Alien Romance: Arcturus Mates Complete Series (Book 1 - 9): Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Invasion Romance, Alien Romance) (8 page)

“It doesn’t sound like more intelligent beings are very ethical. If you don’t have the freedom to choose, then it is not civilized.”

“And how many people on Earth really get that choice? Racheal told me about the different countries. How humans are not concerned with each other, letting others starve, hording money, these are not ethical practices.”

“The poor have to take the jobs they can find. But unlike the Galactic Empire, they have to fight to get those jobs. We are at least assigned jobs that meet our skills when it is obvious that we are gifted. The needs of the many outweigh the wants of the few. Whether I like what I do or not, sacrificing what I want has benefited everyone within the Empire. And it has had many perks if I had been inclined to enjoy them.”

Trisha was looking at him with an expression he did not know.

Alexander shrugged, “Any way, let’s get you settled in. There will be time to talk later, although I can’t imagine you are interested in my story.”

Pursing her lips, Trisha spoke, “No, I like learning about you. It’s nice to have someone to
talk
to. I haven’t been able to talk to anyone since the abduction.”

He gave her a sad smile, “We will get you home as quickly as possible so that you can put this miserable experience behind you.”

“It hasn’t been entirely bad.”

“You don’t have to try to humor me. One thing going right does not make up for everything else that has happened to you, or could have happened.”

“Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m not interested in learning or that I can’t see when an experience can be beneficial. This is not an experience I would ever willingly forget. It’s comforting to know that no matter where I go there is always good mixed in with the bad. That is something that most people should remember from time to time instead of always focusing on the bad.”

Alexander smiled again, “That is a very rational way to look at things. Now, I’ll take you to your sleeping quarters. I can’t imagine you want to continue dragging that thing around with you,” he said pointing to the wedding train. 

Trisha nodded, “You are right there.” She hefted the sides of the dress and he led her out into the halls.

“For the longest time I had wanted to get married. It wasn’t my only goal in life, but there is something irresistibly romantic about finding the right person, someone who actually cared. Someone who wanted the best for
me
instead of trying to figure out what he could get out of me. Having recently had a steady string of terrible luck, I was feeling particularly jaded one day, so I went into a shop to try on a dress, you know, kind of as a reminder that things would work out some day. The next thing I know I’m on an alien ship and, well, nothing really worth mentioning after that.”

“I am sorry for the way that worked out. It seems trying on the dress worked out to do the exact opposite.”

“You mean like a bad omen?”

Alexander nodded. Trisha laughed, and to his ears, it sounded like a haughty melody.

She continued, “You may be right about that. I’ll have to find out just how emotionally damaged I am after getting back. Some of the guys who were interested in me may not look so bad after that one creature.”

He nodded as he slowed down to walk beside her.

“The Cheritin race is a pretty disgusting bunch. Most of us hate dealing with them, but every once in a while they produce some remarkable young, so we put up with them.”

Trisha shook her head, “I’m glad that isn’t my job.”

“Indeed.” He stopped outside of a door, “Here you go. This is your area. You should be able to order something more suitable, although I’m afraid you won’t find any human designs in there. You can have the clothes modified to your form though, so whatever you select should fit after you step through the form reader.” He pointed to an odd contraption at the other end of the room.

She walked over to it. As he turned to leave, she spoke up, “How does it work?”

He moved back to her side and moved his hand over the machine, and many different images appeared. Colors, patterns, and shapes danced in a holographic form in front of them. You select these. Then you have to walk naked through it so the machine applies the clothing.”

“That’s…. very futuristic.”

He smiled at her, “It’s normal technology out here. I will leave you to get changed as I have been told humans don’t like to be watched when they are so vulnerable.”

“Well, some humans don’t. There are some who are quite proud to go nude wherever they are allowed to. That’s not me though.”

He smiled and turned to leave.

Chapter 3

Trisha turned her attention to the machine. After entering data, she began to remove the dress. Of the entire process, that was the most time consuming. Once the dress was off, she was dressed in under a minute.

It was then she wondered what she should do next. She hadn’t thought to ask where to meet up with Alexander. Moving to the door, Trisha wondered how she was going to communicate with him.

To her amazement, the floor lit up when she stepped into the hall, the path leading a different direction than the way she had come. She moved down it, her head swiveling around as she tried to take in everything on the vessel.

A few minutes later she was in a strange looking room with a table. Alexander was placing a couple of plates on the table.

“Ah good, you made it. I wasn’t sure-” he stopped talking when he looked up at her.

As beautiful as she had been in the gown, Trisha was much more enticing without all of the puffy material around her. The shirt clung to her upper body in a way Alexander had never seen before. She had chosen a skirt that came down just above her knees, showing off her exquisite legs. She wore sandals with a slight bit of heel to them. For a second, Alexander forgot to speak.

Trisha barely noticed as she looked around the room.

“This place is amazing. More like a palace than a vehicle.”

Alexander swallowed and tried to still his thoughts, “It is a little bit nicer than what most people have, that is true. There’s even a pool, which is excellent exercise.”

Trisha smiled at him, “I couldn’t agree more! I love swimming. Could we try it out a little later?”

“Uh, yes, of course.” He looked away, “But surely you are hungry.”

Trisha watched as he walked over and pulled a seat out for her. Now that the situation had seemed to resolve itself, she was better able to appreciate just how much this alien had been able to look human.

As she sat down, she said, “You have done a remarkable job of looking human you know. You are a much better looking man than any I have ever seen.”

Alexander stopped as he was about to sit down, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I just mean, you know, you are very attractive. I’ve never met a man who was as handsome as you. It is impossible to imagine a more perfect looking man than you. It’s difficult to believe you
aren’t
human.”

“My species is very exacting, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.”

“Maybe not to other aliens, but speaking as a primitive being, it’s quite extraordinary.”

“I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“What?” Trisha was momentarily confused.

“Oh, no. Well, I was offended, but considering what you’ve shown me within such a short timeframe, I can see how we appear to be unintelligent. To be honest, I’ve been saying that about my species for years.”

She took a bite of her food. She was so caught up in everything that she did not even think to ask what it was.

“You don’t think your species is particularly intelligent? And you have no qualms admitting that to a Galactic warrior?”

Trisha smiled at him, “Not even to the Galactic Commander.”

“That is very…brave of you.”

“No, just honest.”

“Very few are honest with me. They are too busy trying to make themselves out to more important than they are to give me a straight answer.”

“Power does that to people, or aliens. Beings. That’s probably a better word. If it is honesty you want, I have plenty of that, to a fault I’m told.”

Alexander laughed. Trisha watched as a dimple formed on the right side of his face and his hair moved like the flow of the sea.

“Are you certain you aren’t human? I mean, you even have a dimple.”

Alexander sighed, “Forgive me for this. I can’t think of any way to prove it to you without going to my planet, which is now out of the question.”

With that, he raised the knife and stuck it through his arm. He ignored Trisha’s gasp as he pulled it out the other side. There was a small trickle of blood that wasn’t quite red, then the wound closed leaving very little evidence that anything had happened, except for the blood now covering the knife.

“That was extreme.” Trisha said placing her fork on the table.

“I do apologize, but I don’t want you to think that I’m being dishonest with you. Now you should believe that I am not human.”

“Yes, that display certainly made that evident.”

“Why are you not eating?”

“I have lost my appetite.”

“No, please eat! I can’t stand to watch you waste away. Please eat.”

Trisha gave him a huge smile, “It’s not the same as Daisy. I just have trouble with the sight of blood, even alien blood. It makes me lose my appetite.”

“I am so sorry!” He rose and moved around to sit beside her.

“Are you ok? Should I have first aid applied?”

She laughed, “No, no, I will be fine, just need to get up and walk around.”

“Humans really do have fragile minds.”

“Not all of us. I’ve just never been able to deal with blood outside of an emergency. Gratuitous violence gets to me.”

“I am truly sorry, I did not realize. In the future, I will be more cautious.”

“It’s ok. I wasn’t that hungry to begin with.”

Alexander moved back to his seat and pushed his plate away. He was only eating because it was polite. The pair sat at the table and talked for hours. Finally, Trisha began yawning. As he led her back to her room, she swooned a little from exhaustion, and she bumped into Alexander. Gently, he picked her up and carried her to her room.

This time, she put her arms around his neck as he took her down the hall. Trisha watched his chiseled features as he walked. She was very aware of his muscles moving under his uniform and she couldn’t stop imagining what the muscles looked like without the uniform on. She began to blush.

Alexander’s eyes turned to her face, “Are you alright?”

“Perfectly. Just…thinking, that’s all.”

“And thinking makes your skin change colors?”

“Some thoughts do, yes.”

“I see. That’s unexpected.” He placed her on the bed and returned to the door. “Sleep well.”

“Thank you. You too Alexander.”

Though his face was profile and a shadow cast on it, she could see a hint of a smile spread across his face. The door closed and Trisha soon fell asleep.

Chapter 4

The next day, the pair talked about Earth. They went to a little garden area that he said was patterned after something Racheal had shown him in a picture. They spent the day there, this time Trisha did most of the talking. Alexander had so many questions that Trisha wondered how she had ever thought him human.

They picnicked and talked without giving much thought to their circumstances. When it was time to rest, Trisha made him promise to take her swimming the next day.

“If time permits, I would love to have your opinion of the pool. It has water and everything.”

“Whatever would a pool have?”

He gave her a mischievous grin, “Considering that most beings are not water based, do you really want an answer to that?”

“Oh, no you are right, I don’t want to know.” She smiled, but it faded, “Why wouldn’t we have time?”

“I expect that by now they will have realized I’ve left. It’s only a matter of time before they try to contact me. I would like to be a bit further before they give chase. For now, I am making it look like we are headed elsewhere, like I stole you. Well, I did, but I want them to think it was personal. Well, it was, but…”

Trisha put a finger over his lips, “I get it. I’m not entirely stupid. You want them to think that you have stolen a slave for your own enjoyment instead of realizing we are going to Earth.”

He nodded. Before he could stop himself, he gave her finger a kiss. Then he quickly rose, “If you will excuse me, I have a few things that need to be taken care of. The path will light you back to your quarters.”

Shocked by the innocent kiss, Trisha could only give him assent. For most of her time on the vessel, she had been trying to remind herself this was an alien, not a human, but her heart seemed to have stopped caring. Watching his perfect form exit the garden, she felt longing.

She shook her head. No, no, no. He was an alien, and she could not stay in space. Alexander had already explained about humanity’s inability to adapt out in space, so even if she had offered, she knew he would never allow her to stay. It would never work, so she had to keep herself in check.

As Alexander had predicted, things were not nearly as comfortable the next day. Trisha followed the path to where he was, but found that she could not access the room. She could hear talking, but it was not in a language she understood. Instead of hanging around like a puppy, she returned to her room and made several more outfits.

The woman was stepping out of the machine in a very intriguing looking bikini with the door opened.

“I’m sorry for-” Alexander froze in the doorway. His face flushed red, and he turned to leave. “I am so sorry! I should have knocked.”

“No, no, it’s alright!” Trisha hurried forward.

“This is called a bikini. It’s very similar to what real people wear to pools and beaches.”

Alexander turned to look at her hand on his arm, but his eyes wandered over to her figure. He swallowed, then moved his eyes to her face, “It doesn’t look anything like the other clothing.”

Trisha shook her head, “Of course not. Water is heavy, so we wear as little as possible when we swim.”

“What is the difference between what you are wearing and nothing?”

She giggled, “That is something that only I know. But believe me, there are still a few things left to the imagination.”

He had no response to that and it was obvious he was a little embarrassed by his reaction to her bikini. Trisha tried very hard not to be pleased. “So, can we go swimming now?”

“Well, I have-” He stopped and looked at her expectant face. His eyes softened and he grinned, “There’s no good reason not to.”

They walked side by side to the pool.

Once they arrived, Trisha looked at Alexander’s uniform, “Don’t tell me you swim in that.”

“No, I don’t swim in this.” He removed his uniform and several undergarments so that the only thing he had was similar to boxers.

“Don’t we need towels?” Trisha asked, looking around as she tried to get her mind off of the muscles that were now attracting far more of her attention than she thought was appropriate.

“No. I’ll show you after the swim.” He smiled at her, then ran toward the pool, his muscles moving in a way that was so animalistic that Trisha was like a frozen animal. Alexander’s legs bunched, and he did a magnificent dive into the water with very little splash.

Trisha walked over to the water’s edge and found the pool was a lot more like a deep pond than a pool. The sides were sandy and there was vegetation around the water. She walked slowly into the shallow portion of the water.

“Is that how people usually get into the water?” Alexander asked as he swam over.

“Women in bikinis, absolutely. The force of the water tends to be a bit too much for so little cloth, and I don’t want to cause you any further embarrassment by removing all of my clothes.”

Alexander gave a nervous laugh, “That’s very noble of you, but I dare say it is more out of a sense of self-preservation than any desire to make me feel comfortable.”

She gave him a coy smile, “Maybe.”

Trisha took a few steps in and was up to her waist when she looked up with a serious look on her face. “So how did it go?”

The humanoid gave her a confused look, “How did what go?”

“I know you talked with someone. Are you going to be alright?”

“I-” he shut his mouth and started again, “It doesn’t matter. We will be able to get you home safely. That was the mission and that is my focus.”

“But what about you?” She waded in further enjoying the feel as the water lapped at her body, but unable to fully appreciate it for the concern she had for the alien that had saved her.”

“Things will be different for me, but I can’t say that I regret it.”

“How will things be different?”

He pursed his lips and looked away.

“Wait, what are you hiding? What is going to happen to you now?’

“I couldn’t honestly say.”

“You are the commander, you are on the Tribunal, surely they won’t do too much to someone with that kind of power.”

Alexander turned to look at her, “Is that what it’s like on Earth? If you have power, you are immune from responsibility and judgement?”

“Well…” she thought about it. Everyone knew it was wrong, but yes, that was exactly how things worked on Earth. “yes, it is.”

He gave a sad grin, “So primitive. That is not the way it works out here. A crime is a crime not matter who makes it.”

“So, what will happen to you? Do you really not know, or do you just not want to tell me?”

Alexander turned and began to swim away, “It doesn’t matter at this point, it can’t be undone, so there’s no point in worrying about it.”

Trisha swam after him and grabbed his arm, “You can’t just give up like this. You didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Didn’t I? I stole a slave, and I did it in the name of the Tribunal. No matter the reason, life as I knew it is over. I will be stripped of my title, be kicked of the Tribunal, and will be disgraced for the rest of my life for what I’ve done.”

“But that’s not right! Slavery isn’t right! Why can’t they see that?”

“I told you, it is too ingrained right now. Once enough people have acted against it, things will start to change, but it is still too early.”

She moved toward him, and pushed Alexander’s chest, “Why did you do it? Why did you give up everything you worked for? To make a point? To show you aren’t like them? What does that get you?”

“My reasons are my own.”

“But you could have bought me! You could have done things legally. You didn’t have to throw everything away. How long have you been planning this? Months? Years? Why me? Why did you drag me into this? To make me feel guilty?”

She put her hands out to push him again, hurt and angry that he gave up so much and that she was dragged into it.

His hands grabbed her wrists before she could push him again, “I had no intention of ever interfering again. Any money I would have paid for you would have been used to perpetuate the slave trade. Funding them would have cost more lives than the single one I saved. I wasn’t going to get them any money to help them continue to fight what it is right.”

“Why me? Why couldn’t you have used someone else to make your point?” Her eyes were filling with tears, “I don’t want to be the reason you lose everything.”

He gently put his hands on the sides of her head and kissed the tears from her eyes, “Because it was you. You were not broken. No matter what they did to you, you were still whole and fighting to keep yourself. That is always worth saving. I couldn’t let them take that from you. I couldn’t and continue to live with myself.”

Trisha opened her eyes and looked into Alexander’s beautiful yellow eyes.

“But it’s not fair. It’s not fair and I can never repay what you did.”

“Seeing you happy is the best repayment. Knowing you get to live your life as you please instead of it being snuffed short at the hands of a master, that is all I need to make this whole thing worth it.”

Trisha wrapped her arms around his neck and began kissing him. At first, he was shocked and didn’t move, but when she wrapped her legs around him, Alexander’s well-toned arms reacted without him having to think. They encircled her waist and his hands pulled her to him. His legs moved them back toward the shallow shore.

Her hands slid down his back and into his boxer-like swimming suit.

“No!” He pulled back from her, “I am not going to use you. You don’t owe me anything. Please, don’t do something you will regret later.”

Trisha drew close to him, “I won’t regret it. I swear to you, I won’t.”

“I don’t want to you do it out of obligation. I didn’t save you from one master to become no better than him.”

Trisha stopped him from talking by putting her mouth on his.

She put a hand on his neck and whispered in his ear, “I’m not doing this to thank you. I’m doing this because I want to. Because what you are is everything I’ve ever wanted. It does not matter than you aren’t human, you are far more human, kinder and gentler than any man I’ve ever known.”

Alexander tried to pull away, “You won’t feel that way tomorrow. I don’t want to see the same hate and loathing in your eyes directed at me that you did at the slavers and the creature.”

Trisha pushed forward again, “Tell me you don’t want to and I will let you be. Don’t make this about what you think I want. I want you. I’ve never wanted anyone like this before because no man has ever been so noble, so selfless, and so brave that he cared more about anyone over himself. Of my 22 years I have been looking for someone who truly cares, and I have waited to find him. It wasn’t marriage I’ve been waiting for, I was looking for a good man.”

Alexander’s eyes showed his confusion, “But we aren’t the same species. I don’t know what will happen to you. I don’t want to … learn to love you, and then lose you. We will be to Earth the day after next, and I don’t want to lose my heart when you go. I’ve lost too much over my life, but my heart, I’ve always protected.”

Trisha’s eyes softened. “Come with me.”

“What?”

She reached down and took one of his hands. She gently kissed each of his fingers, “Come with me. You’ve said yourself there is nothing for you in the Empire, so why not come to Earth?”

Alexander swallowed hard but did not pull his hand away.