COWBOY ROMANCE: Justin (Western Contemporary Alpha Male Bride Romance) (The Steele Brothers Book 1) (78 page)

A Scifi Alien Abduction Romance

Chapter 1

So much had happened this past week! Melanie Collier needed a weekend of relaxation, and her family cabin by the lake was the perfect place to get it. As she sat in the Adirondack chair she’d placed in the sand, she reflected on what had happened.

First, her boss had disappeared without a word. Since she was his administrative assistant, she was surprised that he hadn’t even left her a note to explain his absence. Jared Scott had never done such a thing before, and she was quite concerned about him. Just six months ago his wife had died in a car accident, which had sent Jared into a tailspin. Once, he’d told her that it would have been easier for him to adjust if she’d had cancer. At least then he would have been able to prepare for the death of his spouse of just three years.

With him gone, she’d had to take over the running of his electronics manufacturing company. Not that the work was hard. It wasn’t, since she spent many hours a day handling his tedious work, as well as helping him with the more intricate business he needed to do. That just made every day very busy. Adding that to her worry, she found herself exhausted each evening.

On Thursday, though, he’d called before work to leave a message on her answering machine. In a hoarse voice that sounded little like him, he explained that he had been sick with laryngitis. Her worry abated, she finished the week with less stress.

Unwinding at the lake cabin her parents had left her in their wills was her lifeline right now. She’d even lent the keys to Jared, so he could put his wife’s death into perspective. He’d returned to work feeling a little better, but he, naturally, was still depressed.

The Minnesota summer sun and light breeze soothed her into a light slumber. It was so relaxing. The waves gently lapped against the shore, lulling her deeper to sleep.

Jared’s face appeared in her mind, a bit ruddy and somewhat rounded but otherwise quite handsome. His red hair hung just below his ear lobes, the soft curls showing off his Scottish ancestry. And his blue eyes … those deep blue eyes that had captured her attention so many times when she’d first come to work for him two years earlier. Thank goodness, she’d gotten used to their penetrating gaze. She had no desire to take this man away from his wife. Now, she was used to his eyes, though, and they had become good friends.

But something was different about Jared, something she couldn’t quite place. She scanned down his long, lean body. On the way back up, she noticed it. He had a burn of some sort around his neck.

Melanie jolted awake. Had that been a premonition—or a dream of why Jared had sounded so hoarse on the phone? Had he tried to commit suicide and failed? Now, Melanie was
really
worried.

She grabbed her smartphone, woke it up, and touched his picture that linked to his phone number. Putting the phone against her ear, she waited. Nothing, not a ring, not even his voice telling her to leave a message. She glanced at the phone. She’d known she didn’t have cell service here, so why had she even tried?

Running into the cabin, she grabbed her purse off the nearby counter then raced to her car, got in, and sped out of the driveway, sending gravel flying. She had to get back to Rochester and find Jared. She had to make sure he was safe.

Not a mile after she was on the main road, however, a loud noise startled her, and her car veered. She struggled to maintain control of the vehicle, but she slid off the road. When she crashed into the ditch, the airbag deployed, thrusting her head backward and to the left. The side of her head hit the door frame with such force that she cried out in pain. Then everything went black.

Chapter 2

“Get her out of there!” a man shouted.

“I can’t!” another one replied. “The seatbelt’s stuck.”

“Here.”

Melanie opened her eyes and saw a man with a knife cut the seatbelt. She’d seen this man before. He’d been watching her when she was getting groceries for the weekend.

The man pulled her from the car and guided her toward a minivan. Oh, no, they wouldn’t! She wasn’t about to get into a car with a stranger.

She struggled against him. The other man grabbed her arm, and she kicked him in the groin. He doubled over in pain. Still the first man held onto her arm.

“Let us help you,” he said without releasing her.

Melanie jerked her arm from his grip and ran in the opposite direction. Then she heard hoof beats. Hoof beats? Out on a main road in the middle of nowhere? She looked toward the sound. A pure white horse raced toward her—carrying a knight in shining armor.

You’ve got to be kidding me!
She thought in a panic.
A knight on a white horse?
She had to be dreaming. That was it. She was delirious because she’d hit her head so hard, but she continued to run.

The horse grew closer. With his armor clanking, the knight reached down and grabbed her. His cold gauntlet wrapped around her arm, and her feet left the ground. The next thing she knew, she was on the saddle before this man, this
knight
. He had swept her off her feet with seemingly no effort.

Through the helmet, he spoke in a hoarse, muffled voice. “You are safe now.”

Melanie said nothing. Where was he taking her? And was she truly safe? Nobody was going to believe her if she reported this to the police. What would she tell them?
I had an accident. Some guys tried to abduct me, but this nice knight on a white horse rescued me.
Yeah, sure. Even she couldn’t believe it.

But his metal breastplate was hard and cool, even through her tank top shirt. Everything seemed so real, but she had to be dreaming, despite their race down the road. There was no other explanation. She had no idea where he was taking her, but at the moment, she didn’t care. All she needed to do was close her eyes, and then she would wake up and everything would be normal again.

***

Melanie opened her eyes in the cabin. How had she gotten there? Had the men she fought off brought her there? They must have because the other option was impossible.

“You finally woke,” a man with a scratchy voice said.

He sounded like Jared, yet he sounded nothing like Jared. How could that be? She looked over in the direction from which the voice came and saw none other than Jared standing in the doorway.

“Jared!” she exclaimed. “When did you get here?”

“You do not remember?” he asked. “I helped you when they shot the tire.”

Melanie chuckled and tried to sit up. A heavy wave of nausea and dizziness swept over her, so she lay down again.

“That was some knock to my head,” she said. “You’ll never believe what I dreamed. A knight in shining armor on a white horse rescued me.”

To her surprise, he didn’t even crack a partial smile. Instead, Jared’s appeared confused. “How is your head?”

“It hurts like hell. Did you say somebody shot out my tire?”

“Two men. I think they wanted to abduct you.”

“Then you did rescue me. I hope you plan to spend the weekend in case they come back here.”

“The weekend—and more.”

He wanted to do more than spend the weekend with her? That wasn’t possible. They worked together. His office policy forbade one worker from having an affair with another. Well, unless they were already married to each other, of course.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Jared took her hand in his and used his free hand to check the lump in her hairline. “That is quite bruised. Perhaps you should see a doctor.”

“I’m sure it’s just a contusion—and maybe a concussion because I was out for a few minutes. I don’t need a doctor.”

She stared into his blue eyes, but they weren’t the color of blue that they used to be. These blue eyes had flecks of gold in them, which made them even more mesmerizing,  and there was something different about his touch; it felt as though an electric current flowed between them.

To distance herself, she pulled her hand from his, saying, “Maybe you staying here isn’t such a good idea after all. You should leave.”

His confused expression deepened. “I thought you liked to hold hands.”

“With a boyfriend. Not my boss.” As she spoke, she noticed the mark around his neck. It hadn’t been just a dream but some sort of psychic connection that told her what happened. “Did you try to commit suicide, Jared?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because of the mark around your neck. And you’re talking strange. Maybe from a lack of oxygen to your brain.”

To her surprise, he stood and wandered to the window overlooking the lake. Her suspicions rose. This wasn’t Jared; this was some sort of double for Jared.

“Who are you? And how did you know about me?”

This Jared turned from the window to face her and said, “I came for you. You are destined to be my mate.”

His voice had changed. It was now deep and smooth as velvet. It caught in her heart, as she’d never had happen before.

“I’m not
destined
for anything concerning you—most especially not your mate.” Melanie pushed herself up to lean back against the headboard. “Now, who are you?”

“I am your knight in shining armor. I am your knight on a white horse.” Striding back to the bed, he sat down again. “I saved your life; now, we belong together.”

“
You’re
the knight on the horse?” she asked, astounded. “That was for real? I thought I was dreaming it. What in the
world
would possess you to do something like that? Did you set up those men so you could rescue me?”

“Set up?” He shook his head. “I do not understand. Why would you think that?”

“Because nobody in his right mind would do such a thing. Now, who the hell are you? Certainly not Jared.”

He straightened himself and spoke with a proud note in his voice. “I am Odin of Cartonia.”

“Odin, like in the Scandinavian god? And where the hell is Cartonia?”

“A very long way off. I don’t know of this Scandinavian god. My name is Odin, and I came to make you mine. We are destined to be together.”

Melanie scrambled from the bed and raced to the front door before he caught her. “Let go of me! You’re crazy.”

“I will not release you until you understand. My name is Odin, and I came from Cartonia for Melanie Collier. That is you, yes?”

His touch left her weak-kneed. She wanted to just melt into him. Jared/Odin could do things to her with just a touch, and she would love to be with a man like this forever.

“And you love Jared Scott, but that will change,” he announced. “You will love me instead. We chose you because you have no one—no family, no true friends, no Jared.”

“I don’t know why you look so much like Jared, but …”

His words interrupted her. “I look like Jared because I need a body to live on Earth. You love Jared, so I used Jared’s body. Therefore, you will love me.”

Unable to move, Melanie stared up into his gold-specked eyes. Her chest ached with a grief she hadn’t even felt when her parents died. She repeated four of his words that she couldn’t comprehend him having said. “To live on Earth?

Chapter 3

“Yes,” Odin replied. “Surely, you understand what I am saying. My council and I did research, and you are a very bright woman. You are exactly the female I want for my life-long mate.”

Melanie struggled with what he said. The word
council
barely registered in her mind. Life-long mate? He didn’t even know her. Somehow she had to stall him, so as she sat down on her sofa, she said, “But
to live on Earth
indicates that you normally live elsewhere. How could that possibly be?”

“I told you that I am from Cartonia,” he replied, sitting down beside her. “I will take you. With the right body, you would do well there.”

The right body?
  What the heck did that mean? He had said he had taken over Jared’s body, and now he was talking about her having the
right
one.

She must be in a coma. That had to be why all of this strangeness was happening. If that were the case, she may as well enjoy the ride. It was something to do rather than just lying there waiting to wake up.

“What body do you suggest I use? By the way, now that I’m thinking about it, if you’re from this place called Cartonia, how do you know English?”

“If I had used a body from a different place, I would be speaking French or German or any number of other languages. I know English because that is what Jared spoke. I rely on his memories.”

Jared’s memories included knights, armor, and white horses? Of course, they did! He was a Medieval Era geek and went to all of those Renaissance fairs. That had to have been where Odin got the idea to rescue her riding a white horse and wearing armor. Oddly, everything was starting to make sense.

The only problem with Odin’s story was that Jared didn’t love her. He still missed Sarah; he still grieved for Sarah; he still
loved
Sarah. She would never
mate
with Odin because Jared would never have sex with her. Obviously, Odin didn’t know that.

“I hope you realize,” she said, “that if you really took over Jared’s body, if you really have his memories, he wouldn’t screw me because we’re just friends.”

Odin gazed at her with questioning blue and gold-flecked eyes. “I do not understand screw, but Jared very much wanted to mate with you. Now it is time.”

He pulled the loose T-shirt he wore over his head, revealing a body that Melanie had only seen in magazines. That certainly wasn’t Jared’s body. Although Jared was a lean man, he didn’t have the six-pack abs or the pecs of a man who worked out daily. He didn’t have those strong arms, well defined without being too big.

Was she ever tempted to let this happen! But, unfortunately, she couldn’t. She needed to stand her ground and keep a distance for now because she had no idea who this man really was.

To stall him, she asked, “Where is this Cartonia?”

“It is what you call light years away.” Odin repositioned himself and pressed his lips against hers.

They were soft yet firm, and they tasted sweet—not like candy or sugar or honey. Just sweet. Melanie felt as though she would melt right into his mouth. But she couldn’t do this! She needed to remain rational, or as rational as she could, considering a hunky man from some planet called Cartonia was kissing her.

Willing herself to move, she laid her hands on his chest and pushed him away. To her surprise, she couldn’t remove her hands. It was as though they were glued to him, stuck to those hard pectorals that danced under her touch. Oh, how she loved the feel of them!

“Did you not like that?” Odin asked, his voice filled with confusion. “Jared’s memories show that is pleasurable to Earth women.”

“It was
very
pleasurable,” she replied, still unable to remove her hands, “but it’s too soon after meeting you. Don’t his memories tell you that?”

“His memories tell me what I need to know, and I need to know how to mate with you to best make you want to stay with me forever.”

This whole dream was amazing yet confusing, but she couldn’t seem to wake from it. His next words, though, increased her bewilderment even though she’d thought she couldn’t be any more confused.

“I need a princess from Earth before I can return to Cardonia. We must strengthen our … our … What do you call it here? Ah, yes, there it is. We must strengthen our species.”