Alien Conquest: A Science Fiction Romance (Celestial Mates) Page 7

  Night began to fall, and I started feeling scared. There were strange noises in the forest. I didn’t know if anyone would ever come along and find me. I couldn’t sleep, even though I was tired. I hadn’t got much rest last night and the emotional events of the day were overwhelming. I was completely exhausted.

  My ankle hurt and my heart hurt, too.

  ODIN

  It had been ninety minutes since Beth left. I thought she needed some time to think about things and would come back to talk. But she wasn’t going to return.

  I thought she would use the ticket to go off-planet and leave me. When I called the spaceport and mentioned who I was, they were willing to work a little harder to help me out. Security had done a scan of the entire building. Beth wasn’t there.

  I had felt a jolt of fear when she left, but I had ignored it. I was still feeling hurt, upset, and a little angry. I couldn’t ignore it any longer. Maybe something had happened to her. What if she had been kidnapped or something worse had happened to her?

  I put on my disguise, closed my eyes and attenuated myself to her sensation in the quantum field. I started walking, following the virtual trail. She wasn’t in the hotel. I followed the ripples across the street and into the park again. Soon I was going down a lonely path packed with plants. As the sun went down, the shadows deepened and I became frantic.

  I didn’t have to go far before I sensed her below me. “Beth?” I called down into the brush.

  Her voice floated up to me. “Odin? Is that you?”

  “Yeah, it’s me.” My body flooded with relief as soon as I knew that she was alive.

  “I did something stupid. I fell and hurt my leg. I don’t think I can get back by myself.”

  “Okay, we’ll figure it out. I’m coming down.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Can’t you go get help first?”

  “No way,” I said. “I’m not letting you out of my sight until we talk to each other. I’ll be right there.”

  Chapter Eleven

  ODIN

  I didn’t hear any noises below me, but that didn’t stop me from climbing down. If Beth was here, I wondered what had happened to her. Was it possible for a person to roll into a ravine? I realized the path was steep the further down I went. It was a good thing I trained every day. Otherwise, I might have fallen in myself. By the time I reached the bottom, sweat had covered my body, and I was exhausted.

  My eyes had already adjusted to the dark. I swept my gaze around, spotting Beth lying on the ground a few steps away from me. I was by her side in an instant. I put my arms around her, unsure of how she would react to my presence but needing to touch her and make sure nothing was wrong.

  “I was so worried about you,” I said

  “I’m sorry.” She snuggled into my arms in a way that made my heart race. The fact that she didn’t pull away gave me hope that she might still forgive me. “I was dumb. I ran too fast, and I crashed right off the path.”

  “You’re lucky you only had a minor injury.” I squeezed her tightly.

  “Odin,” she whispered. “Do you think you can remove it?”

  I realized to my dismay that I was still wearing the disguise. I deactivated it, and Beth nodded firmly. “That’s better.”

  The tone of her voice wasn’t inviting, but it wasn’t dismissive either. I knew I wasn’t going to get a better chance to explain myself. I started to talk.

  “I guess it seems weird, but I don’t like to reveal myself when I go out in public. I usually don’t want to be recognized.”

  “You don’t want anyone to watch you go grocery shopping, and you don’t want women to know your identity when you’re trying to pick them women for a one-night stand.” Beth had her arms crossed over her chest. There was no judgment in her eyes, but I sensed an understanding of my psyche on a deep level. It was a little disturbing.

  I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. “Yes, if you want to put it that way.”

  “Is that what I was to you?”

  “That’s what you were supposed to be. I didn’t intend for it to become anything more.”

  She didn’t say anything this time. She just looked at me skeptically.

  I dropped my eyes. “I’ve never taken a woman back to my place before. We always go to her bedroom.”

  “It makes sense. You can sneak out before she wakes up and you don’t need to participate in any awkward conversations the morning after. I’m not stupid.”

  “Basically, yes.”

  “So why did you bring me home, Odin?” Beth looked like she honestly wanted to know the answer.

  “It’s not complicated. I wanted you there, even though I didn’t understand why at the time. If I didn’t have to leave for my wedding...” I tilted her chin up, forcing her to look directly into my eyes. “I wouldn’t have left you. I didn’t want to go.”

  I thought that would be enough, but she asked me a single question. “Why?”

  I shifted, leaning against a nearby tree and settling her more comfortably on my chest. Her body was curled up against me with an injured leg sitting gingerly on top of the healthy one.

  “We’ve only known each other for such a short time that I hesitate to use the word.” I tried to avoid looking into her eyes now.

  “What word?” she breathed.

  “I don’t want to say it, in case you don’t feel it too.”

  “How will we know unless someone starts?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to end up like my father.”

  Beth was surprised at the abrupt change of subject. “What about your Dad?”

  “He was head over heels in love my mother. He was devoted to her, but she never felt the same way about him. She couldn’t care about him the way he wanted her to.”

  Beth put her hand on my chest in a way that felt comforting. “Is that why you only look for one-night stands? Because you don’t want to fall in love and find out that you love someone more than she loves you?”

  “Who said anything about love? And how do you know I only have one-night stands?” This woman seemed to know a lot about me.

  “You’re a celebrity, Odin. I love watching paraball. And...” She dropped her eyes in a way I found enchanting.

  “And...?”

  “I kind of had a crush on you. I might have followed all the gossip about you. I never thought I’d end up married to you.”

  “And you came to meet me after the game in orbit around Earth.”

  “Do you remember that?”

  “It would have been pretty difficult to forget. Didn’t I say that we’d met once before?”

  “Oh my God. Is that what you were talking about?”

  I nodded. “Casey was going to introduce you to me, remember?”

  “I couldn’t do it. I felt ashamed after she made us jump the line. Everyone else was furious with us.” She shook her head.

  “You never came back, did you?”

  “I didn’t. I couldn’t face you and have you think I was the kind of person who cuts in line and only thinks about themselves, not caring about all the people who waited patiently to meet you.”

  “I was sorry that you didn’t come back.”

  She looked intrigued for a moment, despite herself. “Really? I don’t believe you.”

  “It’s true. You’re going to have to start believing me. I’ll promise you one thing right now. I will never lie to you or deceive you ever again.”

  She nodded, considering that. “I’ll believe you for now, but I think you have a lot of unresolved issues with love.” She gave me a determined stare.

  “You’re right. I do.” I swallowed nervously again. She became distracted for a moment and put her finger on my Adam’s apple, tracing down my neck.

  “Is that what you’re afraid of? Hypothetically speaking, of course. Do you think you’ll fall in love with someone, and she won’t love you as much as you love her?”

  “Hypothetically speaking, yes.” I didn’t want to say too muc
h. I thought the shaking in my voice might give me away. I was terrified she would say that my fears were entirely justified. And yet I saw something in her eyes that gave me a small, desperate hope.

  “Hypothetically speaking,” she repeated. “And what if, hypothetically speaking, of course, a woman should fall in love with you? How would you determine whether she loved you as much as you loved her?”

  I shrugged. “I would just know, I suppose. I would see it in her eyes if she told me. I would know if she meant it.”

  “I thought you would detect something quantum or something. How would you know if she loved you as much as you loved her? It seems like you would be stuck.”

  She had a point. How would I be able to discern the difference? “I can’t tell you why, but I think it would be something I know in my heart. You can feel if the other person has complete commitment.”

  “Ah, you can feel it.” Beth fell silent, thinking about something. After a moment, she opened her mouth to speak. “There’s something you should know about me.”

  “Oh yeah?” I became curious instantly. “What is it?”

  “I dated a guy on Earth who lied to me, cheated on me, and then left me for the other woman.”

  “The fucker,” I said, and she smiled. Then I realized what she was implying. “Oh, no. And that’s what I was about to do to you.”

  I frowned. “Except I couldn’t cheat on you with you. And it wasn’t cheating if we were going to run away and I knew who you were.”

  “Shhh.” Beth put her finger on my lips to stop my guilty babbling. “Forget about our crazy affair and let me finish. Because of him lying and cheating on me, I have trust issues. When I saw that you had deceived me, just like him, I ran. I couldn’t handle it.”

  I waited, hoping that this story was going to have a happy ending for me, though I couldn’t see how it would.

  “Now it seems like more of a misunderstanding. Why would you be honest with me when you thought it meant that I would be angry and leave? I think I understand your point of view. It was an unusual situation.”

  I kept quiet, knowing that she needed to work everything through for yourself.

  “I know one thing. Hypothetically speaking, any woman who fell in love with you would probably love you a lot. More than she thought possible and more than she’s ever loved anyone before.” She bit her lip and looked into my eyes. “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”

  Was she saying that she loved me? I needed to know for sure.

  “Beth?”

  “Yes?”

  “Suppose I said that I loved you. What do you think you would say back?”

  She froze for a moment, then drew in a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure I would say I love you, too.”

  I took a deep breath. “Do you want to try it? You know, move out of the hypothetical?”

  “Why not,” she said, looking both worried and hopeful at the same time. “You can try it first.”

  I nodded as I took her hand. “I love you, Beth. I think I loved you from the first moment I sensed you in the nightclub. I know we haven’t known each other very long. I’m sorry that I wasn’t honest with you from the start, but I feel like our relationship is genuine. I think it’s going to last as long as we give it a chance.”

  A tear fell from her eyes, but she spoke firmly. “I love you too, Odin. I’ve always had a crush on you, but I didn’t know reality could be even better than my fantasy. Deep down, I think I knew that if I ever had the chance to meet you, I would fall in love with you.”

  I didn’t want to waste time talking. I needed to kiss Beth now and seal the words we had spoken. In a way, these words were more meaningful than our marriage vows had been.

  I tilted my head and leaned down. She stretched up, and our lips met like they were made for each other. I knew then that Beth and I were going to be together forever.

  Chapter Twelve

  BETH, THREE YEARS LATER

  Odin and I walked into the Mir Paraball Stadium in orbit around Earth. We were visiting my sister, Sarah, and her family. We had brought our twins to see Odin’s old team play against Earth.

  After Odin found me and pulled me out of the ravine with the help of some paramedics, we spent an entire week honeymooning. Loki, Odin’s public relations guy, had good news for Odin. After the press had announced Odin’s marriage with pictures of our wedding, his old girlfriend dropped her threat, and we never heard from her again.

  A year later, he took a contract with Vandwa. The planet had finally gotten control over its rising tides, which had once been gradually eliminating all the world’s land. The way they got around the problem was by building floating houses and entire cities on the water. Tourism on Vandwa was booming, and they were pouring money into their paraball team, hoping to make the sport a destination attraction. We lived in one of the cities on the water. Odin played for their intergalactic team.

  We each held one of our children’s hands as we walked through the busy stadium. I was in charge of Fraya, our daughter, and he held Bjorn, our son. The twins were born almost exactly nine months after we met. Apparently, I had gotten pregnant on the first night Odin and I slept together. Our kids were fraternal twins, but they looked so similar that people sometimes thought they were identical.

  As we passed the area where we had first met, we exchanged a glance and smiled at each other. We hurried to our box because the game was about to start.

  “Fraya, sit down. We’ll fasten your belt. You can’t float for the entire match. It’s only allowed for the last ten minutes.”

  “Okay, Mama.” Fraya wrapped her chubby arms around me and kissed me soundly on the cheek.

  I beamed. A family and a man who loved me were everything I had ever wanted.

  Odin secured Bjorn’s belt, and we sat beside each other, each one of us with a child on the side. I wasn’t paying attention when the kickoff happened. Odin’s hand was on my thigh and every minute it inched a little higher.

  “It’s a good game, isn’t it?” he said, moving the hand up some more.

  “I guess so.” My voice was already starting to sound a little breathless.

  “I wish I was out there playing for my team.” I could tell by the satisfied look on his face that he knew what he was doing to me.

  Our son’s high voice called out to us. “Papa, wasn’t that offsides?” He and Fraya already knew the rules of the game.

  “Yes, it was, Bjorn. But that’s good for Dorsh, you see.”

  He launched into an explanation that was both technical and boring. I had tuned out. I couldn’t think of anything except his hand. It was hidden under my skirt by this time and still creeping farther up my body. The box was covered in darkness to give us a good view of the field. I didn’t see anything except stars as he moved his hand and cupped my mound, making me gasp.

  “Are you okay, Mama?” Fraya said. “Don’t worry. Dorsh is going to win.”

  I managed to smile at her as Odin continued caressing me. “What if I want Earth to win? You should want Earth to win, too. Remember, half of you is from Earth!”

  Fraya nodded, turning back to the game.

  “That might be okay,” she said reluctantly. I knew our children would never root for Earth.

  I dared to glance at Odin, and he licked his lips suggestively. I barely suppressed a shudder, shaking my head at him. I couldn’t stand any more teasing if he weren’t going to be able to fuck me. He chuckled, taking his hand away. I slumped a little, trying to recover and pay attention to the game.

  Hours later, the kids were finally asleep. I was in the kitchenette of a hotel suite, making lunch for us to eat the next day. The plan was to go sightseeing and start early. I wanted to be ready.

  I felt Odin kissing my neck as I stood at the counter and loaded up in the lunch bag.

  “Are you all done here?” he asked, nuzzling me. I started to shiver as he kissed and sucked my neck.

  “Almost. The rest can wait until later.” I had been wound up sin
ce the stadium. His hands slipped under my skirt. He played with my clit while I finished shoving everything in the lunch bag.

  “So you’re ready now, right?” His eyes burned into me.

  “I’ve been ready since the game started.” I knew my panties were soaking because I had been aroused ever since he started to grope me in our private box.

  “You want it hard and fast?”

  “Do I ever want it any other way?”

  In an instant, I lay back on the counter, and he had his pants around his ankles. He pulled me to the edge and lifted my skirt, deftly removing my panties.

  As soon as he touched me, his eyes rolled back into his head.

  “You’re dripping wet.”

  “Just do it already.” I was impatient and horny.

  He laughed, lining himself up with my entrance. “Does this remind you of anything?” He pushed in slightly.

  “Oh God.”

  “No, it doesn’t remind me of God.” He eased himself in deeper.

  “Fuck, Odin, stop screwing around!”

  “Yes, that’s how you were then, too. Just do it. Let’s get this over with.” He tried to mimic my voice unsuccessfully.

  I glared at him, but he didn’t move. I made a frustrated sound.

  “What does this remind you of?”

  “Okay, okay. Our wedding day. Now, please finish this.”

  He grinned at me and sheathed himself to the hilt.

  I didn’t have time to catch my breath because he drove into me and my orgasm was building.

  “I remember how beautiful you were,” he whispered in my ear. “You hated me.”

  “I liked fucking you,” I admitted. “I didn’t understand why I was responding to another man when I thought I was in love with someone else.”

  He increased his speed. “No matter what I looked like or what disguise I wore, you still loved me, right?”

  “Of course.” I wrapped my legs around him and held on tightly as he pounded into me, sending me higher.

  “You still love me, don’t you? You love me as much as I love you.”