instead, he cradled me tighter and shielded me from another water bomb from the
leaves above. A direct hit from one of those could snap bones.

  Shit, I was such a dick.

  My entire body ached from the fall and my shoulder was on fire. The shivers made everything worse. I wanted to scream, rage at the universe for dumping me on this planet. Instead, I cried. My tears hidden by the rain and my sobs masked by the shudders.

  Venturi set me down on a large rock that jutted from the ground and glared fiercely at me. “Boog pas.” He pointed to where I sat.

  “Don’t move.” I got it. Hugging my knees close to my chest, I waited.

  He shook his head, his beads clacking dully together, and began shoving aside some fronds that grew taller than him. I noticed that the rock I sat on connected to a mountainside hidden by the storm. We must be close to the other crash site. Venturi uncovered a cave entrance small enough for him to crawl through. He gave me an exasperated look before entering, knife in hand.

  I hated this place. Planets sucked. One minute I’m sweating buckets from the heat, next I’m soaked and freezing. Everything wanted to take a bite out of me and I’d do anything for a painkiller. I missed my sterile ships and climate control, microwaved meals and tap water.

  By the time Venturi poked his head out of the cave entrance, I was shaking and trembling from the cold. Silent tears leaked from the corners of my eyes.

  He gestured for me to follow. I stomped on a stab of resentment that he seemed perfectly fine, even after a fall that should have killed us. Where I felt like—like—well, like a crashed ship.

  I joined him inside the cave. It wasn’t charming like the leaf hut. The interior was dark and damp without any furnishings or supplies.

  Venturi had piled some small sticks gathered from who knows where and was starting a fire.

  I sat across from him, fascinated. Fire was bad where I came from. Just about everything in my world was flame retardant. I don’t think I’d ever seen an open flame before. Even our birthday candles were electronic. A fire in space equaled death.