Water World Warrior: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 1) (7 page)

"You know you don't have to have sex with me, right?" Might as well get it all out in the open. Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. "Both parties have to consent, remember?"

"I remember," she said, looking away.

"Right. There's one errand I need to complete. After that, we're going back to my house for three days. I'll be away from home frequently but you'll find plenty to keep you busy."

I was trying to play out the script in my mind. I had created the perfect plan, and now everything was different. Instead of spending a few polite days chatting with my new wife at my house, I was hoping that we might be doing a lot more than chatting. But that was foolish. Maybe she wasn't even interested.

I remembered how she had wrapped her arms around me and pressed her soft body against mine. Perhaps she was interested. I didn't know. But that was a moot point.

I was not in this for sex or finding a partner. I was in this to get my sorry ass out of hot water before I landed myself in prison.

Sex would be a bonus. A spectacular bonus.

I needed to focus. My plan was to stop at the police station, show them my wife and our marriage certificates, and get them off my back. After we had spent a few days together, there was another ship coming through that we needed to intercept.

I would leave her and wouldn't be back for about a month because of the schedule of the supply ships. I spent most of my time on The Dream and was rarely home. That's why this was going to work out. She would live at my house. I would live, as usual, on my ship and the year of marriage would play out without us even seeing each other. We would get divorced and go our merry ways.

Yes, that was the plan. I had to stick to the plan.

Her voice startled me. "What would I do to keep me busy?" she said out of the blue.

"What?"

"What would I do? Isn't your house on one of the most remote islands?"

"How do you know where my house is?" I said.

"You're not the only one who did your homework," she said. For the first time, I started to see the flaws in my plan. I had neglected to take into account that Ashlyn was a person. She was lovely. It hadn't occurred to me that she might be clever as well. I remembered that she was working on a degree in environmental science — my specialty — so obviously she had some brains in that pretty head of hers.

I spoke quickly to hide my astonishment.

"I see. It is in a remote place."

"In my regular life, I work eight to ten hour days, then study for two to three hours a night. I take care of the house for four people." She spoke as if this were normal.

"Oh," I frowned. "Well, you won't have to do any housework. There's the help for that. And you're right, it is pretty far from the nearest settlement, so a job is probably out of the question. You could find something online. Perhaps you have a hobby?"

She laughed, and her face lit up. I liked it.

"The first few weeks I can pretend I'm on vacation. I've never had one of those."

Never had a vacation? What kind of life had she had that she never taken a vacation?

"I'm sure you'll think of something," I said, and when I glanced at her, she was looking at me with an odd look on her face. If I had to guess, I would have said her eyes had a hint of desire in them.

I was probably projecting again. Involuntarily, I felt myself harden at the thought.

"Yes, I'm sure I'll think of something," she said.

I could think of something that would keep her busy most nights and some days, too. I reminded myself once again that this was simply a marriage of convenience.

I hoped I would not have to keep reminding myself in the future.

ASHLYN

I felt overwhelmed by everything that was happening. Yesterday, I had arrived and met my fiance. Today, we had got married and were now on our way to our honeymoon - at his mansion.

I thought that was a little weird until I remembered the pictures of it and his maid service. It would likely be posher than a five-star hotel. It would certainly be more luxury than I had ever seen in my life.

The car stopped suddenly, and Nathaniel got out. He came around to my side and opened the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked. He had been elusive when I tried to pin him down on why we were making this stop.

He stammered and looked nervous though he was apparently trying to hide it. "I have to show our marriage certificates at the police station."

I looked up at the strange edifice. I noticed that this building, like many others, used coral as its primary building material. In front of the building, a sign said Dass Vasser Police Department.

"Is this standard procedure after a wedding to an alien?" I said.

"No." He pressed his lips together as I continued to look at him. "It's difficult to explain. I got into a little trouble with the police on my sailing vessel."

"You have a ship?"

"I thought you did your research on me? It's for my job." It had been for my work when I had still been doing research. And technically I did still use it to work — it was just a different, more piratey kind of work.

"When I told them that I was in the wrong place because I was taking a short cut, coming to pick you up, they insisted that I prove it." There were some elements of truth in my statement.

She looked at me as if she thought maybe she had made a big mistake.

"I'm sorry." I grimaced and looked down at my feet. "I know it's not the dream to take your new spouse to the police station, but it'll only take a minute, and then we'll be off.

I regretted the lie the minute it was out of my mouth, but I undoubtedly could not tell her the truth.

"Like a parking ticket?" she said, wanting to believe the best of me.

I nodded.

"Let's get this out of the way, then."

I breathed a relieved sigh and took her hand, leading her into the building. I touched her for appearances. If anyone was watching, we looked like a happy newlywed couple. To my surprise, the touch of her skin on mine caused energy to rush through my body from that one point of contact. I had a brief vision of our bodies moving along their entire length, and I swallowed hard, trying to get my run-away imagination under control.

We walked up to the front desk, and a woman greeted us. I explained that I needed to see Inspector Callaghan, and she took us to his office.

When we walked in, he stood up with a scowl on his face.

"Mr. Lachlan. I must admit I'm surprised to see you here. And with your…"

"Wife," I said curtly.

"Your wife, no less."

"I told you I was getting married. Did you think I was lying about it just to get rid of you?"

"Perhaps," he said, getting up. He turned on the overhead light, and we each held up our forearms for him to read the information.

"Today? Congratulations," he said, and I nodded, ignoring the ridicule in his voice. I prayed he wouldn't say anything that would be hard to explain to Ashlyn.

"I'm free to go, right?" I said after he looked at the certificates.

"Yes," he said, irritated that he couldn't hold me on anything. "You're free to go."

I turned to leave, taking Ashlyn's hand not for appearances this time, but because I wanted to touch her again.

"Mr. Lachlan, if you are caught in restricted waters again…" I looked back at the inspector and saw that his eyes were hard.

"Yes?"

"We won't go easy on you the next time. There are only so many women to marry on this planet," he said.

I nodded.

"Got it," I said.

"I hope you do," he told me as we walked out of the room.

ASHLYN

Well, that was weird.

Nathaniel had been tense, and there was a strange vibe between him and the cop. Were they talking about a parking ticket or something else?

I sighed. I didn't know this man at all. I looked at my arm to make sure I wasn't in a dream. Yep, married to Nathaniel Lachlan, my husband. Whoever that was. I was yoked to him for a whole year.

It was a crazy scheme. I had known it would be in my mind, but the reality of it was different from how I imagined.

I had been worried about how I would get along with my husband for a year. But Nathaniel had explained to me that he would be leaving me for months at a time while he went off on his ship, which was probably better. We wouldn't have to worry about getting along.

There was absolutely no reason to feel disappointed. The separation was good news, right?

When I had thought about what marriage might be like, I had imagined a lot of things, but this was not one of them. Had he had married me as a trophy wife?

He didn't expect me to have sex with him. He would leave me at his big mansion with help doing all the work. I would have access to a bank account for anything I needed. I was living the dream, right?

I was going to be a kept woman, and I didn't I liked it. I guess I didn't have a choice. I would need to keep busy, so I would have to find something to do. I couldn't sit around all day painting my nails or eating bonbons.

The car approached a harbor. There were lines and lines of sailboats near the shore, and I wondered which one was his.

Nathaniel parked the car and jumped out. "Come on," he said, taking my hand again. I smiled a little and looked up at him. I could tell he was excited, like a kid who wants to show you his favorite toy.

I loved holding his hand. My mother had never been one for physical affection. She had been at work or exhausted all the time, and I had always felt starved for human contact.

When Nathaniel looked into my eyes with his entire focus on me, I felt like the most significant woman in the world. Merely holding his hand was better than sex with my last boyfriend. I briefly wondered what sex would be like with Nathaniel if holding his hand felt this good. But I shut that thought down immediately.

It won't do to get involved emotionally with this man, I told myself. And if sex was involved, I was guaranteed to get involved emotionally as well. I couldn't have sex without feelings developing. I just wasn't built for casual, I guess. I tore my thoughts away from the idea of sex with Nathaniel and tried to pay attention to what he was saying.

I think he had been talking for a while.

"Well, this is it," he said, gesturing with his muscular hands and arms. "My ship."

"This is your ship?" I said in awe. It was a sailing vessel, but that description is inadequate. Imagine a pirate ship from a storybook.

It was huge. It was made entirely of wood, and Nathaniel maintained it well. Every joint was perfect. The varnish was smooth, and there wasn't a single peeling spot. Someone neatly tied the giant white sails. Every bit of rope was in place and neatly coiled.

I could see a few people moving around performing tasks that I didn't understand, but it was clear they were making ready to set sail.

I tilted my head back down from gazing up at the crow's nest, to look at Nathaniel. He was grinning.

"You like it?" he said.

"Do I like it? It's amazing!"

"You don't get seasick, do you?" he asked. He looked worried, as if he hadn't considered my ability to sail.

"No," I said. "I love being on the water."

He smiled at me, then. A real smile. Not a charming one. Or a contrived one. A genuine, honest to goodness, hundred-watt smile. It looked good on him. Damned good, if I was honest with myself.

"Here," he said, offering me his hand to help me get on board. I looked at it for a moment, and then winked at him and skipped up the gangplank, jumping down onto the deck.

He seemed intrigued and followed me on to the ship.

"Want the tour?" he said, apparently trying not to look too eager. I smiled.

"Sure."

He showed me all around, and I was suitably impressed. His ship had everything needed to be completely self-sufficient for weeks or months on end. We were below deck when I heard a shout and felt the boat float free.

We were moving.

"We're off," he said. "Come back up. You can get an excellent view of the harbor as we leave."

"As long as you're stocked up on food you could live here for months," I said as we climbed back up the stairs to the deck.

"Pretty much," he said. "Sometimes we're out for weeks at a time doing research."

"Of course. You'll have to tell me all about your research. I'm very interested."

"Sure," he said as we made our way to the rail. "You'll be the first person who's ever wanted to know about my work."

"Oh, I'm interested. Your job is one of the reasons I chose you," I said, honestly. "I'm hoping you might let me work with you. Environmental science is my passion."

He stared at me for a moment. Was that dismay on his face?

"Or not. It was just an idea."

"No, it's all right. I never had anyone interested in what I do before. I usually have to pay interns."

"I'm getting paid too."

He had the decency to blush. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

He changed the subject, starting to tell me about the harbor. I hoped I would get the chance to use what I learned in school, but I was worried he was only letting me do it to placate me out of a sense of obligation. He hadn't seemed too keen on the idea.

I would show him I wasn't only a beautiful face. I had taken nearly all of my first and second-year courses, and I knew enough to be of help. If he gave me a chance, I'd show him that I wouldn't waste his time — that I would pull my weight.

I was a scientist at heart. I was much more than a mail-order bride.

As we made for the open sea, I realized I wanted to stay on Nathaniel's ship with him. I didn't desire to be relegated to a house again, opulent as it might be.

I had a feeling that out on the ocean was where I would finally start living my life.

Ever since my father had died, I had barely been getting by, making ends meet, and merely surviving. The sea offered possibilities. On the ocean, with the sky above and the deep blue waters below, I felt the wind blowing my hair back from my face. Was this how freedom felt?