Sex, Love, and Aliens, Volume 1 Read online

  Her body betrayed her as languorous warmth invaded her system. She melted against his body, both boneless and yet instantly alive.

  When he tugged away this time, she mewled with the loss. “Why did you…” Reality intruded once more, and she stepped out of his embrace. Horror rose. Did he plan to use her? Was that what her mother was about? “How could you? You’re just like Garret.” Her eyes stung with tears, and her heart thudded in a painful rhythm. “After my mother…” She whirled away sightlessly.

  “Gia! I have not been with your mother. De’ Valerie and I are friends. No more. She is… She wants another.” His voice was heavy with entreaty, and she stilled.

  Can that be true? How Gia wanted to believe it, but her eyes had seen other signs that this wasn’t so. The way he carried bags for Valerie, helped with the house, was always at the factory…

  “Deandara Gia—Sert bana opta quiot.” His voice was thick with emotion and she turned. Her mind was unable to figure out what he wanted, so she ignored it as her brain clamored to know the truth.

  “I… Is it true?” She reached out a hand just as a loud crash sounded from the front of the house.

  For long pregnant seconds they stared at each other before they turned and ran.

  * * * *

  At the front of the house lay shards of glass, the remains of the window gathered around a brick.

  “Oh my God! Who would do such a thing?”

  Turning in Gia’s direction, Cedun noted how white her face was. “You go rest. I will attend to this.” Silent tears tracked down her cheeks, and the fury within him grew to incandescence. He had a clue as to the perpetrator but couldn’t prove anything. At least not yet.

  “I… I should help.” But Gia looked lost and somehow diminished before him. He raged in his mind. When he found out who had done this…

  “Go rest. Go.” He shooed her away before hunting for cleaning implements.

  Right now I would give anything for my Vakspar. The cleaning implement would have cleared away the shards in seconds, but the Vakspar wasn’t yet permitted for use in human dwellings. So instead he found the broom closet.

  Cedun sent a quick transmission to his clan brother Joruzan, hoping he would share it with De’ Valerie. She would want to know about Garret and the smashed window.

  With care, Cedun swept the sharp glass shards into the dustpan and disposed of them in the bin. By the time he joined Gia in the kitchen she was sipping a tea and an icy glass of fortiran was steeping, the green-blue liquid undulating in the morning light.

  She put her drink down and took a deep breath. “I’ve rung the glaziers. They’ll be here in a few hours. Cedun, about before…”

  Her color ran high, her eyes filled with embarrassment. It made him ache to kiss her again. The need to reach out and touch her nearly overcame him.

  “There is no need to apologize, De’ Gia. I want you to understand. There has never been an intimate interest between myself and your matere.”

  She ducked her head and swept her jet-black hair away from her face, her green eyes shining with tears. “Look, Valerie is great. I’m really pleased, and have no intentions of getting in your way, or hers.”

  Then she bit her lip, a tiny dot of red appearing against her skin. He wanted to smooth it away, and his fingers curled into a fist as he fought the action. How can I get her to understand?

  Instead, he let his pent-up breath release in a long sigh. She still clung to her erroneous idea. “De’ Valerie and I are friends, but she is involved with my friend Joruzan. In fact—”

  “In fact, we’re here, Gia.” Valerie’s voice echoed down the hall along with the crunch of feet on the tiles.

  His friend and second, Joruzan, filled the entrance, his arm around the tiny, raven-haired Valerie. She didn’t look her forty-two years. Snugged up against Joruzan, she looked more like an older sister, though her eyes were a lighter green and there was a tracery of lines around her mouth and eyes that spoke of a life lived.

  “Your transmission concerned De’ Valerie, and she had to come check on De’ Gia for herself.” Joruzan’s guttural tones were low and angry. “You are safe, De’ Gia? Turaa Cedun?”

  This time, Gia turned questioning eyes in his direction. “Turaa? What does that mean?” Her nose wrinkled delightfully.

  He’d refused to use Turaa, ruler in waiting, deeming it unnecessary. And far too much of a danger right now. That hope was about to disappear in a puff of smoke though.

  “Gia, dear. Didn’t he ever explain? Cedun is the leader of the ‘Ti’ generation. He’s the Turaa and his father is the Turan of the Ba’Tua from Dirustandi.” Valerie smiled in his direction, but instead of the customary warmth his heart seized as the chill of rejection settled in him.

  Gia stood up and stepped away. “Turaa? Turan? Ruler? Of Dirustandi? Your home world?” She shook her head, and her voice trailed away on a high pitch. “Then what the hell are you doing here?”

  He cringed at the look of shock and anger on her face.

  He should have told her, long ago. When they first met. Then there would have been no questions about keeping secrets. But he had wanted to get to know her. But then, even that had been spectacularly unsuccessful. As time had passed he’d let her think he and Valerie were lovers so he could remain close to her. Now it was probably too late.

  “So what the hell was this all about then? Slumming it?” Gia’s lip curled in disdain, and he nearly closed his eyes. But a warrior and Turaa had to restrain himself.

  “Gia Eloise! I didn’t bring you up to be obnoxious. Apologize to Cedun.” Valerie’s voice cut through the thick and tense atmosphere like a knife.

  “I apologize for my thoughtless remark.” But she certainly didn’t look sorry. There was a mulish expression on her face. Her anger lanced him.

  “Perhaps I should leave you.” Joruzan started to pull away from Valerie, but she clutched his arm.

  “No, Joruzan. You should stay. After all, we have an announcement to make and my daughter should get to know you.” Valerie squeezed his arm. “Gia...Joruzan and I are going to get married.”

  “What? I don’t even know…” As Gia stared at the couple before her she blanched, and Cedun desperately wanted to support her. She swayed then gathered herself. “Well… What a surprise. I mean—”

  “You thought Cedun and I were lovers. I know.” This time Valerie spoke in soft tones. “There was never anything more than friendship and support from him. Since the beginning, as you know, he made it easier for me to begin exporting to the Ba’Tua home world, with his connections. He’s also a very close friend to Joruzan and me.”

  “Wow. You and Joruzan. Well, congratulations, Mum. I can honestly say you’ve surprised me.”

  “Gia, that isn’t all.” Valerie stepped forward and the mask of the self-assured woman dropped away. Now she was an unsure woman talking to her grown daughter. “I’m… I’m also pregnant. With Joruzan’s child.”

  “Oh. Wow. That’s like…” Gia stumbled to a chair and sat down heavily. “Ohmygosh! I’m going to be… Holy hell, I’m going to be a big sister? At twenty-five?”

  “Well, you’ll be twenty-six when the child is born.” Valerie grinned and Cedun returned it before looking back at the shell-shocked woman beside him.

  “But is it safe?” Gia asked.

  Cedun could see the fear in her eyes and understood. She likely wasn’t sure if this was the first pairing of humans and Ba’Tua.

  “Perfectly so, Gia. This is not the first pregnancy between our species. Though your mother is the most… I believe the term is mature?”

  Gia winced at Cedun’s words. “Yeah, something like that, but I mean the birth....” Gia’s query made him smile.

  “Will be just like any other normal human birth. But should there be any issues, our healers will be on hand. She will be safe. I promise you.”

  Chapter 2

  Her mother, Joruzan, and even Cedun had finally left and the house was silent. The broken p
ane of glass had been replaced and night had fallen.

  Too many emotions crashed down on Gia for her to be able to get a fix on any one. Cedun was not Valerie’s lover and with that came relief. Joruzan was and that confused her. What’s more they were pregnant and getting married. Her stomach rocked at that thought. Her mother...pregnant. Now that was the ultimate shock.

  “I suppose Valerie’s young enough.” After all, she’d had Gia at just sixteen. But who ever expected their mother to announce a pregnancy to their twenty-five year old daughter? “Not me, that’s for certain.”

  The announcement of Cedun’s single status had left her dizzy and excited. Until the bald announcement that Cedun was the Turaa of his planet sank in. The distance between them seemed as immense as before. Maybe even more so, after the revelation of his position.

  She wandered up the hall, studying each picture she’d chosen to display since moving into the house six months ago. Valerie had helped her to purchase it, and for a time, Gia had thought she’d be sharing it with Garret and later a family of children. “I was so sure he was the one.” Until she caught him with Floss.

  She sent a thankful prayer that she’d not yet invited him to live full time with her.

  Gia stopped and reached for a picture frame, tracing it with a shaking finger. There she was with Valerie when she was three, and on her mother’s face was pride and love. Moving on she saw another from her high school graduation. Just the two of us. Gia studied the image behind the glass. “Always was just the two of us, wasn’t it? We didn’t need anyone else back then.”

  The day she’d met Cedun was the third image that stopped her. Three smiling faces locked in a memory looked back at her. It was also the day Valerie had received her first order from Dirustandi. It was the day Gia had come to the conclusion that Valerie and Cedun were lovers. She’d been so wrong and hadn’t really questioned it.

  “I was wrong about so many things.” Her head ached and she longed to shower and settle in her bed. So she gave in and opened the door to her bedroom, stripping off her clothes as she moved to the bathroom. It might be 2024 but the human brain still welcomed the feel of water on the body, she mused.

  She stepped under the spray, the needle fine points beating on her body. In her mind’s eye, she conjured up a vision of Cedun with his hard, flat planes nestled up against her.

  Her sex quivered as need jumped to life. God, she needed to either go to sleep or come up with some way of wiping him from her memory. Sleep would likely just bring on the highly erotic dreams that plagued her regularly. The arousing ones in Technicolor featuring the two of them.

  On that thought, came the realization Garret had known about her dreams. All the times he’d teased her about waking up hot, or talking in her sleep... Gia winced. That was probably why Garret had accused her of having sex with Cedun, and she accepted that part of his anger as her due for being unfaithful in her mind.

  God, how she wanted to feel Cedun touch her. Her nipples puckered like tight buds of need and she let her hands rise to cover them. The feel of the distended peaks enticed her to pluck at them. A moan escaped, and her head moved back against the wall as she undulated. The water slid over her body, each and every nerve singing out for more.

  “Oh, Cedun…if only you were here.” Arching up, she let her hand trail down over her abdomen until it reached her center.

  It felt both right and wrong, and she stilled. Arousal wound deep in her gut, her body tightly strung, but she didn’t want her hand. She wanted a man. She hungered for Cedun. But he wasn’t there.

  She clenched her fingers into a ball. A sound alerted her and she swung around.

  There was Cedun. “I… I beg your pardon.”

  He started to back away, his hungry gaze traveling over her body as if he too were caught in the intolerable burn of desire. She didn’t question why he was there. He was, and she hungered.

  “Cedun?” She stepped forward, reaching out to him.

  “I should go.” But he didn’t move, though his gaze traversed her body, resting on each curve, the heat in his eyes melting her.

  It’s a dream. It has to be. Otherwise, why would he be here? Another step put him within touching distance. “I want you, Cedun. I need to feel you.”

  He swallowed and she watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “You… I should…”

  Her hand found his and tugged him against her. “Forget everything right now. It’s just you and me. No tomorrows. No regrets.” She lifted her mouth to his, and he was there, matching her taste-for-taste and touch-for-touch. Plundering. Hard. Fast. Hungry.

  Tonight anything is okay. After all, it’s a dream.

  Gia tore at his clothing, stripping him, and the feel of his naked torso against hers was electric. When his arms encircled her she felt glorious ecstasy stealing through her bones, her mind hazing over as the mist of desire descended.

  They stumbled backward into the water, hands groping and caressing, legs entwining until his hands found her backside and hoisted her up. His erection was hard and ready, and she was hot, so damned ready for him.

  The sound of the thudding water masked their panting breaths and cries of passion. Linking her feet behind his back, she urged him closer, into the most intimate embrace.

  His cock was tight against her entrance, and she arched a little further, the friction battering her senses. Then he was within her. Filling her so full she could hardly breathe. They moved faster now, their bodies starving and hungry for the orgasm that roared closer each second.

  His chest, bare and hard, rubbed her nipples, causing tingles of lightning to shoot through her body. Up and down she moved, flexing muscles, while he groaned and met her move for move.

  Heart pounding, the feel of cold tiles at her back, he urged her on and she gave him everything right then and there. When she couldn’t fight it any longer she gave into the cataclysmic explosion. Cedun joined her, the feel of his jetting completion leaving her a quivering mass of sensations.

  His hold is tight, was her first coherent thought. She unwound her legs and let herself drop down to the tiled floor. She could hardly stay upright as the muscles of her legs wobbled like jelly.

  “Wow. That’s quite… Geez.” What else can I say? She’d just used the man of her dreams for mindless sex. And it wasn’t a dream.

  “Come. Let us leave here. We should talk.” He gathered her up like a child, holding her in his arms. Her body felt heavy and replete in a way she’d never experienced before.

  “Water off.” The auto shutdown responded to her demand and left them in silence except for the sound of their breathing, still rapid with the post-sex high.

  He carried her to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. She almost reminded him of the bath towels but he looked so grave and concerned that she couldn’t bring herself to mention them.

  “Cedun, is something wrong?” Gia knew she should probably cover up, but he’d seen and touched just about every inch of her body. Modesty now would be misplaced.

  “This morning…” His violet eyes were troubled.

  Gia reached out. “I was a bitch this morning…”

  “Not that.” For the first time he grinned, but it didn’t dispel the concern in his eyes. “The glass. I think it was Garret.”

  “Oh, Cedun, why would he do something like that? I mean, I know we didn’t exactly part on good terms, but he’s not a man to hold on to anger.”

  “He will hurt you. He is a jealous man, Deandara. He will hurt you if he gets close again.” His hand rose and cupped her cheek. “I cannot—I will not allow that.”

  * * * *

  Holding her close against him was heaven and hell for him. For so long he’d dreamed, but she’d kept her distance. Now there she was. It felt so right that all his good intentions fled. He lay beside her in the bed, her body almost as close as possible without the joining they’d already experienced.

  “How did you get in?” Her cat green eyes shone with interest, and he want
ed to close his eyes as recriminations slowly stole away the feeling of well-being that had suffused him.

  “De’ Valerie was concerned about you. She sent me back. I used a matter transmitter so I could assure myself of your safety.” And what had he done? Thrown himself upon her with a shameless lack of restraint.

  “Well, I guess you know I’m okay now.” She grinned for a moment, her features shining in the near darkness, and his love for her welled deep. But had his precipitous actions jeopardized the long-term relationship he longed to enjoy with her?

  “De’… Ah, Gia. Might I call you that?”

  She blinked at his careful request. Then she laughed out loud, the echo of mirth reaching his soul. Filling the empty corners with light.

  “Given what we’ve just done, I think that would be fine.”

  He reached out a hand and pushed a fine, almost-dry curl from her face. It sprang back, winding around his finger. He took it as an omen for the future.

  “Now that you understand about De’ Valerie, would you consent to…” He was lost for words. He wanted to woo her, but didn’t have the words. He could speak his native tongue but she wouldn’t know what he was asking. It was one more frustration after cycles of the physical restraint.

  “What, Cedun?” Her eyes scanned his face, then understanding flared. “If you’re asking about this—” She indicated to their bodies lying naked against each other. “I’m not sure if I’m really ready for another relationship.”

  He closed his eyes, pain crashing through him, and self-doubt, his constant companion, poked him. I have failed. She does not want me, only this physical union. It is not enough!

  “It’s not you, Cedun. It’s me. I think I need time to understand what happened with Garret. I mean, I expected more than just a roll in the sack. I wanted marriage and kids. Like Valerie and Joruzan appear to have. I was so ready, but I missed the signs. Was I self-absorbed? Did I imagine what was there? I’m not sure. But I won’t do that again. I’m… I don’t like making mistakes, and that one was a massive mistake on my part. I’m not sure I quite trust myself at the moment.”