Blaze: Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides (Intergalactic Dating Agency) Read online

  “My mother was human. My father was Killian. I’m not exactly sure why he was here on planet Earth, but they met, had a relationship, and I was conceived. When I was about ten years old, he was called away and he left. He had always warned me about telling others where I came from. He said that the government would not understand and that they would want to use me. He was right.” She inhaled sharply as he touched her hip again.

  “That is strange. Not many of my kind would have traveled to Earth. Unless he was descendent of somebody who had left the settlement long ago.” Sev looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers from between the valley of her breasts.

  “My mother had said something about him being a space pirate but insisted that he was not a bad guy. As much as I loved her, my mother was a little unstable. It would not have surprised me if she had gotten involved with a less than honorable character. I don’t know how much of her claim was her trying to make me feel better about it, and how much was her guessing at the truth so she’d have something to tell me.”

  “There have been rumors of space pirates coming to Earth to trade with your government in secret,” Sev said. “It is possible he was here giving alien technology to help with the human advancement.”

  She could tell that he was trying to be polite. Saying what he obviously wasn’t, she added, “Or he could have been trafficking in kidnapped aliens and selling them to places like Area 51 for cloning and savant experiments. It would explain why he was always paranoid about the government finding out about me. He probably had a fling with my mother and after I was born had second thoughts about what he was doing. She tried to tell me it was love between them, but I was never really convinced. After he left, she didn’t mourn him like a woman in love would have mourned her lover’s leaving. In fact, I think she started dating a biker a month later. But I’ve always wondered about my father, about his people. He told me that many of you settled on Bravon but that the planet was a hellish place. I’ve dreamed of going someday even though I doubt I’ll ever get the chance. What’s it like there?”

  “Your father’s people, your people, live in an underground settlement made up of old space ships that have been buried under the ash and are joined by hand dug tunnels that flow through the ground like streets,” he answered.

  Cynthia nodded nervously. Her people. She had people. Ever since humans had found out what she was, she never felt like she belonged.

  “If he called Bravon hellish, it is probably because lava runs on the surface and it’s incredibly hot outside,” Sev continued. “There is always at least one sun shining, so we have to wear protective suits to walk the surface and even then you never want to be caught outside during the multiple sunrises. It is not an easy life, and it is not for everyone, but it is home.”

  “I would love to see it someday.” Even as she said the words, she knew it was impossible. Yes, she was half Killian, but she was also a mixture of other things. And, most importantly, she was bound to her keepers and wouldn’t be going anywhere far from where they told her to.

  “I don’t understand. Why are you telling me all of this now?” Sev continued to kneel before her.

  She lightly touched his hair, stroking it back from his face. “In high school, being the rebellious teen that I was, I went out drinking with my friends one night. There was an accident. I ended up in the hospital, and the doctors found my regulator glands. Before I knew it, I was quarantined, and my classmates were told that I had a very contagious disease. So none of them were allowed to see me. I was brought to a facility where they ran tests and discovered what I was. They then proceeded to do their own experiments on me. I was given an alien DNA cocktail that mutated my genetics even further. My mother tried to stop them, but she had this genetic heart condition, and I think the stress of it was too much for her. Her heart gave out, and she died. Since I had no living relatives, I was kept as the facility’s little pet.”

  “I still do not understand. You’re not in the facility now. Did you escape? Did they let you go?”

  “They are my…” She hesitated. “They are my keepers. They are my bosses. They tell me what to do and who to talk to and…”

  At her meaningful look, he visibly stiffened.

  “They told you to come here with me?” Sev instantly stood and went to the window to look out at the parking lot. She could see him searching the distance for anything out of place.

  “They told me when and how to meet you. They told me to get to know you.”

  “So that I could be a pet as well?” He frowned, closing the curtain before again facing her. “I will not go quietly to your facility.”

  “No. So you would lead us to those in charge of the bride smuggling operation. We know that Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides comes here in hopes of taking women back to other planets. But they’re not sanctioned. They are essentially kidnapping Earth women, and the government doesn’t like it. They believe that they should have complete control over anyone who comes and goes from this planet.” She hung her head. “I am sorry, Sev. I never intended for any of this. I didn’t ask for this life. But they control me. So please, if you can tell me what you know about the company maybe I can do something. I can make sure that you and your family get off this planet safely. They don’t want you. They will take you if the opportunity arises. But you are not their main objective.”

  “I should’ve known that you were Killian. You have our strength.” He nodded in approval. “I have no loyalty to Galaxy Brides. However, I have no desire to get in the middle of their operations and the Earth government. The men who are with us are just workers doing a job. The ones responsible, the ones that you want to stop, are in deep space far away from here. I do not wish to take sides. At no time did Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides indicate that they were willing to kidnap unwilling brides from the planet.”

  “I understand. I had to ask. I had to warn you. Please don’t tell them that I told you. Things will be very bad for me as it is when I fail this mission and let you go. But they will be worse if my bosses discover I committed treason and told you of their plan.”

  “Why did you tell me?” He crossed the distance between them. He gently cupped her cheek. Turning her face so she was forced to look at him.

  “Because you feel familiar. You feel like…” She took a deep breath, unable to put it into words. “I feel.”

  He nodded. “Yes. I feel, too.”

  Sev kissed her. No more words were required between them. If was as if a weight had been lifted off of her when she told him the truth. For better or worse she had done the right thing.

  His muscles rippled beneath his skin like a beacon drawing her hands to him. She reached for her jeans, tugging at the button to be free of the restrictive material. When she managed to shove them down her legs, she set to work on his waist.

  Sev made a small noise and reached to stop her. He unzipped the pants slowly, revealing he didn’t wear any underwear beneath. The full length of his arousal sprang forth, and she pressed against him to resume kissing him.

  Neither of them minded the intense heat radiating off their bodies. His hands roamed everywhere he could reach. He traced along the line of her spine. He gripped her ass. He dipped his hands down the front of her panties and into the folds of the wet sex. As he circled the bud of her clit, she gasped and leaned her head back.

  He pulled the panties down from her hips to better expose her. Then he tugged at the straps on her shoulders. Instead of a unclasping her bra, he drew it down her body as he had the panties. As she stood naked before him, he kneeled before her. His face pressed against her stomach. He licked the three bumps, and she moaned in approval. His fingers glided into her sex, stroking her deeply.

  Cynthia stepped back, drawing him with her to the bed. She lay on her back and silently beckoned him to crawl over her. Reaching between their bodies, she took hold of his arousal and gently stroked. He studied her face as if mesmerized by her. She loved the way he always looked at her—like she was the mo
st amazing thing on the planet.

  Her hand bumped the three sensitive glands on his hip, and he jerked in pleasure. She knew first hand how pleasurable the sensation felt.

  “I want to feel you,” she whispered, wiggling her hips with meaning.

  “I want to feel you, too,” he answered.

  She guided him forward, and he slid easily into the welcoming folds of her sex. Sev groaned in pleasure. Cynthia rocked her hips, accepting him deeper. Soon they were joined in a primal rhythm. She wanted desperately to live in that moment forever, and to never face the world again.

  Her hand began to tingle with a weird sensation and she stretched and shook her fingers to get it to stop. The prickling focused on her thumb as if she’d been stung by an insect, and in a haze of passion she glanced at it to see her thumbnail growing longer. It was a strange reaction, but hardly one worth paying attention to during such a moment. Her body was always having strange reactions thanks to all the alien sludge swimming inside of her.

  Cynthia clung to Sev, trying to resist her climax as he thrust deeper. She gripped him tighter. In the end, it was too much, and she came hard. He answered her cry of passion with one of his own.

  Her thumb pulsed. Confused, she looked at it only to see the nail pressed against his neck. It pulsed again, feeling as if something flowed out of the tip. She gasped, jerking her hand from him.

  As the shivers subsided, Sev fell next to her on the bed. After several deep breaths, he reached for his neck and swiped at a tiny dot of blood. He made a small, amazed noise. “Did you just mark me?”

  “I…?” She looked at the pointed nail on her thumb. It still tingled.

  He reached for her hand just in time to see the point retracting into her fingertip. He gave a small laugh and closed his eyes. “Kal would have a field day with this one if he ever found out about it.”

  “You know what happened?” Cynthia had never been more confused. She stared at the tip of her thumb when he let go of it, but it had shifted back to normal.

  “Yes. And I know who your family line is,” Sev answered. “You are Cynthiakinkensauer.”

  “Cynthiakinkensauer?” she repeated as if that one piece of her alien puzzle held some secret. A name. She had a name. “When I was born my mother gave me her last name of Johansen. My father used the surname Sauer a few times when he lived with us. I never thought much about it. After the government got a hold of me they only called me Cynthia.”

  “I can’t believe you got me with the thumb.” Sev chuckled, though he hardly seemed upset.

  “What does that mean, I got you with the thumb?” She ran the tip over her bottom lip, but it felt smooth.

  “The Kinkensauer line mated with a peculiar race of aliens that had the same thumb trick you have there. It’s some kind of mating fluid that binds life forces. I’m not sure how it works, other than when you get the thumb it pretty much ensures that the rest of your lineage will be born with the thumb.” Sev again touched his neck. “It’s been a running joke that the Kinkensauers have been trying to infect the Glarkenbauer line for a century. And it took a beautiful half human Earthling Killian to do it finally.”

  “I am so sorry. My thumb has never done that before. I didn’t know.” She held her hand before her like it was filled with poison.

  Sev took the hand and brought the thumb to his lips. He kissed the tip gently. “If ever a Glarkenbauer was to fall under the thumb of a Kinkensauer, that I am glad it is I who fell to you.”

  Cynthia felt a connection to him, a deep one, but she’d always felt that from the first moment. She assumed it was because they were from the same alien race. This thumb injection thing didn’t change that. “What does it mean that we joined life forces?”

  “It means you have deep feelings for me and your body wanted to connect with mine so that we could always find each other.” Sev gathered her into his arms. “I have deep feelings for you, too, Cynthia. I will protect you. Those people you are afraid of will not hurt you again. I promise you.”

  Cynthia knew he meant every word, but she couldn’t ask him to do that. He didn’t understand. The government owned her. Her bosses controlled her. Even now she was beginning to feel the first signs of withdrawal from the chemical restraint they had injected into her veins.

  “I feel you,” he whispered. He gathered her close to his chest and closed his eyes. “I will always feel you.”

  His eyes were closed, and she studied his face for a very long time. His chest rose and fell in even breath. Very quietly, after several minutes had passed, she whispered back, “I feel you, too, Sev. I feel you, too.”

  Chapter Ten

  Cynthia looked across the small roadside diner’s checkered table at Bruce as he took a seat. It was not the first time they’d met at such a location. Kitschy objects lined the walls—old cooking utensils and pots, photographs of someone’s long gone relatives, and a canoe paddle. An oversized pie case acted as the hostess station and was the clear favorite of the locals.

  She had walked nearly eight miles to get there, but it had been worth it as it ensured she was far away from Sev when she made contact. Not wanting him to be stranded, she’d left him the car. Had she awoken him before leaving, he would’ve insisted on coming with her. She couldn’t have that. Her bosses couldn’t know that she told him the truth of who she was, and what they wanted.

  “Do you have it?” she asked, holding out her hand. Sweat beaded her brow, and she knew she was in a bad way. Soon the stomach cramps would start, then the vomiting and shooting pain. The chemical restraint kept all those symptoms at bay. When they gave her the DNA alien cocktail, they had jacked up her system to the point she needed the restraint to keep level. It was like being addicted to drugs, only she couldn’t stop. Withdrawal for her would mean death.

  “Soon enough,” Bruce said. “You know the protocol. First, what did you find out?”

  “It is a waste of time. He doesn’t know anything.” She dabbed a little coffee on her lips and felt the jolt of caffeine. “He’s just some guy on a trip.”

  “Some guy on a trip,” Bruce repeated. “I think we both know that isn’t true. He’s not just some guy.”

  Cynthia nodded, having no choice but to agree.

  “You know, I heard that some of those alien guys that came on this trip are like a hundred or more years old. They think the ones who were dressed up like Elvis had mind control abilities. Not to mention the Killian’s strength, fighting skills, and insusceptibility to extreme heat. Then there are their health qualities, their genetic gifts, their natural immunities to diseases we haven’t seen on Earth yet. Doesn’t that make you think of the possibilities for human life expansion, desert warfare, future immunizations if we were ever to be attacked by an outside invader?” Bruce lifted a salt shaker and appeared to contemplate the granules as he swung it back and forth a few times before setting it down.

  “Not really.”

  “The bosses do,” Bruce said.

  Cynthia tried to maintain her composure, but it was hard. She understood what Bruce was saying. If she didn’t give the bosses something, they’d go another route. She couldn’t let Sev and the others be experimented on. She lowered her head, trying to concentrate on the conversation and not say anything that would harm Sev. “I don’t even think he wants to get married. He showed no interest in taking a bride. My professional opinion is we let him go and focus on more dangerous—”

  “You were out of contact that long and all you found out was that he doesn’t want to get married?” Bruce gave her a doubtful look. “Tell me that you at least got him to take you to the landing site. Where are they dropping off the grooms? When is the next shipment?”

  “I don’t know what you want from me. You don’t want me to break my cover and tell him what I want to know. Even if we had that discussion, it’s not like this guy was actually flying the ship. They dropped him off, probably stuck him in some transport, and just hauled him and the rest of the guys off to Vegas to have a good
time.” She held out her hand again. Her fingers shook violently. “Can I have it now?”

  “Do you think you earned it?” The question was rhetorical, so she didn’t answer. Bruce gave her a hard look. “I hope you realize we are disappointed.”

  “Would you like me to go find him and explain our situation? Should I just tell him everything? Lay our cards all out on the table?” she quipped.

  “Of course not. Telling the truth would be foolish.”

  Cynthia took a deep breath, refusing to think about how she’d done that very thing. The shaking became worse.

  “Hey, hon, are you all right? You’re not looking too good,” the waitress said.

  “She’s fine,” Bruce dismissed. “Low blood sugar. Bring her a piece of pie if you would.”

  “What kind? We are famous for our twenty-six flavors.” The waitress used her fingers to count as she recited the list she’d clearly memorized for just such an occasion. “We have strawberry rhubarb, strawberry cream, banana cream, coconut cream, lemon, kiwi lime, berry—”

  “Doesn’t matter. You choose,” Bruce interrupted. When they were alone, he reached into his pocket and took out a small spray canister. To anyone else, it would look like breath spray. He handed it to her.

  Cynthia fumbled with the lid before finally managing to bring the nozzle to her mouth. She pumped it twice and took a deep breath at the almost instant relief as the mist hit the back of her throat. Her vision began to clear, along with her mind.

  She started to hand the canister back.

  Bruce shook his head. “No. Keep it. It’s almost empty anyway.” He glanced out of the window. “I’m told it’s a scary feeling being without that stuff—chest all tight, lungs filling with liquid. Of course, you’ve never had it get that bad, have you?”

  Cynthia felt the threat in his evenly toned words. She slowly shook her head. “No.”

  “It’s not pretty.” He gave a long sigh and made a show of staring out at the distance. “Such a beautiful desert, isn’t it? I know a lot of savants who retire here.”