Nicolas: Love me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance (2 page)

“Hi.” Her voice came out a little raspy, as if she never used it. Truth was, she didn’t use it much. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d spoken words before last night.

“Hi. How are you feeling?”

Good question. How was she feeling? She took inventory of her aches and pains and came back with lousy. Those young boys had done a number on her before her savior arrived.

“Not the best, to be honest. How did I get here? Better yet, where is here?”

“I brought you here last night to care for you.”

She licked at her lips. Bad habit she knew it. Her mom used to tell her all of the time. She was grateful to be somewhere safe and should probably say something nice, yet all she could think about was the alien male from last night.

“No offense, but what happened to my Angel of Death? The one who found me?”

“Who?”

“Maybe you didn’t see him. He was close to eight feet tall with fangs. He wasn’t human.” She knew it may be wrong but something about him attracted her.

“Did he scare you?”

“Of course not, silly. The fact that he wasn’t human made me happy. I knew his touch wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Why does the touch of a human bring you pain?”

Janis stopped talking. She looked around the room. It really was lovely. The walls were done in a gray with purple swirls on them. She approved even though it was different to her. Looking up she saw him staring at her. Once again her thought of being set up to be hurt came back to her. Could he be part of the plan?

She spent some time looking him over. His navy blue eyes could have belonged to her Angel of Death. They were wide with hidden depths so deep that disappearing into them became a viable option. He gave her the feeling he could be trusted. This was a first. She’d gone a lifetime without feeling someone was worthy of her trust.

“Why do you want to know? I don’t even know your name.” Again she dismissed the thought of people trying to deliberately hurt her.

“Nicolas. What is your name?”

“Janis.”

“Nice to meet you, Janis.” He smiled at her nice and wide, allowing her to see a hint of his fangs.

His fangs fascinated her. Did this mean he wasn’t human? Looking over his muscular body she sent up a small plea requesting he be anything, but human.

“Are you the one who rescued me last night?”

He nodded his head. “That was me. My beast came out when I saw what was happening to you.”

“Can I see?”

Janis didn’t want to accuse him of being a liar, but he was so matter of fact about having a beast inside of him, she had to see.

She counseled herself that she should be scared, but really if he wanted her dead, she’d be dead by now.

He stood and took off his shirt. This was no time to get distracted she told herself and then promptly ignored that directive. His chest was marvelous, the exposed muscle made her want to touch. Touching was forbidden in her world, but she was already drooling. How many times did she get to see a man with the body of a buff actor? Only his was better.

Never. That answered that question. His abs rippled as he raised his arms. She wanted to touch and lick.

Her tongue was tracing her lips as she pretended her panties weren’t getting wet over a naked chest. She needed to buy some naughty magazines, if the sight of a bare chest got her this hot and bothered.

The change left her breathing fast. One minute he looked human, well as human as one could look and still be devastatingly handsome, and the next minute, he was an obvious alien. She hadn’t expected to be scared by his appearance since she already seen him once. Fear was the furthest thing from her mind. A little fear might be welcome because her reaction to him was making her uncomfortable.

There was a slight throbbing between her legs that had her breath catching in her throat. The man and the beast both made her feel butterflies in her stomach and want what most women had. Sex. Yep, she said it. She’d never wanted to be touched or feel a man invade her nether regions, until now. The thought of being burned on the inside by something other than passion kept her from experimenting with the opposite sex. She’d be willing to take her chances with him. He could pick the form.

She licked her lips nervously. The beast disappeared and the man came back into view.

“Are you alright?”

“Fine, thank you. Does your animal side talk?”

“Yes and no. I have never heard him talk out loud, but I believe he can. He simply chooses not to. He communicates mentally. I can hear him, my brothers can hear him if he needs to make contact with them and my mate can hear him.”

Janis tried to sit up in the bed. Of course he had a mate. What women would let a male like him get away? A surge of unbidden jealousy over took her. She waited patiently knowing she would never have a man. Now this man who wasn’t a man made her want something forbidden and he had a wife.

“I didn’t mean to take you away from your mate.”

“I’m not mated yet. I simply meant when it happens, she will be able to talk to my animal.”

“That would be nice. I know I would like it. Not that I think I’m your mate…”

She gave him a goofy grin to try and cover her run away tongue. Why would she even think she could become his mate? He was like imported Belgian chocolate and she was like a dollar store candy bar. The two didn’t go together. The taunting of the girls from her youth lived in the back of her mind reminding her people with weird medical conditions didn’t get the man.

The loud noise that shattered the silence in the room came from her stomach. It was reminding her she hadn’t eaten in days.

“I’ll make us some breakfast. The bathroom is behind that door.” She followed his finger. “Will you be ok?”

She nodded. He got up and left the room, leaving instructions that she was to call if she needed him.

She waited several minutes to make sure he was gone before she let out a loud groan of pain. Her body was one big ache. She was going to feel this for weeks. Carefully, she rolled to the side of the bed before standing.

Her knees buckled and she fell against the bed. Yeah, they had done a job on her. Where was a cane when you needed one? Slowly, she moved across the room, trying to stay on her feet.

The bathroom mirror wasn’t her friend. Her cheeks were blotched with red. Even though she’d protected her face, they’d gotten in a lucky hit or two. The rest of her body was worse. She was black and blue from bruises and red from where she’d literally been burned by their touch.

Her grey eyes showed her pain. Her black hair, the one thing she was actually proud of, looked like a rat’s nest. She winced, more from her actual looks now, than the pain. She’d sat in front of that gorgeous alien like this! Life was definitely not fair.

Looking at her clothes, she realized she needed something different to wear. They were ripped and torn. They made her look like a victim of abuse. That was unacceptable even if she hadn’t been able to defend herself. There was no way she could salvage them. How was she supposed to go downstairs in front of him looking like this?

The knock on the bathroom door pulled her out of her depressing thoughts.

“Who is it?”

“Nicolas. I’m going to leave some clothes in front of the door. One of my brothers’ mates dropped them off.”

“Thank you.”

She peeked her head out when she was sure he was gone. Grabbing the clothes, she headed to the shower to get clean.

She closed her eyes as the warm spray rinsed some of the horror of last night away. She still needed to get back to Sampson’s, get her shopping done and get home without a repeat of last night. It may be time for her to hire a personal shopper. She quickly pushed the thought away. If she did that she would become a recluse, something she was already fighting against.

She washed quickly, knowing her first order of business was to try and find something respectable enough she could go outside in.

She laid the clothes she was given over the bed and stopped in shock. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this. There were several outfits for her to choose from. She’d been given jeans and shirts as well as dresses. That by itself was surprising, but when you add in the fact that the clothes were beautiful, some of them even had tags still attached, she felt a tear slip out. No one treated her like this. She was the freak you laughed at, not the woman you helped.

She allowed her hand to stroke the sun dress. It was beautiful. She’d never owned anything like it. In the end, she chose the jeans and a shirt with half sleeves, because there were no long-sleeved shirts.

She walked out of the room into a wide hallway. His home seemed well taken care of. She liked that because she’d spent hours taking care of her own home. Not like there was a lot to do when you couldn’t go outside.

“Hello?” She called out, wondering where he was.

“I’m downstairs in the kitchen. Come to the back of the house.”

She walked down the stairs and turned to look. Forget about being well cared for. His place was a dream. From front to back it had a semi-open floor plan. There was enough wall to give a sense of privacy, but also enough openness to allow guests too mix and mingle with the owner when they wanted. Maybe she really had died and gone to heaven.

He was still shirtless. Please, couldn’t she live the rest of her life in this minute? Giving a small sigh, she walked into the kitchen.

“You really didn’t have to cook for me. I just need a ride back to Sampson’s for my car.”

“Nonsense. How would it look if I let a beautiful damsel in distress leave without at least providing her breakfast?”

Janis told herself the red blotches on her face would hide her flushed cheeks, unfortunately it did nothing for the smile gracing her lips or the brightness in her eyes. She took a seat at the table.

“What are we having, my Alien Knight?”

Chapter Three

“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I made pancakes, eggs and cream of wheat.”

“Really?” He nodded his head yes. “Suddenly, I’m starving. If I were at home, I would grab a bowl, cereal, milk and a spoon. I feel like a queen or at least a precious guest.”

She gave him a big smile and sat with an expectant look on her face. The smile turned into a frown.

“Can I help?” She was so used to being closed off that common decency, things like offering help, had slipped her mind.

“Sure, the dishes are in this cabinet. You could set the table.”

She made quick work of setting the table while trying not to bump into him. She was surprised every time he touched her and she didn’t burn.

“You know, this is so strange to me. Even the touch of my mother burned me.”

“What did she do?”

“She found special gloves to wear that kept her from hurting me when I was growing up.”

“Did that bother you?”

“My mom cried for years. I would hear her at night when she thought I was asleep. Sometimes, I would sit outside her door and cry with her. How I wished I could touch her.”

Nicolas nodded his understanding and placed the food on the table.

“Eat up. I can hear your stomach planning a revolt.”

She looked up to see his smile and started filling her plate. “You’re a good cook.”

“You think that because you’re not used to this for breakfast, but thank you anyway.”

“Your house is beautiful and big. Do you live here alone?”

“Yes, just me. Janis, I don’t mean to pry, but I’m wondering what the doctor’s say about your condition.”

“They don’t say much. I stopped going a long time ago. Some stared at me before laughing in my face. Others wanted proof so they’d touch me. Others said it was in my head and when they saw the burn marks they said I did it to myself. The doctor my mom used for me was the worst, though. He would ask me about how I felt and what exactly happened if I was touched. As I got older, his questions became odder. Eventually, I stopped going to him. I don’t like doctors. I haven’t been to one in years,” she said, raising her head to look him directly in his eyes.

“I think I understand. If I were treated the way you were, I wouldn’t want to go to one either.”

She flashed him a smile. “I can help you clean the dishes.”

They made quick work of cleaning the kitchen. Nicolas seemed to find reasons to touch her. She smiled to herself and enjoyed the contact.

“All clean. Would you take me back to get my car?”

“Sure.”

She followed him out of the kitchen. “Thank the person who lent me the clothes, I appreciate it.”

“That was Rena. I’ll let her know. She likes to help.”

She walked to his car feeling a little sad. “Thank you for helping me. I think I would’ve died if you hadn’t stopped them.”

“You’re welcome, Janis.”

She settled back into the upholstery of the car and took a deep breath, breathing in his scent. It calmed her, making her think life would be ok.

“So what brought you to Earth? Did you come to simply rescue damsels in distress?”

He gave a chuckle. It reached deep inside stirring her insides. How was she going to go back to her empty house?

“I came here with my brothers. We wanted a new life. We hoped we could find one here.”

“Have you? Found a new life, I mean.”

“Yes, we have. Three of my brothers have found their mates. We have a business, homes, and a chance to live a relatively peaceful life.”

“Is that all you want out of life?” She asked out of curiosity.

“What more is there?”

“Love, adventure, and beauty.”

“Adventure plagues a life whether we realize it or not. Not all adventure is good. I know there will be no shortage of it. As far as love goes, I want it in my life. What about you? Do you want those things?”

She nodded her head. “I know I have a rare illness that will never be solved, at least not in my life-time, but still I wish I could have those things and more. I would love adventure that didn’t include me needing to hide from others. As far as love, who doesn’t want someone special to have and to hold for better or worse? I know that’s not in my future and have accepted it. No children. No grandchildren. No one to remember my name when I’m no longer here. I won’t even be a foot-note on a page somewhere.”