by Raeden West
She thought that she was not woman enough to carry a baby and she was sure that he felt the same way. It was not her fault that he did not help her to get out of the depression or that he did not go to a doctor with her to help find out why she could not get pregnant. No, it seemed that he was content treating her like she was less than human.
Aleah had come to terms with it. She knew that if she had become pregnant the child would have had to take his punishments and that would have been more than she could have bared. She would have had to leave him then. It amazed Aleah sometimes how things worked out. When they were first married, she would have never thought that Jerome would have turned into the man that he was. She longed to feel the love that she had received from him when they began their life together.
Back then, he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off of her and even though he said that he wanted to fix the relationship he still had not touched her. Instead, she would hear him jerking off in the shower each morning and each night. It made her feel as if she was the nastiest woman on the planet. He would rather jerk off in the shower than have sex with someone who loved him and would have willingly showed him just how much.
Aleah finished packing her bag and zipped it up. Maybe Jerome would meet a cute shapeshifter girl and stay on Niribu. She laughed at the idea, then smiled when she thought about coming home by herself and never having to deal with him again.
Aleah could only dream of a life that was that generous to her. She dragged her bag down the stairs and sat it by the door. They would be leaving for Niribu when Jerome got home. He was taking off early from work and his bag was already packed. Aleah looked at the bag in disgust. It was probably full of condoms that he could use on all of the females that he met. She was tempted to open it, but knowing her husband, she knew that he had probably done something to ensure he would know if she did open it.
She had been putting laundry away one day and opened up one of his drawers to lay his socks inside, not knowing that he had naked pictures of one of his girlfriends in there. When he came home, he immediately knew that she had opened the drawer and that things were moved because he had taken pictures of all of his drawers and kept them on his cell phone. Aleah tried to explain to him that she had just been doing laundry, but he insisted that she was spying on him.
After hours of fighting and being smacked in the mouth several times, she gave up. He told her that she needed to learn her place, when she should open her mouth and when she should keep it shut. Each time she said something that contradicted what he believed, he smacked her across the mouth. She was lucky that she had not lost any teeth that time.
Aleah did not make light of the situation. She knew that things were bad. She had laid in the emergency room as her husband stood by her bedside with tears in his eyes. She had told nurses many times that she had fallen down the stairs or that she had tripped and fallen in the yard. She even told them that she had busted out two teeth from falling when she got out of the shower. It was getting harder and harder to come up with lies. It was getting even harder to lay in a bed with her body racked with pain and see that the tears in her husband’s eyes were not for the pain that she was in but for the fear of going to jail.
She knew that he didn’t care what happened to her, but he was a prison guard and if anyone ever found out what he had done to her not only would he be arrested but he would lose his job. Aleah wondered if she could leave and support herself, but she knew that if he lost his job, she would end up having to support the both of them and she did not have the skills needed to do that.
She made her way to her kitchen to do a little light cleaning before Jerome came home and they left for their trip. She thought about the choices she had made in life. She had gone to college and made amazing grades. She wanted to be a nurse back then and now she was glad for the knowledge that she had gained. There had been many times when she had been able to treat herself instead of going to the emergency room. She had gotten really good at putting her shoulder and even her own elbow back in place after Jerome threw her around.
She knew that after four years of not working it would be all but impossible to get a job as a nurse. She wondered if anyone would hire her at all but decided that it was worth applying if things did not change after they returned from their trip. This was Jerome’s last chance to make things right. She thought that she would be able to work while he was gone and he would never know. She decided that she would save up the money she earned in secret, then when she had enough she would just leave. She wouldn’t say a word. She’d just up and leave and he would never find her. At least that was what she hoped for.
What she really wanted, though, more than she wanted to leave her husband, was for her husband to turn back into the man that he was when they had first met. The man who loved her and treated her like his queen. That man was long gone though, and Aleah had little hope that he would return.
Aleah heard the front door open. “Let’s go,” Jerome yelled from the entryway. Aleah jumped when she heard his voice. She hated how no matter what, he was able to scare her with just the sound of his voice.
She pushed her chair under the table and walked into the entryway. Jerome’s bag was gone, the door was standing open and her bag sat just where she had left it. She could not believe how inconsiderate this man had become. She picked up her bag and dragged it out the door, setting it down on the porch. She turned and closed the door behind her, making sure it was locked, then picked up the bag again and dragged it to the car.
Jerome looked at her in disgust as she struggled with the bag. “You better get used to carrying that ‘cause we got a lot of walking to do when we get to the airport. You better start moving or we’re going to miss our plane to the shuttle station.”
Aleah struggled with her bag, but finally made it to the car and tossed it into the trunk. She could already tell this was going to be a terrible experience. When they arrived at the airport, it was the same story. Jerome grabbed his bag out of the trunk and left her to get her own. She struggled with it once again, then finally dragged it out of the trunk. He closed the trunk just missing her fingers and when she looked up at him, he had an evil smile on his face.
He quickly turned and headed into the airport with Aleah behind him doing her best to keep up. It seemed like it took forever to get the luggage checked and through security, but finally they were at their terminal and Aleah was out of breath. She was ready for a nap. She had lost Jerome two times while she was in the airport because he insisted on walking so fast, but each time she found him, he refused to slow down or even acknowledge that she was gone.
“Look at you panting,” Jerome said with a smirk. “Maybe you’ll lose some of that fat while we are on vacation. It would be nice to find my wife under all of that blubber.” He started laughing and sat down, waiting for the plane to be boarded.
Aleah sat beside him. “Why do you do that?” she asked quietly. She knew he could not hit her at the airport and she wanted answers.
“Do what?” he asked, looking at her as if nothing had happened.
“Why do you insist on putting me down all of the time? You said that this trip was supposed to be for us to rebuild our marriage. You lost me twice in the airport because you were in such a hurry to get here and sit down and you didn’t even notice.” She was tired of staying quiet all of the time. She had decided that if he did not start treating her right, she was going to spend the rest of her vacation by herself.
“I noticed,” he said, picking up a newspaper. “It’s your own fault you couldn’t keep up. If you would lose some of that weight you would be fine and don’t even start with me about that bag. You didn’t have to pack your entire closet.”
She could tell by the look on his face that he was getting annoyed with her, but she was not about to stop. “Some start to rebuilding our relationship,” she mumbled.
“You wanna talk about rebuilding our relationship,” he said, looking at her sternly, “how about you give me bac
k the woman that I married and then we will talk about what I can do. I didn’t marry a cow and I shouldn’t have to deal with this every day. Woman, why do you think I fuck around on you…?”
Other people were beginning to notice and Aleah was ready to drop the subject but Jerome refused. “It is because you’re fat. I am not attracted to fat. Is there something wrong with me because I do not think fat is sexy?”
Aleah just sat in her seat with her head down. He had made his point. He may not be able to hit her in public, but he could embarrass her. Aleah was ready to leave when the flight attendant called for boarding. She wanted to lock herself up in a hotel room and never leave it.
The flight was a little over two hours and then they had to board a shuttle. There were ten others besides Aleah and Jerome on the shuttle all excited about their trip to Niribu. All except Aleah. You could see the excitement on each of their faces, but Aleah looked as if she were going to cry. She wanted so badly to run away, to call her mother and ask to go home. She wanted to be anywhere but with Jerome.
When you took a shuttle to Niribu you were given a sedative to make you sleep. This was because your body really was not prepared for space travel like an astronaut’s would be. The sedative helped to reduce the effects of space travel on your body so that you could actually enjoy your vacation.
Aleah fell asleep quickly unlike some of the other people who were fighting the sedative. She did not care to stay awake and look at the Earth as they took off. She was tired and all she wanted to do was sleep.
The next thing that she knew was Jerome shaking her back and forth telling her to wake up. As she opened her eyes, she realized that the others were already exiting the shuttle. She quickly undid her seatbelt and stood up.
Her legs were weak and it took her a few seconds to get her bearings. She was surprised when Jerome took her hand to keep her from falling. When she was able to walk out of the shuttle Jerome led the way. Their bags were being delivered to their hotel and Aleah was glad. She did not think that she would be able to carry her bag given the way that she was feeling. She assumed that it was just the sedative lingering and that it would wear off soon.
On the flight Jerome had informed Aleah that they were there to attend a relationship building event that a few of his friends had told him about. They said they had attended the event with their own wives and it had actually saved their marriages.
Aleah had been surprised that Jerome had thought that far ahead and she just assumed that it was an excuse for him to get to see the planet. They made their way to the hotel that he had booked for them and Aleah had never been so happy to see a bed. As she climbed onto the king sized bed that sat in the middle of the room, she noticed that the room was actually very nice.
It was relaxing, had a large hot tub on one side and on the other side there was a small dining area. The bathroom was off to one side with the door being on the wall that was beside the bed and there was a large closet for her to put her clothes in. She was happy that she would be able to unpack when her luggage arrived and that she would not have to worry about having wrinkled clothes.
Jerome walked out of the bathroom and looked at her with the same disgust in his eyes as he always did. “Get up,” he said, “the planet has a ton of beaches and I want to see as much as I can while we’re here.”
Aleah looked up at Jerome from the bed. “Beaches?” she asked. “You know I don’t like going to the beach. Plus, I am still tired from the sedative that they gave me. I just want to relax for a little while.”
She could see the anger building behind Jerome’s eyes, but she could not pull herself out of the bed. All she could do was to look up at him and hope that he did not get angry. That did not happen. Jerome grabbed the blankets that were underneath of Aleah and pulled hard on them, causing her to fly off of the bed. He rushed over to her and drew his fist back to punch her. As she cowered on the floor next to the bed the door opened and two men walked in.
The men were very large, muscular men. One had dark hair with blue eyes and the other had light blonde hair with dark brown eyes. As Aleah looked at them, she completely forgot that her husband was standing over her. They were the most beautiful men she had ever seen. They each had sun kissed White skin and were carrying her and Jerome’s luggage.
When they saw Jerome standing over his wife, both of them dropped the bags they were carrying and rushed toward him. Each pounding him with their fists. A dutiful wife would have screamed for help or pleaded with them to stop, but she just sat there. When they were done Jerome lay on the floor a bloody mess. The dark haired man walked over to Aleah and put his hand out to help her off of the floor.
“My name is Adam,” he said gently. “My friend over there is Stephen.”
Stephen walked over to Aleah as she stood. “Why don’t we find you a better room? You don’t want this bloody mess ruining your vacation,” he said, smiling and gesturing toward Jerome.
Aleah nodded her head and Adam asked which bag was hers. She pointed to her bag as they led her out of the room. She was completely quiet, not knowing what she should say to them. She did not know if she should thank them or if she should be afraid of them. They lead her to a room that was larger than the one that she shared with Jerome and told her that they would bring her a key. They also said that she should not worry about her husband, that they would take care of him.
Adam asked if she was tired and she nodded her head yes. He told her to lay down and he would hang up her clothes for her. Stephen pulled back the blankets that were on the bed and helped her take her shoes off. Once she was in bed, she smiled up at him as he covered her up.
Aleah looked at Stephen as he stood over her. She was amazed by the beauty that she saw. “Are you…?” she began, but paused, afraid to finish her question.
“Niribuian,” Stephen finished it for her.
“Yes,” Aleah managed to say.
Stephen sat on the edge of the bed and Adam joined them on the other side. “We are Niribuian,” Adam said, brushing the hair away from her face.
“Oh,” Aleah said with a meager smile.
“Are you afraid?” Stephen asked Aleah.
She looked at both men turning her head from side to side, then said, “I don’t think I need to be afraid do I?”
Stephen and Adam both let out a laugh. “No,” Stephen answered. “You have no reason to be afraid of us.”
“It seems like you should have been afraid of your husband, though,” Adam chimed in.
“Yes,” Aleah said, her eyes getting heavy. “He is a bad man.”
“We can talk about all of that later,” Stephen said, touching her cheek. “Rest now and we will come back later with dinner and drinks.”
Aleah smiled. She felt as if she were in a dream and wondered if she were actually still on the shuttle under the influence of the sedative. As she closed her eyes the last thing she was thinking about was the two Niribuians that had saved her from her husband. She felt like a princess rescued from a dragon.
Aleah slept for what felt like an eternity when she awoke it was dark outside. She wondered where the two men were and if they would return as they said they would. She also wondered where her husband was and what had happened to him. She considered going back to their room and checking on him, but instead decided she would wait until the next day.
Aleah wanted to take a shower so she gathered her pajamas that she had packed and headed to the bathroom. She had chosen a few different pajamas to bring with her. The very sexy pajamas, an oversized shirt that fell just below her butt and the comfy flannel pajamas that Jerome hated. Tonight she wanted to wear her T-shirt. She was tired of feeling as if she were not sexy and the thought of Adam and Stephen coming into her room and seeing her half naked sent chills up and down her spine.
Aleah relaxed in the shower finally feeling better. She was glad that the sedative was finally wearing off, but became more and more aware of how hungry she was. She realized that she had not eaten since she ha
d left her house and she did not know how long ago that had been. When she was finished with her shower, she carefully dried her body, applied a light scented body spray as well as her deodorant, and got dressed. Once she was dressed, she applied her lotion to her legs and arms which always helped them to stay extra silky.
When Aleah opened the bathroom door to return to her room, she was surprised to find that Adam and Stephen were sitting on her bed waiting for her. She watched as both of them looked her up and down and swore she saw lust in their eyes. Aleah blushed with embarrassment, but then Stephen stood up.
“We brought you some dinner,” he said, leading her into the dining area. There were plates of food waiting on her. Steak, lobster, salad, potatoes, strawberries and even a slice of cake. They also had already poured her a glass of wine and she noticed the opened bottle sitting on the table.
Adam came up behind her and she felt his body brush against hers. Excitement flowed through her veins when she felt his touch. He pulled the chair out for her and told her to sit.
The two men sat with her while she ate the dinner that they had brought for her. She was careful not to eat too quickly she did not want to make a bad impression but that was difficult to do. The food was amazing and she was so hungry she could have eaten all of it in just a few minutes. Adam refilled her wine glass each time it got low and when she finished the first bottle he quickly retrieved another.
Aleah had not drunk that much in a long time. When she finished her meal and began to stand up, she fell right back down into the chair. Aleah burst out laughing at herself as the two men smiled at her. They each helped her up and led her to her bed where they all sat down together.
