by Sue Mercury
What was she waiting for?
She cast a sidelong glance at him and decided that tonight was the night. She would agree to mate with Khann and then they could depart for New Vaxx tomorrow. As soon as she made the decision, her heart felt lighter. And perhaps she could one day share the full truth about her upbringing on the Dreusha Outpost with an Irrcon father. It would be easier to confide in him if they were to fall in love, but would that ever happen?
As she watched Khann playfully interacting with Amie, she knew in her heart that it was quite possible she might one day fall in love with him. If she were being honest with herself, she was already starting to feel something amazingly warm and tender for him. The beginnings of love, perhaps?
Chapter 16
A slight tremor shook the building. Khann approached the window and drew the curtain aside. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt the building quake since his arrival seven days ago, but it disturbed him nonetheless.
Though it was late afternoon, the city was shrouded in a dim haze, as if it was twilight. A glance at the smog-filled sky revealed the reason for the untimely darkness—the pollution in the air was especially thick today. He was glad the hotel had an adequate air filtration system, which he had personally tested, otherwise he would’ve already forced Belle and Amie onto his Vaxxlian cruiser.
“What is it?” Belle asked, coming up behind him.
He closed the curtains before she could glimpse the protest occurring in the streets below, as well as the soldiers spraying gas and shooting pellets at the crowd. “The protest is nearing the hotel,” he said, feeling a sudden urgency to whisk her and Amie to the safety of New Vaxx.
“The maid who dropped off fresh towels this morning told me the hotel is in lockdown right now. We’re perfectly safe. No one can get in, or out.”
He turned and took her in his arms, an action that felt as natural and right as breathing. Star God, the affection he already harbored for this little human sometimes left him stunned. Surely she was the answer to his prayers, for he had her to thank for thawing his heart. Amie, too. Though he’d only spent a few days around both human females, he could not fathom ever being parted from them. Despite not having officially consummated his mating union with Belle yet, he considered the three of them a family.
“Khann, I’d like to talk to you about something,” she said, an endearing blush abruptly staining her cheeks. She looked nervous, though his interest in what she wanted to talk about piqued when he detected the pungent yet sweet scent of her arousal in the air. In response, his cock went rock hard.
He cupped her face and stepped closer, until his body pressed against hers. Her eyes widened and he knew she could feel the evidence of his excitement. “What would you like to talk about?” he asked, bending down to speak directly into her ear. He trailed his tongue along the ridge of her ear, and she shivered. The smell of her feminine essence heightened, and he drew in a long breath, savoring the enticing scent of her. He pulled back slightly to stare down at the sweet little human who brought joy to his life.
“Well, I-I wanted to talk about, um, the consummation of our mating union.” Her cheeks reddened further, and she glanced to her side, in the direction of the master bedroom where Amie was currently watching a movie.
Hope flared in Khann. He stroked her back, drawing her even closer, and resumed running his tongue along the ridge of her ear. “I am always ready to discuss our first mating, Belle. In fact, I would like nothing more than to claim you in this moment.” His hips jerked forward and he pressed his hardness into her stomach.
Her breath caught and she shivered again. “I’d like that too, Khann,” she said, shocking him. “I-I’m ready. I’m ready to consummate our mating union. Tonight, I suppose, after Amie’s fast asleep.”
“We will join our bodies and hearts as one tonight, little human, and you will belong to me for all time.” Eager for the evening to come, he added, “How early do you think Amie will go to bed?”
Belle appeared thoughtful for a moment. “Hm,” she said. “I have an idea. I could call Molly. She’s a young woman who works here at the hotel and she’s babysat Amie several times. She could come here, and we could, um, mate on your spaceship?” The last few words escaped as a throaty whisper.
A low growl rumbled from Khann, satisfaction filling him. “I approve of your idea,” he replied, his blood heating to feverish levels. “I only hope Molly can arrive soon. I am most eager to claim you, my Belle. The scent of your arousal is nearly driving me to madness.”
She smiled. “Very well.” She backed up a bit and her eyes grew large when her gaze fell to his groin area. “Um, you’d better walk that off before the babysitter arrives. That would be a bit awkward, don’t you think?”
He glanced down at the bulge in question. “Walk it off?”
“Yes, you know, think unsexy thoughts and make it stand down.” She blushed anew. “You know, make it get soft again so everyone we pass on the way to your spaceship doesn’t get an eyeful.”
Khann stood taller. “There is no shame in what we are about to do, and I do not care if the entire hotel knows I am about to claim you as mine.”
“I haven’t been on Earth long, but I’ve been here long enough to know it’s not usually socially acceptable to walk around in public like that, Khann,” she said in a playful tone. “If you can’t make it go away, I suppose you can carry this in front of you.” She grabbed a blanket off a chair and tossed it at him.
He made a show of folding the blanket over his arm and holding it in front of him, which caused the little human to giggle. “How is this? Am I socially acceptable now?” He waggled his eyebrows at her, which caused her to laugh harder.
Smiling, she backed away and headed for the video comm located near the entryway. “Yes, Khann, just be sure to hold the blanket out a bit further. There. That’s it.” She turned and he soon heard her speaking to another human female on the video comm.
He recited the traditional Vaxxlian mating vows in his head, anticipation humming through him. Soon. Soon he would mate with his matched human female. He couldn’t fluxxing wait. He repositioned the blanket and listened to the conversation unfolding between Belle and a woman named Molly. When he heard Molly say she would arrive at their hotel suite in twenty minutes, he emitted a growl of approval.
Visions of Belle naked and panting with desire swirled in his mind. He couldn’t wait to get her alone in his quarters. He imagined parting her thighs and lapping at her center while she writhed upon the bed and moaned his name. If her behavior during their kissing sessions was any indication, Belle would be a responsive mate.
“She’ll be here very soon,” she said as she returned to his side.
He took her in his arms and hugged her to his chest, overcome with emotion and raw animalistic desire. This sweet human who had made him feel affection and glimmers of hope, when he had thought himself too hardened to ever experience such emotions again during his lifetime, would soon belong to him in the eyes of his people.
Chapter 17
Molly’s eyes widened as she peered over Belle’s shoulder, looking into the living room where Khann and Amie sat coloring a picture together.
“Oh my goodness, girl,” Molly whispered with enthusiasm. “You got yourself a Vaxxlian mate? Wow, I’m impressed. And totally jealous. Damn he’s a looker.”
Belle shot Molly a polite smile. “Yes, I signed up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides. It made sense. Earth isn’t exactly safe, and it would be nice for Amie to have a father.” She fed Molly the lie she’d originally given Khann when he’d asked about her reasons for signing up for the mail order bride service, not wanting to talk about the terminal illness or the nanobots. She could only imagine the sort of questions the talkative young woman would start asking if Belle revealed she’d been about a month away from death and agreeing to mate with a Vaxxlian was her only hope at survival.
Molly grabbed Belle’s arm and glanced around, as if making sure no one would o
verhear them. But Khann and Amie were busy speaking to one another as they continued coloring the picture together, and they likely wouldn’t hear whatever Molly wished to say. “I’ve been thinking about signing up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides myself. Every time I see one of their commercials—those ads with the sexy shirtless aliens and their huge muscles—I tell myself I’m going to sign up as soon as I get home from work that night. But then I always stare at the application form and lose my nerve,” she whispered. “The idea of marrying a stranger is scary, even if Vaxxlians are supposed to make wonderful mates.”
Belle found herself torn between giving Molly the pep talk she seemed to be asking for, or telling her to run for the hills and stay far, far away from all Vaxxlians. Of course, she couldn’t do the latter without raising the sorts of questions she didn’t wish to answer right now. It was still surreal, knowing she would probably be counting down her final weeks, or even days, if Khann hadn’t arrived when he had.
“Well,” Belle finally said, also in a whisper, “you should follow your gut. What does your gut tell you to do?”
Molly fell silent and stared at Belle. “I wish there was a way I could just travel to New Vaxx, take a look around, and date any Vaxxlian I was interested in before committing to a lifetime with one.” She sighed. “If only.”
“I’m sorry it doesn’t work that way, but you’re a smart girl. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision. Just try to make it soon. You ought to consider leaving the city. I don’t think it’ll be safe here for much longer.”
Molly suddenly appeared worried. “It’s not safe now. My apartment building went up in flames two days ago. I’m living at the hotel for now. Management put me up in a room, as long as I agree to be on call twenty-four-seven. I’m also stuck here, whether I wish to be or not, since the hotel just went into lockdown.” The young blonde lifted a shaking hand and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “I guess my gut is telling me if I don’t sign up for the alien mail order bride service soon, something bad might happen.”
“I’m sorry,” Belle said. “I wish your situation wasn’t so desperate. Tell me, do you have any family you could reach out to for help? I know you told me you lived alone in the city, but if you could somehow call for a private hovercraft to pick you up, you might be able to get out.”
“There’s no one,” Molly replied, tears glistening in her eyes. “My mom died when I was five and my dad died last year. I don’t have any other relatives and I’ve lost touch with all my childhood friends. I came here for college but had to drop out after the first semester. When my dad died, he had a lot of debt I didn’t know about and after I finished settling up and burying him, there wasn’t much left.”
As Belle considered Molly’s dilemma, a grand idea came to her. She inhaled a deep breath and lowered her voice further. “If I could convince Khann to bring you back to New Vaxx with us, is that something you would be interested in? Maybe-maybe you could live with us and then eventually find a Vaxxlian of your very own, a male you chose, rather than having the mail order bride service randomly assign you a Vaxxlian.”
Molly’s tears vanished and she squealed, jumped up and down, and then drew Belle in for a fierce hug. Belle hugged her back and from her peripheral vision she could see a huge male figure moving toward them. Khann. Crap crap crap. She didn’t want to put him on the spot in front of Molly and had planned to ask him about bringing a plus-one later. Like after they’d finished mating.
“Thank you!” Molly murmured into Belle’s ear. “I know it’s not for sure, since you’ll have to ask Khann first, but thank you for even trying. No one has done anything so nice for me in a very long time. Oh my goodness, I think I’m going to cry again.” A sniffling Molly withdrew from the embrace and shot a tear-filled smile at Belle.
“You’re very welcome. I-I’ll let you know as soon as I find out the answer.” She spoke in a hushed whisper and hoped Khann didn’t know what they were talking about, then turned to grin at her approaching soon-to-be mate.
“You must be Molly,” Khann said. “I am Khann. Belle and I appreciate you coming on such short notice, for we wish to go to my Vaxxlian cruiser for some much-needed privacy. We are anxious to finally consummate our mating union.” He wrapped an arm around Belle and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“Oh really?” Molly looked as though she were trying to hide a grin, and her face soon became flushed. “Well, I’m very happy for both of you. My most sincere, heartfelt congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Khann said. “I also wanted to tell you that I would be happy to bring you to New Vaxx. Though it’s unusual for a single human female to arrive on our planet, it has happened on several occasions. In most cases, the female was able to select her own mate.”
“Wow, I guess you overheard us,” Molly replied with a smile. “That’s so generous of you. Thank you, I accept. But tell me, what do you mean the female was able to select her own mate in most cases? What happened during the instances where she was not?”
“It is sometimes difficult for an unmated Vaxxlian male to resist an unmated female. In a few cases, the single human female was kidnapped by the male who eventually became her mate.”
“Kidnapped?” Belle asked, barely holding back a gasp. “That’s barbaric.” Without warning, all her bad feelings about Vaxxlians returned. They could be brutal and kill without mercy; surely, they could also kidnap a human female and force her into a mating union.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Molly said, looking worried. “Signing up for the mail order bride service might be a lot less traumatic.”
Khann tilted his head to the side, as he often did when he was thinking. Despite herself, Belle thought he looked adorable when he did so. This mannerism of his made him appear a lot less intimidating than he normally looked.
“I suppose you could live with us, as Belle suggested, and I would keep you under my protection until the time you select a male for mating purposes. I could even suggest several honorable Vaxxlian males who are unmated, if you wish. But know that it would be wise to select a mate as soon as possible. It will be difficult for you to venture out in public without a guard until you are mated.”
Belle’s heart softened toward Khann. It truly was getting more and more difficult to view him as the enemy. There was a kindness about him that rivaled that of many humans she’d met over the years.
“Wow, really?” Molly beamed. “That would be fantastic. When-when are we leaving?”
“Could you be ready to leave by tomorrow morning?” Khann asked.
“Of course. I don’t have much to bring. Basically, just the clothes on my back. I hope that’s okay.” Molly bit her lip. “Um, I feel like I’m being a bit of a burden now that I think about it. Maybe I shouldn’t go with you guys, after all.”
“You’re coming with us!” Belle blurted out, surprising herself. “You don’t need to worry about clothes or belongings or anything else. I have plenty of things I can share with you, including clothes. We’re about the same size.”
Molly sniffled and wiped away a tear. She threw her arms around both Belle and Khann, hugging them tight. “Thank you so very much. I’ll never forget this. I-I’ll name my first child after you, Belle, if it’s a girl, and after you, Khann, if it’s a boy.”
“Group hug!” Amie barreled toward them, dark curls bouncing, her arms outstretched, a joyous smile taking over her whole face.
Chapter 18
Khann said a quick goodbye to Amie, promising to return in a few hours.
“But Daddy Khann,” Amie said with a pout, “I want to see your spaceship too! It’s not fair.”
He knelt to better look the little girl in the eye. “I promise you’ll see my spaceship tomorrow. I’ll even let you sit with me while I navigate through the wormhole. Would you like that?”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’re going to let me fly your ship?”
“I’ll let you help,” he said, exchanging an amused look
with Belle.
“Goodbye, darling.” Belle hugged Amie, kissed her cheek, and ruffled her hair. “Molly is going to take good care of you and Mr. Melvin. Promise you’ll be on your best behavior?”
“I’ll be extra good, Momma! Me and Mr. Melvin are going to play checkers with Molly first, then we’re going to draw pictures. After that, it’s going to be snack time and also television time.” Amie reached for Molly’s hand and the two of them headed for the living room. “Bye bye, Momma and Daddy Khann!”
Khann guided Belle out into the hallway and his eagerness grew. Star God, they couldn’t walk fast enough to the staircase. The elevators were currently closed to conserve energy during the lockdown. Once they entered the stairwell, he swept Belle up in his arms. She gasped, but soon laced her arms around his neck, holding on and staring up at him, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“I cannot wait to make you mine, little human.” He carried her up the two flights of steps it took to reach the rooftop, as her hotel suite had been near the very top of the tall building. Despite Belle’s worry that they might encounter someone in the hallway or the stairwell, they met no one on their way up.
They emerged onto the roof and a powerful gust of wind blew their hair around. He tightened his hold on her and headed for his ship. A horrid stench hung in the air and he quickened his pace. The sky was darker than it ought to be at this time of day and a glance across the dim skyline showed several plumes of smoke rising upward. He would not be sorry to leave Earth and his spirits lifted at the knowledge that they would depart early tomorrow morning.