Guard (A Sci-Fi Alien Romance) Read online

  “What?” I gasped.

  Saman laughed, cruel and humorless. “She didn’t know?”

  Simo shook his head. “Not many people do.”

  “You can’t hide what you are.”

  “I never wanted to.” Simo took a deep breath and stood up tall. When he finally spoke, he sounded calmer. “I don’t know what’s happened to you Saman, but I don’t like it.”

  I stepped to one side and watched Saman. I would have chosen almost anyone else to decide our fate. His face was scrunched up in utter disgust. He couldn’t even look at me without flinching. “What have you done?” he said finally.

  “Clementine was mated to a member of the city council, Ke—”

  I elbowed his side as hard as I could. “Shut up,” I hissed. “Don’t tell him.”

  Simo looked down at me, confused.

  “I don’t trust him,” I whispered as quietly as I could.

  “We don’t have a lot of options.” He stroked my face gently with his fingers. I glanced up in time to register Saman’s reaction. Unsurprisingly, he looked thoroughly outraged.

  “She was mated to a member of the city council, Kefi,” Simo continued.

  “Was?”

  “There were some complications during the ceremony.”

  “Explain.”

  “I couldn’t stand by and watch that monster take her.”

  “So you took her for yourself?”

  Simo shook his head. “Not like that, no. I helped her escape.”

  “This Kefi. You killed him?”

  “No.”

  “Surely he would have raised the alarm?”

  “I drugged him. He’ll be out cold for hours.”

  Saman tapped a fat finger against his chin. The whole world seemed to stand still as he deliberated.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  Simo exhaled loudly. “Help us. Get the record of her mating deleted. Help us escape.”

  “You’re asking a lot.”

  “You’re my brother, even if you refuse to admit it.”

  “Like I said, you’re asking a lot.”

  “We don’t have time for this. Can you do it?”

  Saman shook his head slowly.

  “What?” Simo cried.

  Saman walked to the door. “I should have you arrested. Instead I’m allowing you to leave.”

  “It’s the same thing,” Simo whispered.

  Saman shrugged.

  “We grew up as brothers. If you won’t help me as my brother, then do it for our father.”

  With two long strides, Simo was across the room at his brother’s heels. Saman spun around.

  “What are you doing, you fool. They’ll arrest you if you touch me.”

  “Who?” Simo grabbed his shoulders and shook him roughly. “There’s no one to help you here.”

  Saman laughed. “So you’re going to kill me?”

  “No. I’m just trying to make you see sense.”

  “My mind is made up. I won’t jeopardize my campaign. I’ve worked too hard to get this far.”

  “And that’s it. You’d let me rot for your precious career?”

  Saman shrugged. “That’s life. I’ll allow you to walk out of here without raising the alarm.”

  Simo let him go. “That’s noble of you, big brother.”

  I was still staring at Simo in disbelief long after Saman had walked out and banged the door behind him. “That was your brother?”

  “That’s not the Saman I know.”

  He came to me and took me in his arms. All I wanted to do was rest my face against his chest but reality gnawed at me. There was no way I could relax even if there was nothing we could do. I pushed away from him.

  “What are we going to do?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “How can you be so calm?”

  “I’m not.”

  I watched him, waiting for him to come up with a solution. “Well?”

  “Clem, I don’t know. I was sure Saman would help us. I haven’t seen him in two years. It was as much of a surprise to me as it was to you. Let’s get out of here.”

  I followed him to the door. “Where are we going to go?”

  “I don’t know. But we need to get out of here.”

  “Before Kefi raises the alarm?”

  He glanced back at me suddenly. “Maybe. Maybe we can get to him before he does.”

  He closed the door behind me. We walked slowly and soberly past Saman’s assistant. The moment the door was closed behind us we started to run.

  Chapter Seventeen

  We sat in the first empty carriage we found. I waited until Simo was seated beside me before I spoke. My head was buzzing with questions for him – it seemed like every one he answered generated at least five more.

  “You’re half human?” I demanded when I saw him close his eyes.

  “Are you gonna let me get some sleep? It’s been a long day.”

  “You can sleep in the cells for the next twenty years.”

  He stared at me. His eyes, already deep and soulful, took on a new level of intensity. “You’re right. Fuck this. Come on.”

  I stood up and followed him to the other end of the carriage and through the door into the next one. We’d walked through five empty carriages before I grabbed his arm and tried to force him to stop. “Where are you going?”

  “We’re almost there.”

  The door in front of us was covered with reflective paper, preventing anyone from seeing inside. Simo pulled it open and grinned back at me. I followed him into the carriage and gasped as I saw what was inside. From the outside, it was just the same as all the others except it wasn’t possible to see inside. On the inside, it was a world away. The floor was carpeted and the walls were draped with what looked like silk. There was a long dining table at the end closest to us, and a huge, jacquard daybed at the other.

  “What the hell is this?”

  Simo closed the door carefully. “The council carriage. It’s reserved for members of the higher council. But you're right – we might be behind bars before the end of the day. We may as well make it a memorable one.”

  My heart started to race when I saw the glint in his eye.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Simo took my hand and led me to the daybed. When we got closer, I saw that it was even bigger than the huge bed in Kefi’s quarters. It seemed like days ago since we had fled that place, but it wasn’t even twenty four hours.

  “Why are we going back there?” I whispered.

  Simo knelt in front of me and took my face in his hands. “Without my brother’s help, it’s the only way we can be free.”

  “What if we get caught?”

  He leaned forward and kissed me gently. “Shhh. These could be your last hours of freedom. Let’s enjoy it.”

  I closed my eyes and nodded.

  “Look what I found,” he said, reaching over to the cabinet behind him.

  “What is it?”

  “Champagne.”

  “Oh.”

  The Erostrians allowed alcohol in the bars, but nothing like this. The bars served up beers from the factories in the mid-west. They had different labels but they all had the same weak, sour taste. I’d never even seen a bottle of champagne, let alone tasted it.

  “We shouldn’t,” I said, pushing away the glass he held out for me.

  “Why the hell not?” His eyes were bright. “This might be our last day of freedom. Our first day together is also our last. And you don’t think we should make it one to remember?”

  I sat up straighter. “You’re right.”

  He held out the glass for me again.

  I shook my head.

  “I thought you said…?”

  I took the glass from him and put it down gently on the hardwood side table. “I did. You never asked me what I’d do if it was my last day on earth.”

  He swallowed audibly. “What would you do?”

  Simo was still kneeling in front of
me. I tilted forward until my face was almost touching his. Then I kissed him like he had kissed me; so softly and gently that it only served as a tantalizing glimpse of what was to come.

  “This,” I smiled.

  In one fluid movement, Simo shifted his weight and pushed himself onto the daybed, pulling me with him. I lay sprawled across the cushions, staring up at him. He supported his weight on his hands and feet. I could feel the heat of his skin, but our bodies weren’t touching.

  “You’d tease me, is that it?” He grinned down at me.

  I tried to lift my head to kiss him but he turned his face out of reach. I kissed the strawberry blond hair at his temples.

  “Now you’re teasing me,” I complained.

  “What would you like me to do?” He raised an eyebrow as one of his hands trailed gently down my side.

  I shrugged shyly.

  He must have seen the fear in my face. His expression softened. He brought his hand to my hair and played with the lighter strands around my face.

  “You haven’t…”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “We don’t have to.”

  I grabbed his face in both my hands. “We don’t. But I want to.”

  “Because it might be your last day of freedom.”

  “No. Because I want to.”

  He smiled. “So do I. Ever since I met you.”

  The tension between us was so intense I couldn’t breathe normally.

  “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

  His expression darkened. “No. Just you. You’re different.”

  “No I’m not.”

  “Yes you are,” he said, all serious now. “You’ve got such fight in you. That’s what makes me want you. And you’re beautiful.” He ran his fingers down the side of my face.

  The mood between us had changed. It was more somber now. I turned my head and stared at the wine silk wall. From here, the only indication that we were moving was the sound of the engines. “Do you really think they’ll catch us and send us to prison?”

  He was silent; hovering over me, our bodies almost touching. “I don’t know,” he said at last.

  He kissed me. It was longer than before. The feeling of his lips lingered on mine after he pulled away. “You know what I do know?” he whispered.

  “What?” I asked, reaching my arm around his neck and pulling him back to me.

  “I’m going to do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.”

  His eyes burned with fierce protectiveness as he kissed me again. I kissed him back desperately. There was still a distance between our bodies. I reached my arms around his strong, broad chest and pulled him closer to me. Still he held himself away from me.

  “I don’t want to crush you,” he muttered, pulling his lips away from mine for just long enough to speak.

  “But I want you to.”

  He leaned his tall, strong body against me. I struggled to breathe with his weight on my chest.

  “Am I hurting you?”

  I shook my head. “No.” I hugged him tight as he kissed my neck and collarbone.

  He stroked the side of my body again, this time more slowly. His hand lingered at the waistband of my jeans. I held my breath. His hand moved upward, pulling up my t-shirt. His breathing quickened as he pulled the thin cotton up my torso, he paused when he reached my breasts.

  “Why are you stopping?” I whispered.

  “Oh I’m not stopping,” he smiled.

  He shifted onto his knees and pulled me up with him. He pulled my t-shirt over my head leaving me topless. I watched his face as he reached down and gently cupped my breasts. Then his fingers found my nipples. An explosion of pleasure coursed through me, stopping my thoughts in their tracks. I was no longer consumed by what was going to happen to us when we stepped off that train. All I could think about was Simo and what we were doing.

  With shaking fingers, I reached down and fumbled with the waistband of his pants. It wasn’t like I hadn’t done this before – hell, I’d even rammed my hands down an Erostrian guard’s pants – but this was different. He was different.

  He stopped playing with my nipple and pulled off his pants. My eyes widened in surprise. He wasn’t wearing underwear. But that wasn’t the only thing. His erection was enormous. Even the other Erostrian guard was nothing compared to him. I reached for it uncertainly and grasped it gently in my fist. I couldn’t close my hand around it.

  He grinned down at me and pulled off his t-shirt as I started to stroke him. After a couple seconds he pulled away out of my reach.

  “Don’t you like it?”

  He laughed throatily, leaning forward and walking toward me on his hands. “A bit too much.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He pushed me backward. I fell against the pillowed mattress. He followed me and stopped when he was level with my navel. He looked glanced up into my eyes.

  “I mean, let’s focus on you for a while.”

  I shivered as his soft lips trailed kisses along my navel to the waistband of my jeans. They didn’t stand in his way – he tugged hard and pulled them all the way down my legs to my knees, restricting me from moving and leaving me completely at his mercy. I wasn’t wearing panties – and he’d known that. I was surprised he’d been able to find clothing at the last minute; women’s underwear would have been impossible for him to find without raising suspicion.

  He glanced up at me mischievously. I tried to squeeze my legs together.

  “Don’t be embarrassed,” he whispered.

  “I can’t help it.”

  “Shhh. Relax.”

  He eased my legs apart gently and dipped his head to my most private place. I cried out as his tongue made contact with the sensitive skin there. I couldn’t stop myself from moaning when he started to lap at the swollen nub of sensitized skin that I’d discovered years before, isolated and alone in my tiny damp apartment. He increased the pressure. I gasped and writhed on the daybed, grabbing the cashmere throw and gripping it tight. Sweet pleasure was building inside me. At the same time, I felt an unfamiliar ache. I wanted him; needed him.

  “Please,” I moaned.

  He understood what it was I wanted without me uttering another word. He understood – even though I didn’t even know what would satisfy my need. His tongue lapped my bud mercilessly and his fingers gently found their way to my opening. Without pausing, he pushed two fingers inside me. My body tightened around them. It took me a couple seconds to realize that my hips were bucking against him, begging him to take me.

  I lost control when he began to trace figures of eight with his tongue. I just couldn’t take it. I cried out in desperation as the pleasure started to feel like too much. And then, just as it did, sweet, delicious relief washed over me. But still he didn’t stop. He kept going until I stopped writhing.

  He lifted himself up and eased himself over me. I pulled him close to me, relishing the pressure of his strong body leaning against mine. His erection pushed into me, sending tingling sensations through my body at the thought of what was to come.

  He smiled into my eyes, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. I reached down and grabbed his erection, looking into his eyes as I did so.

  “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  I nodded. “I can’t think of anything I want more.”

  He pushed against me, so slowly and gently that I tried to push my hips against him. I wanted him inside me so badly I couldn’t wait any longer. I bit my lip as he pushed the tip of his shaft against my entrance. I had heard it was going to hurt – the girls at high school who’d had sex had all said so. And they’d been with boys; not a strong, well-hung half-human man.

  He stroked my nipple with one hand and used the other to grip my ass and guide himself into me. I was biting my lip so hard that it took me a couple moments to realize it didn’t hurt. Quite the opposite. The feeling of his erection inside me was sending my body crazy with desire all over again.

  Simo groaned a
s he pushed deep inside me and started to pull out again, just as slowly. I bucked against him. He thrust into me again, less slowly this time. His face was contorted with pleasure. I could tell he was trying desperately hard to stop himself from letting go. I reached up and stroked his face.

  I felt his shaft grow even harder inside of me. Even though I’d never experienced this before I knew he was close. I squeezed as hard as I could. He moaned helplessly and pushed deeper inside me than ever. I held him tight and kissed his temple as he pushed against me one last time with a fearsome roar.

  Chapter Nineteen

  We’d been silent for several minutes – I was listening to the rhythmic sound of the train speeding along the tracks. I assumed he was sleeping.

  “Simo?”

  He jerked awake. “Yeah?”

  I regretted waking him immediately – I didn’t want this moment to end, not ever. I put my arms around him and held him tight. “How long do we have?”

  He leaned on his left arm and looked at his watch.

  “Well?”

  He shook his head. “Not long.”

  I sighed.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, with a cheerfulness that wasn’t reflected in his face. He pulled strands of hair away from my face. “You know what my mother taught me as a kid, when I was worried about people finding out I was an alien and running me out of town?”

  I shook my head. “No. What?”

  “Que sera sera. She’d sing me that song. Do you know it?”

  I shook my head.

  “I’d stay awake at night, terrified that they’d come and take me. She’d come into my room in her bathrobe and slippers and hold me and sing that song. Whatever will be, will be.”

  “We can’t do anything about it.”

  He nodded. “I’m not a little boy anymore. I’m going to do everything I can. But we shouldn’t worry about the future.”

  I listened to the sounds of the train, trying to tell whether we’d slowed down. I told myself over and over that what will be, will be. But deep down I struggled to stop worrying.

  “Tell me about her,” I said.

  “My mother?”