Ruwen: Mated to the Alien

by Kate Rudolph

  An empty chair sat flush up against the bed. It looked well used and horribly uncomfortable, the thin layer of padding having flattened completely after what appeared to be years of use.

  The door opened quietly and a familiar alien, her alien, stepped into the room. Their eyes met and she tried to smile, but whatever drugs she’d been given made the movement difficult.

  Ru shut the door behind him and took a seat beside her, placing one hand on top of hers. “Good morning,” he said softly.

  Lis squeezed his fingers, “How long was I out?” She was beginning to wake up more, gaining her voice back.

  “A few hours.” From the tousled look of his hair and the bags under his eyes, she would have thought it had been days. But with the stress of his capture on top of her injury, he had to be nearing collapse.

  “You need to rest,” she told him, reaching over to stroke his cheek.

  He leaned close until she could touch him. “You should talk. Sleep.”

  “Nah, I’m tough. No stupid blaster shot can keep me down.” But she would have greatly appreciated some regen gel at the moment. Regular treatment sucked compared to it. The fact that it hadn’t been used told her that her injury was worse than either she or Ru were admitting. Surgeons only operated in dire cases.

  “That wasn’t a blaster,” he said, the fire in his eyes bright with emotion. “It was a las shooter.”

  Lis’s eyebrows shot up. Las shooters were serious weapons. That she was awake after a few hours told her the blow had been glancing. Las fire got into a victim’s veins and ate them from the inside out if it wasn’t caught quickly enough.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, afraid to think of what that shot might have done to her. “Is Lome? And what about Su—”

  He placed a finger on her lips. “As far as slapdash rescue missions go, it couldn’t have gone better. We’re all safe. I was just talking to Lome’s friend in station security. They’ve detained the Polans and will issue a hefty fine before banning the entire crew from the station. Polai will deny all involvement, but what else would you expect?” Anger simmered under his words, but he spoke gently.

  “Are they going to come after us again?” Because they couldn’t have Ru. Las fire or no, he was hers and she was keeping him. Forever.

  He laced his fingers through hers and leaned forward to kiss her hand. “I can’t say. I wouldn’t be too shocked if I’ve got a bounty out on me.”

  “They can’t take you,” she vowed, “You’re mine.”

  He grinned and the stress of the day disappeared. “I wouldn’t dare disappoint you.”

  “So how long are they going to keep me tied to this bed?” She wanted out, wanted to take Ru back to their rooms and show him that they both survived and make love to him until day and night lost their meaning.

  “The doc said tomorrow. They’ve got some fancy thing in your IV healing you.” He leaned back in the chair, but didn’t let go of her hand.

  Lis’s heart clenched. “You look exhausted, you should go sleep.”

  Ru shook his head. “I don’t think I could fall asleep away from you. Not after today.”

  The naked honesty shook her to her core. She realized that when Ru said he wasn’t holding anything back, he meant it. There would be no secrets between them, nothing but complete honesty.

  She scooted to the side, opening up a narrow gap in the mattress. “Keep me warm?” she asked.

  He didn’t need to be told twice, but Ru positioned himself carefully. He avoided her wound and her IV, draping his arm over her shoulders and pulling her close. The clean scent of his skin told her he’d showered, but underneath, he smelled like Ru, like home.

  “I love you,” she said. And despite what she’d feared, it wasn’t hard at all to let the words out. “I’m so glad you found me on that shitty planet.”

  “I love you, too.” Ru kissed the top of her head. “And thank you.”

  She tilted her head up. “For what?”

  The look he gave her said it all, his brows drawn down in disbelief. “You were just nearly killed by Polans! For saving my life!” But he let out a small, relieved laugh when he said it, and she knew that despite his yelling, he wasn’t mad at her.

  Lis traced her hand up and down the fabric of his shirt. “I think this relationship needs some rules.”

  He quirked up a brow. “Oh yeah?”

  She nodded. “Number one, no more kidnapping. Or getting kidnapped.” They’d more than filled their quota on that mark.

  Ru tapped a finger against her nose. “Number two, lots of sex.”

  “Oh, yeah,” she said, nodding. “Lots.” And then Ru was kissing her and for a few moments Lis was able to forget about the pain in her side. Until she tried to turn further toward him and she pulled on something. With a gasp of pain, she pulled back. “Lots of sex later. When I can move.”

  Ru looked worried, but when she settled in beside him, he seemed to realize that she was okay, just tender. “The others, those humans that helped, wanted to see you. I told them to wait until you’re better.”

  “Good. I need to thank them.” She sighed. “Lome, too. Without him, we wouldn’t have made it.”

  “They can all wait,” he said, protective possessiveness in his words.

  “So what’s next?” She wasn’t going to be injured forever and they had their whole lives ahead of them.

  “How would you like to meet my family?” He asked it like he expected her to say no.

  But Lis wasn’t about to do that. “Hell yes, I want to meet your family. And I want to go back to Earth.” He looked startled and she realized how it sounded. “I’m not saying we need to go live there or anything, but I had friends, sort of. I want to see them again, to show them I’m okay. And,” she added with deliberate nonchalance, “maybe to show you off.”

  His chest puffed up. “Show me off? Are you saying I’m someone your friends would find worthy?”

  Lis laughed and snuggled in closer to the now familiar scent of her denya. “It’s not every day a poor Earth girl like me finds a sexy alien mate. They’re all going to be so jealous.”

  Are you a STARR HUNTRESS?

  Do you love to read sci fi romance about strong, independent women and the sexy alien males who love them?

  Starr Huntress is a coalition of the brightest Starrs in romance banding together to explore uncharted territories.

  If you like your men horny- maybe literally- and you’re equal opportunity skin color- because who doesn’t love a guy with blue or green skin?- then join us as we dive into swashbuckling space adventure, timeless romance, and lush alien landscapes.

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  About Kate Rudolph

  Kate Rudolph never knows when to stop. Whether it’s riding her bike down the busy streets of Austin, Texas, fixing computers, or shooting off answers to trivia quizzes, she is doing something. She began writing at a young age and now has a stack of projects as tall as her.

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