by Rena Marks
Arian laughed. “That’s been happening a lot?” she asked Tian.
“Yes. I figured they wanted to be friends after we rescued them, but it turns out they think we’re a grocery store.” His tone was dry.
“Ghost!” Rush came up. “Have you eaten? Come with Blade and me. We’ve gotten you a plate.”
She looked to Orion, who nodded simply. Shala nearly groaned. The dimwit didn’t even realize Ghost wanted to share a meal with him. But Ghost smiled and left with the handsome Rush instead.
“He’ll figure it out,” Serepto whispered into her ear.
She turned in his arms. “What if it’s too late? Blade and Rush have so much more in common with her. What if she falls for one of them? I want Orion to be happy.”
Somewhere, off in the distance, a few people began to play musical instruments. Serepto swayed against her.
“Baby, she was part of the crew on the same ship with them. Who knows how long they’ve been together? If there was something that was meant to happen, it would have already.”
“Do you think?” Somehow, that made her feel better. “Orion’s never showed interest in anyone, but I saw his face when he’d covered her broken body on the ship, protecting her from the warp jumps. He loves her. He just doesn’t know it. And I know she’s interested. She’s baffled by his lack of interest.”
“He’s trying to give her space. Eventually his need will grow so great that space be damned. He’ll hunt her down, watch and see.”
“What if she decides to go back to their planet instead of staying here?”
“Trust me. It’s Orion. He’ll figure out a way to stay in constant communication with her. Or an excuse to go there. It will work out. I think that’s what being on the ship with you while you were unconscious taught me. Life manages to work out. Even if it’s because others can see what you can’t.”
“You must have been terrified when they tried the procedure on me against your wishes.”
“I was terrified and furious. I realize now I hadn’t been thinking clearly. My protective instinct was way too high to risk any further harm that may have come to you. They knew this.”
“So you don’t regret them doing it?”
“How could I? It brought me you.”
They stood together, swaying to the music. But her heart felt heavy. He deserved love. Why couldn’t her damn brain remember what they had?
Chapter Twelve
Eventually, Arian and Jax made their way out further into the yard. Orion disappeared, probably chasing after the Cyborgs.
“I’m so proud of you,” Serepto said. “You realize that the Pleans will hold you in the same regard as they do Arian?”
“They’re sweet.”
“Oh, Shala,” he sighed. “You are the sweet one.”
She laughed at him. “Where shall we eat today? And with whom?” Everywhere, small groups of people gathered to eat the barbecue, talking and laughing together.
His eyes narrowed to a far-off tree in the distance. Two figures stood underneath the branches. “Perhaps we can watch Echo moon over Kristeeah.”
“She has no idea, does she?”
“Neither did you, when I struck. We AI are slick like that.”
“I must have known,” she said lightly, not wanting to appear sad in front of him. It was time to put away the subject of forgotten memories. What’s done was done and they were going to focus on their new, budding relationship. “Why don’t you ask Echo and Kristeeah if we can join them? I’ll be right back,” Shala said, pushing away from Serepto gently.
He raised a black eyebrow.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” she said.
He nodded and she went inside. The AI had constructed indoor plumbing while they were gone, and she’d been excited to try it. All the space traveling she did spoiled her. After she did her business, she washed her hands in the small sink, and then made her way out. As she passed through the main area, Tian caught her eye. He had something in his hands, but he winked and kept walking to where Orion watched Ghost. Ghost was engaged in an animated conversation with the two Cyborgs. Still, she seemed to be searching for something…or someone.
In the corner, Orion watched their interaction. Ghost’s flitting gaze found Orion, but then looked away quickly.
Tian stopped, standing next to his side. Shala approached them, standing between the brothers.
“Who’s the hottie?” Tian turned and winked at Shala as he spoke.
“Her name is Ghost,” Orion snarled. “Refer to her as such, or ignore her.”
His temper was pushed to the limit, and Tian knew it. He’d purposely egged him on. Maybe it was simple jealousy that Ghost was comfortable with Blade and Rush. Shala placed her hand on Orion’s arm. He looked down at it a moment before calming. The rest of the chatter in the room started up again.
“What’s going on, brother?” Tian asked softly.
“I don’t know what it is.” He shrugged before looking at Shala. Then he seemed to realize a woman might understand. He spoke directly to her. “She makes me forget I’m Zetan.”
Shala gasped. “Orion, I’m so proud of who you are. I’m proud of who you turned out to be. You have the best of both worlds. The emotions that the Zetans tried so hard to integrate from the Terrans. And the intelligence and technology of the Zetans. If she makes you whole, she’s a keeper.”
“We’re not even sure if they’re staying here, or returning to their own planet.” He sounded miserable.
“Go get her, Orion. You have never backed down from a challenge. Ever. It was you who discovered the pattern of soundwaves to mimic for their organic beam. You, who protected us from their patterns by hacking into the Zetan system. You are worthy, and you take what you deserve.” Tian’s eyes narrowed. “Quit being a pussy.”
“Just take one day at a time,” Shala said, smoothing over the harsh words. “You can do it. One day, and then the next. Sometimes you’ll make huge strides, and sometimes it’ll feel like you’re trudging through the mud.”
“Which is why I’m going to do you a favor, Protected. I know this will upset you, but what you had with Serepto was real. It’s not fair to either one of you not to remember that time.” Tian turned toward her.
“What are you…ouch!” Shala said, as Tian reached out to zap her with an electrical impulse. Her eyes widened with shock.
Suddenly, his voice seemed to come from a long distance away. His image tunneled away from her, and she blinked several times to clear her vision.
“I’m sorry, Shala…I really am. But your brain is protecting your emotions, and it doesn’t want to accept that it’s wrong. That perhaps you are strong enough to handle your memories.”
“Serepto!” Someone screamed. Not someone. Her.
Suddenly, he was there, but in the same far-off tunnel as Tian. “Shala! What is it? What’s wrong?” Large hands were on her shoulders, and he studied her face. Did he check her teeth? Was he evaluating her worth?
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, backing toward the window to get away from the outstretched gray hands. She shook her head, trying to clear it. It wasn’t Serepto, it was the Zetan who’d purchased her. Her own child. Their faces merged, and she was unsure of where one ended and the other began.
His hands were up. “It’s okay, baby. I won’t touch you.”
“Didn’t you kill him?” she shook her head again, as if the cobwebs could clear. Wait a minute. Both were dead. The Zetan…and Serepto. Weren’t they?
Tricking her. He was tricking her, pretending to be her Serepto. But no, that couldn’t be. She couldn’t remember why, but she knew it. Somehow. She remembered these days of happiness with him, even though she couldn’t remember the happiness before the kidnapping.
“Shala?” Tian said. “What’s going on? Tell us what’s in that mind of yours.”
“The ship,” she gasped, pointing at Serepto. “He told me to get into the escape pod. But the blade is coming, and I can’t get out. He’s not really Serepto, is
he? Is he the Zetan? Serepto’s dead?”
“It’s me, Shala,” Serepto said. “I’m right here. In front of you. Nothing can get you. Just like I blocked the saw’s blade before, I’d block it again.”
But that was exactly what she didn’t want. She didn’t want him to block the saw. No, she’d do anything to avoid that this time. She began to shake her head, rapidly, back and forth, back and forth, making her dizzy. But she couldn’t speak, there was too much she was watching inside her mind.
And then she watched it like a movie, scrolling past her mind’s eye. Her shrieking inside the coffin-like pod, Serepto running toward her, much the way he was outside of her memory.
She held her hands up. “No! Stay back! Serepto!” She wasn’t sure if she was calling to him, or warning him.
Then the blood spray across the glass…the sound of her heartsick sobbing. Everything, all of it, was being re-enacted while everyone stared, stunned. She didn’t care, so lost in the memory she tried hard to describe between hiccupped sobs.
The crying fit…and then Zetans pulling her from the pod. Her goading them, encouraging the beating, trying to get them to kill her. Because how could she live without the love of her life? They beat her until she blacked out, but it wasn’t enough. She woke up much later.
She was barely aware of babbling this all out.
And then came the shame of hobbling through the marketplace, standing up on the stage to be sold. Of allowing her tattooed eschka—the circles of dots needled onto her belly—to be counted. “It wasn’t the galaxy from where I came,” she sobbed, admitting it finally. “It was my value. My worth at bringing live births to the planet. I’m a top-seller.”
“Shala. Shala. Look at me, baby.” One voice cut through the horrors of the slave trade she was in.
He stood, right before her. The gray had washed away from his skin, the eyes were now blue. A beautiful, royal blue. The familiar eyes that she loved.
“Serepto?” she whispered. “You’re really here? You’re not him?”
“Yes, my love. I’m here. I didn’t die. My legs were destroyed, just like you watched. The cyborgs created new legs for me. Our friends shared their technology, and then I came to get you. Just like I said I always would. You’re mine, Shala, and I’ll never allow harm to come to you again.”
Gods, she loved him.
Somehow she was in his arms, weeping against his chest.
“I remember,” she sobbed. “I remember everything! I remember you from before…I remember us. I’m so sorry. I loved you so much, I couldn’t bear losing you. I couldn’t! I’m not strong enough to handle that. Anything but that.”
“You’ll never have to, Shala. I swear. Never.”
Eventually her sobs slowed to small hiccups. His large hand rubbed the small of her back.
“Hey,” he said, tilting her head up. The room had long since cleared, and it was only him and her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m just—recalling all those scenes I’d forgotten. What was the medicine Tian shot me with?”
“It was a drug Zetans are known to use to subdue slaves. It has mind-altering compounds. He thought a second dose might unlock what you’d sealed away. While it may have worked, I’m not above beating him to a pulp.”
“He was right.” But she couldn’t stop touching him. His arm. His hand. His lean cheek. The adorable cleft in his chin that made him so irresistible.
His breath caught, as if the implications suddenly dawned on him. “You remember…everything? The way we were before? The time we shared?”
“I remember it all, baby. All of it. You and me. Forever.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he lifted her. Then she wrapped her legs around his waist, squeezing tight. “I love you so very much.”
“I love you as well, my heart.”
There was a slight movement near the entrance of the room, where someone poked their head in to watch. Then that person whispered, “Looks like they’re back to normal.”
A few others groaned from the hallway.
“We’re outta here,” Serepto said, his blue eyes glittering as he glanced at the doorway.
With her still wrapped around him, he stomped through the next room, glaring at the crowds of people who suddenly looked the other way while they headed outside.
“Great. They’re going to give the Pleans a show instead,” someone murmured.
Shala didn’t lift her head from the crook of his neck. He not only smelled delicious, this time he smelled familiar. They walked, leaving the village behind. He finally stopped after walking for a while longer, and set her down. She looked around. It was her favorite spot, the real place they used to replicate on the ship. Lush, thick grass had a fresh clean smell that scented the air. Huge, ancient trees with long, light brown branches reaching down with spider-like arms nearly to the level of the ground. The gray roots of the tree rose to the top of the ground, making the trees look almost like wooden caves. A gurgling of water came from the brook that streamed cleanly over rocks. She and Serepto had skinny dipped many times in that brook. He was magnificent to look at.
“We’re staying the night,” he decided. “I’ll notify the others not to look for us.” His blue eyes flashed.
She giggled. “Might have been wiser to wait until after dinner.”
“Are you hungry?” He suddenly sounded serious. “I will hunt you some fish. Those fruits that ripen on the trees are in season.”
“Not for food,” she whispered, pulling his head down to hers.
This was her perfect life. She remembered it all now.
“I’ve always loved you,” she said, breaking the kiss. “Even when I didn’t know it. You were never a beast. That ghastly one-eyed witch was the beast. She took advantage of her position and instead of using it for good, she pushed her power to order sex parties catered to her.”
“I had no idea what sacrifices my brothers did for me.”
“I had no idea what you sacrificed for me, baby. Your legs. That’s what love is. We want the other people whom we love not to suffer, even if we do. Don’t feel bad because they did that. Just love them more. Love them like I love you. Know that you’re beautiful, inside and out. No matter the scars, they’re inconsequential.”
“You are the beautiful one, Shala. I was lucky to find you.”
“No. I’m lucky you waited for me. I’m lucky you saved me, over and over. My life is so rich with you, it makes me nearly burst with happiness.”
This time when his mouth descended, she didn’t stop the kiss.
Chasing Violet
Rena Marks & C.L. Scholey
Violet Knight is tired of men hooking up with her for her money.
She caught the latest loser pants-down and rump-up one week before the wedding. Now she’s upgraded her honeymoon cruiseship for a pampering space-cruise that caters to females only.
That’s exactly what her burnt heart needs. A hunky serviceman whose job is to worship the female patronage aboard the month-long trip.
Little does she know a pampering space-cruise ship looks awful similar to a mail-order bride ship.
Cadoc of Docadia finds the girl he’s always dreamed about all grown up and looking to be a bride. To his surprise, she asks him to stay the night. But consummating their relationship comes with a small problem. Turns out she’s the tiny female he rescued all those years ago.
Now, he has to tell her they’ve been mated.
Excerpt:
This was fun, being pampered and courted by all the men at the table. She didn’t miss Joshua one bit. Just as she didn’t miss the amounts of money he spent. Her money.
Most everyone was done eating, and talking amongst themselves at the dinner tables. Speaking of the different planets they came from, and where they’d like to visit. Soft music began to pipe from the speakers.
“Dance with me?” Cadoc rumbled, his leg again pressing against hers.
Next to him, Draconis stood, his chair clatte
ring behind him. A bot scurried to pick it up. Draconis opened his mouth, clearly about to argue.
“I’d love to,” she murmured, slipping her hand in Cadoc’s and shutting that stuff down.
Then the horned demon next to her opened his mouth to argue, but she simply reached out and patted his head, letting her fingers trail over his horns. They were oddly soft-skinned, though they jutted like steel from the top of his head. They were pointed, but not sharp.
Strange, now that she thought about it. They had an odd curved shape. Since he didn’t seem to mind, she continued to caress, then patted his head. His breath caught in his throat, and he sunk lower in his chair, as if he’d pass out from her touch. The rest of the table grew perfectly still. There, she’d calmed them all.
The horned demon moaned, long and low, leaning back in his chair. Odd creature. She happened to glance down, noticing a stain had spread across his lap. The poor man must have spilled his drink there, in his crotch of all places. But he was happy now, not even noticing his dirty pants. In fact, they all seemed strangely stunned, so it was a good moment to make a getaway with Cadoc. She tugged on his hand, and—while he seemed as bemused as the rest of the men—he led her to the dance floor.
Abducted
Book 1 in the Blue Barbarian series.
Alien abductions are real.
I was the third female awakened aboard the spacecraft that specialized in kidnapping females. Their mission? To sell us to other galaxies.
Human female Numbers One and Two didn’t make it, but I was lucky. I was able to comprehend the instruction from Drakar, a caged abductee from the planet Blaedonia. I live only because of his warning to me not to fight the aliens who have me on the table. Together, we formulate a plan for escape for both us and the ten other unawakened Earthlings.
Lucky for Drakar, the spaceship crash-lands back on his planet. Unlucky for the Earthlings, we’ll never be able to travel back home.
We’ll have to learn to adapt.
Niki’s Story: