Alien Romance: RETURNED: An Alien Warrior Romance: (Acarnania Warriors Book 1)

by Jane Hinchey

  “Sierra.”

  His voice was a low growl. I turned and looked at him. The eyes that had once been so cold and hard now gazed at me with such softness that my heart skipped a beat. Their chocolate depths swirled, mesmerising, drawing me in. I could barely breathe. He cupped my cheek, his thumb tracing a whisper-light caress across my bottom lip.

  My body instantly quickened with arousal, eager, so eager, for more of him. My nipples were hard, my stomach achy, my legs trembling.

  “We have tonight.” His voice was thick with desire, hoarse and rumbling.

  But that was the problem, wasn't it? I was falling for him, fast and hard, and it was terrifying because it would only lead to pain. Soon, I’d have to leave. I’d never see him again, and already my heart ached at the thought. Sorrow squeezed me, washing over me, dousing my passion. My emotions were so raw; I wasn't sure I could speak.

  Sensing the change in me, he let his hand fall away. “Get some rest. I'll sleep on the floor.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  He was gone when I woke in the morning. Which was to be expected, I supposed. Just because I had nothing to do on the journey to Earth didn't mean he didn't. He had a mission and responsibilities, and I reminded myself of that when I felt the urge to pout that he hadn't been by my side when I woke.

  I used his cleaning unit and had just finished dressing when he walked in, a steaming cup in his hand.

  “Morning.” He handed me the cup.

  I took a sip. Keda tea, hot and soothing. “Morning. Thank you.”

  “How did you sleep?”

  The truth? Badly. I'd had nightmares all night long, and he knew it, since he'd woken me several times to calm me down. But each time I dozed off, I slipped right back into the nightmare, aliens possessing me, Alrik killing me.

  “Okay, I guess.”

  He frowned, watching me silently. Then, “Is there something you need to tell me, Sierra?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Try again. I think you're lying to me.”

  “What? Why would I lie to you?” Oh. My. God. He was on to me. Had I said something in my sleep?

  “I'm going to ask you one more time. Is there something you need to tell me?”

  I looked into his eyes for a long moment, then said, “No.”

  He turned on his heel and left.

  * * *

  I spent the day playing games with Echo in the entertainment room. It had been awkward when she'd first joined me, my feelings still raw, unsure. Alrik hadn't explained his relationship with Echo, and I hadn't been brave enough to push, although his kiss had reassured me. Somewhat.

  “You are tense today,” Echo observed.

  “I didn't sleep well.”

  Echo raised an eyebrow, absently moving a small cube on the board between us. “Oh?”

  “Yeah.” I studied the board, this game was similar to checkers, Echo had blue cubes, I had red. Seeing an opening I moved my red piece to her side of the board, then sat back, waiting for her to make her move. “Silly nightmares about alien DNA and Alrik killing me.”

  But Echo didn’t make her move. She studied me instead, game forgotten. “Sometimes Acarnania soldiers have to follow orders they don't agree with.”

  “I know.” That was exactly what I was worried about. So far, my alien DNA had remained dormant. Would it stay that way until I was returned safely to Earth? And if it did start to mutate, would Alrik kill me? Could he? Or would it be taken out of his hands altogether? If so, Marat might do it instead, with great delight.

  Tired of my mind playing the alien scenario on repeat, I tried to think of other things, only to have my next favourite subject pop immediately into my thoughts: Alrik and Echo. Argh, I just wanted some peace!

  “Is something else bothering you?” Echo asked.

  Damn perceptive alien! I frowned at her. The trouble was, she was nice. I liked her. I didn't want to be jealous; I hated the way I was feeling.

  “Can I ask you something?” I leaned over the table. “Something personal?”

  She smiled at me. “Sure.”

  “About you and Alrik ... “

  “Yes?” Her expression hadn't changed. She hadn't suddenly gotten defensive or cagey or dreamy or ... anything.

  “Are the two of you ... involved?”

  “Involved? As in—are we having sex?”

  Straight to the point, as usual. I nodded, glancing away, uncomfortable that I'd asked and afraid of the answer.

  “No,” she said. “We are good friends. We've worked together for a long time, and were friends before I joined this crew. We grew up together. He thinks of me as his little sister.”

  “You grew up together?”

  “Yes. As children, we attended the same education facility. We lost touch after our education was complete, but when I had the opportunity to join this crew and saw Alrik's name, I jumped at the chance to work with him.”

  Right. Childhood friends. I'd never considered that Alrik might have friends; he seemed so aloof.

  “Why do you ask?” Echo prodded.

  “I saw you last night. Touching his face. Holding his hand. The two of you looked very much involved.”

  She smiled at me. “It bothers you that he may have feelings for someone?”

  “No.” Instantly defensive. “He can do what he likes, with whomever he likes.” Which wasn't true. I cared a lot, but again, stubborn pride wouldn't let me admit it. My thoughts drifted to last night, the kiss, the tenderness and passion behind it. He wouldn't have kissed me like that if he didn't feel something for me, would he?

  The worry niggled at me all day. Echo could see that I was distracted and lost in my own thoughts, so she eventually left me to it.

  Alrik caught up with me that evening in the dining room.

  “How has your day been with no training?” He grinned, sliding into the seat next to me, his plate piled high.

  “Frustrating. Boring.” I smiled back, pushing my food around the plate, not hungry. I watched him while he ate, his deep dark eyes speculative whenever they caught mine. Oh, I was going to miss this handsome warrior. Which was a dangerous thought. Don't miss him. Don't have feelings for him. Definitely don't fall for him. Nothing good will come of it. Nothing.

  Too late.

  I spent the night in his room again. I was torn. I knew he was closing in on my secret, that distance would have been the smarter choice. My fear of Marat was greater, though, so I relented, guilty that he slept on the floor, but unable to bring myself to offer him the bed, and all that it meant. I wondered if I'd jump his bones if it weren't for my alien DNA dilemma.

  “You are quiet,” he said. “Distracted.”

  “I'm worried about my mum. How she's coping without me.” It was partly true.

  “I think you've got other things to worry about, things you aren't telling me, don't you?” Geez, he was relentless.

  “There are bigger forces at play,” I admitted.

  He cupped my chin, forcing me to look at him.

  “Is there something you need to tell me?”

  Yes, I wanted to say. I'm infected with alien DNA and I'm scared shitless that any day now it's going to mutate and you're going to kill me.

  Instead, I said, “No.”

  He watched me intently for a second longer before lowering his head and capturing my mouth, his tongue stroking inside and igniting fires I feared would never go out. I melted. His touch, his taste, overwhelmed me until I was consumed by him. His hand caressed from my shoulder to waist, skimming over my breast, a trail of fire burning in its wake. I gasped when his fingers slid beneath my top and touched bare skin, his touch electric. That jolt was enough to bring me to my senses. I tensed, raising my hands to push against his shoulders but he was already moving away.

  “I’m sorry.” I whispered, unable to meet his eyes. I didn’t want to be a tease and lead him on. Along with passion heating my cheeks, a wave of guilt added to my heightened colour.

  “I would never
force you Sierra.” His voice gruff he moved to his makeshift bed on the floor. “Get some sleep.” The room plunged into darkness and within minutes I could hear the even sound of his breathing. How could he fall asleep so easily while I was a mass of pent up passion, doubt and anxiety? It wasn’t fair!

  I slept badly again. The same nightmare plagued me. In the end, Alrik held me in his arms, propped up against the headboard, and for some reason, it worked. I finally dozed off, the dreams at bay.

  He was in the cleansing unit when I woke up. I lay in bed, listening to him moving about and dressing. Then I felt him stop by the side of the bed, but kept my eyes closed.

  “We are in Earth's orbit.”

  My eyes flew open, but he'd gone. I jumped up and used the cleansing unit too, noticing as I ran my fingers through my curly red hair how much it had grown while I'd been in space. Several inches, which was amazing, since I'd only been gone for two to three weeks.

  Home. So close to home. But this meant leaving Alrik. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

  “There is some interference that is stopping us from getting the coordinates set, but the tech team are working on it. They think it will take another hour, but we need to go to the transporter room now.” Alrik stood in the doorway, holding out a cup of Keda tea to me. My eyes grew misty that he'd taken the time to get my favourite drink for me.

  Clearing my throat, I nodded, taking the tea from him. Yes. Right. I had to return to Earth. There was no other choice. Put on a brave face, kiss him goodbye, remember him fondly.

  With my hand clasped in his, he led me to the transporter room. Echo was waiting. She looked sad as she stepped forward and wrapped me in a hug.

  “I'm going to miss you, funny human,” she murmured.

  “I'm going to miss you too, alien! Thanks for healing me. More than once.” We exchanged a melancholy smile.

  “Now, when you return to Earth, you may experience fatigue and nausea,” Echo said. “This is due to the difference in atmosphere between Earth and space. Your body is re-adjusting and it is normal. Just rest, drink plenty of fluids, and it'll pass in a day or so.”

  “Chief?” One of the techs spoke to Alrik from behind a console.

  “What's the problem?”

  “We aren't able to get a lock on the exact coordinates, Chief.” The tech frowned, his fingers moving fast across his console. “And none of our communications have been acknowledged or answered.”

  Alrik went to stand next to him, leaning over his shoulder to read the console. “Something's blocking the signal?”

  The tech shrugged. “There's some sort of shield in place. I've found a weak spot that is some distance from the coordinates the human provided. We just need to wait for the next fluctuation to get her through.”

  “How short a distance? Is the area populated?”

  “Negative. It appears to be unpopulated, with vegetation.”

  “Sounds like you're talking about the woods a few kilometres from my house.” I interjected.

  “Possibly,” the tech said impatiently “I am not familiar with your terms of measurement.”

  “It's the Redmeadows Woods, about a half-day hike from my house. I can do it easily.”

  “Wait here,” Alrik said to me, then turned to the tech. “Do not send her through yet.”

  “We only have a small window of opportunity, Chief. We have to send her on the next fluctuation, or it will be hours before we can try again. Draven does not want us in Earth's orbit too long.”

  “Understood.” Alrik rushed out as another tech entered. The look the new tech gave me was identical to Marat’s—hatred. Why were these aliens so prejudiced? I'd done nothing to them, yet they hated me with a passion, hated me enough to try and kill me.

  “Shift's over, Rao. I'll take over.”

  “I'm happy to stay and see this one through, Sarek.”

  “Negative. Move.”

  Rao reluctantly rose, giving his replacement a clipped briefing on where he was in the process. Sarek nodded in acknowledgement, but I wasn't convinced he'd been paying attention. What if he tried to teleport me to Earth at the wrong time? When the shield thing was blocking them. Would I disintegrate into a million pieces? Or bounce back to the ship? I didn't care to find out.

  “Couple of minutes and we're good to go.” Sarek's voice was cold and emotionless.

  Where was Alrik? He was going to miss my departure.

  Sarek instructed me to stand on a glass platform in front of his console. It had three sets of foot imprints marked on the floor. Instructed to stand in the centre position, I placed my booted feet on the markers.

  Then the door slid open and a black bag was flying through the air at me. “Catch!” Alrik yelled. I did. I clutched the backpack to my chest, careful not to overbalance and move from the spot I'd been instructed to stand.

  “We can't send her through.” Alrik went to the console, his face urgent. “Earth’s—”

  And then I wasn't on the ship anymore. In the blink of an eye, I stood in Redmeadows Woods, the black bag clutched to my chest. There had been no sense of movement, no noise—one second I was on the ship, the next second I was here. On Earth. Home.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Earth! I dropped to my knees, hands touching the soil. Oh, it was so good to be back home. I looked up. Huge trees surrounded me, the vegetation lush and thick. Thicker than I remembered, and the trees seemed bigger, too, but maybe my perception was a little off after my time in space.

  I sat for a moment, letting my new reality sink in. I was home. I wouldn't see Alrik again. We hadn't said goodbye, but I'd never been any good at goodbyes, so perhaps this was better. I was going to miss the dark, brooding alien. My eyes misted and I rubbed at the ache in my chest. My life over the past few weeks had been burdened with loss one way or another—first Myka, then all my friends, now Alrik. I wiped a tear away with the back of my hand and took a deep breath. Sitting here sooking over him wasn't going to achieve anything. I needed to get moving. I needed to get home to Mum.

  I opened the backpack to take a peek at what Alrik had given me. Inside was a water flask, some food containers, something black rolled up tight, and some sort of electronic gadget. He'd given me a survival pack. A smile tugged at my lips, knowing he cared enough that I'd have what I needed to get home.

  Scrambling to my feet, I slung the backpack over my shoulders, turning in a circle to orient myself. Strange—there were no bird sounds. It was absolutely silent in the woods. No wind, no animals. I couldn't see the sky through the thick cover of the trees.

  “Shit.” Without knowing which way to go, I was in danger of trekking further into the forest. He'd given me some supplies, but only enough to get out of the woods, not for an extended camping trip. I needed to find the direction of home now, before I began mindlessly walking. Then it hit me. The electronic gadget. If he'd packed me a survival kit, surely he'd packed some sort of compass. He'd known I was going to land away from home, and he wanted me to get there safely.

  I smiled at his thoughtfulness as I rummaged around in the backpack for the device. It was small— about the size and thickness of a credit card. I looked at it. Now what? The transparent material remained blank. How did I work the damn thing? Examining it closely, I noticed what looked like an almost invisible oval indentation in one corner. With nothing to lose, I placed my thumb over it and laughed out loud when the screen lit up like a mobile phone. Awesome. The screen turned into a red dial indicating which way I should go. Even better that he'd pre-programmed Mum's address into it. I'd decided, when they'd asked for teleport coordinates, that Mum's place would be best.

  Within an hour, I was on a familiar hiking trail, only it was overgrown with vegetation, not like the well-worn path I remembered. For a moment, I wondered if I was in the Redmeadows Woods after all. But the outcropping of rocks I passed were the same. It had to be the right place.

  Eventually, the trees started to thin, and I reached the edge of the woods. I st
ood for a moment, transfixed. The sky looked ... different. It had a strange grey glow and I thought I could make out faint lines. What was that all about?

  I was still some distance from civilization. Taking a swig of sweetened water from the bottle Alrik had provided, I continued on. I’d known it would be a long hike, and I'd felt good about it—I was fit and had kept up with my exercise on the ship—but I was beginning to lose steam. I remembered what Echo had told me, that Earth's atmosphere could make me feel tired and sick. I hoped to make it to Mum’s before any illness kicked in. I didn't need to be puking in public.

  Several hours later, the terrain had levelled out and I could see houses in the distance. I was covered in sweat and my legs were shaking, but what bothered me most was not my physical discomfort. It was the silence.

  By now, I should have been hearing the sounds of traffic and dogs barking, yet it was eerily quiet. No overhead planes. No traffic. No kids playing. No birds, not even the buzz of insects. What was going on?

  Taking another short break, I opened one of the food packets Alrik had packed. It contained five yellow wafer-like biscuits. I took a tentative bite, ready to spit it out if it tasted gross. It tasted bland. Not repulsive, but not something I’d choose to eat, either. I assumed it had nutritional value or he wouldn't have included it. And I snickered again that they didn't serve something like this on the ship, instead of the disgusting bars we'd been given.

  My feet hurt. I was sure I had blisters, but I forced myself to keep moving. I'd flag a car down as soon as I saw one and get help.

  Only that didn't happen. As I got closer to the houses, I could see they were dilapidated, falling apart, gardens overgrown and the streets cracked and crumbling. Weeds had long ago pushed up through the concrete sidewalks.

  “What is going on here?” I slowed my pace, taking in the desolation, suddenly on edge. “This isn't right.”