Alien Embrace

by Tracy St. John

Despite the agony of her hands, she answered his warm, infectious smile with one of her own. Her heart leapt at his obvious pleasure to see her. “Hello,” she said.

  Flencik stepped back to let her by. “Come in. Your visit brings joy. Good surprise.”

  “Thank you.”

  She stepped out of the blinding Plasian glare into the softly lit apartment. The windows were dimmed to an amber glow, giving the sitting room a golden hue. A fountain burbled soothing conversation to itself in one corner. A supersized lounger took up most of the rest of the room.

  “You’re alone?” she asked.

  “Rajhir and Breft are no here. I apologize.”

  “Actually, it’s you I need to see. It’s my—” Amelia’s throat closed, and the sobs of pain she’d fought against all morning burst from her lungs. She held her hands out to the Imdiko. “They hurt. Please, Flencik—”

  The Imdiko scooped her up and cradled her in his arms like she was a baby. He whispered words in his own language, his face working with distress at her tears. Amelia buried her face in the safety of his broad chest as he carried her to the lounger. She had to stop herself from grabbing him when he sat her down, not wanting to lose the comfort of his touch.

  “Stay here little one,” he said, wiping her tears with gentle fingers. His voice rumbled reassurance. “I make the medicine to stop pain.”

  Flencik patted her cheek before hurriedly striding into another room. A copper door shut behind him, leaving her alone. Amelia settled into the billowy lounger and composed herself. She felt embarrassed to have lost control.

  She heard the thud of the Imdiko’s tread in the other room. The door swung open, and his bulk kept her from seeing the area behind him. The door closed again as he swept to her side and bent over her, lifting a cup to her lips.

  “Drink, Amelia. It will away take the pain.”

  The intensity of Flencik’s gaze frightened her for a moment. He exhibited an eagerness not in keeping with a doctor tending a patient. His hands shook a little as he offered her the cup, and there was an almost greedy expression that seemed to have nothing to do with relieving her pain. He looked at her the way he did the last time they’d made love.

  “This is safe for Earthers?” Amelia asked, postponing drinking the greenish potion. It looked like something an evil witch from a fairy tale might concoct.

  Flencik’s soothing smile wiped the strange gleam from his eyes. “Very safe. I have studied Earther anatomy and biological functions. Your people much are like Kalquorians. This will no harm you.”

  She hesitated but saw nothing threatening about his demeanor now. Her hands throbbed with the grinding pain. Flencik pressed the cup to her mouth, cradling her chin and tilting her head back. Thick liquid flowed over her tongue, coating it with a flavor similar to vanilla coffee. Amelia gulped it like a woman dying of thirst. Flencik took the empty cup and set it on the floor.

  “Excellent, Amelia. You feel better quick.”

  “Medicine never tasted that good on Earth.” She flexed her fingers. Was the worst of the pain dissipating already? The tension in her body melted away. She snuggled against the lounger.

  “Your English is better,” she observed, trying to distract herself while waiting for relief to kick in.

  Flencik’s smile widened. “I much practice with Breft. I wish to well talk to you.”

  “You’re much improved. Where are the others?” Amelia asked.

  “Diplomatic meeting. Too boring for me.” He rolled his eyes in such an Earther fashion that Amelia giggled. “Your hands good are now?”

  A huge yawn kept her from answering right away. “The pain is getting better fast.” She yawned again. Her eyes wanted to close. “I feel so sleepy all of the sudden.”

  The Imdiko’s heavy brow creased. “I forgot to say. This medicine can tired to make you. I apologize.”

  Amelia’s voice sounded far away to herself. “That’s all right. Anything’s better than the pain, and I didn’t sleep last night anyway. I should go back to my quarters before I fall asleep here on your lounger.”

  “No, stay to rest,” Flencik insisted. “You take a small sleep … nap … here.”

  Amelia had no strength to respond. Her eyes slid shut, and she felt the Kalquorian’s large hands cradle her and lay her down on the lounger. His fingers stroked her cheek comfortingly, lulling her unprotesting into slumber.

  Chapter 5

  Flencik watched Amelia’s eyelids droop. Even after they finally closed and her face slackened, he waited until her breath became deep and steady. It didn’t bother him to do so. The Imdiko felt like he could look at Amelia forever. The force of his emotions made a tremor chase down his spine.

  Once he felt sure the sedative he’d given her had taken hold, he carried her to his makeshift lab. Flencik marveled at how light the little Earther felt in his arms. He was always careful, but the seeming fragility of the woman he held close made him all the more tender, though she was insensible to anything right now.

  The stark room he brought Amelia into accommodated an examination table, surgical instruments, and a mini-lab. All were on loan from the local Plasian medical center. The Imdiko hadn’t even needed to explain why he wanted the equipment. He was the top doctor on Kalquor and chaired several intergalactic health committees. Rank had its privileges.

  Flencik laid Amelia on the table, putting a pillow beneath her head despite her being unconscious. Everything about the young woman demanded he treat her with all the consideration he possessed, especially after having seen her cry from fear and pain. Imdikos were naturally sensitive, and Flencik knew he could be particularly susceptible to other’s suffering at times. Seeing this vulnerable creature in emotional and physical pain was agony to him. Even if he wasn’t here on a mission that involved Amelia Ryan, he would be moved to help her anyway.

  He wasted no time injecting a long-term pain relief agent into each of her hands and into the bunched shoulders. The line between her eyebrows eased almost immediately, and Flencik sighed as if it had been his own pain that had been erased.

  That takes care of that, he thought. Now for the real work.

  First, he decided he should conduct a thorough physical examination. He needed to make sure that other than the terrible nerve damage, Amelia was in good health. He slipped off the shapeless garments masking her body. For several moments Flencik stood motionless, admiring the lush figure laid before him like an offering. Earthers were small, fragile creatures, but this one really was quite beautiful. It was impossible to be professionally dispassionate when looking upon Amelia Ryan.

  He brushed her hair back from her breasts and shoulders. Her skin beckoned his fingertips to stroke it, and he gave into the compulsion. He traced the pink circles of her nipples, feeling the flesh grow into hard pebbles. From there, his hands slid to her tiny waist and over the swell of her hips.

  Flencik brushed his fingertips over the soft swirl of her auburn pubic hair. Her skin flushed pink. Was she responding to his touch despite her drugged sleep? He probed at the furry vee of her sex and discovered moist curls. Amelia sighed, her lips curving into a slight smile. More moisture coated his fingertips. What a wondrous being this Earther was, Flencik marveled. Despite the strict laws governing her sexual expression, Amelia’s body retained its natural hungers. He brought his fingertips to his nose and inhaled her musk before licking the wetness, rolling her flavor around on his tongue. How delicious it would feel to plunge his hungry flesh into hers right now and feed her dreams with the sweetness of lovemaking!

  The agreeable ache of his loins warned him of the danger of forgetting his purpose. He straightened with a grunt and turned to more clinical pursuits.

  After running a scan and determining that Amelia was indeed in good health, Flencik walked over to his lab. He mixed a formula and filled a syringe with a long, hollow tube at the end.

  Flencik returned to Amelia. Once again his gaze lingered over her, making his heart thump painfully. By the ancestors, he co
uldn’t possibly already have become attached to the woman, not after only seeing her twice. Even he wasn’t that needy, was he? He’d always fallen in love easily, desperately in fact, which had led to more heartache than he cared to remember.

  His mother had always been jealous of any attention not given to her alone. His three fathers had more than happy to ignore Flencik in her favor. The neglect had made the Imdiko cling to even the tiniest shreds of affection shown him.

  Nonetheless it was too soon to love Amelia, even if she did prove destined to be Flencik’s mate. The current ache in his chest had nothing to do with lust, however, nor his duty to the Empire.

  He had the insane urge to gather the Earther in his arms, to hold her close, to take care of her and keep her from ever hurting again. It made no sense to be so powerfully moved by Amelia. Yet the thought that the test results would probably be negative and he’d be leaving her here on Plasius in a few days made the Imdiko feel sick inside.

  Damn it, am I in love with her? Is that why just looking at her hurts so much?

  Even getting to know the warm men beneath the duty-driven Rajhir and later tempestuous Breft hadn’t made Flencik instantaneously desperate to keep either in his life. But then those two hadn’t required the nurturing this lovely female did.

  She needs me. She may not know it, she may not even want it, but she does. And I need to take care of her.

  It was ludicrous that he felt this way about a woman he’d barely gotten to know. No other woman he’d met had engendered such a reaction. Yet Flencik felt the truth of it, all the way to his aching heart.

  He shook his head at himself. Love was like a drug to Flencik, having experienced so little of it before meeting Rajhir. He thought of himself as pathetic, wallowing in every little indication he could find from others. All the accolades from his peers and all the acclaim after reaching the pinnacle of his profession hadn’t filled the aching void left by parents who had barely noticed him. Only Rajhir and then Breft had made his heart full.

  Now here was Amelia, and she was making a claim on Flencik too. The problem was, he didn’t know if he would get to keep her or if he would leave a piece of himself behind on Plasius.

  Flencik blew out a breath. “Get it over with. Find out what the tests say before you make yourself crazy,” he said out loud. “You know the odds are against it. Don’t build up hope where there is none.”

  Easier said than done.

  Making himself concentrate on the task at hand, Flencik raised and parted Amelia’s legs to allow him entry. He inserted the syringe’s flexible hollow tube into her sex, watching the scan to make sure he placed it properly. Satisfied with the positioning, he sent the fluid through the tube into her womb and waited for it to work.

  If all went well, the concoction would stimulate instantaneous egg release within her uterus. Theories on Earther female biology suggested she might respond to such treatment, unlike Kalquorian females. The women of his own race only ovulated once a year, if at all.

  Three hundred years remained until the Empire’s extinction. Only twelve females had been born alive in the last decade, and the odds were none would be fertile. If Earthers weren’t breeding compatible with Kalquorians and the research group headed by Imdiko Crown Prince Egilka didn’t come up with some miracle cure, Flencik would be one of the last of his kind.

  With such grim thoughts in his head, Flencik gave the process a few extra minutes than required, assuring himself of thoroughness. He parted the pink petals of Amelia’s sex and slid the tube out. In its place, he inserted the harvester.

  The slender metallic tool, developed to gather precious fertilized eggs from at-risk Kalquorian women, went to work. It sent thin fibers into Amelia’s reproductive tract, searching for eggs. Flencik held his breath as he watched the scanning monitor.

  One … two … three … his mouth dropped open … four … five … six … still the egg count rose until the scanner displayed the incredible number of ten.

  Ten eggs! Flencik rubbed his eyes, blinked, and looked again. Despite his disbelief, the scanner remained at ten. The harvester expelled itself from Amelia’s body, and he rushed to freeze it and its valuable contents.

  Flencik returned to Amelia’s side and lowered her legs. He checked the time and sighed with satisfaction. She’d sleep a little longer, innocent of the tests he’d performed. No heartless coercion and no force had been involved. His conscience was clear. Even better, Amelia had no reason to look at him with anything but kindness.

  If she was compatible, would he be able to convince her to look at him with something more?

  Flencik dressed her, his normally steady hands trembling. This tiny, wonderful creature had produced ten eggs before his very eyes. If only one of them proved viable to Kalquorian fertilization, hope would be returned to his planet’s future. More importantly, Rajhir had said he would clan her, making her Flencik’s mate for the rest of their lives.

  For a moment the possibility overwhelmed the Imdiko. He didn’t want to hope, but Flencik couldn’t help it. Not when he suspected he was already in love.

  Unable to keep from touching the Earther, he touched his forehead to Amelia’s, willing the miracle to happen. “Please,” he whispered. “Please.”

  After a few minutes, Flencik carried Amelia back to the lounger and arranged her in a comfortable position. He knelt next to her and watched her sleep, his expression that of stunned worship.

  * * * *

  Amelia emerged from sleep, her senses coming to life one by one. First came the sensation of lying on yielding softness, as if she rested on a cloud. Next, her ears detected the burble of water and the pops of fire. The sounds, usually enemies to each other, blended in a sweet auditory spiral.

  Then she smelled musky scentwood, deep and enticing as it wafted into her nostrils. It wasn’t the kind of scentwood she kept in her apartment. She slitted her eyes open just enough to allow featureless gold light to fill her sight. She opened her eyes a little more to recognize her surroundings as an unfamiliar Plasian apartment appointed with oversized furniture.

  As a gargantuan shadow moved into her view, she woke fully with a gasp.

  “I apologize. I did no intend to frighten you.” Flencik sat next to her on the edge of the lounger.

  “It’s all right.” Amelia’s initial fright ebbed now that she remembered where she was. Languor stole through her limbs once more. She smiled sleepily at the Kalquorian.

  “Are you better to feeling?” he asked.

  She remembered the brutal agony that brought her to Flencik. She gingerly flexed her hands, tensing for pain.

  “It’s gone,” she said in a wondering voice. Delighted shock woke her fully. She tightened her hands into fists and showed them to the Imdiko. “You really did it. They don’t hurt at all!”

  “I am to help glad.”

  Amelia bolted upright. She spread her hands wide open and clenched them again, knotting them as hard as she could. No pain. None at all. She splayed them once more and stared. Tears trembled against her lashes, blurring her vision of her hands. “You don’t understand,” she whispered. “Even on my best days, it hurts.”

  Flencik stroked her stretched fingers, his touch as gentle as ever. “Only it is a relief of temporary. Still damaged. On Kalquor the cure is permanent.”

  “To have even a moment’s peace is more than I dared to hope for.” Amelia blinked back the tears. “Thank you, Flencik. Thank you so much.”

  He smiled and patted her cheek. “You are hungry?” He stood and went to the kitchen area without waiting for her reply.

  Despite the stunning miracle of pain-free hands, Amelia’s famished stomach had concerns of its own. It rumbled at the mention of food, especially when she saw the platter of succulent Plasian fruits Flencik carried. He sat next to her again, the tray balanced on his knees.

  She reached for the red berrylike nellus, a delicacy that grew on one island on Plasius. Flencik withdrew the platter from her seeking fingers.


  “I feed to you,” he admonished her. “Your hands should rest more. Time is to give the medicine to penetrate fully.”

  He plucked a nellus from the platter and brought it to her lips. Amelia ate from his fingers while stifling an urge to giggle. A Kalquorian man fed her as she lounged like a queen. All she needed was Rajhir rubbing her feet and Breft fanning her. Wouldn’t the officials of Earth’s government just soil themselves to see such a spectacle!

  The medication lingered in her limbs. She felt relaxed, luxurious with barely a twinge of self-consciousness as Flencik fed her. Warm languor bathed her in contentment. It was remarkably similar to how she’d felt after drinking leshella at Israla’s party,

  “You like nellus?” the Imdiko asked.

  “It’s my favorite.” Amelia allowed him to place another red pearl on her tongue. The juice of the berry tasted like liquid sunshine. She closed her eyes to concentrate on its flavor. If only Vrill could see me now, spoiled and pampered by one of the most desired creatures in all the universe, she thought. Her Plasian friend would feel dizzy from envy.

  Amelia stretched and burrowed deeper into the overstuffed lounger. She opened her eyes to see Flencik smiling down on her, enjoying her enjoyment. “If I start painting right away, how long will it be before my hands hurt again?”

  “To rest all of today for you. You paint tomorrow and can ten days more with no pain, I think.” Flencik added hopefully, “If to come Kalquor, I permanent can cure you.”

  “That certainly has its appeal.” The words left Amelia’s mouth before she thought about them.

  The Imdiko’s blue-purple eyes riveted on her face as he fed her more. His intent gaze gave her a thrill of fear. Did he think she wanted to go to Kalquor for more than medical treatment?

  Her instincts shouting warnings, Amelia asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “You are beautiful.”

  Flencik’s response, so guileless and direct, startled her. He spoke it as if it was the greatest truth he’d ever told. Amelia warmed to the sincerity of the compliment.