by Cara Wylde
“Oh, oh! They’re coming this way,” Lydia whispered. “Are you ready?”
Just as Avery opened her mouth to answer her, a group of actors joined them. She sighed. She recognized most of them. They were the rest of the main cast, and she was probably going to get sick of seeing their perfectly pretty faces on set every day.
“Poppy, you were fashionably late,” said a petite brunette in a silver dress.
Avery smiled uneasily. The Walsh brothers were heading their way, and she was forced to make small talk when she should have focused on every word and gesture of the two persons of interest she had come here to investigate.
“Today was complete chaos,” she said. “I didn’t have much time to prepare… I only found out I got the part yesterday night.”
A tall, bulky brown-haired guy nodded in understanding. “Me too. I’m Sean, by the way. Sean the Drugan.”
Avery laughed. Then and there, she decided she liked the guy. “Relan the Drugan, you mean. You’re Sean Spencer. I loved ‘The Conquest of the Universe’. You were great.”
In fact, she believed Sean Spencer was the only reason the movie was watchable.
“Thank you! It’s always nice to meet a fan.”
“Oh, don’t get ahead of yourself. I only said you were great in that particular movie. Maybe I don’t think the same of ‘The Alien Warlord’s Harem’.”
Sean smiled tensely. “It was a weird one, wasn’t it?”
“But more successful than ‘The Conquest’,” a low, calculated masculine voice intervened.
Avery’s smile died on her burgundy lips. Her eyes met Kit Walsh’s gray, almost silver orbs, and the blood in her veins froze. Or turned hot. She couldn’t tell.
“They were both successful in their own way,” said Alex Walsh silently. “They were created with different target audiences in mind, that’s all.”
Avery took a moment to study the brothers. They had joined the conversation so naturally and seamlessly, without even introducing themselves. They both had raven black hair. Kit’s was short and neat, while Alex preferred to wear it longer and a bit disheveled. Their eyes were of a fascinating, intense gray, and they were both so tall and bulky that they completely filled Avery’s field of vision. They looked so similar that they could almost be twins, but it was clear their personalities were different. Kit was standing proud and straight, with his thick arms crossed over his chest, while Alex’s posture was more relaxed and casual. The writer was holding a cup of champagne in one hand, while he had the other hand stuffed in the pocket of his dress pants. Kit’s suit looked flawless, while Alex wore his tie slightly loosened.
“I’m sorry, we often forget to introduce ourselves,” continued Alex. “I’m Alex. This is my brother, Kit. It’s so great to finally meet our main cast.”
Everyone nodded and smiled. Avery was the only one who did the unthinkable: she graciously extended a hand and presented herself:
“Indeed, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, too. I’m Poppy Tonks, your star.”
Her smile was one part innocent and two parts wicked. She could tell her gesture had taken the brothers by surprise. In the media, it was common knowledge that Kit and Alex Walsh weren’t very sociable. They hated public events, and when they had to attend them, they made it their mission to keep their fans at arm’s length. Selfies were out of the question, as well as hugs, and even hand-shakes. Nonetheless, Avery stood her ground. They hesitated and stared at her extended hand for what seemed like forever. It was as if she’d just presented them with something they couldn’t comprehend. Still, she kept her back straight, her smile on her lips, and her eyes focused on them. She could feel Lydia and the other actors fidgeting nervously, but she couldn’t care less. She was dying of curiosity. Would Alex and Kit just leave her hanging?
“Our star, indeed,” Kit whispered as he finally shook Avery’s hand, his big palm covering her smaller one completely.
A shiver ran down her spine. It started in her fingers, like a thousand needles were making their way under her skin, went up her arm, climbed over her shoulder, then plunged down her spine, all the way to her sacral bone, where the feeling of being hot and cold at the same time spread inside her lower belly and made her core tighten with anticipation. Anticipation for what? She had no idea. She had intended to squeeze Kit’s hand and keep it trapped a moment longer to prove she wasn’t impressed by him, nor by his brother, but she felt like she had no choice but to let go.
Then, Alex did the unimaginable. He gently took hold of her long, thin fingers, and leaned in to place a quick kiss on the back of her hand.
Avery truly regretted her grand gesture. She bit the inside of her lip and fought the impulse to close her eyes and savor the rush of hot waves taking her whole body by storm. At least, now she knew for sure: she wasn’t cold. Her blood was boiling. It had only taken a simple touch and a chaste kiss on her knuckles for the aliens to almost make her lose her mind. Maybe this was why they avoided any physical contact with human beings. Her heart started beating faster, her sweat glands went into overdrive, turning her palms uncomfortably clammy, her pussy throbbed with a need she hadn’t known was there, and her hot juices soaked her panties. She did her very best to stay focused. With her back straight and her smile frozen on her lips, she pushed the crazy feelings that assaulted her senses to the back of her mind, and kept a stern, neutral face.
“Welcome to the team, Miss Tonks,” Alex said as he straightened his back.
Avery withdrew her hand, trying to ignore the feeling that it didn’t belong to her anymore.
“Thank you. It’s an honor. To play Daisy Clearwater, that is. Amazing role. I was speechless when I found out.”
She was babbling. She swallowed hard, smiled, grabbed another cup of champagne from a tray a handsome waiter waved past them, and thanked the heavens when Sean took the lead. The awkward moment was over, and she could feel the actors, and even Lydia, relax. The short, curvaceous brunette in the silver dress, whose name was Sharon, started talking rather fast and loud in an attempt to gain the brothers’ attention. She had a minor role in “Star-Crossed” as Daisy’s childhood friend who was against her relationship with Relan the alien. To Sharon’s disappointment, both Kit and Alex seemed more interested in the now silent Poppy than in her chatter.
Avery laughed when everyone laughed and did her best to follow the conversation and react accordingly. She had been so sharp just a few minutes before… Now, everything was a blur. More people gathered around them, and she felt suffocated. Giggles, laughter, sighs of admiration coming from two tall, beautiful actresses standing somewhere to Avery’s right… Sean’s charming smile and funny jokes… Then, Kit Walsh’s low, serious tone, and Alex Walsh’s quick, sensible remarks… And all three men seemed to glance Avery’s way more often than necessary. What had she gotten herself into?!
She wanted to excuse herself and go to the bathroom, but suddenly everyone was encouraging Kit and Alex to make a toast and give a speech.
“Where are you going?” asked Lydia in a concerned voice.
“To the restroom?”
“The producer is about to speak.”
“Is he?”
Lydia grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the improvised scene. Avery followed her diligently, all the while struggling to ignore how her stomach wanted to eliminate all the champagne she had drunk.
“Are you all right? You look pale.” Sean was two steps behind her.
“Yes. It must be my foundation… and the artificial light. I’m fine.”
Kit’s speech lasted no more than two minutes, and Avery’s brain didn’t register any of it. It didn’t matter. She didn’t care what the producer had to say about his new movie. Or, did she? She was here to investigate and pay attention to each and every detail. So far, she was doing a horrible job. When Alex Walsh took his brother’s place and began talking about the book, she furrowed her brows and tried to make sense of his words. Her thoughts w
ere a mess. For some reason, her neurons refused to cooperate and take note of anything that was being said on that bloody stage.
“What’s wrong with me?” she thought. “What have they done to me?”
A touch and a kiss on the back of her hand… and she was lost in time and space. It made no sense! None of the research the SPG had access to said aliens could have such a devastating effect on humans. Maybe it wasn’t them. It was her.
She blinked a couple of times, breathed in and out carefully, and focused on calming down her stomach and her wild heartbeat.
“What happened back there?” she tried to reason with herself.
Yes, Kit and Alex were drop-dead gorgeous. Tall and strong, with wide shoulders, and noble features… Okay, but it wasn’t like she hadn’t met, and slept with, for that matter, ridiculously hot men before. They were everywhere in the media, so she had seen them before. She had spotted them at events and parties before, so she had known what they looked like. No, it wasn’t that. It was their presence. They were in her head.
“I have to get out of here,” she mumbled.
“Poppy, dear, what’s wrong?” Lydia placed the back of her hand on Avery’s forehead to feel her temperature.
Avery pushed her away. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be back in a second.”
“Alex hasn’t finished talking yet.”
“Yes,” Sharon intervened. “I can’t believe he’s working on a new book!”
“I… I… I’m sorry. I’ll be back.”
She quickly, yet elegantly, made her way through the crowd. She didn’t want to draw any unwelcome attention to herself, and as she disappeared down the nearest hallway, she prayed Kit, Alex, and their bodyguards were too busy with their guests to notice her absence. She had lied to Lydia and Sharon. Avery had no intention to return to the party. It was time to splash some cold water on her face, put her thoughts in order, and get ready for the second part of her plan. It was easy enough. All she had to do was find a place where she could stash her dress, underwear, and shoes, then activate the invisibility collar and wait for all the guests to leave.
CHAPTER FOUR
It wasn’t the first time Avery was wandering about in a foreign environment, naked. However, it was the first time when she felt apprehensive and exposed. She had used the invisibility collar before, and she had actually felt amazing! Free and invincible. No one could see her, and as long as she was as silent as possible, she could sneak around people and listen in on their conversations without a care in the world. Her athletic body felt incredible when she had no clothes on to obstruct it. The only slightly uncomfortable thing was the collar itself, or, to be more specific, the tiny needles that dug inside the tender skin of her neck, constantly pumping small dosages of the serum that made her naked body invisible.
Avery took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom she had locked herself in half an hour before. She had managed to hide her dress and sandals behind a box of cleaning supplies in the cabinet under the sink, and she had let her hair down. A bunch of golden hair pins floating in the air would have either given her away, or caused someone a heart attack.
“No reason to stay put when I can look around,” she thought.
Avoiding the party and the few guests exploring the corridors in search of restrooms, Avery took the rooms on the ground floor one by one, then moved up to the first floor of the impressive mansion. There, she found Kit’s bedroom, then Alex’s, but there was nothing unusual about them. The beds were neatly made, and both bedrooms looked absolutely pristine, like no one even slept there.
“Okay, on second thought… that’s just a tiny bit uncanny.”
She soon found what looked like Alex’s office. The whiteboard next to the desk was filled with plot points and character names, all connected through red lines, and the desk itself was filled with scattered notes and pens of various colors. Indeed, he was working on a new book.
“I would’ve thought his books are written by an AI,” she mused while gently leafing through the notes. “Or, that he attaches an alien device to his head while he sleeps, and the book is done when he wakes up.” That made her chuckle. The guy published a full-length novel almost every month. There was no way he wrote them the traditional way! “My bad. He does.” She thought as she turned his laptop on and opened the most recent document. “No time to leak a chapter or two, though.”
His laptop didn’t seem to hold anything of interest, either. It was filled with first drafts, edited drafts, character sheets, and various photos of actors and actresses. She studied the photos for a few minutes and concluded that he used them to base his characters on the people who, usually, ended up playing them when his brother, Kit, turned his romance novels into box office hits.
Avery turned the laptop off and proceeded to look through the drawers. Nothing. Disappointed, she moved on to the next room, which proved to be the library, and the place where Kit Walsh seemed to work.
“Damn it! Nothing here, either.” She studied the bookshelves for a long time, but aside from a rather consistent collection of books on women’s psychology and sexuality, nothing stood out.
“Makes sense,” she whispered.
She was so frustrated that her investigation was proving to be fruitless that she didn’t care whether anyone from outside the room could hear her. The guests weren’t allowed to go upstairs anyway, so she was safe.
“That’s why women are crazy about Alex’s books. He’s studied how our thoughts and emotions work. Bastard.”
Just to be sure, she pulled a couple of books from the shelves and leafed through them to see if they held any secret keys, codes, or notes. So far, the Walsh Residence had done nothing else but surprise her. She had thought it would be more difficult to snoop around since at least two aliens lived here, but there didn’t seem to be any complex, unknown technology to stand in her way. It was too easy. Something was off.
She placed the book she’d been looking at back on the shelf, and listened carefully. Something was way off.
“What happened to the music?”
She stole a glance at the clock hanging on the wall and froze when she realized the party was over.
“So soon?! It’s not even midnight yet!”
Kit and Alex really didn’t like social gatherings, did they? Maybe they needed their beauty sleep… She panicked when she heard steps down the corridor, then voices. Oh, she knew those voices! At least, two of them. The third belonged to a woman. She talked faster and louder than Kit and Alex, and thanks to her, Avery could now be sure the three of them were headed toward the library. Her first instinct was to hide. She whipped her head left and right, causing two needles to stab her a little harder than necessary and remind her she was invisible. She took a couple of deep breaths, chose the corner that was the farthest from the door, and decided to wait there. She couldn’t run. For one, because they were just outside the door and she was trapped, but also because this was why she was here in the first place. She needed intel. She couldn’t just chicken out now and go to the SPG with no new information on the aliens who’d taken over the entertainment industry and were brainwashing the whole planet with their “art”. Yes, art between inverted comas.
Avery held her breath when Kit, Alex, and the curvy woman in the purple gown who she’d seen them talk with at the party entered the library. Who was she? She squinted her eyes, then closed them immediately when Alex turned on the light, almost blinding her. She had sneaked around in the dark for too long, and now the light hurt like hell.
“Meadow Summer, of course,” she thought.
She should have recognized her earlier, but she’d been too absorbed by Kit and Alex. Also, she hadn’t thought Meadow would be of any interest to her and the SPG. After all, she was only the scriptwriter with whom Alex worked from time to time to turn his books into proper screen material. Neither the fans, nor the media had ever given Meadow Summer much attention, so… why was she here, with the
brothers? Was she…?
“Ugh! How did we miss this? She’s one of them.”
“Well, that was a nightmare,” Alex mumbled under his breath.
“Why do you have to be so negative all the time?” Meadow said. “If I got all the attention you two get, I’d be over the moon.”
Alex grabbed a book, leaned against a shelf, and started browsing it, apparently to distract himself.
Kit walked over to his desk and made himself comfortable in the leather chair. Compared to his brother’s desk, his was clean and well-organized.
Avery didn’t miss these small differences between the brothers. Gladly, she felt better than one hour ago. She had been half afraid the aliens’ presence would mess with her head again once they were in the same room with her, and she was relieved it was not the case. Her mind was, once again, clear and sharp.
“It wasn’t that much of a disaster,” Kit weighed in. “Except for that terrible unpleasantness…”
“Which one are you referring to?” asked Alex casually.
“Poppy Tonks and her stubborness to greet us in her very human, very boring way.”
“Ah.”
“Maybe she didn’t know you’re allergic to humans,” Meadow laughed.
Kit rolled his eyes. “Don’t joke about that.”
Alex joined Meadow. Now, they were both laughing at Kit’s expense. For some reason, Avery didn’t feel amused. Allergic to humans? Terrible unpleasantness? She blushed with embarrassment. It was a good thing no one could see her.
“You know I was genuinely concerned our species might be allergic to humans when we first landed on Terra. It could have been a disaster!”
“You just got a little scared because humans seem to have this weird way of getting into our heads if we get too close to them. Especially women.” Alex waved the book he was holding. “The more I read about them, the more I learn most of them are sensitive empaths. Who knows? We might have the same effect on them.”
